Public Relations Turn Around

This is an amazing public relations story!

Wendell Potter, former head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation's largest health insurers, is now delivering a message much different than the one he delivered while on the company's payroll.

With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform.

According to the Bill Moyers Journal "...Wendell Potter tells Bill Moyers why he left his successful career as the head of Public Relations for CIGNA, one of the nation's largest insurers, and decided to speak out against the industry. "I didn't intend to [speak out], until it became really clear to me that the industry is resorting to the same tactics they've used over the years, and particularly back in the early '90s, when they were leading the effort to kill the Clinton plan."

Good public relations means knowing the story behind the story and this is a classic example. Public relations specialists hear and see much more than meets the public eye. We have to in order to understand what drives the message.

And then we get to make choices about how we will handle that information.

Is this "Too little too late?" or a case of "Better late than never?"

I'll let you be the judge of that.
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North Korea: Smear Campaign

The latest news concerning the two American journalists who were arrested and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea from CNN reports that North Korea officials have obtained confessions from the two women that they in fact were working on a smear campaign

They confessed? Really?

It's amazing to think that these women were going to ruin North Korea's good name. That somehow they were going to put a negative spin onto whatever information they could get and alter the way the world views the Kim regime?

That makes them extraordinarily powerful. And if that is so, don't they deserve more than 12 years of hard labor?

Think about it: once they have served their terms they can come home and write books about their experiences and make millions AND still smear the country's good name.

This makes no sense at all to me. I, like many others, believe North Korea officials are desperate. They want to provoke action on any level much like an eight pound dog barks and nips at the legs of a larger dog.

Do they really want a response?

Here, in part, is the CNN article. Would love to know what you think!

(CNN) --North Korea's state media released a "detailed report" Tuesday claiming that American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee entered the country illegally in order to record material for a "smear campaign" against the reclusive communist state.

Supporters rally for U.S. journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling on June 4 in Seoul, South Korea.

It added that the two women "admitted that what they did were criminal acts ... prompted by the political motive to isolate and stifle the socialist system of the DPRK by faking up moving images aimed at falsifying its human rights performance and hurling slanders and calumnies at it."
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UPBEAT makes sense

As a public relations specialist I am always talking to and working with clients who want to gain and maintain media visibility. Luckily for me, these individuals, small businesses, and non-profits have authentic events and expertise that lend themselves naturally to media interest.

I consider these organizations, entrepreneurs and executive directors to be winners because they believe in what they do and what they have to offer the greater community. In the process of helping them spread the word I help myself. And, like them, I, too, reap the satisfying rewards that come from the community response. Being involved with the opportunities they present nourishes my own sense of what is important. That in turns drives the passion of my work to shed positive media light on their good work.

So what makes these clients so great? It’s not just the project, product or service they are rendering. It’s the attitude with which they conduct business.
Successful business entrepreneur and author Rajesh Setty writes about attitude in his newest book Upbeat. Even in times as economically challenging as these he suggests that attitude is one of the factors we can control. In fact that may be the way we learn to thrive even in tough times.

According to Setty whose wisdom arises from both professional and personal experiences, There is no time-tested solution to make yourself recession proof. Popular plans and prescriptions for recession won’t work. The key, then, for those who want to grow at a breathtaking speed and become someone that you will be proud of is to recognize that the marketplace and the world have provided an opportunity again to evaluate the ways we think and feel.

He’s talking here about negative thinking and mindless complaining about life conditions and circumstances. And fear; fear that there isn’t enough for everyone so we all must fight for what is available whether or not it is our or our clients’ best interest.

Upbeat, small enough to carry around in briefcase, purse or glove compartment of your car, actually offers daily suggestions for developing and strengthening attitudes that foster win-win scenarios.
For example in the section entitled “Yes, old is gold” he writes:
People are looking for good people whom they trust. So your trusted and long standing relationships from the past are PURE gold.
Think about all of your old contacts from your profession. Now the next important step is to see how you can help them. NOT how they can help you.
(This passage has motivated me to take action: Several former clients could be excellent referrals for select current clients).

Setty’s advice is timeless, simple and to the point. If applied, it can build upon strengths we (and our clients) already have. No reinventing of wheels, here.
What is particularly pleasing to me about what Setty offers is that while the primary application of the book’s guidelines may be addressed to segments of the business sector looking to conduct business in healthy, fruitful ways, it is also applicable to one’s personal life. For example, we all are looking for good people whom we trust. We all have chased and/or have been chased away from others by mindless complaints. We all have experienced relationship recessions.

The connection between personal and professional is very clear with the clients I work with. Maybe that’s why the work we do together is so fulfilling.
After reading Upbeat I am reminded of how fortunate and grateful I have been professionally and personally because many clients, family members and friends recognize and willingly support efforts to maintain a right attitude.

Setty’s book also brings to mind one of Mahatma Ghandi’s greatest teachings: You must be the change you want to see in the world.

With this as a central course of action, how could the world not be a better place?
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What's Happening with Journalists Seized in North Korea?

A recent MSNBC report notes that the U.S. is considering an envy to help free two American reports arrested and sentenced to 12 years of labor by the North Korean government for suspicion of hostile acts.

The arrest of Euna Lee and Laura Ling of Current TV has triggered a showdown between the country and the U.S, according to NBC's Andrea Mitchell.

The envoy would be a humanitarian act and not part of U.S. efforts to punish North Korea for it's recent displays of nuclear power.

It's hard to keep the lines that clean as North Korea has been on the edge of "in your face" behavior for quite some time. I think the arrests of these journalists is another phase of their strategy to challenge the U.S.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said, "We think the imprisonment, trial and sentencing of Laura and Euna should be viewed as a humanitarian matter," Clinton said. "We hope that the North Koreans will grant clemency and deport them."

The isolated North is probably less interested in having the women sent to its gulag, where poorly fed inmates often do backbreaking work in factories, coal mines and rice paddies."

Voice of America reports that North Korea's official news agency issued a report Saturday saying the journalists were arrested on March 17 while "illegally intruding into the territory" of the country at its border with China.

Sources in contact with the two reporters prior to the incident say they are Chinese-American Laura Ling and Korean-American Euna Lee. They work for San Francisco-based Current TV, a network founded in part by former Vice President Al Gore. Both were apparently gathering video footage for a report on human rights abuses of North Korean refugees who cross into China.


State-run news agency? Well, we all know what that means. Talk about Spin!

I urge media to stay on the trail of this one as it is essential that freedom of the press reign supreme here. We all need to know what is really going on and most of us have no other sources for our information. It needs to be a real as possible!

L.A. Journalists Sentenced in North Korea

News spread like wildfire today about what has happened to two L.A. journalists in North Korea.
Laura Ling and journalism colleague Euna Lee have both been convicted on some "grave crime" that results in a penalty of 12 years hard labor.
Just what is North Korea trying to do and why do they think the rest of the world won't care? It does care and the proof is in the countless news reports that are coming across the wires about what has happened in North Korea.
This is media in action; freedom of speech that is used to alert, not divert,our attention to human rights violations around the world. News people are watch dogging human rights violations and risking their lives -- as these two women have done -- to keep us informed. And,without information how can we stay informed?
It is a relief for me to know that reporters are paying attention and speaking out, and doing so loudly - at least loud enough for most of us to hear.
According to Raja Abdulrahim and Jessica Garrison of the Los Angeles Times:

Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, who work for San Francisco-based Current TV, were convicted by the communist nation's Central Court of an undefined "grave crime" against the regime and sentenced Monday to 12 years of hard labor.

Both women work in Current's Vanguard journalism department -- Ling as a vice president and correspondent and Lee as a film editor. Current, founded by former Vice President Al Gore and others, is a television network carried on cable and satellite that is aimed at young people and strives to serve as a platform for citizen journalism while also producing documentaries on topics not covered elsewhere.
For complete story: Los Angeles Times

Diplomatic efforts are far from complete as the women have not yet been released. I am comforted in knowing that journalists will be working on this story, staying with it until these women have been freed.
It's at times like this that I am especially grateful for the committed efforts of news people who strive to keep us apprised of what is going on in the world around us.
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The Survival of a Weekly Newspaper Editor

I recently asked David Abbott of the Sonoma West Times and News weekly newspaper to be June's Guest Blogger. He agreed to write about what life was like for him as the editor of a popular weekly community newspaper (circulation approx. 3800). He gave the assignment some thought, rolled up his sleeves and got busy writing. I'm amazed and impressed that he was able to squeeze this into his schedule. But then, that's what community newspaper editors do; they pack as much as they can into the little time they have to produce good copy.
Here's what David cranked out (on time, by the way, with perfect word count in order) to meet my deadline:

In the wake of the economic disaster of the 21st century, the life of a weekly news editor has become extraordinarily busy.
Prior to becoming a journalist and then an editor of a weekly newspaper with a circulation of approximately 8,000, I spent the earlier part of my life performing various types of industrial work interspersed with long bicycle trips. The last job I had before returning to college at the age of 40 was as the manager of a failing bicycle shop in Sebastopol , CA .
That’s when I returned to school to learn how to write so that I could record my bicycle adventures. Little did I know when I began that I would develop a passion for journalism. After three years as a staff member/editor of state university newspaper, I was hired by a small weekly as a part-time staff writer. As the economy worsened, staffing cuts left more work for the remaining writers, and I, still a college student, survived in large part because the publisher was tired of wearing three hats, as editor, publisher and staff writer.
Nine months after I graduated from college I was promoted to editor of the paper. By that time, we were down to a green editor, one full-time writer, one part-time, and a few former writers who shared in our fairly limited freelance budget.
The role of an editor in the current climate/market is one of a multi-tasking writer/public relations flak/layout-desktop-publishing professional/time manager.
Thanks to the wonders of the computer age, with my laptop and an internet connection I can work any time day or night, independent of an office and desktop publishing has effectively reduced a position adding to the workload of the editor. Although I share layout duties with one member of our production department, I am still responsible for assembling content for 10-12 pages per week.
It can be exhausting, thankless work, but what we do serves a vital service to our communities, and in these times of shrinking news rooms what we do becomes even more important. The local daily can send reporters out from a central office in another city, but our reporters — and me as editor — go to the board meetings and business openings to learn about and record what’s happening beyond the spot coverage daily newspapers have the resources for these days.
We represent the eyes and ears of the community, and provide a venue for the official public record for legal proceedings and other necessary businesses and community announcements.
But another service we provide is that of the recorders of history in the vernacular of our times. Our tiny office houses more than 100 years of local history in the form of dusty, yellowed newsprint, written by individuals who may not have been perfect but were willing to put their names to what was their interpretation of the world in which they lived.
It is a world that is constantly changing, as we are all well aware. The work is getting tougher for “the survivors,” but the role of the weekly is more important than ever as a means of filling in the gaps of coverage by dailies that are being forced to cut back on resources and limit their coverage.

Public Relations Society of America Wants You!

Are you a PR expert?
Plan to be in New York on October 8?
Interested in being a speaker at an annual Public Relations Society of America annual conference?

If you answered yes to all of these questions then think about applying for PRSA's Northeast District Conference.
Speaker proposal deadline is June 5!.

Here's more information:

About Proposals:
They are looking for experienced presenters who can motivate and energize an audience on the latest tools, techniques, trends and knowledge of new technology or research pertaining to public relations.

Industry experts, seasoned practitioners, researchers, or public relations service providers are welcome to submit a proposal to individually or jointly present on a topic relevant for PR practitioners with varying levels of experience. We’re looking for presenters from both the corporate and not-for-profit worlds. The tracks chosen for this year’s conference are:

• New & Social Media – From digital media to best practices for integrating blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. into your PR campaign – we’re looking for case studies and tutorials from experts on these topics.

• PR/Marketing – This track will focus on the cross over between PR and marketing initiatives and aim to provide information on how PR practitioners can work with their marketing counterparts on delivering united messages.

• Internal/External Communications – We’re looking for speakers to present case studies of great internal and external PR campaigns. How are you using PR to effectively communicate with your employees – particularly in today’s trying economic times when many organizations are forced to cut back? Are you an expert in crisis communications who can share your experience?

• Student Tracks – The conference will have tracks geared toward PRSSA members and recent graduates. We’re looking for everything from career development and enhancement (resume preparation, interviewing skills, etc.) to finding your first PR job and building a professional network.

• Miscellaneous – Not sure if the proposed session you want to submit fits into one of the above tracks? Maybe you’re an expert on political PR, grassroots PR, ethics or marketing to a diverse audience? We’ll have one track dedicated to all other topics – so please feel free to submit all other ideas under this track.

They are open to any proposal that provides PR professionals with new knowledge, insight and ideas that can enhance their professional capabilities.

If this sounds like a good fit you can get more information on the district's website

Good luck!
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