PRSA Oregon Event: IComms: The Best Career You’ve Never Heard Of

PRSA Oregon Event: IComms: The Best Career You’ve Never Heard Of

by | Nov 28, 2018 | Podcast, Public Relations

PR Talk is deepening our partnership with PRSA Oregon to bring their event content to more members and the public at large. Of course, attending these valuable events live is your best option. But if you can’t make it, you can now hear what you missed.

This PR Talk Podcast was recorded live at PRSA Oregon’s:

IComms: The Best Career You’ve Never Heard Of

Communication and HR professionals and students joined PRSA Oregon to hear from a panel of experts on Internal Communications.

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Description:

Communication and human resources pros from OHSU, Port of Portland, Pac/West Communications and Meyer Memorial Trust participated in an informational panel and Q&A session focused on the rapidly growing fields of internal communications and employee engagement. Attendees (and now listeners) learned how internal communications shapes brands inside and outside, and improves recruitment and employee performance, engagement and satisfaction.

The event was hosted by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Oregon Chapter and the PSU Department of Communication.

Panelists:

Lise Harwin, APR

Lise Harwin, APR

Internal Communications Manager, Port of Portland

Kelly Bantle

Kelly Bantle

Vice President, Pac/West Communications

Kimberly A.C. Wilson

Kimberly A.C. Wilson

Director of Communications, Meyer Memorial Trust

Patrick Holmes

Patrick Holmes

Associate Director, Strategic Communications, OHSU

Moderator:

Pete Donahue
Internal Communications Manager, Johnson Controls

Host:

Brittany Goltry
Interim Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications, Campus Rec & Student Union Services, Portland State University

Questions discussed during the event include:

In a single sentence define what internal communications means to you?

As practitioners that have worked in both internal & external, what are key differences in each and how do they align?

Explain the internal communications function at your organization and talk about the relationship between your company culture, employee engagement and overall company brand.

What do you do all day?

Define strategy & tactics.

What skill set and personal qualities are you looking for in hiring internal communicators?

How do you break into internal communications?

What are the myths of internal communications?

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PR Talk is sponsored by monday

In such a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. monday is the collaboration tool trusted by businesses of all kinds to help cut down the clutter and streamline productivity. Learn more at monday.com and signup for a free trial. You’ll see in no time why so many teams around the world are choosing monday for their project management needs.

PR Talk listeners can use the coupon code BetterExecute for a 15% discount.

High Profile Health Writer Sunny Sea Gold [Podcast]

High Profile Health Writer Sunny Sea Gold [Podcast]

by | Nov 5, 2018 | Podcast, Public Relations

Glamour, Seventeen and Redbook—Oh my!
Sunny Sea Gold Spreads a Message of
Body Positivity Among Them All.

On this week’s episode of the PR Talk podcast, Amy Rosenberg sits down for a revealing conversation with author and content creator Sunny Sea Gold about her time working in the world of New York fashion magazines, how her personal struggle with binge-eating and body dysmorphia led her to advocate for change within the industry, and tips PR pros can use when pitching to these often-intimidating organizations.

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Change Comes from Within

People like Sunny Sea Gold are the reason we’re seeing a more body-positive attitude in the media. During her years working as an editor at well-known publications like Glamour, Seventeen, and Redbook, Sunny pushed behind-the-scenes for better representation for people of all body shapes, and that led to real change. Today, women like Jess Baker, Tess Holliday, and Jessamyn Stanley are appearing in the most famous fashion magazines in the world and helping redefine what the words health and beauty really mean.

But it didn’t come easy for Sunny. When she landed her first big job out of college in the early 2000’s editing the health and wellness coverage for Glamour magazine, the industry had only just begun to reckon with the negative impact they were having on the culture. Sunny has been open with her struggles with binge-eating and body-dysmorphia — which was the subject of her 2011 book, Food: The Good Girl’s Drug — and at times struggled working in such an image and diet-obsessed environment.

Ultimately her experiences led her to begin advocating for change and speaking up about what she saw in magazine culture. She didn’t always get her way, but she was always listened to, which helped advance her larger cause. For Sunny, these efforts are about reflecting real people, because “every single person — no matter what kind of body they’re in — deserves our respect and deserves to be seen.”

 

A Difficult World to Break Into

This is a PR podcast, of course, so Amy was very interested in hearing Sunny’s tips for how PR pros can get the attention of editors in a very competitive New York magazine market. Sunny began by reminding listeners that the publishing world has changed pretty dramatically over the last few years. There have been lots of layoffs and lots of magazine closures which means compressed staffs are being asked to do more than ever before. As a result, it could take months before some staff members can even respond to an email. So if you don’t get a response, don’t take it personally. They’re just that busy.

When you do pitch, Sunny recommends putting a lot of thought into what you’re sending to make sure it really fits what the publication produces. Sunny cited Reader’s Digest as an example. Since they publish a lot of listicles, pitches that take this into account stand a much better chance of being accepted than those that don’t.

Beyond that, Sunny believes it comes down to connections. She recommends that PR pros do whatever they can to land “desk-side” meetings with lower-level editorial employees: titled editorial assistant, assistant editor, or associate editor. As Sunny puts it, these people typically “are open-minded, hungry for relationships, and hungry for ideas.” Desk-side meetings also provide PR pros with the opportunity to put a face with a name, and they can often get better responses from someone they know in person. And if you do land a desk-side, make sure to diligently maintain your contacts because you’ll never know who that young staffer will end up becoming.

 

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Though she’s no longer directly employed by the magazine world, Sunny continues her advocacy and education work by writing about parenting and body image for publications like Reader’s Digest, health.com, Elle, Parent’s Magazine, and Refinery 29. She also works with clients on branded content and helps clients make connections with people she still knows in the publishing industry.

To hear the entire interview, including more about Sunny’s struggle with binge eating and her life in the New York magazine world, click through or subscribe to PR talk on Stitcher, iTunes, or the Google Play store.

About the guest: Sunny Sea Gold

Sunny Sea Gold is a sought-after journalist and book author with expertise in women’s issues, health, psychology, obesity, body image, and parenting. She has more than a decade of experience telling stories and leading editorial strategy for some of the country’s largest and most well-known print and digital publications including Glamour, Fast Company, Reader’s Digest, Parents, WebMD, and O, the Oprah Magazine. As a consultant, she leverages her journalistic sensibility and deep understanding of the social, digital, and print-media landscapes to craft strategic communications plans for select corporate clients and thought leaders.

Connect and follow Sunny Sea Gold on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PR Talk is sponsored by monday

In such a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. monday is the collaboration tool trusted by businesses of all kinds to help cut down the clutter and streamline productivity. Learn more at monday.com and signup for a free trial. You’ll see in no time why so many teams around the world are choosing monday for their project management needs.

PR Talk listeners can use the coupon code BetterExecute for a 15% discount.

Wikipedia Marketing with Dan Cook [Podcast]

Wikipedia Marketing with Dan Cook [Podcast]

by | Oct 18, 2018 | How To, Podcast, Public Relations, Resources

Stop Fearing Wikipedia: Dan Cook’s Advice on this Powerful Platform

Over his thirty-year career, Dan Cook has worked as a staff journalist in five different markets, including stops at the Portland Business Journal and Reuters. That work put him in regular contact with public relations professionals of all stripes, and as he notes early on in this interview with PR Talk host Amy Rosenberg, “I’ve learned how to find the ones who can really deliver and I hang onto them for dear life.”

These days, Dan wears many hats. He covers healthcare and benefits trends for BenefitsPro and Benefits Selling Magazine. In this role he works closely with PR pros and throughout his conversation with Amy offered important insight on how they can work collaboratively with the news media.

Dan also works as a communications consultant for To the Point Collaborative, spending most of his time helping clients navigate through the murky waters of Wikipedia.

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Wikipedia as a PR Tool? Dan Says YES!

As a Wikipedia consultant, Dan teaches clients how to ethically write and edit their own articles on the world’s online encyclopedia. Most PR pros understand how valuable a good Wikipedia listing is for their clients, but avoid the platform altogether because of its intimidating environment. But instead of fearing the site, Dan feels strongly that PR pros should learn how to use Wikipedia correctly.  

As Dan explains, Wikipedia is run by a group of volunteer editors who take great pains to ensure that every new article and every new edit meets a tight set of community standards. It’s not uncommon to see poorly written or improperly sourced articles pulled down from the site, or for unscrupulous paid editors to receive outright bans.

Proper sourcing is everything on Wikipedia and many paid editors run into trouble when they try to support what they’ve written with external links. According to Wikipedia’s rules, an article cannot link back to a company’s web page. However, if an article can link to sources that were written and edited by a credible third-party–such as a news outlet–it has a great chance of staying live. In Dan’s view, this is where PR pros can shine.

Whenever possible, PR pros should include important factual information in their press releases like the number of employees, key clients, services areas, etc., even if they’re not related to the main subject of the release. That way, any resulting press coverage could potentially be used to support a company’s Wikipedia page.  

Dan offered these additional tips for PR pros interested in getting started on Wikipedia:

  • Contrary to popular opinion, conflicts of interest and paid editing are NOT banned on Wikipedia. In fact, volunteer editors appreciate paid editors who approach the platform correctly.
  • With this in mind, paid editors should be transparent on Wikipedia by choosing their own usernames and not logging in using client accounts.
  • Articles should be written objectively and refrain from sales messaging.

Through To the Point Collaborative, Dan offers Wikipedia training programs that walk clients through the process of creating a transparent Wikipedia account, writing an ideal article draft, or implementing changes to an existing article. Dan also holds occasional Wikipedia “edit-a-thons” where he walks a group through the process of writing an article from start to finish.

PR pros who would like to add this important skill to their communications toolkit can reach out to Dan for more information.

About the guest: Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a writer and researcher. He is a former Portland Business Journal Editor and Reuters reporter. Was on staff at nonprofits Morrison Child & Family Services and Special Olympics Oregon. Currently, he works with To the Point Collaborative as a copywriter, editor, Wikipedia consultant and communications strategist.

Connect and follow Dan on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PR Talk is sponsored by monday

In such a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. monday is the collaboration tool trusted by businesses of all kinds to help cut down the clutter and streamline productivity. Learn more at monday.com and signup for a free trial. You’ll see in no time why so many teams around the world are choosing monday for their project management needs.

PR Talk listeners can use the coupon code BetterExecute for a 15% discount.

Bruce Williams: KGW Media Group [Podcast]

Bruce Williams: KGW Media Group [Podcast]

by | Oct 2, 2018 | Podcast, Public Relations, Resources

KGW’s Ultimate Gatekeeper, Bruce Williams, Tells it Like it Is

Assignment Editor turned “Content Discovery Editor”

I would consider Bruce Williams to be THE source at KGW. A million years ago I would have called him the “Assignment Editor,” but in a world of tweets, chats, and millennials, Bruce’s title has changed to Content Discovery Editor. This is because his role has shifted beyond what you see on TV to include duties for social media and the KGW website.

Back in an easier time, the Assignment Editor was the person I envisioned to be somewhat in charge of the newsroom’s operations for that day. It was their job to scan the news and determine what was going to be covered with the entire team’s input. The Assignment Editor would then “assign” the stories to the reporters and cameras available to them for that day. Basically, this was the person you needed to talk to the day you wanted your story to run for last-minute news.

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The Reimagined Role of the Assignment Editor

And….drumroll please….fancy title or not, Bruce is still the person you need to talk with. As I strutted into Bruce’s domain, he showed me his command center, which used to be called the “assignment desk” and now I believe it is called something cooler, but I don’t remember. Centered in the middle of the newsroom, a circular desk equipped with various computer systems and police scanners is slightly perched above the other newsroom desks so they “can yell out across to the other teams.” Wherever you are, whatever you’re working on, if it’s TV news, this is the desk you are calling and the person who answers is the person you need to speak with to garner “day of” or sometimes next day news. Do not confuse this person with the receptionist.

As I kicked off the interview, completely flabbergasted by Bruce’s new title, I wondered how I would communicate that I needed the “assignment editor” now that the long-standing term used in newsrooms across America was no longer valid.

Bruce clarified a new term for me. “You need to know who your gatekeeper is.” Yes! That is exactly it! Bruce went on to possibly confuse us further by saying that the gatekeeper varies from newsroom to newsroom—mentioning that there are a group of gatekeepers at KGW depending on what the story is. Bruce tells us you could go straight to a reporter if your story aligns with a specific beat, to an Executive Producer, or to the web team. But I’ll just add, when all else fails or if you aren’t sure, go to someone like Bruce, whom I consider the ultimate gatekeeper.

Bruce Williams KGW Desk

The Sacred Morning Meeting

Even though no two days are the same in the world of news, envisioning Bruce’s daily schedule might help you wrap your head around how a newsroom operates. Arriving at work before 5:30 a.m., he checks in with the sunrise team to see what they are working on, searches twitter and Facebook, along with the mountain of new emails, and formulates a plan to get available crews out the door covering stories.

The infamous “morning meeting” happens at 9:30 a.m. This is when all the crews come in to discuss story ideas and a plan is formed. If you want day-of news you need to get your information over to them before this time and make sure they are discussing your news at the morning meeting. Of course you would email the information to them, but you can’t assume they received it. I find that a phone call works better than telepathy for checking in. Bruce assures us that he’s happy to take phone calls, saying that he’ll even give you a read on if he thinks something will get covered if you call at the right time—between 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. Do not call at 9:30 a.m. (during the morning meeting) nor at 2:30 p.m. because that is when he’s off for the day.

 

The Newsroom Email Address

Bruce reminds us that every newsroom has a generic newsroom email address. KGW’s is [email protected]. If you send your pitch here and it’s compact enough, incorporating a coverage date, it will likely be put in a file for future coverage.

 

The Best Time for a Press Event

Speaking of timing, next I asked Bruce my second favorite question. When is a good time of day for a press event? Sure enough, he answered 10 – 10:30 a.m. if you want to get on the noon news and possibly subsequent shows throughout the afternoon and evening. For general news he said that nighttime events don’t work well, unless the station has a live field reporter (but that wouldn’t be general news, now would it?), or it’s really unique or visual.

 

The Self-Directed Newsroom

Bruce also reminded us that if the event is visual, but stations can’t make it out, you can shoot your own video and/or take your own pictures and send those over for TV stations to air. He assured us that what you capture doesn’t need to be perfect. “Think about what you see on social media, it’s not perfect.” We can submit those through Dropbox or a YouSendIt file.

 

The type of stories Bruce is looking for

  • Things people are talking about.
  • What people are sharing on social media.
  • Local ties to a big national or international story.
  • Is there a visual aspect?
  • Incorporating real people the station can talk to.
  • A benefit to the audience.

 

Bruce’s PR pet peeves:

Luckily for us, Bruce is a pretty easy going guy but he was able to come up with a few PR pet peeves, when asked.

  • PR people that reach out to the press with story pitches, only to be unable to be reached soon after. If it’s time sensitive, make yourself available!
  • PR people who don’t want them to show up with a camera (after sending a pitch to a TV station!?!).

Even though social media and the internet have turned TV news operations into a 24-hour cycle, Bruce’s main function remains the same. In the same way, Bruce’s advice for PR people mirrors this concept. If building relationships and doing whatever it takes to help your contacts sounds like a lot of work, it is. Just as the internet hasn’t yet created a way to take the hustle out of PR, it certainly hasn’t augmented the role of the traditional Assignment Editor quite yet.

About the guest: Bruce Williams

Bruce Williams is the Senior Assignment Manager for the KGW Content Discovery Center at KGW Media Group. Bruce has been with KGW for nearly 10 years and has been in the media world for three decades. He is a(nother) graduate of the Washington State University broadcast journalism school and a huge Cougars sports fan. He’s also the gatekeeper, leading the decisions on where cameras and reporters go.

Connect and follow Bruce on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PR Talk is sponsored by monday

In such a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. monday is the collaboration tool trusted by businesses of all kinds to help cut down the clutter and streamline productivity. Learn more at monday.com and signup for a free trial. You’ll see in no time why so many teams around the world are choosing monday for their project management needs.

PR Talk listeners can use the coupon code BetterExecute for a 15% discount.

Featured image courtesy of Tim Mossholder

The 3 Keys to TV Success [Minicast]

The 3 Keys to TV Success [Minicast]

by | Sep 19, 2018 | Minicast, Podcast, Public Relations

3 Keys to TV Success

What do you do after you come back from a successful work campaign? You record a podcast to tell the world how you did your job, right? You do if you are the host of PR Talk Podcast and want to share your knowledge with the rest of the world…or at least the percentage that listens to your podcast.

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For this one, it is pretty straightforward. Here are the three keys to TV success:

  1. Visual – create a visual element and present that to the TV stations in your pitch.
  2. Charity – tie-in a charitable element or a charity into your campaign.
  3. Timing – hold your press event at an ideal time for TV media. That is typically 10:00 AM on a weekday.

Seems pretty simple. It is…and it isn’t. We have been doing this for a long time, but if you have these three elements in your pitch, you are on your way to a higher probability of success.

This approach just landed all four local TV stations sending a camera (two also sent a reporter along) to record Logical Position donating school supplies to the Blazers’ Boys & Girls Club. Here is one of the segments:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PR Talk is sponsored by monday

In such a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. monday is the collaboration tool trusted by businesses of all kinds to help cut down the clutter and streamline productivity. Learn more at monday.com and signup for a free trial. You’ll see in no time why so many teams around the world are choosing monday for their project management needs.

PR Talk listeners can use the coupon code BetterExecute for a 15% discount.

Julie Gustafson: Pearl Magazine [Podcast]

Julie Gustafson: Pearl Magazine [Podcast]

by | Sep 10, 2018 | Events, Podcast, Public Relations, Social Media

All Things Pearl: Julie Gustafson,
PDBA Executive Director

Julie offers a crash course on community relations after explaining the Pearl Business Awards and The Pearl magazine.

 

Julie Gustafson, Executive Director of the Pearl District Business Association (PDBA), stops by Veracity for a podcast interview right in time for the Pearl Business Awards’ nomination deadline, which is this Friday. The fourth annual Pearl Business Awards feature 15 categories that recognize individuals and businesses that are making a difference within Portland’s flourishing Pearl District. While the PDBA is a membership-based organization, you do not have to be a member to be recognized but you do have to be based in the Pearl. Any PR person can nominate any business or person for free.

Sidenote: If you are interested in examining the benefits (or hindrances) of putting an awards strategy together for your company or clients, please join me at Pregame this Wednesday in the Pearl (of course) at 11 a.m. I have two slots available to non-Pregame members. Email me at [email protected] to get on the list.

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The Pearl Magazine

Beyond the upcoming awards, Julie and I talk about other PR opportunities that the PDBA brings, including The Pearl magazine, which is produced quarterly by SagaCity Media. Julie has her finger on the pulse of the Pearl bringing story ideas to the SagaCity team. The team then infuses trends and newsworthy happenings into the ideas to bring an editorial slant to articles that mostly highlight PDBA members.

Always on the hunt for a good story, Julie keeps tabs on the community by constantly walking around the Pearl and connecting with community members. She’ll even prod her membership for story ideas — mentioning that she’d like members to connect with her if they’ll be hosting a charity drive for the holidays so that she can highlight it in the next issue. She encourages members to reach out to her with story ideas 3-6 months out to keep up with The Pearl’s quarterly production.

The Pearl gets around. Not only can it be found in almost every hotel in the city, it chills at the airport, the convention center, and more. It’s also mailed to Portland Monthly subscribers.

 

PR Opportunities Abound

Other PDBA PR opportunities include two monthly newsletters: one that’s delivered to members only and one that’s meant for the public (also produced by SagaCity). Since these are produced monthly we can breathe a little easier with shorter lead times.

Members and Pearl happenings are also highlighted online at explorethepearl.com in an engaging story-telling way. Business listings featuring each member’s profile — including that oh-so-important link back to the business’s website — are also included here. Businesses can even update their profile content as they see fit, for instance adding their upcoming First Thursday events.

 

Community Relations versus Public Relations

What’s the difference between Public Relations and Community Relations? Julie’s past experience as Community Relations Manager for the Portland Streetcar highly qualifies her to dig into this conundrum with me. As we do so, we learn a little bit about the Streetcar’s fascinating history in Portland and what a community relations manager’s role might be in getting the word out about things like service interruptions and new offerings. She even expands upon what it was like to knock on the doors of local businesses that would be affected by construction surrounding the expansion of the line.

About the guest: Julie Gustafson

Julie Gustafson is the Executive Director of the Pearl District Business Association which produces The Pearl Magazine.

Connect and follow Julie and the Pearl District Business Association on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PR Talk is sponsored by monday

In such a fast-paced, multi-faceted work environment, it can be tough to stay on top of everything. monday is the collaboration tool trusted by businesses of all kinds to help cut down the clutter and streamline productivity. Learn more at monday.com and signup for a free trial. You’ll see in no time why so many teams around the world are choosing monday for their project management needs.

PR Talk listeners can use the coupon code BetterExecute for a 15% discount.