10.31.07
more on Chron layoffs
The Houston Press blog has more on this week’s Houston Chronicle layoffs. They posted a copy of the official memo from Jeff Cohen on the reorganization and direction of the media outlet. Worth a read.
Wired editor publicly shames PR spammers
In case you missed it, Chris Anderson (editor of Wired) published the email addresses of everyone who sent him an unsolicited email in the last 30 days. It’s his backlash against PR spammers.
Lots of people are commenting on this. I’ll let you read others opinions on the post itself.
What do you think?
10.29.07
Houston Chronicle layoffs and buyouts
The Houston Press gives us a first look at who was given the boot at the Houston Chronicle today:
Among the familiar names taking the buyouts are Louis B. Parks of the features section and Salatheia Bryant and Melanie Markley of the news side.Among those leaving in a less voluntary manner are Steve McVicker, the former Houston Press reporter who’s been bird-dogging the HPD crime-lab scandal, and Thomas Korosec, the former Dallas Observer reporter who has been the Chron’s Dallas bureau.
10.24.07
my job is to make sure that the journalists’s bias doesn’t hurt my client
Thank you, Ben Silverman, for putting into words what no one else is saying: the fact the PR pros have turned into the information equivalent of bodyguards is because journalists treat everyone like targets.
I know that if I flub an answer then correct it, there’s always the possibility that the flub is what’s going to make the news… as fact. I know that the majority of journalists who interview me or my clients come at us like we’ve done something wrong, even if it’s something they know isn’t true. I know that with staff reductions and increased competition, journalists are under more pressure to create stories that produce ratings or sales or whatever.
Considering this, why would I let my clients go to an interview without rehearsing it first?
What did Ben write?
While Fuchs’ main goal was to slam journalists for not doing their jobs, he also unfairly attacks public relations people, many of whom know how difficult it is to control “a backdating CEO” and “a point guard with a suspect jumper.” What Fuchs does not address is the fact that the subjects of journalists’ questions are often expected to say something brilliant or newsworthy on cue and without notice while talking about sometimes complicated and delicate matters.More so, journalists have an inherent bias towards asking such subjects questions that are either negative in tone, or are leading. The main problem I have with the state of journalism is the inflexibility of journalists (spurred on by their editors). Journalists, more than PR people, have created a system that forces PR people and news subjects to reply with canned responses. The soundbite was created by the media, not by PR people.
10.23.07
Houston Chronicle to reduce work force
Chronicle to trim its work force2
The Houston Chronicle is cutting about 5 percent of its work force through layoffs and the elimination of open positions as it restructures the operations of the newspaper, Publisher and President Jack Sweeney said Monday.Approximately 70 employees will be affected by the changes.
“Even with our core newspaper and extensive lineup of print and online products, our ad revenues have trended down over the last five years,” Sweeney said. “Projections for 2008 also show a downturn.”
The Chronicle is the seventh-largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the U.S. and the eighth-largest on Sunday. Its Web site, chron.com, averages nearly 70 million page views and 6 million unique visitors each month.
Revenue for most U.S. newspapers has been in decline, hurt by the Internet and by declines in advertising. The San Antonio Express-News, also owned by the Hearst Corp., announced last week that it would eliminate 40 to 50 positions across the company in order to focus on online and niche products.
Sweeney said the Chronicle needs a different structure to meet current needs.
“We need to operate differently, and at less cost, in order to devote more resources to new technology and product development,” Sweeney said.
Footnotes
2 = reported in the Houston Chronicle; article may expire after a few weeks
10.15.07
are PR pros innovators?
Are professional public relations practitioners innovators? We aren’t, says Brian Solis:
PR is experiencing some of the greatest innovations and advancements in quite some time due in large part to all things Social Media. But instead of embracing a new and improved commitment for creating and sharing news with people, we’re using the same old marketing ethics and tactics to spam our recipients.
I understand what he’s saying, that as a group PR pros have not embraced change, but it’s an overgeneralization. I agree that many of my colleagues are not keeping up with the changes in technology and in the way customers want and need to interact with us, our organizations and our clients.
And the problem goes further than technology. Or maybe you can lay the problem at the feet of technology. I don’t see many of my colleagues building relationships with journalists, writers, media representatives (and this would include bloggers). They just send out a press release to a generic list and hope someone picks it up. They can’t tell you who works where, which reporter covers their topic, and what the current coverage trends are in their industries.
Sad.
Many of my colleagues have become lazy, disconnected, inneffective. And in today’s one-to-one marketing/communications world, that’s unacceptable (not that it was ever acceptable).
Are we innovators? We can be, but we need to do a better job of showing that.
10.14.07
Amanda Chapel leaves Strumpette
Where was I that I missed this? Amanda Chapel has resigned:
I’m writing to tell you that effective immediately, I am resigning from my position as Managing Editor of Strumpette.
Wow. She’s been a very controversial figure in PR blogging. Wonder what she’s going to do next?