PR on the run

Well, here’s one of those really good stories. PRKent bested all of the competing colleges and universities in Ohio to win the Do It Now challenge. Not surprising given the enthusiasm and the talents of the Kent public relations students involved. (Hey, I’m not teaching anymore, but I can still be proud of their accomplishments. Can’t I?) And a tremendous amount of credit goes to Michele Ewing who managed the team as an independent study project — but who really has a great talent for getting students to succeed in the classroom and in these kind of real-world projects.

Since it’s the holiday weekend, I’m going to take the easy road here and just copy the news release distributed by the Kent State’s department of University Communications and Marketing.

Kent State Students Win Statewide Do It Now Organ Donation Promotion Competition (5/22/0

Kent State public relations students won the statewide “Do It Now” College Competition, which was aimed at increasing the number of organ and tissue donors in the Ohio Organ Donor Registry.

Funded by the Second Chance Trust Fund, Donate Life Ohio, its affiliated organ procurement organizations and tissue and eye recovery agencies, partnered with the colleges throughout the state to significantly increase the number of registered organ and tissue donors.

For the past eight months, teams from 13 Ohio colleges and universities involved in the “Do It Now” College Competition have rallied to increase the number of organ donors, all in hope of decreasing the wait list for organ donation. As part of the statewide initiative, each group had a specific target for the number of new registrants they were expected to sign up in their communities based on population and opportunity within their respective regions.

The Kent State team is projected to have added more than 12,500 new organ and tissue donors to the Ohio Donor Registry. The overall competition added approximately 125,000 individuals to the Ohio Organ Donor Registry. Kent State’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter will be awarded $5,000 for winning the competition.

The Kent State team implemented a recruitment plan comprised of a range of strategies including word-of-mouth communications, social media and donor registration event drives. The students also organized a flash mob, featuring more than 60 people freezing in place on campus for five minutes, to draw attention to the organ and tissue donation cause.

Other schools who participated in the “Do It Now” College Campaign include Bowling Green State University, Capital University, Ohio University, Miami University, Sinclair Community College, The Ohio State University, the University of Akron, the University of Dayton, University of Cincinnati, the University of Toledo, Xavier University and Youngstown State University.

Individuals wanting to register to be an organ or tissue donor can continue to do so online at http://www.donatelifeohio.org , by filling out a donor registration form, or by visiting their local Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Truthfully, not having the opportunity to be associated with such a talented group of young professionals is something I’ll miss come fall. But right now I better heat up the grill.

Heading into the holiday weekend, here’s a few random thoughts I had while running this morning. Linda Douglass, a retired news staffer with ABC and CBS, is joining Barack Obama’s campaign as a senior advisor and spokesperson. And I guess those of us looking for an honest, open discussion of issues should be encouraged.

Here’s from a story on TVNewser by Gail Shister about the appointment:

“Like  a broken Maytag washer, retired ABC correspondent Linda Douglass will skip the spin cycle.

“As new senior advisor for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, ‘”My intention is that I won’t spin,’” she says. ‘”I absolutely vow that I will tell the truth.’”

Well, here’s hoping. I guess there is a first time for everything. And wouldn’t it be, hmm, the right thing to do? We’ll see.

And then there is a story about character and principle to share from the campaign trail. Mark McKinnon, the senior advertising strategist for the McCain campaign, followed through on a vow he made previously to leave the campaign rather than working against the election of Barack Obama. That’s not a critique of either McCain or Obama on my part. It’s just that when someone in a senior position anywhere actually does what he says he is going to do it is cause for celebration. Maybe this presidential campaign will be about issues, discussed openly and candidly.

Then there is PR Strategist, the flagship of PRSA’s communication fleet. In March we held at Kent State a professional development conference around social media and Packaging the Presidency — Online. Exciting, innovative conference. The story in PR Strategist: ho-hum.

With all the new approaches to communicating out there, isn’t there a way for a professional organization to do something beyond the typical question-and-answer format?

Mr X: Blah, blah, blah.

Mr Y: Blah, blah, blah.

Oh, well. In a world of change, PRSA remains a constant.

I thought about this when I saw a presentation posted on SlideShare by Sacha Chua.

Sacha describes herself as a social intranet consultant and geek. And as best I can tell, her day job is with IBM. That in itself is encouraging.

Yet something tells me that Sacha and others like her won’t be spending much time with publications like PR Strategist in the years ahead. That, in my view, is a good thing.

And they are sure going to change the workplace and political campaigns. Good.

I wasn’t planning to write about this. But I couldn’t get it out of my mind as I was running this morning. Kent State and May 4, 1970. That’s 38 years and a lifetime ago — but I still think about Allison Krause and the others who were killed and injured that day.

I didn’t know Allison — or Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder. But I think about Allison because of the Pittsburgh connection, hers and mine. And I think what a shame. Allison and the others would have been — should have been — in their late 50s now. Maybe they would be ending careers. Maybe they would be parents — possibly grandparents. I can’t shake those thoughts having been at Kent State myself in 1970, although graduating in March and back home in Pittsburgh in May.

I know there is no point in rehashing what happened that day 38 years ago. If you have an opinion, like me, it has been anchored in concrete for years. For most others now — it’s history. Yet it is worth remembering. We’ll see what happens in American cities and on campuses throughout the nation when we don’t have enough volunteer troops to fight the 100-year war in Iraq.

And as the Olympic torch continues its trek to Beijing it’s interesting how much attention is paid to the Chinese government and its policies toward dissent. Yet there are still people in Ohio and elsewhere who have no problem with the fact that at Kent State 38 years ago the militia killed four unarmed students. So it goes.

I’m about to leave Kent State for the third time: 1970 with my bachelor’s degree, 1979 with my master’s and 2008 as a faculty member. That’s pretty much a lifetime. What a tragedy that Allison and the others didn’t have the same opportunity.

Update: I wasn’t going to include any video. But then I figured there may be some reading this who don’t have the context for what happened at Kent. Some of my friends might not like this. WTF

Well, I guess I’m racing toward my second retirement. Today I will teach my last class at Kent State. And while I still have final projects and papers to grade, my second career — as a teacher — is coming to an end.

It’s been a great experience. When I left BFGoodrich now nearly a decade ago, I figured my career was pretty much over. Yeah, I could find a job or start a business — but I wasn’t sure that I would ever have the opportunity to experience again something that I was really enthusiastic about.

It’s nice to be wrong. I know this sounds like bull — but I’ve enjoyed just about every minute of the last five years teaching at Kent State. I’ve had the opportunity to be associated with a great group of students — motivated to succeed, hard working and likable. I’ve been part of what by any measure is one of the top public relations programs in the country — thanks to the skills, experience and regard for students demonstrated by Bill Sledzik, Michele Ewing and Jeanette Drake. And I’ve had the chance to stay connected to the “real world” of public relations by working with a group of talented professionals in Kent State’s University Communications and Marketing organization.

I’m proud of what I have been able to do in the classroom and with Flash Communications, our student-run public relations firm. But two things top the (short) list.

Every student who worked with me at Flash Communications went on to a professional position in public relations or marketing communications immediately following graduation. That’s a credit to them — and to the overall strength of the public relations major at Kent State.

And many of my former students still keep in contact, via e-mail, phone calls and visits at Homecoming and other events. I now consider them friends — and professional associates. I never experienced that type of personal satisfaction during 30 years in corporate public relations.

So why retire?

Well, I know most don’t believe this but teaching is hard work. I’ve mentioned this previously. Many of my former business associates tell me that they would like to teach after they retire. Good luck. And God bless them. You don’t retire into full-time teaching. Trust me. And actually the amount of work and effort that I put into this doesn’t bother me. But I’ve reached the point where I want some more flexibility, particularly on the weekends. Most teachers spend at least some part of the weekends — and most nights — grading papers or preparing for classes.

Also, I have the opportunity to work for a nonpartisan public-policy organization in Washington that I really believe in, Corporate Voices for Working Families. It’s time for me to get off the sidelines and into the game — seeing if I can’t in some small way contribute by at least highlighting and advancing possible solutions offered by very expert and thoughtful people to some of the major problems facing this nation.

For instance, on average a teenager drops out of high school every 26 seconds in this country. That’s a crisis — and a national shame. And we better start taking this seriously. In fact, I believe that this and other related issues represent a much more serious threat to our nation and to our way of life than global warming, etc. But I digress.

Here’s a link to the blog I started for Corporate Voices. So I’ll be blogging there — and here. Like I said when I started this blog, I can’t let Bill Sledzik have all the fun.

So from the standpoint of teaching, I’ll adopt and paraphrase the view of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and say: “Old PR people never die. They just fade away.”

I’ll fade away from teaching — but don’t expect me to retire.

If Joan Benoit Samuelson can finish the Olympic marathon trials at age 50 in less than 2:50 — I still have a few more things that I want to accomplish. Maybe another marathon is one of them. We’ll see.

And just one more thought on this idea of retiring from teaching at Kent State. To those of you who I know from Kent who are reading this: thank you. You gave me the most rewarding experience of my career.

The weather here in Northeast Ohio really has been great these past few days. So I’m off the treadmill and back on the concrete for my morning runs. And without a garbage truck in sight this morning I had plenty of time to think about a few things. Here goes.

The New York Times printed an extensive article Sunday that raises some important questions. Namely, are the military pundits — those distinguished talking heads — that we see regularly on TV in bed with the Pentagon and defense contractors? Howard Kurtz looked at that situation in The Washington Post Monday. And Editor & Publisher opined yesterday as well. If true, guess who is getting screwed.

The New York Times article, “Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand,” is a long one. And you’ll need to read it to really understand the context for this next paragraph. But it will give you a sense for the story.

“Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used these analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.”

We spend a lot of time in my ethics class at Kent State talking about trust. If the allegations are true, then our trust in the administration and the news media takes another hit. It’s amazing that decision-makers can’t learn this lesson. Or maybe they don’t want to. And in this situation you would think that proper and timely disclosure would be all that is necessary. I’m sure I’m missing something.

But saying that — I wonder why it took The New York Times (or some other newspaper) five years to figure out that these retired military pooh-bahs might have conflicts of interest or be likely to receive special treatment by the Pentagon in return for special treatment on the airwaves? McCain’s right. This is going to be a 100-year war. Particularly if the few remaining strong media outlets — The Times, etc. — don’t have the resources or interest to question everything about this debacle in Iraq.

Then maybe The Times isn’t so strong financially anymore. An article in the New York Post yesterday focused on the rumors that The Times might be receptive to hooking up with Bloomberg LP. The article says:

“Bloomberg [New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg] aides are reportedly encouraging him to consider merging financial-information giant Bloomberg LP with the Times, which is under pressure from dissident shareholders to revive ad sales and unload assets to boost its sagging share price.”

So it goes.

Oh, boy. Just as I am getting ready to retire from teaching at Kent State here comes a whole host of job opportunities. And maybe I will be rewarded for all the lonely hours I’ve spent cranking out copy for this blog.

It seems that companies are starting to hire “chief bloggers.” “Does Your Company Need a Chief Blogger?” That’s the headline for an Advertising Age article, published April 14. Here’s the beginning:

To blog or not to blog?

It’s a question marketers are still grappling with years after the first waves of corporate blogging flooded the web. But for better or worse, it seems corporate blogging — and the title of chief blogger — is beginning to hit its stride. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Marriott and Kodak all have recently recruited chief bloggers, with or without the actual title, to tell their stories and engage consumers.

I’m most likely missing the big picture here. But I recall having a job like this –”tell their stories and engage consumers” — 35 years ago. It was called newsletter editor.

I’m OK with having someone at a senior level advising management about communication strategy and techniques — with blogging included in the mix. And in fairness the article does get into this; it’s worth reading if you are interested in all of this or if you are considering a blog for your organization.

Here’s my take on all this. I understand how blogging can become an important part of the marketing mix if done effectively and ethically. And I guess a chief blogger could type his/her fingers off addressing sales (oops, meant marketing) and related subjects. Bob Lutz appears to gain high marks for this at General Motors. Although it hasn’t helped the share price much — or the employees who are trying to figure out whether it is better to take a buyout or stick around with the prospect of being laid off. I digress.

But if the corporation wants to opine on subjects covered by timely disclosure regulations, then the chief blogger better be the CEO. And that’s why blogs are never going to be a primary communications tool for publicly traded corporations — if you accept the idea, as I do, that blogs are really only beneficial when they lead to an exchange of views and information. Or, dare I say it, two-way communication?

The Advertising Age article says that today just more than 11 percent of Fortune 500 companies have corporate blogs, according to SocialText, and only a handful have a designated chief blogger.

Wonder if GE has a blog and a designed chief blogger? If so, I would like to know what the company’s sales and earnings forecasts are for the next several quarters. That way, my retirement savings accounts won’t take such a big hit — like last week — when GE reported lower-than-expected earnings.

And if AT&T blogs — think I could get an answer to my question about how much they are willing to pay for qualified customer service personnel? No response as yet (or ever) from the media relations staff.

Also, Jonathan Schwartz, the CEO/President of Sun Microsystems, is always mentioned in these articles and in every book about blogging. Maybe he is the best example — or the only one. I don’t know. But as a long-suffering shareholder, is there any chance he could take an occasional break from blogging and do something to increase shareholder value?

Chief blogger. Nah. Probably better off as a newsletter editor.

Well, I spent the afternoon grading student papers for my ethics class at Kent State. But, hey. Things could be worse. I could have be watching golf on TV. Other than Tiger Woods I can’t name a handful of other pro golfers. Although Gary Player was at Augusta Thursday and Friday. Remember him?

And I expect many students were working this afternoon to come up with enough money to pay for at least some of the cost of their college education. I was reminded of that fact this morning. The Akron Beacon Journal had an article by David Giffels, “Banking on a degree,” that really shines the spotlight on a big problem: students are working more, taking on more debt and facing a job market where “wages have declined dramatically for most college graduates as they start their careers.”

Eric Fingerhut, the chancellor of the Board of Regents, provided details two weeks ago of a 10-year strategic plan for higher education in Ohio. I’ll admit I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it. Ten-year strategic plans seem like the things dreams are made of. But let’s hope there is something in there that helps students and their families manage the cost — without, as the Beacon Journal headline says, “taking on crushing debt for higher education.”

I also saw in Parade this morning that a psychic in Albuquerque, N.M., makes the same as a teacher in Fairhaven, Mass.: $38,000 a year. Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be…teachers.

But here’s an idea. While the state works on its strategic plan, let’s hire the psychic. Maybe she can see a more immediate solution to this problem.

I say this because I believe education is important. It’s important to the students as individuals. And it’s important to Ohio — where we have an older population and an economy that doesn’t help to attract or retain college graduates.

Something has to be done to allow students in Ohio to attend and graduate from college without taking on such a large amount of debt that it compromises their futures.

And something has to be done to get students in high school to the point where college is an alternative in any event. As many as 50 percent — particularly in urban areas — don’t even finish high school. That folks is a national crisis — and shame.

So while we continue to spend around $3 billion a week in the Iraq debacle, remember the college students who are working hard and still going into debt by about $20,000 on average when they finally graduate.

I’m not sure that all of us as classroom instructors always take into consideration how tough it is these days for students to balance classroom demands with the realities of the costs of higher educations.

And I’m not sure that college administrators realize this either. Otherwise they wouldn’t be taking outrageous trips to Europe — or giving highly paid adminstrators special tuition benefits.

Bring on the psychic.

This post isn’t a criticism of Kent State or its president, Dr. Lester Lefton. Rather, it is a salute to one of the student journalists at Kent State, Beth Rankin. Beth is a photojournalism major who writes a weekly column for the Daily Kent Stater.

Today Beth wrote a column — An open letter to Dr. Lefton — that among other things asked the university president why he reneged on an invitation he extended to meet with her earlier in the semester. Apparently, she wanted to ask him some questions as a student — not as a reporter or a columnist for Daily Kent Stater. And if I were a reporter I should be calling Dr. Lefton’s office and asking for a response before writing this. But since I am not — and haven’t had much success up to this point getting replies from organizations as a blogger — I’ll press on with the belief that Beth has presented the situation accurately. If not, I’ll be delighted to present the other side of the story.

But here’s the point of all this. I love journalism — and I have great respect for journalists. And it’s disappointing to me personally and professionally that the newspaper industry in particular has come on such hard times lately.

Yet I’m encouraged when I see the work of young journalists like Beth Rankin. She’s courageous and certainly appears to have a passion for reporting.

When I came to Kent in 1967 there were a lot of students like Beth Rankin. I hope for the future of our nation and democracy that there are many more.

Hope my mom and dad don’t read the story in the Akron Beacon Journal this morning about the “superstar” faculty members who are being hired at Kent State. I guess we can paraphrase Garrison Keillor: Kent State — where all the faculty are “superstars.” Uh, not quite. Here’s the story.

It seems that the university administration has hired and awarded tenure to a new professor in the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising: Vince Quevedo. That prompted an unfair labor practice charge from the faculty union at Kent. It’s a long story. Trust me. But here’s what’s interesting to me from the standpoint of communications.

The Beacon Journal story reports that Steve Michael, the university’s associate provost for diversity, said that Kent State makes extra money available to hire “rising stars” or “superstars” who can help to elevate programs nationally. I don’t know anything about Professor Quevedo. Maybe he merits the “superstar” title and the big money and instant tenure that goes with it.

But apparently the rest of the faculty in the fashion school are not quite as enthusiastic about Quevedo, and the article indicates that the fashion advisory committee passed on hiring him two times previously.  Carol Biliczky is an excellent reporter. I’ll proceed on the belief that all this is fair and accurate. And the point of this is not to look at the qualifications of Professor Quevedo for this position.

The point is I believe there is a lesson or two here from the standpoint of communications.

First, I give Michael credit for stepping up and commenting on the story. But there are a lot of different audiences involved here. And if Quevedo rates “superstar” status — what’s that say about the rest of us who apparently didn’t? Or don’t? And what’s it say to others who are applying for faculty positions at Kent? Words matter folks. And you really do need to know in advance of an interview what you want to say — and why.

And one more thing. I understand that it is important to attract the best faculty possible. And I imagine that involves offering some more than others. Here’s another paragraph from the Beacon Journal article:

He [Michael] said the extra funding helps to expand the diversity of candidates, which in addition to women and African-Americans, can include white men in nontraditional fields like nursing.

Fair enough.

Yet to paraphrase the great American philosopher Willie Nelson: Momma, don’t let your babies grow up to be … PR teachers like Rob Jewell — nonsuperstar.

Oh, mama. Can it get any worse than this? The buzz in the community where I live is that a Super Wal-Mart is coming. Super.

The Akron Beacon Journal mentioned this last week — although admitting it is still in the rumor stage. But it is likely. I live in a suburb of Akron, Copley. And Copley is adjacent to Montrose — which is basically these days a parking lot of cars inching toward either Akron or Medina. When we moved here 15 some years ago, this was a scenic rural community. So it goes. Long gone are the small businesses that add character to a community.

But the public relations point is this. Why does Wal-Mart have such a bad reputation? Very few of us really embrace change. Yet in my ethics class at Kent State, I ask students early in the semester what company they consider to be unethical. Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart. Not even a close second. And this “reputation” makes it very difficult for the locals to get enthusiastic about a Super Wal-Mart down the street, in what was previously a pristine environment. Better we would get a Super Starbucks. Just kidding.

So who knows what will happen. A Wal-Mart spokesman says the company has not bought any property as yet. But the Beacon Journal indicated that property could be acquired by third parties.

Alert the poets.