September 29, 2006
The more I post here, the more I find myself drawn to this opening phrase: I really shouldn’t admit this, but… Blogging teases you into revealing yourself in the same way you might when having a drink (or several) with close friends. That’s probably why so many folks get in trouble doing it, huh? But that’s a story for another post.
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but until about a year ago, I didn’t believe a master’s degree in public relations ks_1.jpg
was all that useful. I was especially convinced that grads of an exceptional professional program like ours at Kent State (shameless plug) didn’t need to prolong their schooling. “Git out there and do it,” I’d tell them. And our 92.5% job placement rate (2000-2005) reinforced my cocksure attitude (as if I needed reinforcement).
Even after researching and writing the proposal to establish a public relations master’s here, I remained lukewarm on its value. Oh, it’s great for students whose undergrad degrees came from the traditional liberal arts disciplines, but what more could we offer undergrad PR majors or working professionals? Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments » | PR Education, Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 28, 2006
While riding the bicycle Monday I accidentally ran over a garter snake who’d picked the wrong time and place to sun himself on the pavement. Rolled back to check on him and damned if the little devil didn’t strike at my tire a couple of times. I can’t blame him for being roadkill_pictures_17.jpg
pissed, as I probably crushed a few of his ribs, not to mention his reptilian pride.
In case you hadn’t noticed, snakes seldom end up as road kill. They’re wily and resilient creatures. Contrast that with possums. They step into harm’s way all the time, freeze when the headlights hit them, then squish!
As I rode on, I thought about how public relations people are a lot more like possums than snakes. If we’re really doing our jobs, we don’t have much choice but to step into the road. There’s no avoiding it. Question is, “Do we survive the encounter or do we become road kill?” Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 27, 2006
It usually hits me at about 4 a.m. Like clockwork, mother nature reminds the 52-year-old body that the bladder is smaller or the prostate larger. Not sure I want to know which, but the result is the same.
I rise to walk the 22 steps to “my” bathroom at the far end of sledzick026.jpg
the house. Yeah, we have a master bath right off the bedroom, but I promised my wife if she bought me this house on the lake, I’d never set foot in that space. She has a clean bathroom, and I go kayaking anytime I want. Still seems like a helluva deal to me.
Anyhow, when you walk that far in the wee hours (pun intended), your circulation gets to pumping and your mind wakes up a good bit. When I return to the sack — and this has happened every night since I started this blog — I begin thinking of new ideas for blog posts. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Blogs | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 27, 2006
OK, I probably shouldn’t be giggling over the story of a man whose life was threatened when he ref elmo.jpg
used to give up his new Tickle Me Elmo dolls. It happened in a Target store in Tampa, and no one there was laughing. But how can you NOT manage a smirk over some lunatic who risks a felony charge (he claimed he had a gun and would shoot the other customer if he didn’t give up the dolls) for some goofy $40 toy?
I led a discussion about the story in my Media Relations class yesterday at Kent State, and together the students and I explored three different lessons. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Marketing, Media, Media ethics, Media relations, PR Education, Public Relations, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 26, 2006
Every time we interview a candidate for a spot on the Kent State faculty, I ask this question: ksu.jpg
Who’s your hero in public relations? When I was asked in 1991, I told the search committee I was a Jacksonian – Pat, not Andrew. They nodded, happy to know we worshiped the same PR prophet.
That was 16 years ago, when few of PR’s “lecturing practitioners” approached Pat’s brilliance. Certainly none matched his stature. But things have changed. Pat died in 2001. And around that same time, the PR world began tinkering in the blogosphere.
Some new “heroes” emerged, as I learned in our last faculty search, in 2005. I asked the hero question then, and I got some very different answers. Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments » | Blogs, Media, PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 25, 2006
Plenty of folks, my students included, think Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg dropped the ball facebook1.jpg
earlier this month — not once, but twice. One mistake involved public relations, the other marketing. So your old professor is using this story as a “teachable moment,” even if none of my students is reading!
Facebook’s first mistake was in public relations. On Sept. 5, the company radically altered the format of its member pages, shifting emphasis from the individual profile and large photo to a section of message feeds that update members on the activities of folks in their networks. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Marketing, Media, PR Education, Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 23, 2006
I pro prsa.gif
bably shouldn’t admit this, but I haven’t attended a PRSA national conference in 5 years. Given the info available online, I’ve found more efficient ways to keep up on the business.
My last PRSA conference was in Atlanta in those dark days after 9/11. If the terrorist attacks weren’t enough to photo_pat.jpg
cast a pall over the meeting, something else was missing. The 2001 conference was the first one in recent memory to not feature the wisdom of Pat Jackson. Pat died March 22, 2001. So the conferences — at least for me — can never be the same. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Comments | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 21, 2006
If you haven’t read Shel Israel’s interview with Shel Holtz, you should. You’ll find a lot of wisdom in those 11 questions, along with a sense of humor.
As most of you know, Holtz is an author, consultant and one of the mavens who helped bring public shelbook.jpg
relations into the wired world. His latest book, Blogging for Business, is one of two that are required reading in our new course, Public Relations Online Tactics, at Kent State. The other, not surprisingly, is Scoble & Israel’s Naked Conversations.
What most got my attention in that interview were two profound statements by Holtz — both of which I agree with in spades.
The first: “I also don’t believe that anything changes everything, (emphasis is mine) and as you probably know, I don’t believe new media kill old media.” Later on he adds, “Social media is the next step on a continuum.”
Read the rest of this entry »
No Comments » | Marketing, Media, Media relations, PR Education, Public Relations, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 20, 2006
Last night on the campus of Bloomsburg University, a young philosophy prof named Kurt Smith debated bloomu.gif
conservative activist David Horowitz on the topic of academic freedom. I’ve been scanning for reports on the showdown. Nothing yet. But Horowitz performs dozens of these showdowns, so it’s hardly front-page news.
What’s this got to do with public relations? Plenty.
You see, Horowitz and his supporters are on a campaign that would, in effect, regulate much of what’s taught in America’s classrooms. His project, dubbed the Academic Bill of Rights, grows out of two illogical assumptions: 1) that professors and students have equal footing in the classroom, and 2) that any knowledge or “truth” presented in that classroom is open to challenge and debate by students and the public.
Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Media, Media relations, PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
September 19, 2006
Earlier this month, Richard Edelman wrote about PR’s ongoing perception problem, or should I call it our “image”?
Here’s another take.
steelerlogo.jpg
While watching my Steelers take it on the chin last night, I visited a handful of the career-oriented websites. You know, the ones high school or college students might visit to explore their futures.
Overall, the definitions of PR on these sites are heavily slanted toward spin, publicity and promotion. You’ll find little if any focus on ethics, social responsibility or two-way communication. This isn’t to say all the career sites are totally off base, just some of them, and they are way off!
Here are some excerpts, combined with my comments (in italics). Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Media, Media relations, PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
