PR firms blew the chance to seize control of the web for their clients but can stage a comeback in the digital revolution with the rise of video, according to panelists at today's Council of PR Firms "Critical Issues Forum" in New York.

B.L. Ochman, a consultant who develops blog strategies for Fortune 500 companies, rapped PR for losing web development responsibilities to advertising and marketing types during the past decade.

Gordon Crovitz, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, speaks at the Council event on Nov. 2.

She also knocked firms for not monitoring the Internet over the weekend. Ochman said a blogger can start a fire on Friday evening and nobody in the corporate world will know about it until Monday when a firestorm is raging throughout the blogosphere.

Google's Denise Chudy believes PR firms can recover in cyberspace by taking ownership of video, which is becoming more important with the increase in broadband connections.

She suggested that educational and user-generated video materials are ripe for PR firm ownership.

Ochman talked about the growth of 3-D and virtual programming on the 'Net during the next decade.

WSJ 3.0 is set to launch

Gordon Crovitz, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, provided an update on the launch of the 3.0 version of the paper that is slated for Jan. 2.

The WSJ will be smaller and "less gray" than the current paper. There will be more labeling and sectioning such as individual "What's News" sections for categories like media/marketing, technology and politics.

The 3.0 paper will be tightly integrated with the online Journal, referring to it for more information about stories.

Crovitz said the printed WSJ will provide context and perspective since he knows readership in the current "always on" media world already are aware of breaking news. It will also "attempt to handicap" news that is expected to break. He likened that to reporting a "second-day story on the first day."

Google's Denise Chudy said video could provide an opportunity for PR to reclaim some territory in cyberspace.

Crovitz said there is a staggering amount of "gloom and doom" about the prospects of old media, but he remains the "most optimistic publisher in America."

Paul Taylor, personal technology columnist of the Financial Times, said his paper sees growth opportunities online and in China for print. The FT also is planning more interpretive features because it is "not going to compete with Reuters in the instant news department."

Suzanne Vranica, marketing reporter for the WSJ, urged PR people to "make sure your brands are authentic and telling the truth."

Her best headlines are when "your brands screw up." She singled out Wal-Mart Stores/Edelman's phony blogging story as the most recent screw-up.

Ed Keller, CEO of Keller Fay Group, said though technology is important, PR firms must remember that 90 percent of world of mouth communications happens "offline" via face-to-face or phone conversations.

He stressed "high-touch" communications, and called the consumer the ultimate communications integrator.

More than 120 executives registered at the "Achieving Engagement in a Post-Mass Media World" session held at the Princeton Club.