PR pros, in their enthusiasm for Internet-based media,
should not forget the "tremendous" audiences that
traditional media reach, a panel sponsored by Cision was
told at the PR Society conference in Philadelphia.
Ray Kotcher,
CEO of Ketchum
|
Panelist Ray Kotcher, CEO of Ketchum, said that 25-30 million
Americans still watch TV news shows each night and three
million copies of USA Today and 1.8 million of the
Wall Street Journal are circulated daily.
"Both ways of reaching audiences are needed,"
said Kotcher. Fellow panelist Marcia Silverman, CEO of Ogilvy
PR Worldwide, said: "Ray is absolutely right."
Rhoda Weiss, chair of PRS, announced that 3,400 had registered
for the conference, which approaches the record of 4,000
set by the 2004 conference in New York. Each total includes
about 1,000 students as well as partial registrants and
personnel of exhibitors.
Fred Cook, CEO of Golin Harris, said that PR people must
still find ways to reach those under 20 years of age.
They're not reading USA Today or the Wall Street Journal
and they don't get their news online, either, he said.
"As someone has said, newspapers are not dying, their
readers are," said Cook. The big TV audiences, he said,
are being drawn by shows like "American Idol,"
he added.
Media
Turnover Is High
K.C. Brown,
VP of Cision
|
K.C. Brown, VP of Cision US, Chicago, who was moderator
of the panel, said PR people have to be nimble to keep up
with all the changes in media personnel.
Cision makes 21,000 updates daily in its media database
because of turnover, he said.
Patrice Tanaka, co-chair and chief creative officer of
CRT/Tanaka, said the proliferating new media make it possible
for PR people to better target their audiences and messages.
Kotcher acknowledged the power of the Internet, saying
62% of Internet users go to search engines when they're
looking for content.
The panelists agreed that the "green movement"
is "big and will get bigger." Another dominant
issue, they said, is healthcare.
Asked by Brown what talents a fledgling PR person should
have, the panelists said that writing skills are at the
top of the list. Kotcher described a resume of a job candidate
that listed several advanced degrees and said this impressed
him.
Curiosity and inquisitiveness are the marks of a good PR
person, said Kotcher. One of his favorite activities is
walking up and down the aisles of a supermarket to check
on what offers are being made for the products.
PR pros must have a broad general education, said Kotcher,
adding: "We should think of ourselves as citizens of
the world. Everything we do touches everyone else on the
planet."
Russert
Wants Questions Answered
Tim Russert
|
Tim Russert, the Monday a.m. speaker, said the presidential
candidates are hiding too much behind their websites, brochures
and 30-second commercials. He wants them to "answer
the tough questions of the press
if you're President
of the U.S., you cannot make tough decisions unless you
are willing to answer tough questions."
Russert said this was one of his main conclusions from
studying history.
He feels the presidential candidates have yet to offer
enough specifics on such topics as the war in Iraq, social
security and healthcare.
Hughes
Pushes Public Diplomacy
Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public
Affairs of the U.S., said all Americans can play a role
in public diplomacy, which seeks to improve the image of
the U.S. abroad.
Karen Hughes
|
People from other countries who come to the U.S. as students
and guests depart with a different view of our country,
she said.
That view, she added, is shaped by what they see in TV
news shows and in U.S. movies that are exported.
Even after 9/11, she noted, the most popular TV show abroad
was "Bay Watch."
Hughes said that while the printed word remains important,
images on TV can be decisive. "One picture is worth
a thousand words," she said.
She described a new data-gathering system of her department
that keeps tabs on what's being said about the U.S. in all
countries.
She is especially proud of America's exchange student program
which is bringing 40,000 to 50,000 students to the U.S.
from abroad each year.
She encouraged those in the audience to travel abroad and
talk about America with those whom they meet.
PR, she said, is "counsel to management," and
it's at its best when it helps with the planning.
"We need to be in on the take off and not just the
crash landing," she said. "If we're there at the
start, there will be fewer crash landings," she added.
Hughes has visited more than 40 countries and said most
people are interested in the same things as Americans-a
home, good education, healthcare and a better life for their
children.
Farrow
Speaks on Darfur
Mia Farrow
|
Actress Mia Farrow, keynote speaker at the Sunday opening
session, concentrated on Darfur, saying that what is happening
is "genocide."
More than 400,000 have been killed in the past four years
not only in Darfur but Chad and the Central African Republic,
she said.
She has made seven trips to Africa and showed dozens of
her photos, including one of a girl who had been raped by
30 soldiers who then burned her face with cigarettes.
Farrow urged the audience to get involved in the Darfur
situation, including making donations to Doctors Without
Borders or joining the Genocide Intervention Network.
"Will we be among the few who care," she asked,
"and beyond caring, what action will be take?"
|