Tim Russert told the PR Society last week that the job
of journalists is to ask "tough questions" and
get "hard answers."
The lesson of history, he said, is that "If you're
president of the U.S., you cannot make tough decisions unless
you are willing to answer tough questions."
This applies equally to the chair of PRS and its board.
We hope the new board will take control and answer the "tough"
questions we've been putting to PRS for years.
Dodging "tough" questions only results in "disaster"
down the road, Russert told the PRS meeting.
This year's board candidates refused to answer any of our
questions, tough or easy. Chair Rhoda Weiss ducked not only
our questions but did not appear before any of the five
biggest chapters.
The Assembly passed, by a 93% vote, a resolution by 50
PRS leaders including eight past presidents that demands
"openness, complete transparency" in the "whole
continuum" involved in developing leaders.
Caseman served in
the dual role of parliamentarian and legal counsel.
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Few candidates show up because at least 95% of members
are ineligible (non-APR or didn't head a chapter, district,
section or national committee or vote in an Assembly).
Undemocratic policies and the resignation last year of
two directors (Gary McCormick of Scripps and Ron Owens of
Kaiser Permanente) discourage candidates.
In a similar message
to the board, the 2006 Assembly backed the Global
Alliance resolution calling for PR to "support the
promotion of democratic values based on free expression,
free will and free flow of information."
However, the 2007 Assembly was one of the most leader-dominated
in the history. It was a pep rally run by Weiss rather than
a serious legislative session. Leaders had the mike about
90% of the time.
PRS lawyer Beth Caseman of Venable, in the dual role of
legal counsel and parliamentarian, slapped down any delegate
who dared to tell the board to do anything. The resolution
of the "50" had been altered in 19 places by Venable
to remove words like "create," "empower"
and "lead," Caseman said New York law and the
Society's Articles of Incorporation "trump" PRS
bylaws and Robert's Rules.
Will PRS's planned
new bylaws be written to satisfy New York or Delaware
laws?
Coca-Cola's Ray Crockett
on the dais last week. |
New York puts a lot of power in the board and won't let
members of groups meet and pass laws electronically. Delaware
does. The PRS board is against the Assembly meeting all
year long or even more than once. It killed the Spring Assembly
in 1986.
PRS could drop its New York charter via the web for $60
and enroll "over the phone" in Delaware for $89
(paperwork to follow). Caseman said there's much more work
including a "new set of books," transfer of assets,
IRS recognition, payroll tax setup, etc.
Caseman did not know whether Central Michigan's bid last
year to make the Assembly the "ultimate policy-making
body" of PRS was legal in New York.
That wording is from the American Bar Assn.'s bylaws. If
it's O.K. for the ABA, it should be O.K. for PRS.
Coke's Ray Crockett
had no business sitting on the dais with the 17 directors.
He was not elected by the Assembly but appointed by chair
Rhoda Weiss.
There was also no "town hall" although one was
on the agenda. After taking up 2.5 hours of delegate time
on the new Strategic Plan, chair-elect Jeff Julin then monopolized
the last 35 minutes (till 5 p.m.) by reading hundreds of
ideas from nearly 50 slides.
Jeff Julin, left, chair
elect, who wears the hat of the Colorado Rockies, chatted
with treasurer Tony D'Angelo and 2008 chair-elect Mike
Cherenson. |
Reporters had been barred from the Assembly lunch for the
first time. PRS uses other "control" devices such
as loud, non-stop presentations and panels at luncheons
so that delegates at tables cannot converse.
Delegations were also seated alphabetically rather than
by district and were further split up at lunch where they
were given assigned seats and told what to talk about.
Also impeding member interaction is lack of a printed directory.
Several delegates told us the "party line" that
online is just as easy to use as print is "absurd."
At least 5,000 names are lost permanently each year due
to non-renewals. Many types of research are impossible.
Ditching the print
version saved about $130,000. Printing costs fell
to $153,734 in 2006 from $251,219 in 2005 when the last
One Source directory was published. Shipping/postage
fell to $94,691 from $125, 679 (combined savings: $128,473.
But the overall cost of publications only fell $56,660 to
$1,109,936 from $1,166,596.
PRS' One Source Directory,
which is no longer published in print. |
Publication salaries/fringes rose 16% to $809,929 in 2006
from $699,585. Total salaries soared 23% ($987,877) from
$4,296,671 in 2004 to $5,284,548 in 2006 (46% of revenues
of $11.4M). Salaries for a group the size of PRS should
be about 35% of income.
We were disappointed
that the Philadelphia Inquirer, bought for
$562M last year by former PR executive Brian Tierney and
his "rich friends" (said an article in the Columbia
Journalism Review), failed to provide any coverage of
the PRS conference even though Tierney was a featured speaker.
The only mention was a three-line item by Michael Klein
Oct. 21 saying Mia Farrow, Tim Russert and Donna Brazile
would address "3,000 flacks."
We sent Tierney materials for weeks with the angle that
PRS, rife with undemocratic and press-dodging policies,
was meeting on its 60th anniversary in the city where America's
democracy was created. Tierney brushed us off, saying he
was busy with other things.
Materials were also sent to Tony Gnoffo, business editor.
CJR said Tierney had reneged on his written promise not
to interfere in the editorial policies. Tierney hired Bill
Marimow of National Public Radio as the new editor and a
"noninterference committee" was disbanded. "I'm
not here to be a potted plant," Tierney told CJR. Marimow
was quoted as saying, "I want Brian to be a presence
in the newsroom."
We sent materials to the Philadelphia Bulletin and
it sent reporter Brad Vasoli to the Assembly. He wrote 400
words, saying the "already powerful" PRS board
had lost a bid to increase its power. He noted PRS had spent
$410,551 on travel in the first nine months on income of
$8 million. No other PR trade press except us covered the
Assembly. Julia Hood, editor of PR Week, was present and
we congratulated her on the impending birth of her son.
Articles in the Inquirer, New York Times, etc., would spur
PRS to reform but our conclusion is that they are "wired"
in one way or another.
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