Eric Schwartzman is a senior communications professional with broad experience in online communication, public relations, public affairs and marketing. He will address the Tarheel Chapter’s professional development seminar on September 10, 2010, at High Point University.

Schwartzman helps organizations develop and execute digital communication strategies and has extensive experience integrating emerging information technologies into organizational communication programs. He has consulted with organizations as diverse as Boeing, Brigham Young University, City National Bank, Environmental Defense Fund, Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Department of State, and many others. He also conducts regular new media and social media workshops for PRSA.

He pioneered the development of on-line newsrooms for a variety of entertainment venues including The Grammy Awards, MTV, Cirque du Soleil and the Salt Lake Olympics. He also founded iPressroom which currently hosts newsrooms for Target, Toyota and UCLA.

Complete details about Schwartzman can be found at http://www.schwartzmanpr.com/pr/schwartzman/bio-eric.aspx

The world is becoming a smaller place. We have known this for years, thanks to the internet. However, social media has brought this reality one step further. The US Air flight 1549, which crash-landed in the Hudson River, was first brought to us by Twitter. In other words, we heard about it first from a non-traditional news source.

So what does that mean for the future of traditional news sources? What about the viewers? What does that mean for future generations? Will they become dependent on social media as a news outlet? Will they only trust social media? What then happens if the news is misrepresented in this format?

To answer the last question – no matter what type of media news outlet, there has been and there will always be errors, misprints, typos or misrepresentations. So why pick on social media? Possibly because it’s new, it’s unknown or people are afraid of change. To anyone who follows social media outlets religiously – they are believers, to anyone who follows them occasionally they are skeptics and to those non-followers- they don’t know what to think.

Do you know which group you fall into? Come make up your own mind on September 10^th at the Professional Development Seminar “What now? Getting news out in a newspaper-less age?”

Got an opinion? We would love to hear from you – either post a comment, come to the event or contact anyone on the board committee: Elizabeth McKinney, APR; John Luecke, APR; Beth Bartlett, Samantha Hargrove or Tarah Jakubiak.

This year’s Professional Development Seminar topic has been determined… “What Now? Getting News Out in a Newspaper-less Age” will be the subject of focus for the day-long seminar, which will take place at High Point University. Mark your calendar today!

The seminar will examine how PR has changed over time and what that means for the future of this profession – specifically, how to get news items out if we can no longer depend on newspapers, the significant effects of politics on media, and the ever-changing media landscape.

The chapter’s planning committee issued a survey in April to gauge member interest and feedback on previous seminars to help plan for 2009. If you have additional thoughts since you filled out the survey, the chair is Elizabeth McKinney, APR, and the members are Tarah Jakubiak, John Luecke, APR, Samantha Hargrove, and Beth Bartlett. Feel free to contact any one of us with any input or questions you may have.

Be on the lookout for further posts with additional information regarding speakers!

-          Respond to journalists’ queries immediately.

-          Don’t offer journalists a source, photo or interview (anything!) you can’t deliver.

-          When it comes to press kits, an electronic version and a hard kit are your best bet. Never send journalists an electronic media kit (CD, flash drive, etc.) without letting them know exactly what’s on it.

-          Never include prior media coverage with your press kit. It is a sure-fire way to ruin any chance that a new reporter will write about your client.

-          Always get your press kits in on time. During the High Point Furniture Market, press kits that don’t make it on deadline are filed under a shelf marked “Late Arrivals” – definitely not the impression you want to make.

Is there anything you would add to this list?

So if you’re free tonight, come out and join us! There’s no age limit – we welcome all public relations and communications professionals that have been in the field for less than five years – or six ; )

For more information about our group, check out our Facebook page or e-mail us at youngpros@prsatarheel.org.

There were several announcements made by members about the chapter’s upcoming professional development seminar at Elon University and the first annual “Free to Breathe” 5K in November. A drawing was held for a Starbucks gift card and Bouvier Kelly’s Allison White took home the $25 prize (hey Allison, I like skinny French vanilla lattes!)

Overall, it’s safe to say that our kickoff event was a big success. Thank you to the PRSA Tar Heel Chapter for supporting our efforts to launch this group and to everyone who came out last night. We look forward to seeing you all again at our next event, Tuesday, Sept. 16!

For more information, check out our Facebook group or e-mail us at youngpros@prsatarheel.org

Crises happen everyday and all around us. Need evidence? Here is a smattering of the crises represented in today’s headlines. Of course, this list does not highlight those crises that are “kept quiet.”

- At least 45 killed as plane skids off runway in Madrid

- Russian Military Trucks Leave Georgia, But No Major Pullout

- Ohio Congresswoman Hospitalized

- French President Visits Kabul After 10 Troops Killed

- US Stocks Drop as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Plunge; UAL Falls

- Apple updates iPhone software to fix glitches

- Dave Matthews Band’s saxophone player dies

- Bombings in Algeria Kill 11

- Arsenic in Drinking Water Raises Diabetes Risk

- Tropical Storm Fay hugs Florida’s Atlantic coast

- Media frustration builds during Olympic Games

As the leader of the organizing group of our upcoming Professional Development Seminar on Crisis Communications, I’ve heard a number of comments from those inside and outside the chapter about relevance of crisis to their positions. Those comments have ranged from, “Do you think the topic applies to young professionals?” to “Oh, I’ve done crisis all my life. I know all I ever need to know.”

Let me address both of these comments. First, yes and emphatically yes, I do believe that crisis communications applies to young professionals. You never know when a crisis is going to affect your company or your clients and you need to be prepared. Learning something about crisis, especially that you need to have a plan in place, that you need top-level support for that plan, and that crises are completely unpredictable are the three most important lessons. To learn those lessons from senior practitioners and those who have managed some of the most difficult and renowned crises in the world—veritably, those who wrote the book on crisis management—is an opportunity that will likely not present itself again in your lifetime.

Secondly, do you? Let’s consider that statement in relation to some of the audiences affected by three of the headlines above:

1) Media frustration builds during Olympic Games

What would you do if you were:

a. the United States Olympic Committee?

b. the International Olympic Committee?

c. the media contact for the Beijing Olympics?

d. the United Nations?

e. the Associated Press?

f. an athlete representative whose story is censored?

2) Arsenic in Drinking Water Raises Diabetes Risk

What would you do if you were:

a. The company leaching the arsenic into the groundwater?

b. The diabetes association?

c. The local hospital?

d. The Environmental Protection Agency?

e. A patient diagnosed with diabetes after drinking contaminated water?

f. The city or state government?

g. The water authority for your local community?

3) Dave Matthews Band’s saxophone player dies

What would you do if you were:

a. The band’s publicist?

b. The band?

c. The Dave Matthews Band fan club president?

d. The record label?

e. The upcoming performance venues?

f. The hospitals where he was treated?

g. The ATV Safety Institute?

h. The Charlottesville, VA, government board in charge of regulations about ATV use?

From this evaluation, it becomes painfully obvious that just because your organization or your client did not generate the crisis, it does not mean that you will not be affected. It means that you should be aware of what could affect your clients or your company’s industry and that you need to have a plan in place for dealing with such unexpected occurrences.

This is a golden opportunity. Register for the September 12 Professional Development Seminar at Elon. Come learn from the masters. Return to your job and feel better prepared for your next impending crisis.

A major disaster is enveloping your company. People are dead.

Your adrenalin starts rising and your heart begins racing. What do you do?

You need to quickly implement your crisis communication plan. Would you be ready?

Veterans of a number of major disasters – poisoned Tylenol, the Three Mile Island nuclear power station, the spreading of deadly chemicals from a plant in Bhopal, India, the shootings at Columbine High School – will be speaking at the PRSA Tar Heel Chapter’s 2008 Professional Development Seminar: “Surviving the Flames: Crisis Communications from the Pros Who Invented It.”

The all-day seminar is at Elon University on September 12 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is now open for chapter members.

The speakers include:

Al Tortorella, Ogilvy PR, Tylenol Crisis
Steven Fink, Lexicon Communications, Three Mile Island Crisis
Mike Herman, Catevo Group, Union Carbide (Bhopal, India) Crisis
Nora Carr, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Columbine Crisis
Rick Amme, Amme & Associates

Register today and join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Please make plans to join us on Friday, September 12 at Elon. Only 120 spots are available. For a member price of just $99, you can’t beat this opportunity.

For more information, click here.