Lubetkin on Communications

New location for this blog

2010-08-09T10:35:00.002-05:00

We're moving all our blog feeds into a consolidated publishing platform that will allow you to see the breadth and depth of our content in a new and more accessible way.

Please visit http://www.lubetkin.net/ or http://www.professionalpodcasts.com/ for more information.

This blog can now be accessed at http://www.lubetkin.net/category/lubetkin-on-communications-blog-and-podcast/. The feed remains the same at FeedBurner.

LOC Podcast #44: A Conversation with Robert Frye, International Protocol Expert

2010-06-07T18:50:00.001-05:00

In this episode of the podcast, we present an in-studio conversation with Robert W. Frye, CPP, former director of international client relations and chief of protocol with AT&T and Lucent Technologies.

Bob’s 25+ year career includes planning and directing more than 4,000 senior level marketing and government visits to the United States involving CEOs, boards of directors, ambassadors, ministers, current and former heads of state, and royalty. In 2003, he served as head of the office of protocol for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq following Operation Iraqi Freedom. In that role, he coordinated fact-finding visits to Iraq by members of the US Congress and Senate.

In 1995 Bob was selected to conduct protocol and cross cultural training for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, The State of Georgia, and the Atlanta City Council in connection with the 1996 Olympic Games.

Bob currently conducts International Protocol and Cross Cultural workshops for Saint Joseph’s University Executive MBA Program, The American University Business Council for International Understanding, Washington, DC, and the United States Air Force Air University, Maxwell AFB. He also delivers numerous protocol lectures and speeches to corporations and associations including the Los Angeles and Philadelphia World Affairs Councils, The Southern Center for International Studies, as well as multiple engagements for Delta Airlines and Motorola.

Bob, a Certified Protocol Professional and Certified Meeting Professional, has been featured in articles in the New York Times Sunday business magazine, The American Express Travel and Leisure Magazine, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a member of the board of directors of the Philadelphia International Visitors Council and the New York Council of Protocol Executives.

Listen to the podcast here:

Download the podcast program here (Stereo MP3 file, 29.5 mb, duration 00:33:45)

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Apple iPod owners, subscribe to the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

Keywords: lubetkin, cherry hill, protocol, international relations, diplomacy, robert frye

Produced in the studios of Professional Podcasts LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ.

This blog has moved

2010-06-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

This blog is now located at http://blog.lubetkin.net/
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PRSA Tactics Video: Tips on Creating Good Web Videos

2010-06-03T11:10:00.001-05:00

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Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC, offers tips for improving the quality of your web videos for social media campaigns and other online uses. This video supplements Steve's article on the topic in the latest issue of Public Relations Tactics, the monthly newsletter of the Public Relations Society of America.

LOC Podcast #43: PRSA/Philadelphia Panel Discussion “Meet the Media,” recorded 3/11/2010

2010-03-15T15:08:00.000-05:00

In this episode of the podcast, we present a panel discussion, “Back to the (New) Basics: A Media Panel,” recorded live at the PRSA/Philadelphia luncheon at the Union League Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 11.

The panelists were (from left): Berlinda Garnett, Planner, Fox29's Good Day; Harold Brubaker, business writer, Philadelphia Inquirer; Michelle Durham, Anchor/Reporter, KYW Newsradio 1060; and Bernie Dagenais, Editor, Philadelphia Business Journal.

More photos from the event are here.

Listen to the podcast here:

Download the podcast program here (Stereo MP3 file, 59.7 mb, duration 01:02:06)

Subscribe to the RSS feed for the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series.

Apple iPod owners, subscribe to the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

Keywords: lubetkin, cherry hill, prsa, philadelphia, media, panel, luncheon, union league

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Produced in the studios of Professional Podcasts LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ.

LOC Podcast #42: Ethical Public Relations Practice, a conversation with Ann Subervi of Utopia Communications, 2/17/2010

2010-02-17T12:09:00.001-05:00

Some critics of public relations practice suggest that it’s an oxymoron to mention ethical behavior and public relations in the same sentence. Our guest on this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications Podcast disagrees with that criticism – vehemently and successfully.

We present a conversation with Ann Subervi, president and CEO of Utopia Communications, a public relations agency dedicated to the proposition that public relations can be practiced “ethically, transparently and with the highest of principles.” Ann is the 2010 chair of the PRSA Counselors’ Academy, and a leading advocate of principled, socially responsible public relations practice. She blogs about ethical issues in public relations at The Ethical Optimist Blog.

Listen to the podcast here:

Download the podcast program here (Stereo MP3 file, 35.0 mb, duration 00:31:45)

Subscribe to the RSS feed for the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series.

Apple iPod owners, subscribe to the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

Keywords: lubetkin, cherry hill, ethics, subervi, utopia communications

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Produced in the studios of Professional Podcasts LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ.

Open Inversions: Getting paid – and doing online things right

2010-01-12T08:29:00.001-05:00

I’ve been getting very irritated lately by what people are passing off as “edgy” or “raw” social media content.

When my Dad was alive and playing the vibes, he played with four mallets (see photo), and sometimes hit what you could politely call “a clinker.” He liked to call them “open inversions.” That’s a euphemism for hitting the wrong notes.

You hear a similar euphemism when someone doesn’t know how to manage their content properly, doesn’t want to admit they don’t know it, and doesn’t want to pay someone with the appropriate skill-set to do it correctly for them. They tell you that it is the style of social media to be raw and unedited.

That means we have to suffer through unedited, shaky, badly focused, badly lit handheld videos and indecipherable audio because of this social media “open inversion.”

Sorry, I just don’t buy it.

And neither should companies with social media stars in their eyes, simply because their PR department just met someone who owns a cheap pocket video camera.

I decided to rant about this in some detail because the excerpt of Jaron Lanier’s new book (subscription may be required), You are not a gadget, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal, hit a chord with me.

To anyone who’s been online for more than 10 years, you may recall that Lanier was one of the leading rock stars of the virtual reality developers in the early 1990s. He was often pictured in news stories with his wild dreadlocks, wearing a VR glove on one hand, a la Michael Jackson. VR was going to be used in all sorts of applications including visualizing opportunities in foreign currency markets.

What Lanier now thinks and writes, well, it just hit me between the eyes.

…I was also part of a circle of friends who tried to imagine how computers would fit into the peoples' lives, including how people might make a living in the future. Our dream came true, in part. It turns out that millions of people are ready to contribute instead of sitting passively on the couch watching television. On the other hand, we made a huge mistake in making those contributions unpaid, and often anonymous, because those bad decisions robbed people of dignity. I am appalled that our old fantasies have become so entrenched that it's hard to get anyone to remember that there are alternatives to a framework that isn't working.

Here's one problem with digital collectivism: We shouldn't want the whole world to take on the quality of having been designed by a committee. When you have everyone collaborate on everything, you generate a dull, average outcome in all things. You don't get innovation.

It’s mostly in the emerging online video area where this trend to collectivism and dull outcomes bugs me.

A lot of people have bought Flip cameras and know how to push the big red button. Most of them know very little about what should come next, and so they upload raw, unedited footage on the web, to the applause of their even-more-clueless friends who don’t know how easy pushing the buttons is.

A few weeks ago I got a blast email from a very prominent social media monitoring firm announcing that they had posted on their beautifully designed website some videos they shot at the PRSA International Conference in San Diego.

On this beautiful website, there were two videos, one of a panel program and the other of interviews recorded at their exhibit booth.

The panel program began with nearly four minutes of people sitting, saying nothing, and shuffling papers. At about 2:30 of the video, someone walked to the podium, dropped his papers, and sat down.

Alongside the interview video, there was a notation that the interviews begin after 9:48.

Let me make that clearer.

This company thinks it’s your responsibility to bypass nearly ten minutes of video showing nothing but two empty chairs before you see the interviews.

In an era when every Mac comes with iMovie, and Windows editing software for video can be had for $100 or less, this is appalling laziness. No titles, no voice over telling you what you’re going to watch, ten minutes of empty chairs.

I didn’t immediately blog-to-embarrass the company. I wrote to the company president and suggested they could do better.

He bucked it to his marketing person, who immediately got defensive and said they were filming in what she called a “feet-on-the-street” style, and they were working with an outside multimedia company to produce it this way. She accused me of suggesting they produce a television commercial.

What we did must be the right thing, she suggested, because we are getting lots of visitors to the page. (She didn’t tell me how many visitors actually had the patience to watch the videos.)

Here’s an excerpt of my response to her.

I'm absolutely not advocating that you should make your videos look like heavily produced commercials or network content. But I do think it is appropriate to take some professional pride in how the finished product represents your brand, and frankly, these videos don't represent your brand well at all.

First of all, I strongly disagree with your perception that a "feet on the street" video should have no postproduction editing at all.

Think about your audience. They want your content because you have some unique content that no one else is providing. So sure, of course you have a lot of people visiting the page. That doesn't mean your videos give them a good end-user experience. That doesn't mean they went away with a good impression.

Why do you think it's appropriate to make your audience work so hard to digest your content? Some social media guru pontificated to you that social media videos need to be "raw and spontaneous."

Even if you don't want to pay a professional to clean it up properly, fix the color balance, contrast, focus, etc., it's very simple to throw this video into a cheap nonlinear editing package costing less than $200 and edit out the beginning of the panel where no one is talking for nearly four minutes.

Why do you think it's OK to force your viewers to fast-forward through the dead space? Why not just cut it out?

You can put a simple title up that tells people what they are going to see, who is in it, and when it was recorded. Make it easy for the audience to engage.

You could even put a voice over on it to say "Welcome to our video of the PRSA panel, blah blah blah" and at least they would not have to work so hard for the content.

Same thing on the second video.

Why in the world do you think it is acceptable to throw completely raw video on your site and tell people, oh, just fast forward through ten minutes of empty chairs (it's "feet on the street style" -- no one will care that we didn't even edit it.) This is the difference between professionalism and not knowing how to manage the medium properly.

You are lucky that the content is useful to people and they are willing to put up with all the dead stuff to get to the good stuff.

It's just very surprising to me that a company like [name redacted] would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your products, your marketing materials, your website, your logo, your branding, and then have such a casual attitude when someone questions the quality of your videos.

Whether you believe it or not, these give people an impression about your brand, and the raw, unedited nature of them makes them look slipshod.

Take a look at the PR videos that Ragan Communications produces. They have a beginning title and an end title. They do not look like commercials, but they are polished.

I can only imagine that the multimedia firm you're working with is doing very well from your business, since you apparently don't ask them to do much except point the camera (from strange angles) and press record.

I got irritated again by a similar series of unedited videos posted this week by a major nonprofit journalism seminar organization, one that’s supposed to be helping business journalists become better business journalists.

In an era when starving journalists can’t afford NOT to learn how to shoot, edit, and post-produce video, this respected journalism organization posted videos from its seminar shot by automated cameras in the classrooms set to start recording at a specific time whether anyone was speaking or not.

The resulting series of videos is accompanied by web notes saying things like “this lecture starts after 22 minutes and 48 seconds.”

So when I saw Jaron’s excerpt in the Journal, I posted a short rant on Facebook in support of his philosophy. I suggested that too many people wanted too many other people to work for too little money, or for free.

One of my friends commented that “it depends.”

I partly agree.

I'm all in favor of giving advice, help, pointing to resources. That's an important part of the ethos of cyberspace since the days of shareware distributed on BBSes.

But too many people expect too many other people to produce work for little or no compensation, for the glory, to be known as a social media “rock star.” That doesn’t pay the bills.

There are tons of freelance writing "websites" where you have to write three posts a week , but they don't pay you anything unless you get 1,000 page views.

There are podcast advertising "buys" that require three or four hours of production work in each episode for about $20 per quarter in total revenue. You’d be better off flipping burgers at McDonald’s.

Everyone has a cell phone camera, and no one wants to pay a professional photographer a living wage. Look at the unrealistic ads on Craig’s List asking for someone to shoot a wedding for eight hours in return for $50 and food.

The worst part is that if you don't want to do it for free or low pay, they do it themselves – badly -- and then call themselves "experts."

Just like the multimillion-dollar social media monitoring company and the journalism seminar that can't be bothered to edit the videos they post.

Globalization casts a long eye on US news media’s world language skills – or lack thereof

2009-12-17T07:42:00.001-05:00

There’s an old joke that goes like this:

Q: What do you call someone who speaks three languages?

A: Tri-lingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

A: Bilingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks one language?

A. American.

In their unceasing efforts to prove they are cosmopolitan and global, the US news media have once again demonstrated their ignorance of foreign languages and pronunciations.

In all the stories about Tiger Woods’ troubles, the media continue to mispronounce Tiger’s wife’s first name.

This is almost certainly an effort to show how worldly they are when they encounter a name that doesn’t follow the ridiculous spelling conventions we’ve grown up with in American (and British) English.

Thanks to Hjörtur Smárason for confirming my suspicions about how silly the American broadcasters all sound.

Let’s take a closer look at this unreported aspect of the Woods story.

The woman’s name is spelled Elin.

The English version of this name would be Ellen, just Ellen.

But because it looks DIFFERENT, they insist on pronouncing it EE – lin, with an English “Long E” sound. They think that makes it foreign sounding. It makes them sound, well, stupid and ignorant, and Swedes must be chortling every time they hear an American reporting on this story.

Unfortunately, you see, Scandinavian languages, just like other European languages, don’t follow the pronunciation the American journalists are ascribing to it.

If these journalists had bothered to ask someone, they would have found out that the “e” in European languages has more of an English “long A” sound, making the name’s correct pronunciation more like “AY-lin.”

But let’s take it a step further.

The “I” in Elin should be pronounced more like an English “long E” so the actual correct way to say the poor girl’s name is “ay-LEEN”

It reminds me of the sportscaster who couldn’t quite bring himself to commit to the correct Spanish pronunciation of a jockey’s first name Jorge.

The correct pronunciation in Spanish makes the J sound like an H. But most Americans don’t realize that a G before an E or an I is ALSO an H sound in Spanish.

So the correct way to say Jorge is HOR-hay.

Almost certainly uncomfortable allowing his audience to hear what he thought sounded like the word WHORE, he couldn’t bring himself to pronounce the G correctly.

The best sportscaster could say was HOR-gay.

Yeah, that was real better. (Mucho mejor, in Spanish, and that J is pronounced like an H.)

Over to you, EE-lin.

PRSA Philadelphia 2009 Pepperpot Awards Music Video

2009-12-05T13:58:00.001-05:00

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This music video from the PRSA/Philadelphia 2009 Pepperpot Awards Dinner December 3, 2009 includes photos of award winners, scenes of the dinner and candids from the social hour. Individual images available for purchase at http://lubetkin.eventpictures.com.

People we’ve photographed named to Governor-Elect Christie’s transition team

2009-11-26T12:19:00.001-05:00

We’re pleased that a number of political and business leaders we’ve photographed have been named to Gov.-Elect Chris Christie’s transition planning teams. Including the Governor-Elect:

Of course, we’d like to think that the images we made impressed the governor-elect and his team enough to name these folks, but that probably isn’t what happened.

Joseph Corbo, Jr.
Vice President and General Counsel
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Emlyn Koster (second from left)
President/ C.E.O., Liberty Science Center

Koster is posing during a 2002 reception for the opening of the exhibit, “A Question of Truth,” exploring bias and prejudice in scientific inquiry. At the ceremonies, Fleet Bank donated $100,000 to the Liberty Science Center. In photo with Koster are (from left): Alan Respler, executive director emeritus, Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey; Koster; Lucia DiNapoli Gibbons, then president of Fleet Small Business Banking, now President-Northern New Jersey, Wachovia Bank; Fr. Joseph Wallace, co-chair with Respler of the Catholic Jewish Commission of Southern New Jersey; and Jack Collins, then vice-chair, Fleet New Jersey.

Dennis Bone
President, Verizon New Jersey Inc.

Bone is second from left in this 2003 photo that also includes Bruce Wheeler, then president of Fleet New Jersey.

The Honorable Bob Franks
Former United States Congressman and President of the Health Care Institute of New Jersey

Rick Lloyd
Executive Director, State Government Affairs
and Community Relations
Johnson and Johnson

Peter Spirgel, Esq. (left)
Managing Shareholder, Flaster Greenberg

Debra P. DiLorenzo
President/CEO, Chamber Of Commerce Southern New Jersey

We’d love to help you make dramatic images of your executives too. Keep us in mind for your event photography, especially during the holiday season, huh?

Don’t assume that social media is an age thing, it’s a knowledge thing

2009-10-27T12:11:00.001-05:00

I was meeting a new business connection for coffee in the Barnes & Noble store near Deptford, NJ a couple of weeks ago, and while I was waiting for her, I saw a father and his young son in the cafe taking their food order to the table.

It was a mid-week morning, and on their tray was a toasted bagel and butter and a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing.

It reminded me of when my dad used to go to the bakery and the newsstand on weekends and come home with hard rolls for him and my mom, and chocolate cupcakes for me.

Do not ever assume you know what is happening.

When they sat down, the dad passed the bagel across the table to his son, who started munching happily while the dad enjoyed the cupcake.

It continues to disturb and frustrate me that people who position themselves as experts in something get press coverage or blog space and then use it to completely misunderstand the space in which they claim expertise.

There have been lots of blog posts and even some news articles recently suggesting that only people in their 20s understand “social media” (you know, the online networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and the blogs, and Twitter,and all that other stuff.)

I am really offended by the theme of these blog posts and articles. In the Chicago Tribune piece, some young professional suggested that younger people can teach older professionals about social media because, for one reason, they use AOL’s Instant Messenger client eight hours a day.

What?

I’m going to say it explicitly here. I posted these comments on both the PRSA blog post and on the Chicago Tribune site, but I think I need to say it here too.

Just because someone is young does NOT mean they understand “social media” or some other technology better than someone with a few more years in the business.

I’ve had an email address on my business card since 1988.

I started participating in online conferencing and networking through CompuServe in 1984 when high-speed connections were 1200 bps modems.

I’ve been counselling my various senior managements and clients about the Internet since the early 1990s.

Did I mention that I graduated from the University of Phoenix’s online MBA program in 1994, long before any major university even considered having a course or two online?

Even earlier than that -- possibly even before the parents of some of these 20 somethings were out of diapers -- in 1977 I was one of two reporters (for the record, Bob Williams, still an editor at the Asbury Park Press was the other one) who lugged a 60-pound “portable” computer terminal onto a helicopter to be flown into a Grateful Dead concert where we filed our stories by connecting that terminal to an acoustic modem coupler and then placed the telephone handset into the coupler to do the transmission.

I also remember mimeographs and Group 1 fax machines that took 6 minutes a page and you had to manually insert the thermal paper one page at a time.

The leading technologies of their day!

We used to hate it when Congressman Jim Howard’s press secretary would call the newspaper to fax us a three-page press release that would tie us up by the machine for 20 minutes – if all the pages came through on the first try without disconnecting.

Rep. James J. Howard, second from left, greets teachers and students from Oceanport, NJ schools during the 1970 8th grade class trip to Washington. With Howard are Clement Jablonski, left; Rosemary McCartney, and Donald Byrne, teachers chaperoning the trip.
(Steve Lubetkin photo. Copyright ©1970, 2009. All rights reserved.)

My age doesn’t make me incapable of understanding new communications channels when they come along.

My 20-something children make fun of me because I use Twitter — they don’t use it at all, and my youngest daughter (age 20) has very little interest in posting on Facebook.

And if these so-called social media experts would bother to do a smidgen of research, they would know that the fastest adopting demographic on Facebook from September 2008 to February 2009 was overwhelmingly women over 55.

Do you really think the best equipped group to communicate with that demographic are 20-somethings?

So much for the millenials being the key to PR nirvana in the social media, huh?

Facebook Guantanamo

2009-10-14T17:58:00.001-05:00

Last November, we essentially threw out our government for a new one, and one of the main reasons was that we didn’t like that they were holding people in secret prisons without telling them why they were detained, or the charges against them.

But boy, when we get stars in our social media eyes about some darling of the networking space, no matter what they do, it just rolls off them, doesn’t it?

Let’s see. Facebook shuts down your account without warning or explanation. They ignore emails. They don’t even provide a phone number to call them.

And we continue to love them? Why?

Facebook gets the Guantanamo award from this blog for its ham-handed approach to alleged violations of its rules.

Here’s an excerpt from the email I just sent to the Electronic Frontier Foundation asking for help. I will let you know if it does any good at all.

Good evening. I'm a 53-year old former corporate PR executive, running my own social media consultancy for the past five years. I have used Facebook to promote my expertise and activities, until 20 days ago when Facebook, without any warning or explanation, disabled my account.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that some idiot playing one of those insipid "Mafia Wars" games somehow injected it into my contact list (despite my previous configuration of my Facebook profile to ignore all of those games) and it may have spammed a bunch of people. I don't know for sure, I can only speculate, because I haven't been able to get into my account.

But hey, I am a grown up, you know?

That's not how I would operate my business, and I shouldn't be penalized because Facebook allows its users to play those stupid games.

And if any company that we depended on for mission critical business applications treated its users with this much disdain, people would be outside corporate headquarters with torches and pitchforks. Can you imagine what Michael Moore would do if they disabled his account?

Repeated emails from me to disabled@facebook.com have been ignored or received auto-replies that promise a response that never arrives.

This is like a Kafka novel. I don't know why they disabled my account, they won't tell me anything, they won't reply to emails, and there's nowhere to call.

I know Facebook is a "free" social networking site, but it seems a bit lopsided that they get to make these arbitrary decisions without explaining themselves or offering recourse, and meanwhile they get to collect billions of dollars in advertising revenue by selling the knowledge they've collected from us "free" users.

Why are we treating Facebook with such kid gloves?

Why is YouTube the only video site clients ask about?

2009-09-21T06:57:00.001-05:00

Since we began producing video podcast content for clients four years ago, I’m often asked about posting the content on YouTube.

I usually try to persuade my clients NOT to post their content there, for two reasons.

First, the YouTube Terms of Use agreement that no one ever really reads too carefully contains what I regard as confiscatory claims of ownership of the content.

Despite what they say in public statements and news releases, the actual legal agreement claims ownership of pretty much everything you post there.

What that means is that – absent a separate, superceding legal agreement with YouTube -- a company with valuable intellectual property is in danger of losing ownership of processes or procedures they discuss, trademarks, service marks, logos, taglines, etc., if they post the material to YouTube.

Yes, I know it hasn’t been tested in court, but what company would volunteer to be the test case if they truly understood the exposure they face?

It also means that YouTube owns anything slightly newsworthy that you post, like video of President Obama visiting your neighborhood restaurant. So, if CNN decides to use that footage, they pay YouTube a license fee for the broadcast, but you get nothing.

In addition to these legal and financial concerns, PR people and others who make YouTube central to a social media strategy need to get the “viral video” stars out of their eyes and think more like brand owners.

YouTube is full of a lot of nonsense video, people whacking themselves with rubber chickens, inappropriate videos of kids waking up from anesthesia after oral surgery, celebs behaving badly.

It strikes me as being mainly a collection of the worst excesses in amateur video.

To me, it's a mostly honky-tonk neighborhood where professionally produced videos designed to promote businesses almost always get lost -- because most of YouTube is obsessed with the wild chase to be the next "viral" video showing something silly.

Let’s face it, you cannot deliberately create a viral video, like the spontaneous one of the little girl who threw the foul ball back onto the field.

Despite all of these problems, many people think YouTube is the "go-to" place for distributing any kind of business videos.

As a PR professional, I always try to counsel my clients to consider and use the most appropriate communications channel for their business outreach.

My questions to all my clients are these:

1. Does it really advance the brand of your organization to have a house in the same neighborhood as all that other stuff?

2. Is it because YouTube is the video platform with which you are most familiar, and therefore the one you think you need to be on?

3. What exactly are you trying to achieve by thinking about having the video on YouTube? Is it just because you think it makes it easier to send a link to other people, which we can already help you do, or is there some other reason?

4. What is the real "value" to you of YouTube specifically?

Again, the reason I raise these questions is because I want clients to put the best foot forward for their businesses, and without knowing why YouTube is on their radar, I can't give the best advice.

My gut instinct is that most businesses are better served having their carefully produced videos available on a different, less comic/less unprofessional platform.

What do you think?

Do you think YouTube is a good (or bad) place to post business video? Why do you feel that way?

Comments please!

LOC Podcast #41: A conversation with Don Middleberg about the Second Annual Middleberg/SNCR Global Survey of Media in the Wired World

2009-09-15T15:35:00.001-05:00

In this episode of the Lubetkin on Communications Podcast, we present a conversation with Don Middleberg about the Second Annual Middleberg/SNCR Global Survey of Media in the Wired World.

A press release about this year’s study is on the SNCR website.

Don broke new ground in the early 1990s surveying journalists about their use of the Internet and the emerging technology of the World Wide Web. For years, his Middleberg-Ross Survey, conducted with the Columbia School of Journalism, provided important information on how journalists were using these new tools.

The survey was revived under sponsorship of the Society for New Communications Research last year. Results of last year’s study are available here.

Journalists can complete this year’s study at http://www.sncr-middleberg-2009survey.com.questionpro.com/

Listen to the podcast here:

Download the podcast program here (Stereo MP3 file, 14.2 mb, duration 00:14:33)

Subscribe to the RSS feed for the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series.

Apple iPod owners, subscribe to the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

Keywords: lubetkin, cherry hill, sncr, middleberg, study, journalists

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Produced in the studios of Professional Podcasts LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ.

LOC Podcast #40: A reminiscence of the GG-1 Locomotive, with David Kwechansky

2009-08-18T11:05:00.001-05:00

Editor’s Note: We have renamed our podcast to match the new branding of our blog. “Lubetkin on Communications” better captures the goal of our blog and podcast series, which is to provide a forum for discussion of important communications and public relations issues with newsmakers in the field.

But in this episode, we depart from our coverage of public relations to chat with an old friend, David Kwechansky of Toronto, about the most famous electric locomotive in railroading history, the GG-1.

David commissioned Grif Teller, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s legendary calendar artist, to paint the image above for David’s personal collection.

Then he got a bright idea.

Wouldn’t it be cool to ask NJ Transit for a ride on that exact GG-1 locomotive?

I was doing public relations for Conrail. Conrail was the contract operator of commuter rail service for NJ Transit in New Jersey when I was assigned to make the arrangements for David’s engine ride. David’s journey to New Jersey to ride GG-1 #4884 and pick up his painting from Grif Teller’s Little Falls, NJ, studio were the subject of an extensive article in Trains Magazine in December 1981.

Three years later, “PodWife” Judy and I got to ride in the cab of GG-1 #4877 when NJ Transit sponsored a special railfan excursion to celebrate the retirement of the last GG-1 from regular rail service. There were several railfan rides on October 29, 1983, but Judy and I were lucky enough to be in the cab on the very last run of the day…and I had a microcassette recorder with me to capture some of the sounds – decades before podcasting became available.

Listen to the podcast here:

Download the podcast program here (Two-channel mono MP3 file, 54.3 mb, duration 00:43:22.)

Subscribe to the RSS feed for the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series.

Apple iPod owners, subscribe to the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

Keywords: lubetkin, nj, new jersey, gg-1, railroad, loewy, locomotive, electric, penn central, nj transit, prr, kwechansky, trains magazine, grif teller, painting, trains, railfan

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Technorati Tags: lubetkin,nj,new jersey,gg-1,railroad,loewy,locomotive,electric,penn central,nj transit,prr,kwechansky,trains magazine,grif teller,painting,trains,railfan

Produced in the studios of Professional Podcasts LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ.

Integrated newsroom at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is a long way from my radio news days…

2009-07-31T06:25:00.001-05:00

Tod Maffin of the CBC, who is an internationally known keynote speaker on how social media is changing the mainstream media – and other companies too – has posted a fascinating video tour of the new CBC integrated newsroom in Vancouver, BC.

Behind the Scenes at CBC Vancouver's new "integrated newsroom" from Tod Maffin on Vimeo.

The world Tod and his guest, Johnny Michel, regional news director, CBC Vancouver, describe and tour in this extensive video is a far cry from my own experiences in the nearly integrated radio and print newsroom of the Asbury Park (NJ) Press and its “Radio Voice,” WJLK-AM & FM, in the 1970s.

The WJLK radio newsroom was in a small cubbyhole adjacent to the newspaper’s main newsroom on the second floor of Press Plaza in Asbury Park. The newspaper has since moved the newsroom to a more modern facility on Route 66 that’s technically in Neptune Township, not Asbury Park. The privately held newspaper sold out to Gannett when the owning families discovered just how much those estate taxes were going to be, and the radio station was sold years ago.

Print reporters were instructed to provide “carbons” of their stories to radio news for rewrite into broadcast form.

Later, when the paper became one of the first in New Jersey to computerize in the mid-1970s, the Extel dot-matrix printers connected to the newsroom computer system were loaded with rolls of yellow paper/carbon sandwiches, and reporters continued to dutifully provide the carbon copies to radio news.

But unlike the close collaboration among online, TV and radio news gatherers at the CBC that Johnny and Tod describe in the video above, the print editors and radio news apparently didn’t keep in close touch at the Press/WJLK.

In the 1960s, the radio station had been a sort of sleepy programming backwater populated with locally produced programs like “Alarm Clock Club” and “The Bird Watchers’ Club.” They even substituted a daily recap of the obituaries from that day’s Press instead of a 2pm newscast.

The newspaper obits carried a slugline promoting the reading of the death notices on the radio.

In the mid-1970s, new programming management at the radio station replaced the local programs with automated top-40 music from the legendary Drake-Chenault music syndicator. The obits were no longer read on the radio at 2pm.

But apparently, no one ever told the print newsroom. For years after the obit-cast was cancelled, we still had to plow through piles of carbons of obits dutifully provided by the print newsroom.

No one ever wanted to tell them to stop providing them, for fear that they would withhold real news stories too!

LOC Podcast #39: A conversation with Rebecca Timms, 2009-2010 National President of the Public Relations Student Society of America

2009-07-29T15:35:00.001-05:00

We have renamed our podcast to match the new branding of our blog. “Lubetkin on Communications” better captures the goal of our blog and podcast series, which is to provide a forum for discussion of important communications and public relations issues with newsmakers in the field.

In this episode of the “Lubetkin on Communications Podcast” we present a conversation with Rebecca Timms of Haddon Heights, NJ, a Rowan University junior who is serving as 2009-2010 national president of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Read Rebecca’s official biography on the PRSSA website.

Listen to the podcast here:

Download the podcast program here (stereo MP3 file, 24.6 mb, duration 00:23:40.)

Subscribe to the RSS feed for the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series.

Apple iPod owners, subscribe to the “Lubetkin on Communications” podcast series in the Apple iTunes Music Store.

Keywords: lubetkin, rebecca timms, prssa, public relations student society of america, rowan university, nj, new jersey

Technorati Tags: lubetkin,rebecca timms,prssa,public relations student society of america,rowan university,nj,new jersey

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Produced in the studios of Professional Podcasts LLC, Cherry Hill, NJ.

Twitter Chat about Podcasting

2009-07-23T06:11:00.003-05:00

Last night, I appeared as the guest on #SmallBizChat, a weekly chat session that uses Twitter.com as its channel of communications. I interacted with the two hosts and the guests by "tweeting" my responses to questions about the value of podcasting for small businesses.

It reminded me of the very old days of "online" when members of the PRSIG group on CompuServe would fire up their dial-up modems and connect to a "CO" or "conference" and chat over very slow speed connections. Except Twitter is a rapid-fire universe of multiple comments and questions coming at you nonstop. It was a very exhilarating but exhausting hour. Here's a link to the transcript of the chat.

SmallBizChat_7-22-09.pdf (application/pdf Object)

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Hey, Where Did That Book Go?

2009-07-17T21:50:00.001-05:00

I’ve been having some back-and-forth debates with folks about certain rock musicians exercising their rights to protect copyrighted music that people have expropriated for their YouTube videos and other uses where they didn’t get permission or pay for the privilege. But this move by Amazon defies all logic.

Big Brother: Amazon Remotely Deletes 1984 From Kindles
Pete Cashmore
Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:57:30 GMT

Sustainable Jersey Green Grants Press Conference, 6/22/2009

2009-06-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

This is the complete Sustainable Jersey press conference held June 22, 2009 in Trenton, NJ to announce the awarding of $200,000 in Green Grants funded by Walmart Stores, to 14 NJ municipalities. Four towns received $25,000 grants for sustainability projects, and 10 towns received $10,000 grants. The video includes remarks by New Jersey sustainability leaders and state officials, and the annoucements of the specific grants. Produced for Walmart Stores by Success Communications Group (successcommgroup.com) and Professional Podcasts LLC.

Leadership NJ Press Conference 6/22/2009

2009-06-22T21:47:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Leadership New Jersey held a press conference at the New Jersey State House to announce a partnership with News 12 New Jersey TV to produce a debate between candidates for the new lieutenant governor position created by New Jersey voters. Tom Dallessio, executive director of Leadership NJ, hosts the presentation. This video was produced by Professional Podcasts LLC.

Bankers conference highlights opportunities, pitfalls of social networking

2009-06-21T14:45:00.001-05:00

Bankers conference highlights opportunities, pitfalls of social networking

Shared via AddThis

2009-05-28T05:08:00.001-05:00

is finishing up production on some pods today.

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2009-05-27T05:02:00.001-05:00

is in the studio today, editing audio, burning DVDs, great day of meetings in NYC yesterday.

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2009-05-26T04:42:00.001-05:00

is recording client pods in Lower Manhattan this am, appearing on Social Media Hour on BlogTalkRadio @ 1pm EDT http://is.gd/uVtt

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Drexel University PRSSA Panel: Breaking Boundaries, The Revolution of Social Media

2009-05-20T22:04:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

The Drexel University Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) presents "Breaking Boundaries: The Revolution of Social Media," a panel discussion held May 5, 2009 in the Bossone Auditorium at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Panelists

Gloria Bell, Red Stapler Consulting
Steve Lubetkin, Managing Partner, Professional Podcasts LLC
Valeria Maltoni, ConversationAgent Blog
Scott McNulty, Chief Blogger, Comcast
Katie Shields, Vice President and Managing Partner, Vault Communications

Moderator
Rick Alcantara, Tara Communications

Videography

Juán “Chedigitz” Vazquez

Post-production

Professional Podcasts LLC

Family Continues Search and Rescue Effort for NJ Man, Joe Dunsavage

2009-05-18T23:05:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Joe Dunsavage, an Edison NJ resident, remains missing at sea since disappearing off Roatan Island, Honduras a week ago Sunday. Military search and rescue efforts have been called off, but Dunsavage's family continues to pay for search efforts out of their own pocket, appealing for donations and information from the worldwide Internet community. Steve Lubetkin of Professional Podcasts interviews Joe Dunsavage's brother Jeff, and father Ed, who are spearheading the search efforts.

Thank you, Rick Derringer. Now I know I’m on the right track…

2009-05-15T06:07:00.001-05:00

Rock legend Rick Derringer told BlogTalkRadio that Internet radio was the future of radio. Phew! I have been telling that to clients and audiences for months. I feel vindicated. I don’t think satellite radio will ultimately survive. It’s too expensive to keep sending the Space Shuttle up there to change the blinking red lights on the satellites. (OK, I’m kidding. But it is way too expensive to pay for transponder space to beam words and music back to earth.) Once someone figures out the WiMax issue of making it as easy to tune Internet radio coast-to-coast in a car, no one will want a sat radio. Not with 10,000 streams of all kinds available from all over the world.

Yes, Sirius/XM will keep its beautiful studios and still produce programming, but without the crushing financial burden of those satellites. (Dave Bowman, Star Child? Need you to do a little house cleaning please.)

Some quotes from the BlogTalkRadio Blog…

“Those days of radio, people figure, are gone because radio is so controlled and it’s so big – Clear Channel and all those stations – it’s programmed and it’s so controlled that that can’t happen anymore.

“Radio stations, no matter how big they are – the terrestrial stations, we call them – are limited by the output of their transmitter, which means they can only be heard within a certain given metropolitan area,” he says.

“These stations, like the one we’re on now can be heard everywhere in the world.”

To head Rick’s full interview, click here.

Rock Legend Rick Derringer: ‘Internet Radio Is the Wave of the Future’
Philip Recchia
Thu, 14 May 2009 23:04:19 GMT

Compuschmooze columnist "PodcastSteve" seeking r

2009-03-03T12:11:00.001-05:00

My March column is about audio and video social media tools. How do you use Utterli? Do you use any others?

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Weighing in on Facebook's Terms of Service

2009-02-18T05:43:00.003-05:00

Since yesterday's firestorm of opposition to the recent changes in FaceBook's terms of service (TOS) agreement, the social networking website has recognized its error. They've rolled back the problematic legal agreement that very clearly claimed perpetual ownership of content produced by Facebook users, even if they deleted their accounts. They are now rewriting the TOS. We'll be very interested in what they come up with.

Much of the commentary from Facebook supporters focused on the myth of online privacy. Many of us who were unhappy with the change of terms were not worried about privacy, we are content producers who zealously protect our copyright and the copyrights of our clients, and the changes were problematic for that reason. And the problem with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's "clarification" of what they meant to do is, it's not a legal agreement, it's his interpretation. But what he said they meant to do is NOT what the TOS change said. The change said they had a license to use everything you posted any way they wanted.

This is NOT about privacy concerns. I gave those up long ago when I embraced online life.

We understand that if you post something online it is pretty much there forever -- I wrote an email post in a USENET Group in 1992 that still seems to be the earliest online use of the phrase "e-business." It's there for anyone who wants to Google it. Forever.

This is about who owns what I create -- and what you create. Just because it's "only a photo of Aunt Tillie" doesn't mean you should give up your rights to that photo. You made it, you own it.

Like many independent consultants, I make my living from the content I create for myself and for clients. That means podcasts, video podcasts, photos, writing articles, anything else I can sell as part of my services. It's valuable to me and my company's brand to share a lot of this content online, on sites like Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook.

I am willing to have my content promoted, distributed, highlighted, shared on these sites. I am not willing to allow these sites to say they own my content and can sell it without sharing those proceeds with me in a reasonable way.

When George Lucas was asked about YouTube (whose users seem oblivious to its similarly confiscatory TOS claiming ownership of every video you post there), Lucas responded "I'm always amazed at how many people are willing to work for nothing."

That's what you do when you post content to sites that claim ownership. You work for nothing. They grow and gain in advertising value with the content you create. Advertisers want eyeballs, and sites get eyeballs by having content people want. They should share that revenue with the content creators in a meaningful way. Not "if we get 10 million hits on your content we'll give you $20."

Here's the content of a note I posted to Mark Zuckerberg at FaceBook this morning:

Mark, thanks for having second thoughts about listening to the lawyers on the TOS. The clause they wrote was a clear rights grab from the perspective of those of us who create content intending to profit from it, like podcasts I produce for clients, videos I produce for profit, and my writing. That's how I make my living. I don't give anyone perpetual rights to anything without compensation, and despite your "clarifications" of what you intended that isn't what your legal terms stated.

The problem is that we live in a world where it's not your intentions that govern the relationship, it's the legalese. People can try to diminish the importance of the TOS any way they want, but that is the governing agreement. If you don't intend to own our personally generated (and copyrighted) content forever, then you have to say so in the TOS, not let the lawyers write a perpetual license that gives you effective control over that work product.

I suggest you get input from intellectual property experts outside your law department -- especially from professional writer groups, professional photography and video trade associations, and other trade groups interested in protecting the copyrights of their members. There ought to be a reasonable middle ground in which content producers can be comfortable that posting a link to their work product on FaceBook doesn't strip them of their rights to profit from their work.

Just because millions of people give up the rights to their videos by posting them on YouTube doesn't mean all of us want to work totally for free. We display our work to you and our friends because it's part of the overall online strategy for our personal brands, and so people know what we are working on. But things change. As the commercial says, "Life comes at you fast," and we need to know that if we change our minds and part ways with FaceBook, we really part ways.

Looking forward to continuing the dialogue!

Steve "PodcastSteve" Lubetkin

As a free society, we've always placed value on the creative energy of content producers -- whether they are superstar blockbuster authors or just ink-stained struggling wretches who celebrate the $25 stringer fee they earned from filing a story with a wire service.

Do we really care so little about the rights of content creators that we want them to shut up because being able to Poke and SuperPoke people is a higher priority?

What do you think?

Jeff Pulver Welcoming Remarks, Philadelphia Real-World Social Media Tagging Breakfast, 2/5/09

2009-02-08T23:05:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Jeff Pulver's Real-World Social Media Tagging Breakfast in Philadelphia on February 5 included short remarks by Jeff about why he began creating opportunities for social media participants to meet each other in the real world, and the tools he thought might be helpful to get people to engage each other in real interactions and conversations.

La Nueva Frontera Digital, multimedia conference for journalists, 1/31/2009

2009-02-01T15:03:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Steve "PodcastSteve" Lubetkin of Professional Podcasts was a panel presenter at La Nueva Frontera Digital conference at Temple University on Saturday, 31 January 2009, sponsored by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. This short video report contains scenes from the conference including excerpts from presentations by Ju-Don Roberts of WashingtonPost.com; Bill Rowland of the Philly Food Guys Podcast; Dan Levy and Nick Tarnowski of the On the DL Podcast, and interviews with Sarah Glover, staff photographer of the Philadelphia Daily News and Regina Medina of the Philadelphia Inquirer, co-chairs of the conference.

MediaBistro panel on social media and traditional media focuses on “monetization”

2009-01-30T05:59:00.002-05:00

MediaBistro.com held a conference panel on “Journalists and Social Media” this week. You can read Paulina Reso’s summary of the event at the Fishbowl NY blog. They included this post-game analysis video with people who attended the event, and the theme of their comments seems to be “how the heck do you make money off of this stuff?”

Take a look at the video and add your comments and suggestions for how to “monetize” social media…

Post to claim new Technorati blog listing

2009-01-24T15:59:00.001-05:00

Need to claim this new location on Technorati.

Technorati Profile

Penn Central 1974 - The Movie

2008-12-11T20:52:00.004-05:00

This is the movie commissioned by the Penn Central Railroad bankruptcy trustees to try to convince members of Congress that the railroad desperately needed a cash infusion or some other federal intervention if the railroad were to survive.
Think of it as the social media of its day, a corporate movie commissioned as a way of educating elected officials who had little time or inclination to actually visit the railroad to find out what was going on.
In fairness, there are some anecdotes I've heard about the making of this movie, including the fact that some of the really bad conditions just wouldn't cooperate with the filmmakers. So instead of showing actual "standing derailments" (derailments caused by crossties so rotted that the rails just spread apart under the weight of the freight cars), they actually had to stage some of them.
There is a scene of a car derailing as it moves down the "hump" track in a classification yard, and I'm told it took more than one take to get it to derail.
Despite these moviemaker tricks, the facts were pretty bleak for Penn Central.
And the movie did help convince Congress to do the only right thing.
Take control of the company and the other bankrupt railroads, and make something new. Conrail. And considering what the car companies are asking for as an INTERIM solution for just the next three months ($15 billion), Conrail was a bargain at $7.6 billion -- all in.
That's pretty much where the auto industry should be headed. Even as I was preparing this blog entry, I came across the daily agenda in the previous entry showing that GMAC is still taking folks out for expensive breakfast meetings, even as its owners go begging the taxpayers for a handout.
Enough bailout money, we need to nationalize these turkeys and impose a Conrail style solution once again.

del.icio.us Tags: conrail,penn central,railroad,auto industry,general motors,ford,chrysler,bailout,federal intervention,bankruptcy

They just don't understand, do they?

2008-12-11T20:06:00.002-05:00

This was on the sign at The Mansion, a lavish catering hall in Voorhees, NJ. Let's give these guys some taxpayer money so the can have a good breakfast out, right?

Yeah, I'm in favor of that.

Great minds think alike. Florio, Broder, Lubetkin. The Conrail solution may be the right solution to auto industry crisis.

2008-12-11T16:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I tweeted on Twitter (I'm PodcastSteve, if you want to follow me there) about former NJ Gov. Jim Florio's recent appearance on CNBC, in which he advocated a Conrail-like solution to the auto industry crisis. Florio, who was chair of the House Surface Transportation Subcommittee during the original Conrail privatization process, may have an excellent point. And others are starting to think this way too. As I was typing the Twitter message, I started to refer to the solution as "ConCar" (as in Conrail) and then deleted that reference.

Today, former Conrail colleague Bob Libkind points out the op-ed in the Philadelphia Daily News by Jonathan Broder, general counsel at what remains of Conrail, sort of a co-owned switching railroad split between Norfolk Southern and CSX Corporation. What's the headline? "Remember Conrail? Think Concar."

I shoulda left it in the Tweet, huh?

For those of you who want to go into the Wayback machine on Conrail, here's a link to the article I wrote in PR Strategist about the Conrail privatization battle.

As a special treat in advance of the Conrail alumni holiday party later this month, we've decided to bring to our web video platform the 1974 Penn Central video used to convince Congress that the railroad needed saving.

The film is an interesting artifact that shows how the railroad made clever use of the social media of the day; i.e., a corporate film, could be used to educate constituencies about the real day-to-day problems facing the industry.

Now how is Detroit using social media tools to help gain support on Capitol Hill?

I also call to your attention the Middle Chamber Books podcast interview we conducted in February 2007 with Rush Loving, a former associate editor of Fortune magazine, and author of The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry, about the recent history of U.S. railroads, particularly the Penn Central, its bankruptcy and consolidation into Conrail, and then Conrail's privatization and sale.

Rush Loving steps off
an inspection trip on a Norfolk
Southern locomotive in October 2003.

The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry (Railroads Past and Present): Rush Loving: Books

ISBN: 0253347572
ISBN-13: 9780253347572

Download the podcast here (Stereo MP3, 50.2 mb, 35:40 duration)

A couple of years ago, when the legendary L. Stanley Crane passed away, I attended his memorial service with many former colleagues. Crane, who as chairman made Conrail profitable and stood up to then DOT Secretary Elizabeth Dole in her ill-advised scheme to sell Conrail to Norfolk Southern, had the perfect model for the auto industry.

In April 2006, I drafted an op-ed article that I submitted to newspapers in Philadelphia, Washington, and Detroit.

No one took me up on it.

I should have published it on this blog then.

It's worth publishing now. Wherever I mention General Motors, you can substitute the entire auto industry. It's understood.

Op-ed for Philadelphia Inquirer

By Steven L. Lubetkin

To Solve General Motors’ Problems Requires Railroading Through A Solution

In the very public debate about how to solve General Motors’ woes, it’s amazing that no one has considered how legendary railroad manager L. Stanley Crane imposed effective and successful strategies that saved Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) from a similar death spiral a little more than two decades ago.

Not satisfied with a mandatory retirement as the close of his highly successful career at the Southern Railway following the Southern’s merger with Norfolk & Western, Crane accepted the challenge of becoming Chairman and CEO of Conrail when the large northeast-midwest rail system was on its knees.

Conrail was the federally imposed compromise solution to the bankruptcies of five northeastern and Midwestern railroads in the 1970s, following the larger collapse of the ill-fated Penn Central.

All these railroads were merged into Conrail after failing to adjust to the economic realities of the railroad industry, which had changed dramatically following the construction of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The early planners of Conrail had a vision strikingly similar to the strategy currently being employed at General Motors. One is reminded of the catch phrase behind the movie, “Field of Dreams,” which suggests that we should “build it and they will come.”

L. Stanley Crane calls his office
from a tower office in Youngstown
Steven L. Lubetkin Photo
Copyright ©1985, 2008 Steven L. Lubetkin. All rights reserved.

Conrail’s planners assumed that rebuilding and renovating the decrepit physical plant of the railroad would attract back the traffic that had been lost to trucks because of decades of poor service and track conditions.

To get labor unions to agree to the Penn Central merger, its management agreed to pay union members until age 65 whether there was work for them or not. This made it impossible to change the size of the workforce to reflect the economic realities of the business.

GM is now facing the consequences of agreeing to this kind of guarantee in an earlier labor negotiation.

When Conrail was formed, the labor protection situation got even worse.

“Build it and they will come” thinking led Congress to codify into federal law a labor protection feature of the Penn Central merger that GM seems to have adopted just as the Penn Central did, in hopes of buying labor peace – the “jobs bank.”

This guaranteed wage was written into the Conrail enabling legislation as “Title V,” and tens of thousands of idled rail workers collected annual salaries while Conrail hemorrhaged federal dollars. The hope was that when traffic volume increased, these workers could be productive again.

Stan Crane looked at this issue from a different perspective when he arrived at Conrail in 1980. He argued that the railroad did not have the luxury of rebuilding a gold-plated physical plant in the hope that traffic would return.

Instead, he demanded that his managers size the railroad’s physical plant and staffing for the current level of traffic, enabling him to redistribute and use more effectively such assets as locomotives, rail, and other equipment.

Crane made many unpopular cost-cutting decisions, closing repair shops, unproductive rail yards, and reducing management. He also went after asset utilization.

On one inspection trip, he ordered his managers to rip out two of the four tracks circling the railroad’s iconic Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania, a stretch of railroad that some diehards joked “was a four-track railroad since before it was built.”

The expensive specially tempered rail was valuable and could be used elsewhere, and Crane argued that traffic volumes did not justify keeping it idle on the Horseshoe Curve.

He also argued against Title V labor guarantees when there was, for all practical purposes, no prospect of those idled workers ever returning to work on the railroad.

Many railroaders grumbled at Crane’s approach, just as many GM managers seem resistant to making hard decisions today. But these are precisely the decisions needed if GM is to survive.

Crane’s cost-cutting leadership helped convince union leaders to join forces with management and convince Congress that Conrail could be profitable and successful.

This labor-management cooperation convinced Congress to remove the legislative burdens it imposed on the nascent Conrail in the 1970s, and allowed Crane to lead the company to its successful public stock offering in 1987 – the largest IPO in U.S. history up to that time, what was then a stunning $1.9 billion deal (a mere rounding error on the dot-com IPOs of recent memory).

The lesson for GM from Crane’s Conrail experience is that GM can’t afford to size its facilities for future hoped-for sales.

It needs a physical plant that matches its current level of sales, and a workforce that matches.

GM also needs its leaders to speak honestly about getting rid of the burden of its unrealistic “jobs bank.”

It can’t continue to pay full salaries and benefits for workers who have little hope of returning to work for the auto maker.

Whatever the mistakes of GM’s past, management and union leaders need to collaborate in a solution that helps the auto maker survive in some smaller form.

That would be far better than a solution that wrecks the company completely.

That’s the lesson Conrail learned from L. Stanley Crane, and GM should call its next series of plays from Crane’s playbook.

del.icio.us Tags: conrail,stanley crane,railroad,auto industry,chrysler,ford,general motors,gm,detroit,philadelphia,washington,elizabeth dole,penn central,consolidation,bankruptcy,privatization

America's Most Convenient Bank, Eh?

2008-12-01T16:47:00.001-05:00

Marketing Daily ran this story Friday:

TD Bank Is 'At Your Convenience' Through January

It just bears remembering that the bank using the tagline "America's Most Convenient Bank" is actually, um, a Canadian bank. The TD stands for Toronto Dominion, okay?

Maybe the tagline should be North America's Most Convenient Bank...

Steve Lubetkin Photo, Montreal, July 2006

Contextual ads in online communications - make sure the context is right

2008-11-23T08:50:00.001-05:00

Neville Hobson has commented on work by Niall Kennedy to create a new "front-end" interface for Twitter that allows additional levels of customization to the web page for a Twitter user, to include local languages, different ways of linking, and, perhaps most importantly, serving of Google ads that are relevant to the specific user.

Relevance is a key consideration, because some of the current implementations of ad-supported SMS leave a lot to be desired in that department.

I've been subscribing to several of these ad-supported SMS feeds from the New Jersey Gannett newspapers in the past couple of months. At no cost to the user, the Asbury Park Press, Vineland Daily Journal, South Jersey Courier Post, and some others, have been inviting online readers to subscribe to receive up-to-the-minute headlines.

The service is actually pretty good, you get breaking news heads several times a day, and sometimes it's even traffic warnings -- that could be a whole separate revenue generator if they play it right.

The problem is the juxtaposition of the ads included with the news headlines. The ads are clearly randomized, but the very randomization makes them humorous in connection with the headlines they pay for, often in a dark and certainly unintended way.

Here are some examples.

WARNING: Don't be sipping a beverage or eating food when you read these or you will either pass it through your nose or spray it all over your monitor.

COURIER-POST

Crash on Rt. 30 E between Ben Franklin Bridge and Federal St. - all lanes closed *Go Acela - Book at Amtrak.com

COURIER-POST

Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States of America *Talk to your next date! Call 866-228-2164

THE DAILY JOURNAL

FAIRFIELD: Man arrested in September slaying *Feel silly? Reply JOKE

COURIER-POST

Water main break on Rt. 73 N at Rt. 38 - left lane closed. courierpostonline.com *Meet singles near U! Call 866-228-2164

ASBURY PARK PRESS

Aberdeen man admits in court to beating and drowning 19 cats *FREE HBO and Starz! Reply SATELLITE

THE DAILY JOURNAL

FRANKLIN: Three teens arrested in tool-theft case *Protect your family + home 24/7! Reply BRINKS

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Two decades later and they still haven't learned the lesson of Michael Moore

2008-11-21T08:06:00.001-05:00

Open letter to auto industry executives:

You guys need a reality check. You have been spending way too much time in your gated Grosse Pointe communities and not enough time experiencing life the way most of us live it.

The Washington Post yesterday reported that despite the 24 daily nonstop commercial flights between Detroit and Washington, the CEOs of the three failing US automakers chose to fly on individual private planes to a hearing where they asked taxpayers to pony up $25 billion to paper over their wretched record of mismanaging formerly great American industrial companies.

There are frequently very good business reasons why it makes sense for corporate executives to use private aircraft to go somewhere. More control over the scheduling, getting somewhere quickly in a crisis, and so on. But this was an incredible display of what the Post politely called "tone deafness" to the climate in Washington, and it may very well have killed the industry's chances of getting a dime from lawmakers.

It is a direct parallel to the disastrous tone deafness of an earlier GM CEO, Roger Smith, when his office was approached by a young unknown documentary film maker from Flint, who wanted to discuss with Smith the impending plant closures and layoffs at GM's Flint complex, which was going to wreak havoc on the Flint economy.

Despite pleas from some of GM's very bright PR counselors at the time (I know this from speaking to them directly), Smith refused -- against PR advice -- to meet with the filmmaker, and Michael Moore's movie, "Roger and Me" went on to launch Moore's career in ambush documentaries.

The whole premise of the movie was "Roger Smith doesn't care enough to meet with me, and he's now trying to hide from me." Smith, with his aristocratic arrogance, played right into the typecasting he was being shoehorned into by Moore.

If he had been honest, met with the filmmaker, explained the difficult decisions, maybe, just maybe, it would have damaged the premise of the movie. Instead, he just helped confirm Moore's worst caricature of the GM CEO, and severely damaged the firm's reputation.

KEY TAKEAWAY FOR CORPORATE EXECUTIVES: Be honest, if you don't know, say you don't know. Stop pretending you have this economic thing figured out any better than your hourly workers. We're all in this together whether you like it or not -- and your behavior up to now is clearly indicating that you don't like it and really do think you are different from the rest of us.

And so today, we have this awful PR disaster that may very well wreck the chances for restructuring this industry any time soon.

You have to think that the veteran PR people at these auto companies MUST have told the CEOs that flying their $10,000/hour jets into DC would be an image problem. It certainly didn't get past the members of Congress who grilled them, according to Dana Milbank's column in the Post. As Milbank reports:

"There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands," Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-N.Y.) advised the pampered executives at a hearing yesterday. "It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high-hat and tuxedo. . . . I mean, couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here?"

If the miserable consequences of this error in judgment weren't so appalling for thousands of innocent auto workers, Michael Moore might even be chuckling, with a slight hint of schadenfreude. But I have a feeling he's punching holes in the wall with his fist.

And probably so are the PR folks at these companies, because saying "I told you so!" isn't a real career option for them right now.

Walmart Store #5201 Grand Opening, Edison, NJ 11/12/2008

2008-11-14T17:02:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Steve Lubetkin reports on the opening of Walmart Store #5201 in Edison, Middlesex County, NJ. The new 141,000 square foot store features environmentally friendly skylights, LED lighting, floors made of recycled materials, as well as one-hour photo, full service pharmacy, and oil and tire express services.

TV News Directors and Online Video News Editors: There is substantial b-roll available from this grand opening if you are producing reports. Please contact slubetkin@successcomgroup.com or (856) 751-5491 to obtain b-roll.

Thoughts about Podcasting and "Micro-Communities"

2008-11-14T07:49:00.001-05:00

On November 13, I joined more than 60 social media experts in Melville, NY for the "Social Media Jungle Conference organized by Internet entrepreneur and investor Jeff Pulver.

I was one of 15 session presenters/facilitators for the all-day conference, and I focused on how companies can reduce their marketing expenses through effective use of audio and video podcasting. Much of the conference was streamed live over the Internet through UStream.tv.

You can see part of my presentation in the player below.

You can see the lineup of Social Media Jungle speakers at Jeff Pulver's Blog.

For videos of many other presentations, go to the UStream.tv program page here.

Photo by Jeff Pulver

Free TV : Ustream

The conversations at the conference got me thinking about how we focus on our podcasting activities. Our clients' audiences are very highly targeted niche markets with specialized interests. They are "micro-communities" exquisitely tailored for the niche-based or narrowcasting focus of social media. Social media liberates the "media" distribution platform from the limitations of broadcast networks or terrestrial radio and TV stations dictating to the audience what content they will see.

Nelly Yusupova, ("DigitalWoman" on Twitter) who spoke at the Jungle about how to integrate advertising effectively in social media, coined the couplet, "The narrower the niche, the more you get rich."

That is exactly on point for social media. In my opinion, social media entrepreneurs are often too focused on collecting large numbers of eyeballs -- in terms of page views, clicks, or downloads.

Just as Twitter (I'm "PodcastSteve" on Twitter) gave rise to the concept of "microblogging" because of the short length of messages, Nelly's idea carries heavy freight for me -- and for my podcasting business. We are not particularly worried if our audiences are small, as long as they are self-selecting to gather our content. We are producing podcasts for very narrow niche business-to-business purposes. Our clients want to communicate highly technical business expertise to prospective clients who need to understand how that expertise can help them.

It's long past the time when a business could get its expertise covered in detail -- and effectively -- in the mainstream media so that prospects would knock on the door. And getting a business story covered in depth on radio or TV? Fuggeddaboutit!

Businesses that want to have some level of control over the opportunities to present their expertise to these micro-communities need to consider podcasting as a tool that makes them broadcasters and takes control of the content away from third parties.

But with this control over one channel comes additional responsibility. Corporate podcast users also need to be sure there is a mechanism for passionate believers in their brand to express that passion through conversation, creative activities, even fun and humor -- often at the expense of the brand. It's really OK to not only let that happen, you couldn't stop it if you wanted to, and if you have passionate microcommunity members talking about your brand even when you're not around, isn't that a success?

Justin Oberman

2008-11-13T17:10:00.001-05:00

Justin (@JustinOberman on Twitter) was the final Social Media Jungle speaker, on mobile social media.

Jamie Thompson discusses privacy at Social Media Jungle

2008-11-13T16:51:00.000-05:00

Jamie (@Jamie_Thompson - Twitter) is talking about privacy and
the line between personal and professional.
Steve Lubetkin, APR, Fellow, PRSA
Managing Partner
Lubetkin Communications LLC
Professional Podcasts LLC
steve@lubetkin.net
1.856.751.5491 ofc/cell

Ben Grossman discusses ROI

2008-11-13T16:16:00.000-05:00

Benn Grossman (@bengrossman on Twitter) discussing Schultz's work

Return on Investment (ROI)
Return on Brand Investment (ROBI)
Return on Customer Investment (ROCI) combines attitudinal and behavioral data to predict.

Steve Lubetkin, APR, Fellow, PRSA
Managing Partner
Lubetkin Communications LLC
Professional Podcasts LLC
steve@lubetkin.net
1.856.751.5491 ofc/cell

Jonathan Yarmis discusses getting out of the Kumbaya zone with corporate clients

2008-11-13T15:42:00.000-05:00

Jonathan Yarmis (@jyarmis - Twitter) discusses how to be more effective engaging corporate clients in social media. It's not about the conversation for most CEOs, it's about how that conversation helps meet real corporate objectives.

Brett Petersel @ Social Media Jungle

2008-11-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

Brett talked about some examples of business models that use social media.

Oz Sultan discusses social networking stes

2008-11-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

Oz (@ozsultan) and Brett Petersel discussed social networking site trends. @smj08 Social Media Jungle.

Nelly Yusupova discusses monetization

2008-11-13T14:10:00.000-05:00

At Jeff Pulver Social Media Jungle, Nelly Yusupova (@DigitalWoman on Twitter) discussed monetizing social media content...

Steve Lubetkin, APR, Fellow, PRSA
Managing Partner
Lubetkin Communications LLC
Professional Podcasts LLC
steve@lubetkin.net
1.856.751.5491 ofc/cell

Jeff Sass speaks @ Social Media Jungle

2008-11-13T12:31:00.001-05:00

Jeff Sass (Twitter @sass) discusses social media from the agency perspective. At #smj08

Dean Landsman presenting

2008-11-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Dean Landsman (@deanland on Twitter) presents about the three screen world. Social media can support other media by connecting all three screens (TV, handheld) and computer.

Howard Greenstein

2008-11-13T11:54:00.001-05:00

Howard and Dean presented on three screen world

Jeff Pulver kicks off Sociak Media Jungle

2008-11-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Jeff Pulver kicks off the all day Social Media Jungle in Melville, NY. I wil be leading a discussion on podcasting this afternoon.

Live tweeting is going on from multiple sources. Search hashtag #smj08 and follow @podcaststeve.

Participating in Jeff Pulver's Social Media Jungle Thursday 11/13

2008-11-12T19:32:00.001-05:00

I will be up and on the road quite early on Thursday, driving up to Melville, NY, to participate in Jeff Pulver's Social Media Jungle all-day webstream conference. I will be facilitating a discussion of podcasting and vidcasting as a way of helping companies reduce their marketing expenses. My portion of the program begins at 2:45pm. Visit www.socialmediajungle.com to watch the festivities, starting around 8:30am tomorrow.

I interviewed Jeff earlier this year during his social media breakfast in Philadelphia.

Coherent Sales Consulting - Ed Callahan’s Blog » Blog Archive » How can I learn about “social media” for my business?

2008-11-07T19:33:00.000-05:00

Coherent Sales Consulting - Ed Callahan’s Blog » Blog Archive » How can I learn about “social media” for my business?

Ed Callahan wrote a summary blog post of the social media workshop in which we participated yesterday for the Center City Proprietors Association.

LOBP-SNCR3 Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast - SNCR #3, Luncheon Panel of New Comm Forum Alumni

2008-10-29T14:47:00.003-05:00

In this third in a series of special episodes of Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast recorded during the April 2008 New Communications Forum of the Society for New Communications Research, we present a panel luncheon discussion among alumni of previous New Communications Forum programs.

Keynote Luncheon Panel begins its presentation. From left: Susan Getgood, moderator (obscured by lectern); Wendy Harman, American Red Cross; Bob Siller, Altera; Doug Bardwell, New Forest; and Chris Turner, Lifeway Christian Resources. (Lubetkin photos)

Bob Siller of Altera comments as Wendy Harman of the American Red Cross looks on.

Doug Bardwell of New Forest discusses his social media experiences.

Chris Turner of Lifeway Christian Resources discussed his experience.

This program was recorded April 23, 2008 at the New Communications Forum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Download the podcast here (66.5 mb stereo MP3 file, 0:48:28 duration).

Send comments to steve@professionalpodcasts.com or call our podcast comment line, +1-856-861-6146 (Europe and UK, +44 020 7193 6146)

Keywords: sncr, new communications forum, lubetkin, cherry hill, nj, newcommreview, Turner, Bardwell, Harman, Getgood, Siller

Produced by Steve Lubetkin, SNCR Senior Fellow, managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC.

LNJ Topic 4 - The New Demography

2008-10-15T15:43:00.001-05:00

Speakers were:

Dr. Joseph Seneca and Dr. James Hughes, economists from Rutgers

Joyce Gabriel, managing editor, Courier-Post, Cherry Hill

Jeff Tittel, executive director, NJ Sierra Club

James Maley, mayor of Collingswood, NJ

Peter Kasabach, president, NJ Future

Rebecca Purchase, Executive Director, Salem County United Way

Gregg Edwards, President, Center for Policy Research of New Jersey

Michele Byers, Executive Director, NJ Conservation Foundation

Ed Wengren, NJ Farm Bureau

Jeff Stoller, Director, Communications & Outreach, Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers

Steve Morgan, CEO of Jersey Central Power & Light

LNJ Topic 3 - Issues in Higher Education

2008-10-15T14:23:00.001-05:00

Speakers on this topic were:

Richard McCormick, president of Rutgers University

Richard Miller, CEO of Virtual Health Systems, Voorhees, NJ

Tim Touhey, New Jersey Builders Association

Phil Kirschner, New Jersey Business and Industry Association

John Barna, Editor, Gloucester County Times

Sharon Schulman, executive director, William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy

Tom O'Neill, former executive director of Leadership New Jersey

James Weinstein, former DOT Commissioner

Roland Anglim, Rutgers Initiative for Regional/Community Transformation

Barry Seymour, executive director of the Delaware Valley Planning Commission

John Seitter, Executive Director, South Jersey Tourism Corporation

Lou Magazzu, Cumberland County Freeholder Director

Fred Jacobs, St. Barnabas Health System, former state health commissioner

Leadership New Jersey Luncheon Panel Features Two Former NJ Governors, State Officials

2008-10-15T12:22:00.001-05:00

The luncheon panel at Leadership NJ's Forum on the Future of New Jersey featured a distinguished roster of participants. From left: Roland Machold, former state treasurer; former Gov. Brendan Byrne; Anne Limberg, market president of Bank of America, which sponsored the panel; Christopher Daggett, chair of the NJDEP 2008 Permit Efficiency Task Force; former Gov. James Florio; and Kent Manahan of New Jersey Network, who moderated the panel.

Second Segment of Speakers at LNJ Forum on Future of NJ

2008-10-15T11:30:00.001-05:00

Barbara Heisler Williams, CEO at Fund for an OPEN Society

Dr. Richard Goldstein, president of the NJ Council of Teaching Hospitals, waits to see Consensor voting results on his remarks.

Susan Zellman, chairman of the board of trustees of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.

New Jersey Network provided a live video stream of the conference on its website. Here, technician Adam Goldberg monitors the feed as Thomas Geisel, president of Sun National Bank, makes his remarks.

First Group of Speakers Concludes at LNJ Forum on Future of NJ

2008-10-15T10:46:00.001-05:00

Program Chair Michael Willmann, right, converses with NJ State Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck.

Dr. Michael Chrisman, president of the Coriell Institute in Camden, comments on science and technology.

Harry Pozycki, founder of the Citizens Campaign.

Pam Mount of Terhune Orchards

Short presentations continue @ LNJ Forum

2008-10-15T10:21:00.001-05:00

Political consultant and commentator Don Sico looks on while Michael Willmann leads discussion of Sico's presentation.

Sico ponders his remarks.

Tom Byrne of Byrne Asset Management

Images from Forum on Future of NJ - Speakers present their ideas

2008-10-15T10:05:00.001-05:00

NJDOT Commissioner Jack Lettiere and Michael Willmann discuss Lettiere's remarks at Leadership NJ Forum on the Future of NJ.

Prof. Richard Harris of Rutgers University with Willmann.

Gil Medina, former state Commerce Secretary, delivers his remarks.

State, County, and Municipal Governance in 21st Century New Jersey

2008-10-15T09:29:00.001-05:00

Next discussion is led by Tim McDon ough and Dianne Brake. This is difficult, they are only allotted four minutes each speaker. And Tim got the bell in the midst of his comments.

TIM

Revolutionizing or changing things in NJ.

Start with municipalities.Too many levels of government in NJ today. NJ is #1 in total tax burden per capita, including state and local property taxes.

Too much government bureaucracy. Suggestion to consolidate into county level government, but Tim thinks should eliminate county government as a cost-savings. County govt and services are redundant.

DIANE

How do we deliver services efficiently to residents? Problem, particularly in land use, which determines job growth, housing, etc., local government does things that cannot ever add up to necessary goals in NJ. Given local govt some of the "wrong things to do."

Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll Results - State Government is 'Broken'

2008-10-15T08:59:00.001-05:00

Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University, is presenting the results of the latest poll about how people in NJ feel about state government.

Among problems facing NJ, property taxes was ranked highest, 8.7 out of 10.

NJ residents don't believe that government as currently structured in NJ, works for them. Two thirds say it needs a major overhaul.

Quality of life in NJ is good, but cost of living is difficult.

Lineup for Leadership NJ 2008 Forum on the Future of New Jersey

2008-10-15T08:50:00.001-05:00

Here is some taste of today's program.

After opening remarks by Michael Willmann of WMSH Marketing Communications, the chairman of the forum, we'll hear a keynote morning address from former Rep. Bob Franks, president of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey.

Topic is "Clean Slate, Fresh Start." 77 people will speak, 50 for just four minutes each. Best and brightest of NJ, says Willmann.

Franks suggests paying legislators 100-125 K a year, but ban all outside income.

County legislators shouldn't get a paycheck from state legislature too. Reduce the number of masters people are trying to serve.

Bob Franks of Healthcare Institute of NJ

Live-blogging Leadership New Jersey's Forum on the Future of New Jersey

2008-10-15T07:45:00.001-05:00

We are on location in the Trenton studios of New Jersey Network, recording podcasts and preparing to live-blog Leadership New Jersey's Forum on the Future of New Jersey. It's a full-day seminar and town hall meeting at which public policy participants and corporate executives exchange views on the best practices that will help New Jersey government deal with the many complex issues it faces.

Today's panels come on the heels of a new Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll that says nine out of 10 New Jerseyans think government should be overhauled at all levels. The poll's author, Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University, is one of the speakers at the Forum today, so hearing his findings first-hand should be interesting.

You can get more information about today's event on the Forum's website. This year, the event is also being live-streamed in video by New Jersey Network.

We'll be watching for citizens with pitchforks and torches descending on the nearby state capitol building.

Walmart Store #3422, Deptford, NJ - B-Roll

2008-09-17T13:22:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Video b-roll of Walmart Store #3422, Deptford Supercenter, Deptford, Gloucester County, NJ. Scenes of various departments with ambient stereo sound. Cleared for use in broadcast or online media reports about the store. Please email slubetkin@successcomgroup.com with any usage reports. Thanks.

Walmart Store #3422, Deptford, NJ - Video Wrapper Feature

2008-09-17T13:01:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

In connection with our public relations work for Success Communications Group on behalf of Walmart, we produced this video wrapper combining standup, b-roll, and interview clips about the new Walmart supercenter that opened September 17, 2008 in Deptford, NJ.

Also includes video clip of Walmart market manager Sherry Thomas at VIP reception for grand opening of store.

We know this famous sports person, make her fit our product line...

2008-09-15T05:54:00.001-05:00

Here's an example of why people are cynical about what PR professionals do.

Can someone please tell me how this incredibly tenuous linkage has been turned into a press release and video website campaign, and why any news media of any consequence will consider this newsworthy?

SOCCER STAR MIA HAMM AND GUARDIAN TEAM UP FOR OPEN ENROLLMENT SEASON

Olympic Gold Medalist Encourages Americans to Invest Time Reviewing Employee Benefits to Make the Right Choices for Themselves & Families

The best part are the quotes from Hamm and the company execs trying to explain what, if anything, Mia Hamm has to do with their employee benefits business:

"As a soccer player and soccer mom, I have a commitment to ensuring my family is financially protected, and a big part of this is making the right insurance choices. ..." said Hamm.

Sort of like, "I'm not a benefits manager, but I play one on TV..."

Then the company executive helpfully tells us:

"Mia is a true humanitarian and uses her celebrity to help others. As a new mom she understands first-hand the importance of having the right insurance protection and as an Olympic champion she clearly understands the importance of preparation," said Elena Wu, 2nd Vice President of Guardian Group Marketing and Worksite Planning. "Guardian is honored to work with someone who is a trailblazer in her field. She dedicates her life to not only sports, but also health and service through charitable efforts such as the Mia Hamm Foundation which provides support for marrow and blood transplant patients and their families."

I have no quarrel with Mia Hamm's world class achievements both on and off the soccer field, or her humanitarian instincts.

But there is absolutely nothing in her background that makes for a compelling connection between her and the insurance products being flogged.

How anyone who has taken PR 101 in the last three to five years thinks this kind of promotion will drive insurance sales in any measurable way is beyond me.

What do you think?

NewMediaJim Seesmic of Our Visit to "Camp Biden"

2008-08-23T06:47:00.001-05:00

We visited NewMediaJim (Jim Long of NBC News) who was on the Obama VP watch at Sen. Joe Biden's home in Delaware. It looks like they sent Jim to the right location, but the excitement was punctuated by long stretches of sheer boredom, interrupted by lunch runs from social media types. The other journalists on site were amazed at the extent of Jim's social media network.

Whitney Hoffman, leader of the Podcamp Philly organizing committee (September 6-7 at Temple University), lives nearby and has visited Jim several times during the media vigil. I connected with Whit (@ldpodcast on Twitter) and we brought sandwiches and drinks.

Here's Jim's Seesmic report on our visit:

08222008030

A Brief Visit to Camp Biden, Delaware

2008-08-22T18:33:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

News media speculation about Barack Obama's choice for his running mate includes the possible naming of Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden. The local and network news media are camped out at the foot of Biden's driveway. Professional Podcasts paid a brief visit to the press corps, and spent a few minutes with Jim "NewMediaJim" Long of NBC News, one of the videographers on the Biden VP Watch.

Public Service Electric & Gas installs a new transformer in Cherry Hill, NJ

2008-08-22T11:59:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

At about 9:15pm on August 20, 2008, a power transformer serving about six homes on Crestbrook Avenue in Cherry Hill, NJ, burned out, cutting power to the homes for more than 14 hours. About 12 hours into the power failure, PSE&G crews arrived with a replacement transformer. The failed unit was one of the original transformers installed when the neighborhood first received underground wiring almost 40 years ago. In this documentary report, Steve Lubetkin of Professional Podcasts shows the repair and installation process. The report was recorded on the VuPoint Solutions DA1 camera and a Sony VX1000 MiniDV camera. Post-production in the studios of Professional Podcasts on Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.0. Comments and suggestions welcome, at steve@professionalpodcasts.com

ShankmanPRSA20080717

2008-08-08T16:36:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

When in doubt, take the safe course...

2008-08-08T09:02:00.001-05:00

That's one of the primary safety rules they teach you on the railroad, and it seems that it still applies throughout our corporate economy, where doing what's safe and expected and riskless takes precedence over doing something new, untested, experimental, edgy, or -- gasp! -- uncontrolled by IT and the company.

I just attended a networking event for a technology group, and one of the panelists in the short dialogue that preceded the drinks made a point of saying her organization blocks access to iTunes and other social media.

When I questioned that approach, the answer was pretty much the same you always hear...we're afraid our employees can't be trusted to be responsible in their downloading, they might clog the server with music, or something worse.

Of course, the guy who runs IBM's employee blogging program has answered that question quite well.

When asked how they can trust the employees to blog, he says, we trusted them enough to hire them, now that they are employees why would I trust them less? But most of corporate America does distrust its employees. And the employees know it.

It's pervasive in corporate America. Assume the worst of all employees, block all ability to try something new or different. Don't manage by exception, just block everyone. The right approach would be to let people try new things, see if there's a great application that could enhance the business, attract new customers or donors or supporters, whatever.

Only block the ones who actually abuse the system.

But they never seem to do that. Much easier to tell everyone you don't trust them, and then act shocked when they try to circumvent the restrictions.

Alleged News Story Potentially Reports on Suspected Shooting, Allegedly.

2008-07-27T18:19:00.001-05:00

The Associated Press demonstrates how heavily lawyers have drilled into journalists that they have to hedge the way they describe anything that happens, to the point of ridiculousness.

The tragic story of a shooter going into a church and firing upon congregants in Knoxville, Tenn., was reported by AP on the Philadelphia Inquirer website this way:

A suspected gunman has opened fire during a church service in Knoxville, Tenn., and several people are injured. [Emphasis added]

This was the lead of the article. The fact that there was a gunman is pretty evident from the fact that several people were critically injured. Why do we have to refer to him as a "suspected" gunman. It was a real gunman.

The word suspected, or alleged, or purported, or police claim, is only really necessary to describe the actual suspect when he/she is identified. But it's just plain silly and careless writing and copy editing to open the story with "A suspected gunman..."

Just say what happened. It's that simple.

Steve discusses podcasting at NJ Technology Council

2008-06-30T00:49:00.001-05:00

Professional Podcasts was one of seven companies from New Jersey and Quebec, Canada invited to present a seven-minute overview of their business at the New Jersey Technology Council's "What's Next in IT?" conference held at the Mezzanine in 744 Broad Street, Newark, NJ, on June 26.

About 125 high-tech executives, investors, and others attended the event.

LOBP-SNCR2Binhammer: Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast - SNCR #2, Richard Binhammer of Dell Computer

2008-06-25T20:02:00.002-05:00

In this second in a series of special episodes of Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast recorded during the New Communications Forum of the Society for New Communications Research, we present SNCR Senior Fellow John Cass interviewing Richard Binhammer of Dell Computer.

Richard Binhammer, left, and John Cass, SNCR Senior Fellow (Lubetkin photo)

This program was recorded April 23, 2008 at the New Communications Forum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Download the podcast here (95.7 mb stereo MP3 file, 01:09:44 duration).

Send comments to steve@professionalpodcasts.com or call our podcast comment line, +1-856-861-6146 (Europe and UK, +44 020 7193 6146)

Keywords: sncr, new communications forum, lubetkin, cherry hill, nj, newcommreview, dell, binhammer california, santa rosa, conference, new media, social media

del.icio.us Tags: sncr,new communications forum,lubetkin,cherry hill,nj,newcommreview,dell,binhammer california,santa rosa,conference,new media,social media

Produced by Steve Lubetkin, SNCR Senior Fellow, managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC.

Recycle Bin Technology Comes to New Jersey, just as it's being tossed on the, well, dustpile, in the UK

2008-06-25T06:42:00.001-05:00

So next week, Cherry Hill, NJ residents will begin using their new high-tech recycle bins to give politicians additional cover to avoid the tough decisions about our trash.

Why should we build much-needed trash to steam generating facilities that might anger some people (aka voters) while benefitting us with cheaper energy, if we can pretend that government-enforced recycling with a high-tech gift certificate at the back end will solve all our ills?

This is the pattern among those we elect to run our government. Take the easy way out. Don't tell people the hard facts of reality. Don't really DO anything that requires making tough, unpopular decisions. We saw what happened to NJ Gov. Jim Florio when he actually told people the truth, that he was going to raise their taxes.

Why should we allow responsible exploration of our vast reserves of shale oil, offshore oil, or ANWR oil as part of a comprehensive plan for energy independence?

It's much easier to just offer people a few pennies off on gas for the summer vacation season by suspending a much-needed gasoline tax that pays for the highway repairs we aren't even doing, because we've stolen the trust fund money to prop up social security, because we don't want to ask people the hard question about funding it properly?

Let me review.

We now have beautiful, blue barcoded recycle bins, delivered by our tax dollars to your door. Starting June 30, we must put all of our recyclable glass, plastic, metal, and paper into these bins, which have wheels (easier to schlep to curbside) and are very big and tall, to hold a week's worth of this stuff.

When they are picked up, the garbage truck will read the bar code and keep track of what you have recycled.

Then you can log onto www.recyclebank.com and find out how many "points" you have accumulated toward the purchase of what? More "stuff", as the late George Carlin would have said. "Stuff" that is wrapped in more waste paper, packaging, etc., that you can put into the recycle bin and start getting points all over again.

Talk about bread and circuses! Distract people from the real issue by making them work really hard at throwing stuff away correctly.

News flash...we just got back from the UK, where one of the interesting local controversies is the discovery after spending millions of UK pounds (worth twice the US dollar at this point)...gasp! The bin-data technology doesn't seem to work very well. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/17/microchipped_wheelie_bins/

Can't wait until someone in Cherry Hill asks how we know the recyclebank.com points are being accurately awarded...that will keep everyone's minds off the energy issues for at least another campaign season.

Interview about podcasting appears on the Marketing Safari blog

2008-06-24T09:37:00.001-05:00

I met Hjörtur Smárason through LinkedIn initially, when I was trolling the web looking for corporate sponsors for a series of podcasts we're producing from the International Association of Online Communicators meeting that took place June 11-13 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Hjörtur graciously recommended several clients and acquaintances in the Icelandic business community who he thought might be interested in the project.

We began a regular correspondence via email and Twitter that culiminated in a face-to-face "Tweet-Up" when I was in Reykjavik. We previously posted this photo of me, Hjörtur (right), and Belgian new media expert Luc Van Braekel:

Now, Hjörtur has posted an interview with me about podcasting on his Marketing Safari blog. We will be producing a podcast in the next few weeks with Hjörtur about the state of social media in Iceland and the other countries where he practices.

LOBP-SNCR1Jaffe: Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast Special SNCR Episode #1, Keynote Address by Joseph Jaffe at New Communications Forum, 4/2008

2008-06-24T08:58:00.002-05:00

In this first in a series of special episodes of Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast, we present the keynote presentation at the New Communications Forum in April 2008 by Joseph Jaffe, president and chief interruptor of crayon, a new marketing company.

This program was recorded April 22, 2008 at the New Communications Forum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Download the podcast here (139 mb stereo MP3 file, 01:41:52 duration).

Send comments to steve@professionalpodcasts.com or call our podcast comment line, +1-856-861-6146 (Europe and UK, +44 020 7193 6146)

Keywords: jaffe, sncr, new communications forum, lubetkin, cherry hill, nj, newcommreview, crayon, california, santa rosa, conference, new media

del.icio.us Tags: jaffe,sncr,new communications forum,lubetkin,cherry hill,nj,newcommreview,crayon,california,santa rosa,conference,new media

Produced by Steve Lubetkin, SNCR Senior Fellow, managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC.

PRSA/Philadelphia Video Podcast: Media Chameleons: How the Visual News Media is Adapting in the Fast-paced Video World, May 22, 2008

2008-06-22T16:00:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

PRSA/Philadelphia and Professional Podcasts LLC present a video podcast program, recording at the Union League Club on May 22, 2008.

In this vidcast, a group of media experts discuss how their jobs have changed and the media has adapted to technology and changes in the news business. The program runs 1 hour 23 minutes, and includes an audience Q&A session.

Panelists

Sarah Glover, Inquirer Photographer
Shawn Sullivan, Courier-Post web content producer
Brian Conley, Alive in Baghdad
Jim Eyles, NFL Films

Moderator: Cheryl Squadrito, President, Media Friendly Public Relations

Some ideas about the gas price crisis that you won't hear on mainstream TV

2008-06-21T09:25:00.001-05:00

You may not like his politics or even agree with him, but Newt Gingrich makes some compelling statements here about how to deal with the gas price crisis. We have the intellect and the technological means to figure out how to be environmentally responsible while exploring for new oil. So why don't we?

Social Media Experts have Tweetup in Reykjavik

2008-06-15T05:00:00.001-05:00

Reykjavik, , Iceland - Saturday, June 14, 2008: Social media experts from three countries had an encounter at the Hotel Holt here. Posing while discussing social media networks are (from left): Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC, a leading US producer of business podcasts; Luc Van Braekel, a Belgian blogger and podcaster; and Hjörtur Smárason, president and CEO of Scope, an Icelandic internet marketing consultancy. Lubetkin and Smárason met online via LinkedIn and Twitter; Van Braekel met Lubetkin and Smárason in Reykjavik. Lubetkin and Van Braekel were covering the International Association of Online Communicators conference at the Hotel Holt. Live blogging of the conference appears on the PRSA/Philadelphia Brainstorm Blog, on Luc's blog, and on the IAOC's blog.

Photography Copyright

Keynote about Swarms and Collective Intelligence, Peter Gloor, MIT

2008-06-13T08:14:00.001-05:00

Concluding the IAOC Conference in Reykjavik today is Peter Gloor, an MIT professor and chief creative officer of galaxyadvisors researching swarm intelligence and crowdsourcing, using some social network analysis software called CONDOR.

It analyzes the relationships between people and the topics they are discussing in online communications channels, building a map of relationships and connections, and enhancing predictive value of the content.

This has application in business for integrating new employees into the company network.

Complete audio podcast will come in a week or so, thanks to a grant from PRSA/Philadelphia, which is underwriting this coverage of the conference.

UPDATED 6/14/2008: Luc Van Braekel, Belgian blogger and podcaster who helped Philippe Borremans liveblog the conference, has posted a video of Peter's presentation.

International Online Communications

2008-06-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

We had a concluding panel before lunch about the international implications for online communications.

Reykjavik, , Iceland - Friday June 13, 2008: IAOC Conference panel on European/US issues of online communications included (from left): Philippe Borremans of Blackline, a Belgian social media consulting firm; Bill Wolff, a professor from Rowan University; and moderator Don Dunnington.

Here's a small video excerpt from the panel. We're producing a full audio podcast of the panel, courtesy of the grant from PRSA/Philadelphia.

Effective Tactics During a Product Recall: A Case Study of the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall

2008-06-13T06:10:00.001-05:00

Melissa Bass of Rowan University (with microphone) is presenting her Master's thesis research on product recalls. She's a graduate student at Rowan University.

She reviewed the Menu Foods pet food recall and her survey of pet owners about how they got information.

37% of survey respondents were older, yet still went to the Internet for information about the recall. Only 8% were between 18-35, and all used the Internet for their information.

Consumers remain confident in pet food industry. Despite early chaos in the recalls, once consumers were able to get information about specific brands that were affected, it helped alleviate concerns. People did not switch brands. Also, most people used dry foods which were only recalled as a precaution but were not affected by the issue. Small percentage actually didn't use affected brands but cooked their own pet food.

Online Libel and the Court’s attempt to apply First Amendment Protection to an Emerging Medium

2008-06-13T05:58:00.001-05:00

Joe Basso of Rowan University presented research on efforts to apply First Amendment doctrines to online speech.

False ideas will be discredited by speech that directly rebuts it. Problem is what if the original listener is not online to get the rebuttal.

It almost becomes the ethical duty of the sender of the message to infomr people that thier view is biased, and that readers need to seek out divergent points of view. It's a laissez faire approach to free speech; i.e., we actually have to seek out other opinions.

Cyber SLAPs - Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Opinion. Courts have refused to force disclosure of anonymous bloggers. Come down on the side of the bloggers.

Basso discusses paper while Lubetkin live-blogs and podcasts

Reykjavik, , Iceland - Friday June 13, 2008: IAOC Conference Speakers presented papers in the second day of the conference. Joe Basso of Rowan University presented research on online libel and First Amendment issues. Looking on are (from left): Rick Sykes of Central Michigan University; Keith Brand of Rowan University; and Luc Van Braekel, who was live blogging the conference.

Student-produced news media, how complex have their online efforts become

2008-06-13T05:42:00.001-05:00

Rick Sykes of Central Michigan University researched student-produced media. He was surprised to find student media recruiting his students to become multimedia editors. They are moving to multimedia journalism including video and podcasting.

His survey of several hundred student publication websites shows only a small fraction were still text-only. More than 90% had photos or slideshows, some with video and audio. 46% were using podcasts, about two-thirds had some blogs. Industry professionals in print told him that columnists blogging for the sports page was one of their biggest features. Readers want to see opinions from columnists.

Old Needs, New Demands: How Online Communication has Re-shaped the Practice of School PR

2008-06-13T05:11:00.001-05:00

Ed Moore, APR, of Rowan University, presented research on how school public relations is changing because of online communications.

For last several years, he has looked at award winning school websites and pulled the top national winners, and audit them, to identify the components that make them excellent.

Creative approach - special purpose websites (portals) - such as site for school bond issues; new residents; teacher recruitment

Interactive sites designed to provide financial information - pressure to be transparent and comply with freedom-of-information requirements. Schools responding by putting all financial information online.

Issues

Research suggests municipal government websites are often written above the 12th grade reading level. Yet most people believe governments have responsibility to provide information on the web. The question is how well they are actually communicating.

Need to look at metrics - how well schools are doing this. He has anecdotal data of how some districts address the issue. Schools look at improving traffic through site, getting to destination data in fewer number of clicks. Currently no real standard for what metrics to watch. Accuracy and timeliness of information important, but Moore thinks a need for ratcheting up the level of sophistication in performance metrics.

Sees three areas for additional work:

Trying to track how schools are adopting technologies
How to get the most out of communications/PR and IT staffs
Standardizing and codifying performance metrics

Back for second day of IAOC Sessions

2008-06-13T05:10:00.001-05:00

Good morning again from Reykjavik, where the International Association of Online Communicators is holding its international conference. We have heard several presentations on academic research by IAOC members, summarized in the blog posts below. These summaries and the forthcoming podcasts from the conference are underwritten by a grant from PRSA/Philadelphia. These posts are also being cross-posted at Lubetkin's Other Blog. The conference is also being live-blogged at http://www.iaocblog.com/.

Up first in our paper presentations today,

Using Google Applications for Online Teaching: Competition For Proprietary Educational Software in an Age of Fiscal Constraint, presented by Kevin Lee of Western Carolina University.

Free applications attractive to professors, particularly in an age of fiscal constraint.

Quotes Esther Dyson as recognizing early on that commercial life of most products online will be brief. Quotes from 1994 writing suggests that content providers will need to figure out what to charge for and what to give away free as a way to encourage people to buy other services.

Music CD sales plummeted, TV shows available on the 'net. University courses now available free online, thousands of copyright-free books, free online phone calls, open source, including wikipedia model.

Kevin sees trend accelerating, people are buying fewer things, and if they can get it online, they will.

Free microapplications at Google - course management software, email that is essentially spam-free; word processing, presentation and spreadsheet software, synchronous chat, voice chat, blogging, web creation and hosting, photo and image management, video, academic research (scholar.google.com), RSS reader, private groups.

He discussed some other online services available for academic applications, some of which charge for access, but offer some discounts if schools commit to their applications, like Blackboard.com and Web-CT.

He thinks schools will increasingly turn to the free, Google style alternatives.

Melissa Bass, a Rowan graduate student attending the session, noted that Google's scholar application is not as comprehensive as Lexis-Nexis.

She also finds gmail.com a better organizing tool and has her school email forwarded directly to gmail. She can even respond using her school email address directly from gmail.

Issues of Organizational Commitment in the Era of the Virtual Office

2008-06-12T12:27:00.001-05:00

Crossposted from PRSA Philadelphia Brainstorm Blog:

At the IAOC Conference in Reykjavik, Professor Evonne Kruger (left) from Richard Stockton College, and Diane Holtzman, of Stockton and Rowan University, presented research on how millenials and Gen X-ers deal with organizational commitment and structure in the era of virtual offices. PRSA is sponsoring my presence here to produce podcasts, and we're also live-blogging.

Findings - millenials because of all the years of volunteering, they actually read corporate mission and vision statements, want to know the values of the organizations they are interacting with.

Gen X need to see things that affect their lives.

Millenials expect more praise, difficult to have conversations with them that involve constructive criticism of work performance.

They have close relationships with parents, who are seen as mentors and friends. They are less interested in going away to school than boomers were.

There are also differences culturally and nationally.

Broadcast Media Meets Social Media; Radio 2.0 and the Future of Broadcasting

2008-06-12T12:03:00.001-05:00

CROSS POSTED FROM PRSA PHILADELPHIA BRAINSTORM BLOG

Professor Keith Brand of Rowan University discussed his research on how radio stations are using social media. This is from the IAOC Conference in Reykjavik, where we are producing podcasts for PRSA Philadelphia.

Looking at NPR profile, noted adults 45-60 are top group listening to NPA, he said. Younger listeners are not listening as much.

Paper looks at different examples of radio stations or networks dealing with "participatory culture," endemic to the younger demographic.

Problem with these services that radio stations are trying are - attempting to create separate programs for separate sudiences.

Brand focused on Vocalo, a podcasting/broadcasting initiative by Chicago Public Radio that puts members of the community on the air in their own voices. Vocalo rhymes with the Spanish word Zocalo, which means "plaza." Currently broadcasting on an unused repeater frequency, but a signal strength boost is coming.

Metrics - measuring amount of content being uploaded and downloaded on the website

Participatory approach could be a way to get younger people reinvigorated about radio.

Online Newsrooms and Media Kits

2008-06-12T11:12:00.001-05:00

CROSSPOSTED FROM PRSA PHIlADELPHIA BRAINSTORM BLOG

At IAOC Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, Joe Basso of Rowan University presented on online newsrooms and media kits, and how people in different age groups use them.

At University level, there is an emphasis on one-way communications model, using communications platforms online as delivery systems to repackage existing material. Teaching professionals to think about how they use the channels to move organizations toward ethical business decisions is critical.

Question from Sam Terilli of University of Miami - are notions of transparency doomed? One way that enhances is that everything goes right out instantly. Compare with more seasoned practitioners who might be more reserved if they've has a problem.

Answer from Joe - Younger group wants to communicate without thinking about the fallout, needs to learn how to take time to think about the fallout. 36+ view the message more important. Slower to communicate but more conscious of the fallout. 35 and younger almost an addictive drug, the need to communicate overshadows thinking strategically. Younger people are not thinking about the two-way process. They are more interested in getting the communications out quickly.

User Interaction with Time-dependent Presentation in Online Journalism. Results of an Eye-tracking Study

2008-06-12T11:11:00.001-05:00

CROSS POSTED FROM PRSA PHILADELPHIA BRAINSTORM BLOG

Peter Schumacher of the University of Trier reported on multimedia websites and how people look at them. His interest is in determining the best ways for designers to pull the content together for multimedia presentations, automated slide shows, and other online content, to enhance the experience by using data collected from how people actually navigate through such presentations. He analyzed eye-tracking data from participants to see how they viewed these presentations. You can see what parts of pictures people look at first and where their eyes go in the presentation's environment.

Preparing Online Communicators for the Future of Information Systems

2008-06-12T11:08:00.001-05:00

CROSSPOSTED FROM PRSA PHILADELPHIA BRAINSTORM BLOG

Diane Penrod and Bill Wolff of Rowan presented on information "ecologies," including online portfolio, RSS feeds, and social bookmarking tools. Goal is showcasing how information is moving. Bill showed an example from a student about how that student is gathering information from multiple blogs and rss feeds and aggregating them in a way that is useful for her own collaborative writing projects.

Diane is interested in the "semantic domain" of Web 3.0. Beat-blogging is citizen journalism mixed with professional journalists and other experts interested in journalism. Twitter is mentioned in coverage of spot news events increasingly.

Teaching them a semantic, linguistic structure - Tweets are different semantic, linguistic structures.

Students are not digital natives, they are digital "primitives." They are not completely fluent. Goal is to take the primitives and get them away from the primitive uses and move the communications process forward by helping them learn how to use these technologies better.

Wolff: goal is to think critically about these tools and technologies, rather than just using them.

Liveblogging from International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC) Conference in Reykjavik

2008-06-12T10:37:00.001-05:00

CROSSPOSTED FROM PRSA Philadelphia Brainstorm Blog:

Greetings from Reykjavik, Iceland, where the IAOC Conference is underway. We're here as the IAOC Conference gets underway. We will live blog the session highlights, and there will be podcast recordings of the short presentations, sponsored by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

There is also live blogging at the IAOC blog, courtesy of conference sponsor Phillippe Borremans of Blackline, a Belgian social media company.

We are sitting at square tables for a series of roundtable presentations. I've convinced (wasn't hard) Suzanne Sparks Fitzgerald, APR, Fellow, PRSA, of Rowan, who organized the conference, to have the presenters rotate instead of the listeners. That way, we don't have to move podcast equipment from table to table.

OK, up first is Kathryn Quigley of Rowan University, who is presenting research entitled "Loud Voices, Silenced Voices; The Ethics of Online Content in Media Coverage of High-Profile Child Death and Child Disappearance cases."

Kathryn is examining how news media are handling child disappearances and murders in their online coverage. Some papers have allowed offensive and scurrillous comments on their online content. The Madeline McCann website set up by the Sun in London has 38 different click-on discussions available. Discussion is more tabloid, headlines, the bias is more pronounced, she says.

We'll post her presentation here on the blog when it's available to us.

PRSA Chair Jeff Julin responds to attack on PR by CBS's Andrew Cohen

2008-06-06T09:54:00.001-05:00

In a surprisingly clever use of social media, the Public Relations Society of America has employed YouTube to deliver its response to a scathing and ill-researched attack on the public relations profession in general and PRSA in particular.

On CBS Sunday Morning last week, commentator Andrew Cohen lambasted the society for its Code of Ethics and Professional Standards, arguing that having such a code was akin to a professional organization of burglars promising not to steal.

Jeff Julin, APR, PRSA's 2008 Chair, responded in a letter to Cohen and then posted a video on YouTube:

Despite what many people may think because of the bad examples of publicity agents masquerading as communications consultants, the vast majority of public relations professionals do attempt to base relationships with the media on a two-way, transparent, and honest dialogue about issues as they represent their clients.

As a matter of personal policy, I incorporate the PRSA Code in every contract I write with clients, and provide them with a copy so they know what I will and will not do. And I really will walk away from business if a client asks me to be deceptive.

Anyway, it's a big step forward for PRSA to be employing the social media tools in this way. In the late 1980s, I was part of a "Communications and Technology Committee" that was trying to get PRSA's then executive director to embrace CompuServe's PRSIG special interest group as a means of online communications. At the time, PRSA's Job Center was a printed list that went out to members once a month. Headquarters would only fax the typed 3x5 cards to Ron Solberg in Chicago, who rekeyed them and posted the jobs on CompuServe.

How far we have come!

Blogger-terrorist Michelle Malkin humbles Dunkin' Donuts; her spiritual mentor Joe McCarthy would be proud

2008-05-30T07:01:00.001-05:00

One of the things that really scares and worries me about this whole blogging thing is this:

One emotionally needy ("no one has written about me in a while, let's stir something up") blogger, who happens to have a wide readership because of her "bully" pulpit of a syndicated column, can bring a decent company and an awfully nice spokesperson to their knees.

I'm talking about Michelle Malkin (usually given the title "conservative columnist") and her attach on Dunkin' Brands and Rachel Ray.

You may have seen news stories that Dunkin' caved in to Malkin's unprovoked and unfair attack and withdrew a series of ads featuring Rachel Ray wearing a scarf with a black-and-white paisley design.

Having nothing better to do, and absolutely no facts at her disposal to support the allegation (remember when Sen. McCarthy declared "I have here in my pocket a secret list of Communists"?) Ms. Malkin decided that Rachel Ray's scarf bore a resemblance to the kaffiyeh, the patterned headgear favored by some terrorist leaders.

Come on, people. Have we totally lost control of our ability to sort out the facts?

This is a kaffiyeh:

Here is a photo of the most prominent terrorist leader wearing a kaffiyeh:

And this is Rachel Ray wearing "the scarf."

They are obviously and distinctively different, and reasonable people would see that just by looking at the photos.

It only took me 10 minutes (probably less) to find these images using Google.

So the serious, important question is this:

Why do we act like sheep and let people like Malkin spew their nonsense without challenging it?

Why didn't any news media people compare the images, and question Malkin's sanity?

Remember, she is also the same bloggoterrorist who once suggested prosecution for anti-American statements by Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor stringer kidnapped in Iraq and forced at gunpoint to those statements while in captivity.

Aside from the fact that Malkin didn't lose her juicy syndicated column contract over that outrageous attack, why does the news media still give any shred of credibility to anything she says?

Why do we have a media firestorm over the allegation and no one, NO ONE, standing up to say clearly and without hesitation:

Dunkin' Donuts and Rachel Ray didn't do anything wrong.

The charge is bogus, and Michelle Malkin's news syndication service should be ashamed that they give a channel to this kind of witch-hunting masquerading as journalism.

Let's be very clear: The person who is wrong here is not Rachel Ray. Dunkin' Donuts is also not doing anything wrong.

The one who's wrong -- once again -- irresponsible bloggoterrorist making the allegation without any foundation and for no other reason than to stir the waters of controversy and get her name mentioned.

The ones who are guilty, however, are the journalists who dutifully report Malkin's crazy assertion and conclude that they have done their jobs by merely reporting what she said accurately and what the other side said in response -- accurately.

There is an obligation to report the truth, and that means reporting skeptically about the original assertion when it is easy to prove that the assertion is wrong. This is the same failure of the media when Joe McCarthy brandished his fictitious "list."

And it demands that we ask the same question of Michelle Malkin that Joseph Welch, head attorney for the US Army, asked of Joe McCarthy toward the end of McCarthy's reign of terror:

You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?

NJ Bank Marketing Association Vidcast 2008-05-02 Part 1: Promoting Thought Leadership Through Podcasts

2008-05-23T20:37:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

In this first part of a two-part vidcast, NJ Bank Marketing Association Board Member Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Professional Podcasts LLC,
explains how banks can use podcasting technology to distribute messages and promote thought leadership in financial matters. The program was recorded May 2, 2008 in Woodbridge, NJ. It runs about one hour.