The Update

10/2006

Welcome to the official newsletter of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter. Past issues can be found by going to www.prsaspokane.org and clicking on the "Newsletters" link.

Join us Friday at 7:30 a.m. for the next joint breakfast meeting of the Greater Spokane PRSA Chapter and the Spokane Public Relations Council! The meeting will be held in Cataldo Hall on the campus of Gonzaga University from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and is open to any interested public relations professionals or students. The meeting fee, which covers breakfast, is $9 for members, $11 for non-members and $7 for students.

October’s program is all about blogging – both in terms of creation and consumption. Carson McComas, an Internet marketing consultant and avid blogger, will talk about blogging as a successful communications strategy for his own business as well as for his clients, such as Debbie Mumm, Inc., that is about to roll out a blog. He will reference several blogs and provide some important do’s and don’ts.

Ryan Pitts, an online producer for spokesmanreview.com and spokane7.com, will talk about the media’s use of blogging, why communications professionals should carefully survey popular blogs and how communications professionals can best interact with bloggers.

More about our speakers:

• Carson McComas is an Internet marketing consultant, an entrepreneur, a search engine marketer, a web developer, a change agent and a blogger. A graduate of Gonzaga University, he has run his own (mostly) one-man consultancy since March of 2000. Carson has clients all over the country - some of his local clients are Gonzaga University, Debbie Mumm, Inc., and Greenstone Homes. Carson runs or contributes to several blogs. His entrepreneurially focused blog WorkHappy.net has over 7,000 regular readers including 4,500 RSS subscribers.
• Ryan Pitts is an online producer for spokesmanreview.com and spokane7.com. He wrapped up college in the 1990s with an English lit degree, only to realize he still needed some way to pay the bills. After wearing several hats at a local paper in southern Idaho, family brought him to Spokane and The Spokesman-Review several years ago. After teaching himself HTML (to help run a fantasy baseball league), he landed on the spokesmanreview.com web team. (Who says playing games doesn't pay?)

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Five Reasons to Blog
by Emalee Gruss Gillis

1. More hits: The platforms that run blogs have more hooks than a website, so Google is more likely to pick up a blog than a web-based newsletter. In addition, blogtrackers will let readers interested in specific subjects know that your site has been updated with a relevant article. The blogtracker Technocrati follows 29 million blogs.
2. Develop closer relationships with readers: Blogs tend to have more personality than flat web pages, which allows deeper connection with readers. Deeper connections can lead to increased loyalty and sales for a private company. For a non-profit it might mean more donors and for a university that loyalty might translate to new students or it could spawn off new research efforts.
3. Build a global readership: It would cost a small fortune to send 1,000 newsletters to China. A blogger can send out an email notice to 1,000 or 10,000 readers in China, Africa, or anywhere else in the world. The blog that these readers access is easier to update than a website and only costs a few dollars a month to maintain. In addition, readers can subscribe to your blog.
4. Initiate worldwide discussions: Blogs are interactive. If set-up to do so, blogs allow comments from readers anywhere in the world. The blog platform allows for global debates around products, services, ideas, or policies. These interactions bring new insights to both readers and the blogger.
5. Reach young adults: According to Charlene Li of Forresters, 24% or almost one in four young adults (age 18 to 26) read blogs. Only 12% of generation X adults (age 27 to 40) read blogs. Cut the number almost in half again (7%) for boomers (age 41 to 50).

At the IMPACT Center at WSU, I led an effort to develop a blog that would replace the paper newsletter we sent out to 250 people. Our blog had 11,000 hits the first year.

Emalee Gruss Gillis is a freelance writer with expertise in working with blogs. She can be reached at emalee2@msn.com

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By GARRY MATLOW
Chapter President

Time for a little word-association game. What do these words make you think of?

• Tylenol
• Exxon Valdez
• Mad cow
• SARS
• Bagged spinach.

Of course, we all recognize them as some of the biggest public relations crises of the past quarter century.They were unforeseen occurrences that required every ounce of PR expertise available. Some were handled better than others, and all provide interesting case studies. They also reinforce one of the cardinal rules of public relations: have a crisis plan and know what's in it.

Plan for crises that you've never experienced in the past just in case lightning strikes and suddenly your organic spinach farm doesn't seen so healthy any more. What if you're involved with an arts organization when the flu pandemic finally does arrive. How will you deal with restrictions on public gatherings when your business is getting as many people as possible to gather in close proximity in an enclosed space? Think of the worst thing that could happen to your business and plan what everyone will do if the unmentionable does occur.

To use an old cliche, when it comes to crisis management the time to repair that barn door is before the horse escapes.

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It's time again to recognize those communicators, educators and leadership among us who exemplify the best in communications. The deadline for this year's awards entries in Oct. 31.  Download the paperwork at http://www.prsaspokane.org/news.asp?id=118.

Degerness Awards for Excellence in Communications

Named for PRSA member Ken Degerness, this award honors a local PRSA member who has delivered outstanding service in support of the community through significant work in the community through their public relations efforts and chapter activities. The 2005 recipient was Pat Lynch of Avista Corp..

Educator of the Year Award

This award recognizes an educator who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of public relations through a college or university setting. There was no 2005 recipient.

Communicator of the Year Award

The award honors excellence in communications leadership by a CEO whose achievements include the effective use of communications to reach business objectives. The 2005 recipient was Dr. Brian Benzel, superintendent of Spokane Public Schools.

These recipients demonstrate that mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics play a critical role in maintaining long term relationships.

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This year's Conference, Benchmarking Your Public Relations Strategies with the Best, offers more than 55 highly focused professional development opportunities that will provide you with the exact tools you need to advance your career and your organization.

Want to know more about this year's exciting lineup of speakers, workshops, and networking events? Click http://prsa.org/conf2006/program.cfm to view full Conference details in PDF format.

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Be a key part of one of Spokane’s most entertaining events of 2006: the first-ever Spokane version of the Washington News Council’s Gridiron West Dinner. The dinner is scheduled for Saturday, November 11, 2006, at the Davenport Hotel.

Ambassador Tom Foley and Senator Slade Gorton will be toasted at this fabulous bipartisan evening of comedy, song, videos and affectionate tributes.

This is the Washington News Council’s 8th annual Gridiron West Dinner - but the first ever in Spokane.

The dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. with a general reception at 6:00 p.m. and a private reception at 5:30 p.m. The Washington News Council is offering three levels of “table” sponsorship with amenities corresponding to the level of sponsorship. Individual tickets are $125 per person for dinner and the general reception or $200 per person for dinner and the private reception.

The Washington News Council (www.wanewscouncil.org) is an independent, nonpartisan group of concerned citizens who strongly believe in a free and fair press. The Council’s mission is to help maintain public trust and confidence in the news media in our state. The Washington News Council participated in the last PRSA/SPRC media panel breakfast meeting. If you support fairness, accuracy and balance in the news media, reserve your tables or tickets now. The event is likely to sell out.

For more information about sponsorships, contact Jennifer Priest at (509) 270-2603. To purchase tickets go online at www.wanewscouncil.org. For more information about the event, contact John Hamer, Executive Director, Washington News Council at (206) 262-9793.

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Michelle Galey
Director of Communications
WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing
2917 W. Fort George Wright Drive
Spokane, WA 99224
Phone: (509) 443-8894
Fax: (509) 324-7341
mgaley@wsu.edu

Tammey Lynn Boston
Exec Dir, PR & Events
WSU Office of Marketing & Communications
P.O. Box 641040
Pullman, WA 99164-1040
Phone: (509) 335-6689
Fax: (509) 335-7901
boston@wsu.edu

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Christine Eriksen, APR, formerly of Spokane and the Rockwood Clinic, has relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, and has been hired as Marketing Manager at Medicity, Inc. Medicity, Inc. serves the Healthcare Industry with software specializing in Web-based portal solutions for healthcare organizations. The company serves more than 1200 healthcare entities and has been connecting Healthcare since 1999. Chris is a Past President of the Greater Spokane Chapter of PRSA.

Chris writes: “If you plan to attend the PRSA International Conference in Salt Lake in November, please give me a call! I’d love to see my Spokane colleagues. You can reach me at Medicity (801) 322-4444.”

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Have a story idea for the Spokane PRSA newsletter? Send your article, announcement or shameless plug to Lance Kissler by the last Wednesday of each month.

Contact:
Lance Kissler
lkissler@mail.ewu.edu
(509) 359-6317

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