Can you 'help a reporter' today?

Today I registered for a new service called Help A Reporter, what seems to be a mom and pop version of ProfNet (full disclosure: ProfNet's parent company PRNewswire just signed on as a conference sponsor today).

I've received a few Help a Reporter e-mails today digesting requests for sources from various reporters, and actually saw some topics that would fit experts at my company. It appears many of the reporters are freelancers or bloggers (most have gmail, yahoo or hotmail e-mail addresses) but it still seems like a viable approach for companies who have the interest in new and social media and the resources to monitor these posts.

While the idea of these services is nothing new, it certainly is interesting to see how reporters are relying more and more on them. While responding to these queries does not guarantee a hit every time, I personally have gained some great stories by firing back a response and pitching my expert. It's also great to scan these queries and see what's top of mind in newsrooms (and the home offices of bloggers and freelancers) across the country.

A few months ago I was asked to research some of the PR services we use at my company. I sat in on a teleseminar that featured reporters from two daily newspapers. Both time-strapped reporters said that they rely on services like ProfNet and Help A Reporter now more than ever because of the broad, instant reach to potential sources.

Do you have any good (or bad) experiences to share about these services, or any best practices? Have you registered for HelpAReporter.com? Tell us in the comments section.

Conference Web site is live

Our conference Web site is now live at www.prsamiami.org/conference. While it is still a work in progress, you can now register for the site and also see who is sponsoring the conference. This blog will stay active. Please continue to look to it for conference updates and other news from teh PR world.

Don't forget that PRSA members receive a $60 earlybird discount off the $309 regular price if they register through May 9.

By early April we'll begin posting our speakers and presenters at the site so you will see what's in store for the conference.

A special thanks to webmaster and immediate past president Natalia Flores, APR for working on the site during her maternity leave and to StarChapter for sponsoring the site.

Mark Cuban sounds off on blogs

On Blog Maverick, the outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban gave some insight on his decision to ban bloggers from his team's locker room on his own blog (see his posts from March 10, March 13 and March 17).

Cuban says there is simply not space to grant media access to everyone, so he does not allow bloggers into the locker room (but they do have access elsewhere). When he found out one of the handful of Dallas Morning News writers who had access to the locker room was employed solely to be a sports blogger, he raised a red flag, saying he treats all bloggers the same, whether they attend a Dallas high school or write for the Morning News. He did not want to give the blogger from the Morning News (who had this access for many games before the ban) preferential access simply because he was employed by a traditional media company.

The Morning News provided an interesting response, claiming Cuban is singling out this blogger for his views (a claim Cuban is vehemently denying) and that this blogger should be allowed access since he gathers quotes that often make it into the print edition of the paper.

Cuban's view is not that blogs are bad (he would be quite the hypocrite if this were the case) but he is clearly separating church and state. He warns that respected media outlets put their reputations on the line when they start blogs since blogs do not typically allow for the same publishing standards consumers should expect from the traditional media.

Cuban's point is valid - it is easy to create a blog, and many blogs are of poor quality, but I can't help but feel he's cutting off his nose to spite his face. I certainly agree (as do a lot of newspaper publishers) that blogs are risky, but it is uncharted territory that media companies (once called newspapers) need to explore to survive. The print newspaper is going the way of the do-do, and like it or not, blogs are what resonate with a lot of consumers. Media companies are also strapped for resources, making blogs a quick and easy solution for newspapers and TV stations trying to do more with less.

It's obviously his prerogative to set the standards for his own organization's media access, but I have to wonder how long this will last since more and more media companies are hiring writers to blog exclusively. Cuban writes about this extensively, but I am not convinced that we live in an age where we can weigh a blogger's words against those of a traditional reporter.

I am sure we have all had to make a decision about granting a blogger access at our own companies. Do your PR departments have policies on how to handle bloggers, or do you handle bloggers on a case-by-case basis?

Registration prices for PRSA Conference

We're putting the finishing touches on the conference Web site, and it is just days away from being launched (keep an eye on your e-mail if you are a Sunshine District Conference member).

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know what the registration fees for this year's conference will be. I will post a link to the conference Web site and registration page once these pages are open.

$249 - Early admission PRSA members (through May 9)
$309 - Regular admission for PRSA members (May 10 and later)
$369 - Non-member admission
$209 - PRSSA student admission

$169 - Nightly rate (suite) at The Alexander (plus applicable fees + taxes)
$40 - Friday night dinner and walking tour of South Beach (optional)

You will also have an opportunity to get a group travel discount on both American Airlines flights and Avis rental cars.

Get a taste and tour of Miami Beach - Friday, June 20

As I mentioned in a previous post, we've created an optional Friday evening event for conference attendees who want to get a taste and tour of South Beach on June 20.

George Neary from the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau will take members on a walking tour of South Beach from 7 to 8:30 p.m., with the tour stopping at OLA Restaurant at the Sanctuary Hotel, the location of our Friday dinner. OLA is an acronym for Of Latin America, and you'll see acclaimed chefs Douglas Rodriguez and Jose Luis Flores reflect the diverse flavors of Miami in their unique menu.

The cost for the walking tour and dinner is only $40 per person, and includes tax, gratuity, transportation with a PRSA Miami member and a welcome mojito or mocktail. Special thanks to Rosemary Staltere of OLA and committee member Michelle Revuelta for putting this event together. The menu for the event is below...

Welcome mojito or mocktail

Appetizer (choice of)
Ecuadorian Shrimp
Shrimp, roasted tomatoes, popcorn & corn nuts

Smoked Marlin Salad
Rum vanilla cured smoked marlin in a crispy fried malanga boat topped w/ pickled jalapenos

OLA Salad
Mixed Boston & purple lettuce, feta cheese, fava beans, red radish, pine nuts & guava chipotle vinaigrette
Entrée (choice of)
Sugar Cane Rum-Cured Panela Salmon
Panela rum cured and seared, creamy quinoa, broken black olive vinaigrette, jicama salad
Crispy Pork
Fried yucca dressed with lemon mojo, black bean broth & cilantro mojo
Pollo a la Ceniza
Roasted chicken breast crusted w/ 3- onion dust, served w/ white bean fondue, roasted elephant garlic and white bean salad

Vegetable Paella
Saffron rice, fava beans, sweet peas & plantains

Dessert
Chef's Tasting Platter of Gourmet Desserts

Digital cameras fueling on demand nature of the media

PRSA's PR Tactics and The Strategist Online has a telling article on how consumers are fueling the paparazzi trade. The report says consumers are providing tabloids, magazines and TV shows broader access to celebrity photos. All of this is thanks to the now ubiquitous digital camera, many of which can also capture video. The paparazzi is really just one form of media that is responding to this change.

Digital cameras have made our lives as PR pros much easier, and media have responded by relying more upon us to provide images from events instantaneously. Dailies have had to slash budgets, and are now asking reporters to take photos, capture video and record sound in addition to writing the story.

To compete with new media, most daily newspapers and TV stations have beefed up the images and video they run with their online stories, and the expectation is that PR pros provide more content with news releases and in news centers.

Does anyone have any success stories about supplying more multimedia to reporters to enhance their stories? Do any of you have any tips for improving our media centers or gaining the skills needed to communicate with today's tech-savvy consumers?

Have you weighed in on the conference yet?

I can't believe it's already March, but I am happy to report that we are getting very close to announcing more details for the 2008 Sunshine District Conference.

If you haven't done so already, please share your input for the conference in our very short and sweet online survey. Our goal is to deliver a conference that offers what you want to see - please take a moment to let us know what you'd like to learn about. If you have additional feedback that you feel can't be covered in the survey, please feel free to e-mail me. You can also recommend speakers by completing the Call for Presenters form to the right.

One quick conference update... we pulling together the details for our Thursday night opening reception, and we are adding an optional Friday night outing that is sure to give you a taste of Miami Beach. We expect our full Web site and registration will be launched by the middle of this month, and we will be offering PRSA members a special rate for registering early (keep an eye on your e-mail - we will notify you when registration becomes available).

Are you a "passionista"?

The Online Marketing Blog posted an interesting article about a term they call passionistas. Edwin Wong, director of customer insights at Yahoo! says people "love brands that love what they love."

The article says passionistas are important because passionistas search 184 percent more than others. You can engage these strong brand advocates as your company's best marketers by focusing on them and tailoring content to their needs. This feeds the word of mouth marketing that all of us dream about for our brands.

Are you a PR passionista? Would you like to be a writer on this blog? If so, please e-mail me so you can weigh in on the conference and on other PR issues.

When e-mail backfires

It's no surprise that most professional communicators rely heavily on e-mail. Think about it - when was the last time you snail mailed a news release, and how often do you use your fax machine?

I am sure most of you have experienced that moment of anxiety when the computer network is down (or worse, you're in the midst of a BlackBerry or Florida Power & Light outage) and you don't know what to do with yourself.

E-mail does become addictive, and some employers are telling employees they can't use e-mail on specific days. As a heavy e-mail user, I know I sometimes rely too much on e-mail communication, and it's not unusual to see a friend or colleague send a misfired, misinterpreted e-mail, and I have been guilty of this in the past, too. For instance, I was copied on an intense e-mail between two peers the other day. It made me think about a few informal ground rules that I try to follow to keep me out of e-trouble.

1. Don't let e-mail completely replace "warm" methods of communication like phone calls and face to face meetings. Sure, e-mail can save a lot of time, but the five, 10 or 30 minutes saved is not always worth it when you could strengthen a personal connection or come up with a new or better idea by chatting with someone.

2. Tough conversations and difficult news should usually not start with an e-mail. It may seem easier to gather and send your thoughts in writing, but this eliminates the give-and-take that you get with a two-way conversation.

3. If you must confront someone via e-mail, set it aside for at least a few minutes and come back to it. If possible, have a trusted colleague read your e-mail before you send it for a fresh set of eyes.

4. Brevity is power. I find the most effective e-mails are a maximum of three to four short paragraphs (or a series of bullet points and numbered lists).

5. Think before you "reply to all" or freely add dozens of unnecessary people to your distribution. Sophisticated junk mail filters give users the option to turn off certain users' e-mails altogether.

6. E-mail is instant, but it does not guarantee you'll get an instant response (nor does it guarantee you'll get any response). If you ever wonder why someone hasn't responded to your important e-mail, you should probably just pick up the phone and eliminate the mystery and frustration.

There are a bevy of articles on e-mail etiquette (including a great one on about.com) that support the need to treat it as a serious and sometimes risky method of communication.
What tips have you learned about e-mail along the way? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.