PRSA local update III: Thinking about earning your Accredited in Public Relations designation? Two GFW
PRSAers will share their insights during a special session (2:30-5:30 p.m.
Wednesday) at the Keep PR Weird! 2013 PRSA Southwest District Conference, June 5-7 in Austin. Sandra Brodnicki, APR, and Gigi Westerman, APR, will help organizers Ryan Sheehy, APR, and Samantha Sipowicz, APR, of Austin field questions and facilitate small group discussions. Expect
tips on completing the APR questionnaire, crafting a portfolio and preparing
for the Readiness Review and computer-based exam. The APR session is outside
the regular conference schedule. The registration form has the option to
register for just it or to register for the full conference and add the APR
time. More at info@prsa.austin.org. ... Still on the APR, chapter programs VP Michelle Clark, public information officer for the Trinity River Authority of Texas, recently
earned her APR and says the encouragement she received from mentors was
essential. “Having someone guide me through the process and urge me forward made all the
difference,” she said. The chapter’s recently introduced Local APR Mentorship Program (LAMP) offers guidance to
those contemplating obtaining their APR and mentorship to those who have
committed to the process. Established in 1964, the APR designation is overseen
by the Universal Accreditation Board.
PRSA local update IV: This Month in PR/Marketing History (by Jeff Rodriguez). They had him at “Get off!” On June 7, 1893, Mohandas Gandhi was booted from a South African train for refusing to leave the first-class
compartment reserved for whites. As he would later recount, the incident was a
turning point; soon he would launch a campaign of passive resistance in
tireless pursuit of a most noble goal: getting people to spell his name
correctly. • To air is human. On June 1, 1980, CNN began broadcasting. Initially it was neither profitable nor highly
regarded and was sometimes dubbed “the Chicken Noodle Network,” a slap at founder/Southern millionaire good ol’ boy Ted Turner. The network hit the big time during the Persian Gulf War when CNN anchor Bernard Shaw and two other reporters provided riveting first-person accounts from their
Baghdad hotel room. At one point, NBC’s Tom Brokaw called them to get a report. Today, CNN has taken hits over gaffes made
covering the Affordable Care Act and the Boston Marathon bombing. The network
faces competition not only from partisan news shows but from cable programming
such as Duck Dynasty (as fate would have it, about a Southern millionaire good
ol’ boy). • The end is near (and so, too, the nether parts). On June 5, 1956, young Elvis Presley performed “Hound Dog” on “The Milton Berle Show,” gyrating in a provocative manner possible only for one with unclogged arteries.
Adults were horrified and the media turned thumbs down, making references to
burlesque, “animalism” and “aboriginal mating dances,” cultural elements that, down through the ages, have always helped sales.
PRSA local update V: Standing reminders. Note several improved features on the DFW Communicators Job Bank. A job listing can now be created, edited and removed directly on the site, and
page view counts show the level of interest. And job seekers can now push
alerts for specific keywords to their personal e-mails. The job bank lists
full-time, part-time and internship positions in PR, media affairs,
advertising/sales, event planning, graphic design, marketing, and corporate and
employee communications throughout North Texas. Employers who are members of
the participating organizations may post a job for $75; the cost for nonmembers
is $100, for nonprofits $50. Each posting runs a month. Greater Fort Worth PRSA
receives a portion of the proceeds when a member marks his or her membership
status on the submission form. More from
Jerrod Resweber, GFW PRSA job bank chair, at jresweber@webershandwick.com or 469-375-0216. ... Stay on top of emerging trends and industry news, extend
your network while increasing your knowledge, and keep learning and stay
competitive. Any practitioner with at least two years in the field is eligible
for membership in the world’s leading organization for PR professionals. Those with fewer than two years
experience or who recently graduated from college and were active in PRSSA may
join as an associate member. More from chapter president-elect Richie Escovedo at richieescovedo@misdmail.org.
