eChaser: March 2012 / p2

PRSA national update: For your enlightenment and elucidation, selected webinars, free for PRSA members. ”Preparing for the Unexpected: Add Value to Your Organization During a Crisis.” Available through Dec. 31; presented by Ernest DelBuono, vice president, Levick Strategic Communications, LLC. Despite advances in digital technology and social media, a successful response to a crisis depends on a solid plan built around teams, processes, audiences and messages. DelBuono has more than 25 years experience as a crisis management professional. After the Sept. 11 attacks, he was a first responder at Dulles Airport, where he helped American Airlines set up and manage the family assistance center. ... ”Measuring Customer Communication Outcomes: How Different Elements Contribute to ROI.” Available through Dec. 31; presented by Angela Sinickas, president, Sinickas Communications. Sinickas and her measurement work have been cited in Harvard Business Review, Investors Business Daily, Executive Solutions, PR News, the Journal of Communication Management, the Ragan Report and Communication World.

PRSA local update II: This month in PR history. March 7, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell, just 29 years old, received a patent for his revolutionary invention, the telephone. His first words are believed to have been, “Can I trade this for an iPhone?” ... March 12, 1933: Just eight days after the inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first fireside chat. The radio addresses were intended to build rapport with Americans (and, of course, backing for his policies). Roosevelt took great care to use simple vocabulary, and he favored anecdotes and analogies; even the term “fireside chat,” coined by a journalist, enhanced his plain-folks image. Previous presidents had communicated almost exclusiely through spokesmen and reporters, so these radio talks were unprecedented. Millions of Americans wrote letters expressing their support, and FDR was re-elected three times. ... March 24, 1989: The supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in southern Alaska. An estimated 11 million gallons of oil eventually spilled, polluting more than 700 miles of coastline. The government ordered Exxon to pay $100 million and provide $1 billion over 10 years for cleanup, but the oil giant eventually settled for just $25 million, less than 4 percent of the original penalty.

PRSA local update III: Calling all Dallas PRSA professionals and college students. PRSA Dallas Pro-Am Day on Friday, March 16, will connect students with experienced PR pros through a half-day shadowing followed by a luncheon for more networking and to hear a panel of North Texas communicators examine “The State of Public Relations.” Register here.

Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas update: Occasionally an elected official truly provides applaudable customer service. Such is the case in Bexar County, San Antonio, with District Clerk Donna Kay McKinney. McKinney is putting public service above additional income by allowing public access to criminal history records — online! The “benefits of providing everyone access far outweigh income,” she says. In other words, satisfied customers (taxpayers) are more important than a “few thousand dollars” the county was making selling the public information. If your county clerk isn’t providing the same public service, perhaps you should ask, “Why not?”

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