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Blog reactivation and new address for subscription
The Ragan Postcard is about to start again. The subscription feed is moving; the new syndication link is http://feeds.feedburner.com/RaganPostcard
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Topic categories have been added, and there's now an option to subscribe via e-mail.
New entries will commence in the coming week.
Thanks.
Audio Post: Andy Lark's session (summarized)
A summary of Andy Lark's session, "How participatory communications is changing public relations: A walk through the blogosphere." Lark is CEO of The Lark Group and former vice president of global communications at Sun Microsystems and Nortel Networks.
Lark's Bark
Andy Lark is a techno-evangelist. He's one of those people who can make technology seem really fresh by delving behind the mechanics and analyzing the way new tools impact communication. The change is nothing short of revolutionary - from transmitting content (one way) to engaging participation by stakeholders (two way).
The whole notion of a two-way dialog scares executives. Suddenly, they can't control the message. Their power to withhold information and discussion are gone.
All over the Net, on blogs and discussion forums, people are talking about your organization. It's a free for all of inside information, rumor and speculation. The shift started when Amazon let consumers write their own reviews of products. Andy says communication will never be the same, and that PR people better learn how to listen.
Lots more to come on this engaging keynote.
PS On one visual, Andy showed his newsreader. He reads Nevon!
How Much Content Should You Post Online?
In a pre-conference session yesterday, one practitioner said that he feared putting too much information on his organization's Web site press room because "if reporters can find everything they need on their own, why would they ever call me?"
This comment took me aback. Media relations is a relationship business, thus I don't feel that working relationships should be dependent on controlling access to information - forcing reporters to call.
In fact, if we post a lot of content, we are more likely to get our organization's unique point of view across effectively. We can then use our "face time" (even if by telephone) with media to develop more a more strategic dialog about our plans, vision, and leadership.
Others in the room offered testimony about this concept. By posting lots of information, they reported that media called looking for more in depth information and quotes.
Interesting. We'll see what others think about this here in the Windy City.
Hot Topics in PR from Chicago
PR people are always lamenting that other people won't let them do their job properly. Executives, lawyers and other know-it-alls edit words, topics and communication strategies. Then, when the modified plan fails to produce results, blame rests with the PR person.
Wrong! The issues of authorization, approval and counsel are important ones. As a profession, we need to advocate about the expertise we bring to the table. Goodness knows that our professional associations - well intentioned as they might be - are lame advocates for the profession (when is the last time you saw a business page story about communication?).
These are the issues we're discussing in Chicago at Ragan's Strategic Public Relations Conference. Experts are gathered to share best practices, tips and techniques that work inside organizations. We'll delve deep into media relations and new technologies.
Along the way, we'll interview attendees to find out what's on their mind. What's working, and what's not, in PR today? What are the big challenges and lessons learned?
We'll share all that and more with you right here. Stay tuned.
Biting the hand
Our experience dealing with the Red Cross has been perplexing. They are terrific about raising money and assisting people struck by natural disasters. But their communication and organizational skills could use some improvement.
For the past five weeks, we have been unable to get through to the Red Cross financial assistance line. Everyone hands it out to us, but reaching it has been an acknowledged exercise in frustration. Katrina overwhelmed the system and flooded the agency with calls.
Then came Rita. These two back to back events maxed out systems and crisis plans.
We read the same media stories you do about the Red Cross sheltering evacuees in hotels and helping out with the bill. We wonder how that process works - and no volunteer we have met can tell us. We ended up paying our tab with precious emergency cash.
From shelter to shelter we go - looking for answers. Where are the key messages, information databases and frequently asked questions (FAQs)? And why are they taking information down on paper instead of computers? Who's going to re-enter data for a million-plus evacuees?
The Red Cross is making me cross.
D'Nile - A Lake in New Orleans
Gerard Braud contributed this report. He is a former television environmental reporter:
Those of us from New Orleans will have lots of crisis communications lessons to share in the coming weeks. Since I specialize in crisis communications and write crisis plans, I'm about to die, seeing how unprepared my own home town is to communicate. My heart aches and I am sick so deep down inside that it is hard to put into words. Yes, I've previously offered to help, "but it's too expensive" and "we don't have time" were the responses. Those, by the way are the standard responses of most government agencies, most business and most other institutions. Yes, the City of New Orleans contacted me 3 years ago to write a crisis communications plan for them, and the job never got funded.
Ironically, in 1990 I did a television series called, "When the Big One Hits", that foretold all that we have seen unfold this past week with Hurricane Katrina. When I did the series, city leaders told me I was sensationalizing what might happen. I have so many secrets I could tell about how so much of this could have been avoided.
The biggest lesson I can share with my colleagues is to stop the denial in your companies and agencies. It can happen. It will happen. Maybe in a year-maybe in 50 years. Are you ready?
D'Nile isn't a river in Egypt: it is a large lake in the city of New Orleans.
Gerard Braud (Jared Bro)
Link to Web site and contact info
If the Intranet is part of your crisis plan
If the Intranet is part of your crisis plan, you better update it today.
Intranets across the Gulf region went dark when the electricity went out. Servers housed or backed-up in the affected areas became inaccessible. Companies with key personnel and generators found themselves locked out of office buildings secured by landlords who were worried about looters and liability during a mandatory evacuation.
During the exodus from a land mass the size of Great Britain, many employees didn't have laptops or Internet access. Their primary focus was far more simple: food, water and shelter.
So how do you reach them? How do you get your workforce back up and running so you can resume operations? Ponder that reality. This is not a drill; it just happened.
Companies were forced to post internal information publicly. I previewed some early shots I captured for the audience here at Ragan's International Communication Leadership Summit in Toronto - and people seemed stunned to see benefits and other information posted openly on the Web. More to follow on this topic, including screen shots. We'll definitely delve into this in detail in Chicago at the upcoming PR conference.
Hurricane Katrina blew away crisis plans because of its sheer scale, scope and duration. For now, take a peek at this public message board for desperate employers.
Being the News
When my 78-year old Mom gasped, I wheeled around. On CNN, Wolf Blitzer had cut to a reporter in a helicopter flying over New Orleans. They were headed to St. Bernard Parish (county), where Mama Pizzo has lived since my Dad returned from Korea.
Like watching a slow train wreck, we stared transfixed as bridges and roads we knew came into view above the flood waters. As the chopper flew slowly down the main thoroughfare, we traded knowing glances. This would be the first media report we've seen showing her neighborhood.
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, her subdivision came into view. There was her pharmacy. A few seconds later, we saw the church and senior center where she lunched regularly. In a few surreal seconds, the new Wal-Mart Supercenter came into view, then grocery stores and other places at which she shopped.
All under water.
It's one thing to watch the news, yet another to be the news. It can be unnerving at times. While others see a city in ruins, we see familiar landmarks. We are haunted by memories and the realization that nothing will ever be the same. Friends and family are now dispersed over eleven states; the thought of a casual barbecue with familiar faces seems remote.
That was Katrina. When Rita came through the Gulf, it brought another tidal surge that flooded St. Bernard Parish a second time. I told Mom she should consider herself special - how many people can say they've been wiped out twice in one month? Not one to miss a counter punch, she retorted that she upgraded her home to an indoor swimming pool.
Humor is something the hurricane can't take away. Maybe it's a defense mechanism, but we're coping even as we cling to the images on TV like an ant to a crumb at a picnic.
We're starving for the New Orleans we knew and love.
Goodwill Goes Far
Texas-style hospitality from Jason's Deli. It's the little things like this that impact an evacuee on a daily basis. Not only are we grateful - we're becoming regulars. This is a socially responsible way for a brand to make new customers and foster loyalty.
Re-populating New Orleans
OOPS: the draft was published in error. This is the correct version:
It's hopeless for me to try to keep this blog in chronological order. Some events are swirling as fast as did the hurricane force winds.
Truth be told, I must confess that while writing has been cathartic, it also forces me to relive the pain and emotions of the past few weeks. People who think of me as the consummate gourmet might be surprised to know that I am perpetually sick to my stomach these days.
We're glued to the news in search of any information about our neighborhoods, yet the constant repetition of horrible images batters our brains. Knowing that our situation is out of our control, and in the hands of politicians jockeying for power and federal funds, is mind numbing. Call me a cynic, but the chances of money trickling down to affected evacuees seems like a cruel hoax. Corrupt politicians and land-grabbers are poised to pounce on the poverty stricken.
While the national media paints a sensationalist view, we find the best sources of local information are often less sophisticated and informal (examples: Charles, Mama Pizzo).
The news cycle du jour is about re-populating the less impacted areas of New Orleans. This seems more like public relations than public safety. Electricity is not restored, water is unfit for bathing much less drinking, phones are knocked out and 911 is down, and hospitals remain closed. The EPA has yet to weigh in on soil and sludge, and the public infrastructure is not fully restored.
We know a few brave souls who made the trek. They promptly left, disheartened by the chaos. Roads are blocked by trees and power lines, and debris remains widespread. Flat tires are commonplace because boards with nails litter the streets. Mama Pizzo's neighbor navigated the security checkpoints but was unable to reach his home by car or boat due to massive destruction and downed trees. His call to her, stating that the area "looked like an atomic bomb had dropped," prompted days of crying and worry.
The news by a parish (county) official on TV that 30,000 homes would have to be bulldozed produced an impromptu breakdown at the dinner table the other night. Our plates are full on many levels - not all good.
It's probably safe to say that one's outlook depends on whether your worldly possessions, livelihood and memories are safely on high ground or completely submerged in toxic crap.
In one particular e-mail list I am on, a fellow PR practitioner is rallying for the city - calling for a return of tourists. The message is "let's support New Orleans and its businesses." Noble, but not without issues. I just read about armed guards with shotguns posted outside the Sheraton. I wonder if the tourist commission in Baghdad is offering the same line?
The tourist economy of New Orleans is vital, so I can understand why people want to protect it. From where I sit, though, this seems surreal. A friend who owns an establishment in the French Quarter visited his business then turned around for Florida. He called the return "premature."
Yet another friend who owns Mother's Restaurant jumped at the chance to go home, electricity or not. He wants to inspect his business - alarmingly close to the Convention Center and the epicenter of a lot of human misery - and get back to work. Life as an evacuee is making him stir crazy; he'd much rather stir a pot of gumbo propped on a propane tank on the sidewalk.
What's right, what's wrong? Nobody really knows.
On the Road
No doubt many of you saw pictures of gridlock in New Orleans once the city finally called for an evacuation. A mass exodus on that scale simply overwhelms roads.
One lesson we learned during the last evacuation, during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, was that it's a waste of time and gas to evacuate during daylight hours. At that time, it took us 13-1/2 hours to drive to Houston because of traffic - normally a six to seven hour run. We had heard reports that people who left at night escaped such delays.
Thus, in addition to having a plan, we had a strategy. We would pack the essentials, nap, then leave under cover of darkness - in the middle of the night.
Indeed, we sailed northwest past the major bottleneck - a mere two lane bridge across the mighty Mississippi River in Baton Rouge in record time. Once past, we alternated between cat naps and sprints of one or two hours of drive time. The plan was simple: stay ahead of those who would flee in the morning once the evacuation order was called.
As we approached Alexandria, mid-morning on Sunday, we heard reports on the radio that the interstate leaving The Big Easy had become a parking lot. We were the lucky ones, out ahead of the pack and driving a Honda Civic gas-electric hybrid that used comparably little fuel.
Emotionally, we were wrecks. Reports on the radio were so dire that we had to switch it off in favor of some calming classical pablum. Anything to soothe the nerves.
Though our stomachs were in knots, we stopped at a convenience store for juice. Behind the counter, a large television confronted us with images of the storm, massive and bearing down on New Orleans with category five winds clocked at 175 miles per hour (282 kilometers).
My whole body convulsed, and I almost puked right on the floor. It was all I could do to hand the juice off to Mom and run outside for some fresh air. |
