PRSA Media Room

PR Tactics, the monthly newspaper published by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), has received two industry awards for editorial excellence. The tabloid-style publication was awarded the APEX 2010 Grand Award and the Magnum Opus Silver Award.

PRSA submitted a letter to the editor in response to a front-page Wall Street Journal expose of Saint Consulting Group's use of front groups and phony employees, emphasizing how such practices run afoul of the PRSA Code of Ethics.

Military transparency — an oxymoron to some — has earned the U.S. Air Force Office of Public Affairs the public relations industry’s highest award for excellence.
 
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) presented the Air Force with its “Best of Silver Anvil Award” for its program to facilitate media coverage of flag-draped coffins bearing the remains of U.S. service personnel arriving at Dover Air Force Base. More than 20 members of the Air Force, including the Honorable Erin C. Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force, were on hand to accept the award at PRSA’s Silver Anvil Awards ceremony, held Thursday evening at the Equitable Tower in New York.

A new credentialing effort providing public affairs and communication certification for military, contractor and Department of Defense public communication professionals begins May 26, 2010. The program is a joint effort between the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Joint Public Affairs Support Element (JPASE) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
 
Those eligible for the APR+M credential include Active and Reserve/Guard, U.S. military members, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Defense civilians, and military contractors with primary responsibility to conduct public affairs activities.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) mourns the loss of Betsy Plank, APR, Fellow PRSA, who passed away on May 23, following a brief illness. Plank was 86.


"Every public relations professional today was impacted by the life of Betsy Ann Plank," said Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA, PRSA's 2010 chair and CEO. "From championing public relations education in colleges across the nation, to creating a student society that now numbers more than 10,000, to breaking the glass ceiling for women in the workplace and becoming the first female  president of a society for our profession, she markedly changed public relations for the better. This small lady from Alabama was larger than life in her commitment to the profession. She will forever have our gratitude and our hearts."

A team of University of Georgia students took first prize in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) 2010 Bateman Case Study Competition. Conducted annually, the Bateman Competition judges teams of college students on their ability to develop and present a comprehensive public relations campaign.



This year’s case study sponsor was the 2010 Census and focused on how the once-a-decade count could reach one of the nation’s most transient populations — college students. Sixty-eight teams from colleges and universities across the United States were judged on their research, creation, implementation and evaluation of a public relations campaign to motivate college students in their communities to participate in the census.

A first study of how public relations students are being educated around the world has found “striking commonalities, with public relations being taught across borders as a strategic management function designed to build relationships between organizations and publics,” according to Elizabeth L. Toth, Ph.D., APR, professor and chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland and the study’s principal investigator.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Travel & Tourism Section unveiled the roster of industry thought leaders and presentations to be featured at the annual PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference, May 25-28, 2010, in Aspen, Colo. The 13-member Travel & Tourism Section Executive Committee, representing destinations, hospitality organizations, food and beverage companies, as well as independent public relations practitioners, has created an ambitious agenda of presenters, case studies and media panels.

Taking its cue from some of the major trends shaping the practice of public relations today, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has engaged influential thought leaders in the fields of social technology, online behavior and crisis communications to deliver keynote addresses at the PRSA 2010 International Conference, Oct. 16–19, in Washington, D.C.
 
The keynote speakers include: Charlene Li, co-author of the business bestseller, “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” and founder of the Altimeter Group; Bill Tancer, author of the popular “Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters — Unexpected Insights for Business and Life”and general manager of global research for

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) will stream live keynote addresses at the 2010 Digital Impact Conference, a social and digital media conference to be held May 6–7 in New York City. PRSA will stream keynote addresses live via a webcast that is free to the public, offering an opportunity to listen in as digital influencers and keynote presenters focus on the online intersection of tools and conversations.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) kicked off trading on the NASDAQ exchange on Tuesday, with Chair and CEO Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA, ringing the electronic stock market’s opening bell.

For the first time in six years, the Public Relations Society of America has updated its familiar “PRSA” logo. The simplified design presents a more modern image for the organization, while also creating process and cost efficiencies.



The PRSA logo now prints in a single color, Pantone® 647. Gone is the previous color, Pantone® 534, as well as the use of a second color, Pantone® 4505, for the “S” and “A.” The serif font remains the same; however, the font weight for the “S” and “A” has been reduced, to emphasize the “P” and “R” and restore the contrast previously achieved through the use of different colors.