Apparently PR is dead? I guess I’ll pack my bags. Actually, reading TechCrunch, maybe proper journalism is dead. Writes Michael Arrington:

Most PR folks don’t read blogs and certainly don’t understand them. All they see is a Google alert with their clients name, and rush to put out a fire. Down the road they may try to bring those bloggers into the fold, largely relying on word of mouth as to the best way to approach them in lieu of actually reading the blog itself.

Michael, something seems to missing from your paragraph. Oh yeah, this: citations.

Let this be said. It is my opinion that the tech bloggers (who assume that because they get poorly targeted pitches, the industry is doomed) have virtually no clue about the health of the PR market. They are informed by their own experiences, but they could sooner predict the fall of man than accurately diagnose this industry [CITATION UNNECESSARY DUE TO HYPERBOLE]. If you are so concerned about the future of PR, you should probably look to people like Harris Diamond, David Senay, Paul Taaffe. If you see them saying cautionary things, then you should be worried. If you see the bright young stars of the PR profession bailing on the industry, then you should be worried.

Anyway, as is often the case with these “I get bad pitches, so the entire industry is lost” memes, some smart commentary follows. That’s a good thing. After the jump, there are some you may have seen. Read more »

The United Chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has taken on United CEO, Glenn Tilton, launching the Web site (www.GlennTilton.com) on Monday. Directed at United customers, the site provides analyses of Tilton’s management failures, ranging from stock performance to declining customer service. “We come to you to describe our serious issues with Glenn Tilton’s management,” the site states. “They are, in fact, your issues too, and only together can we overcome them— through the resignation or removal of Glenn Tilton.”  The site also accepts stories about United’s current status, and even features a quote of the day that attacks Tilton.

Circuit City Stores, Inc. tried to put a good face on a bad situation after the electronic retailer hastily ordered all of MAD Magazine’s August issue be pulled and destroyed, due to a four-page “Sucker City” satire.  Circuit City has since apologized to the magazine, and in turn tried to highlight the company’s own “rich sense of humor and irony,” a top line concern for most electronic retailers.

What is the right way to pitch tech reporters using social media? I address this question in our current issue, with tech bloggers Sarah Lacy, Brian Solis, and Frank Gruber weighing in. But Lacy, who has been vocal about preferring e-mail over any other pitching method, had some some additional thoughts on the subject that weren’t included in the piece.

On why she prefers e-mail:

“I don’t like PR people to call me at work because…if you call me on deadline, it’s only going to irritate me. It’s even more pronounced with social media because I’m not even there on deadline. I’m there socializing with my friends and interacting people. And if you’re coming in and trying to sell me something – that’s the worst possible representation you could be giving your client.”

But what about PR pros who are your Facebook friends?

“[Certain PR pros] have earned the right to hound me whatever way they want because at the end of the day it is my job to find stories, and they’re not going to waste my time. The reason you have to have an ironclad rule is because it’s a revolving door of who seems to be pitching you. And [some PR pros] seem to think it’s labor intensive to spend five minutes to figure out how to pitch you – much less what you cover or what your name is.”

Readers, any other thoughts on the pros and cons of social media pitches?

PRWeek hosted its annual Consumer Roundtable, last Thursday, in Chicago, along with a panel discussion featuring Audrey Reed-Granger, director of PR and marketing, mass brand portfolio at Whirlpool; Jeff Davis, SVP and partner at Fleishman-Hillard; and Julian Green, senior media relations manager at MillerCoors, and moderated by PRWeek’s Erica Iacono. The panel event was sponsored by Fleishman-Hillard.

Iacono led discussion on the direction of integrated branding in the face of the rising costs of consumer goods, PR professionals’ increasing share of the marketing mix with the slashing of advertising budgets, and the shift in agencies having more strategic relationships with their clients.

The panelists raised several interesting points. Reed-Granger commented that business is down overall, and that she knows when advertising is being cut at her company, because her phone starts to ring. Green explained how Miller beer is thriving in the current soft economy due in part to the High Life Delivery Guy spokesman campaign. And, Davis’ assessed that PR professionals are continuing to work hard to provide steady service, despite the setbacks of the economy.

Burson-Marsteller worldwide CEO and president Mark Penn said the recent appointment of longtime President George W. Bush confidante Karen Hughes as vice chair marks the start of an effort by the agency to create a worldwide “bipartisan braintrust.”

Fox News’ PR operation took a beating in today’s New York Times piece by David Carr, who alleges that media relations at the network is “a kind of rolling opposition research operation intended to keep reporters in line by feeding and sometimes maiming them.”

Carr reports that the strategy is born from CEO Roger Ailes’ days as a political adviser for presidents Nixon, Reagan, and George HW Bush. Says Carr: “Once the [PR] apparatus at Fox News is engaged, there will be the calls to my editors, keening (and sometimes threatening) e-mail messages, and my requests for interviews will quickly turn into depositions about my intent or who else I am talking to.” Read more »

NEW YORK: The Omnicom Group recently announced it would form G23 a new strategic consultancy of female communications leaders to provide strategic solutions for clients who seek to reach female consumers, employees, or stakeholders. Drawn from agencies across its marketing disciplines, G23’s members include Marian Salzman, Porter Novelli CMO; Julie Winskie, Porter Novelli president and chief client officer; and Sharon Love, CEO of consumer marketing and communications TPN.

Are there magic words that, when embedded in press releases, guarantee media coverage? No, according to Joanne Kaufman’s report in the June 30 New York Times, but some terms are considerably more attractive to reporters’ eyes than others.

• PR consultant Kate Robins recommends “money,” “fat,” “cancer,” and “sex” for the general interest media.
• David Seaman, described as a “PR stunt planner,” urges the use of “safe,” “easy,” “secret,” “trick,” and “breaking” to create buzz.
• PR Newswire president David Armon says “green,” “environment,” and “foreclosure,” are hot terms this year.
• Brenda Baumgartner, news director and anchor at Pocatello, ID, NBC affiliate KPVI, says she looks for “fishing,” “hunting,” “Mormon,” and “polygamy.”
• For entertainment reporters and editors, “baby,” “breakup,” “marriage,” “divorce,” and the name of a well known celebrity usually does the trick, says Cindi Berger, co-CEO of PMK/HBH.
• Referring to press releases emphasizing the words “solutions,” “leading edge,” “cutting edge,” “state of the art,” “mission critical,” and “turnkey,” PR executive Tom Gable, former business editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune, says, “They were empty, unsubstantiated, and had no news value.”

If the PR industry needed any further proof that developing digital capabilities is essential to its future, the results of this year’s PRWeek/MS&L Marketing Management Survey make a loud and clear argument. Of those surveyed, more than 75% expect their companies to increase budgets for digital/online initiatives, and digital/online is the last area of the marketing mix that they would cut if forced to because of economic conditions. The accompanying article offers examples of companies that have truly embraced this space, and the value they’ve found in doing so.