by The College of Charleston Team
What better way to learn than from the best? At the SAGE luncheon, while sitting amongst the best and brightest minds in public relations, Counselors Academy members were able to gain insight into current issues in the profession. Everything from reverse mentoring to Wikipedia was discussed. Pictured at right from the left are SAGE Members Art Stevens, Deb Radman, Tom Amberg and Lynn Casey. The following four questions serve as examples of the questions posed to the panelists.
Q: As leaders in the PR industry, what should we be doing to emphasize knowledge over information and relationships over technology? Use the concept of yin and yang to develop your answer.
Tom Amberg: Yins are the millennials, the upcoming generation who are comfortable with technology, but lack the basic skills that the yangs have utilized through their careers. In order for successful growth, yangs must educate the yins to match their knowledge of technology to the solid relationship skills of the yangs; hence yin and yang.
Q: In an era where everyone with a camera is a reporter, do we need to change things?
Deb Radman: Farley Manning said, “A PR person is trained and skilled to tell clients how to think about things.” This has not changed. PR professionals are still able to help clients figure out fact or fiction. The six drivers of credibility are what we have always been about, and these things have not changed. Now, more than ever, they have a stronger role for the future.
Q: In an earlier speech it was mentioned that the spin cycle is broken and that every hour of the 24 hour news cycle must be filled. How must a PR professional act given this phenomenon?
Tom Hoog: The 24 hour news cycle is one of the worst things that has happened to this profession, allowing the media to replace knowledge with incessant chatter. Media cynicism must be removed through direct lines to clients in order to disseminate what’s important. You can’t solve problems with spin.
Q: If we are purveyors of excellence and quality, how do we deal with this new environment of Wikipedia that’s 10 percent accurate, but accepted as truth? How do we get around that?
Eric Morgenstern: The definition of excellence is in the mind of the receiver. Eighty percent of the reasons why customers buy certain products aren’t always for the reasons employees think they are, so maybe Wikipedia holds more credibility than we originally thought. In response to that, it is important for us to find a way to work within these attitudes to our advantage.
Every panelist commented on the value of the Counselors Academy Spring Conference as an opportunity to share knowledge, as well as network in an intimate atmosphere. Michael Herman summed up the occasion best when he said, “Coming to the [Counselors Academy Spring Conference] feels like coming back home.”
Other SAGE members include: Lynn Casey, Steve Cody, Tom Gable, Sandra Hermanoff, Gary Myers, Richard Truitt, and this year's inductees Art Stevens and Davis Young.
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