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This article by Kathleen McGinn Spring was prepared for the October 9, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Teaching PR Techniques
The New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society
of America (PRSA-NJ) launches its Public Relations Institute of New
Jersey on Friday, October 11, at a half-day professional development
symposium at Rutgers University Student Center, beginning at 8 a.m.
Cost: $60, but $10 for students. Call 973-984-6184.
Mike Cherenson, president of the organization and vice president
of the Cherenson Group, a marketing company with offices in
Livingston,
says the new institute is an educational body whose aim is “to
teach about the power of public relations.” For now, it does not
have a building, but has entered into partnerships with Rutgers and
with Fairleigh Dickinson.
The institute is being formulated not only to meet the professional
development needs of PR practitioners, but also to teach the public
about PR techniques and to introduce college students around the state
to the profession.
At its upcoming program, the institute’s offerings for professionals
include seminars on trends in public relations, advanced media
relations,
PR in regulated industries, entertainment PR, and financial
forecasting.
Cherenson says solo practitioners, non-profits, and small companies
need to know about public relations too, and the institute’s inaugural
event has a full schedule geared specifically to these organizations.
It starts off with a look at how the Internet can be used for media
relations and for disseminating information. Next is a seminar titled
“Media Relations 101.” It covers writing effective press
releases,
how to set up an editorial board, how to pitch to different kinds
of media, and how to create a resource list.
Also for the non-professional are seminars on member and internal
communications, creating effective publications — layout, writing,
graphics, and costs — and lobbying and government affairs.
Cherenson, speaking on a day when the New York Times featured a
hand-cuffed
executive on its front page, cited high-profile corporate scandals
as a reason every organization needs to know the basics of PR. With
luck, the skills learned at the Institute will not have to be used
to explain the presence of police cars at the office door. But even
if the boss is not carted away to jail, it can’t hurt to have a bagful
of PR strategies at the ready.
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