Connie Chung (’69) leads the ceremony dedicating Knight Hall, the new Philip Merrill College of Journalism building at the University of Maryland.

What a difference a quarter century makes.

In 1985, I graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism.  I returned to my alma mater last week with my colleague and fellow alum Rosemary (’93) for the dedication of Knight Hall, the new Philip Merrill College of Journalism building.

When we attended the university, the journalism school included public relations as one of the specialty tracks or “sequences” students had to choose in addition to their core journalism major courses.  But first and foremost, we were taught to be journalists. 

After we graduated, the powers-that-be decided the public relations sequence didn’t belong in the journalism school and moved it out, a highly controversial action that left a bitter taste in many mouths.  For me, the rigorous journalism training I received at UM made me a stronger PR person.

On the day of the new building’s dedication, Rosemary and I listened to presentations by various professors and other speakers.  CNN/US managing editor Jay Kernis (’74) presented The Front Lines of Journalism: Leading or Chasing the Change?  It was fascinating to hear a veteran of such esteemed news organizations as NPR, CBS and now CNN take us through one of his typical days in search of the news.

Kernis talked about the role of good journalists in today’s world. He said that no matter what changes, reporting the news will always be about putting a human face and voice to the stories we tell, and making them come alive for the audience.

Reporting the news is important, he said, simply because what happens in the world is important. Good journalists foster a connection to others and to truth by trying to make sense of things together with their audience.  He said it’s a comfort to know “that some of the things that confound, amuse or confuse you has the same effect on others. If we all participate, we’ll get to the truth.  No one is alone.”

I was struck that much of what he said about journalists also applies to public relations professionals.  Maybe the things that really matter haven’t changed much after all.

I was invited to attend a “big mouth meeting” at Hyperion Books this morning. The publisher is about to launch a new book titled, “INFLUENCE: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better” by demographer Maddy Dychtwald. The author gave a short presentation and then attendees were asked to share their thoughts, ideas and questions. The participants comprised journalists (e.g. Carol Hymowitz of Forbes), authors (including Leslie Bennetts who wrote “The Feminine Mistake”), bookstore owners and academics, as well as entrepreneurs like me.

The bottom-line message was this: Women across the globe have achieved a remarkable level of financial independence and feel they’re finally in a position to have a say in our society – but our influence is still disproportionate to that of our male counterparts.

According to Dychtwald, 73 percent of high school valedictorians last year were women. Twenty two percent of women now out-earn their husbands. In fact, women make up 57 percent of all professional workers in our country.

But only 18 percent of our nation’s top corporate leaders are women. And the numbers look similar in politics, on newspaper editorial boards and other places where important public debate occurs.

Dychtwald described the evolution as going from survival to independence to influence. We’re somewhere between independence and influence. The book apparently discusses how women will use this power to “improve society in ways we can only begin to imagine.” Sounds promising. Now that I have a proof of the book (available wherever books are sold on May 4), I’ll give it a read and report back what I learn.

Ya know, we’ve all used them. Um … let me think, I believe I heard a well-seasoned broadcast journalist, a former editor of a top celebrity magazine and a high-profile lawyer all use them several times in one interview earlier this week. Ya know, filler words, those verbal pauses and missteps like um, er, so, ah, and ya know.

Yesterday Meredith Vieira was interviewing Janice Min, former editor of US Weekly and Jeanine Pirro, prosecutor, former judge and contributor to the Today Show, about Larry King’s impending divorce from his eighth wife. What struck me most about the interview wasn’t Larry King’s divorce but the number of times filler words were used in the segment. I think my senses were heightened because I watched Min on The Joy Behar Show a few weeks ago and vividly recall the number of times she said ya know, like and um during an interview about Tiger Woods’ infidelity. While both interviews tackled the scandalous topic of cheating, I wasn’t focused on the messages being delivered but rather on the number of filler words used.

I should note that I’m as guilty as the next person; I often catch myself saying “ya know” a few times a day. I bet my colleagues could attest to hearing the longer filler, “ya know what I mean.”

The problem with filler words is that if they are used frequently, they tend to chip away at a spokesperson’s credibility. When we media train our clients we look out for these types of words and phrases. If you are scheduled to appear on live broadcast television, you need to rehearse and try to minimize the use of filler words as much as possible.

Here are some helpful tips for minimizing the use of um, er, ah, ya know, so, but, etc.:

· Speak slower: If you are like me and live in the NY Metro area, chances are you are a fast talker. Slow your pace down. Take your time and annunciate your words and you’ll be less inclined to use fillers.

· Listen to yourself: As part of our media training sessions, we record clients during mock interviews and let them listen to themselves. This is a valuable exercise. Most of us don’t even realize we use these words.

· Be aware: Making yourself aware of the habit is the first step. My fifth grade teacher had a jar in our classroom called the “Like collection.” Every time we misused the word “like” we had to contribute a quarter to the jar.

When we pitched Method, we thought about what "product" we'd be...

Last week, Method home and personal care products announced a special offer for their Facebook fans: 50 percent off all online orders for 24 hours. The promotion celebrated the page reaching the 10,000 fan milestone. I logged on immediately and bought way more cleaning products than my two-bedroom apartment needs. And I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t resist.

Method’s fans started thanking the company immediately through their comments. However, the tone of the conversation turned quickly when people started running into issues related to hefty shipping charges. Others were complaining that the offer wasn’t valid in their home countries. Apparently, some people tried to call customer service and the folks answering the phones weren’t aware of the promotion. In all, there were 80 “likes” and 80 comments to the original post.

To their credit, Method responded quickly to people’s complaints and resolved most of the issues by asking them to email customer service directly for help. Thirty people commented once Method posted that information. Several people crafted original wall posts – largely expressing their gratitude. When I noticed that Method posted the offer, they were at 10,021 fans. Today, they’re up to 10,278. It seems the offer motivated fans to tell their friends.

Despite the hiccups, Method’s offer seems to have paid off in the form of social media cred. Perhaps others can learn from their challenges. Rose Communications issued a similar challenge to fans of the GearWrench fan page. We launched the page in November and asked for help getting to 2009 fans by the end of the year. When we fell just short of the goal, we decided it was important to offer something to express our appreciation to the early fans. We considered a number of different options, including a discount on GearWrench-branded merchandise. After anticipating some of the challenges Method faced last week, we decided to give away free ratcheting wrench key chains (they may not sound exciting, but they are mini-wrenches that are actually quite coveted!) to our fans. We had a nearly 100 percent response rate and GearWrench’s fan base increased as a result.

If you’re considering a Facebook fan challenge, we’d suggest the following tips:

1. Consider audiences outside the United States because they’re also your fans online
2. Don’t forget to alert customer service so they are prepared for calls
3. Post the rules online like you would for any other promotion
4. Prepare for fans to ask if the contest can be extended; some will miss it
5. Monitor fan feedback and respond; most fans will forgive almost any mistake if the response is thoughtful and timely
6. Review Facebook’s promotion rules to make sure you’re in compliance

Saying I was raised on McDonald’s is an exaggeration. But when my mom was pregnant, she handled bookkeeping for a Mickey D’s franchisee and, needless to say, she chowed down on many Big Macs while I was in utero. I also have fond memories of childhood birthday parties underneath the Golden Arches and posing for photos with Ronald McDonald. So I was shocked when I read that Corporate Accountability International (CAI) was calling for clown’s resignation.

The Retire Ronald campaign argues that “for nearly 50 years no one has been better at hooking kids on unhealthy food, spurring an epidemic of diet-related disease.” The timing of this campaign, which includes a Web site, a Twitter feed, a Facebook page and grassroots outreach, couldn’t be better. The group’s press conferences in New York and San Francisco and a protest outside a Times Square McDonald’s coincide perfectly with the momentum of Michele Obama’s Let’s Move campaign. Smart.

But unless Ronald has been covertly offering cramped rides to McDonald’s in his clown car – he isn’t to blame for the obesity problem and his “retirement” isn’t likely to help matters. The problem lies with parents opting to feed fast food to their children and not teaching proper nutrition at home. While obviously not a healthy meal, eating a McDonald’s value meal once a month or even once a week won’t make you fat and this campaign probably won’t force Ronald’s retirement from position of chief happiness officer. Like it or not, McDonald’s, an iconic brand, will weather this storm – just like it did when Super Size Me was released and the “experiments” currently circulating online showing its food doesn’t rot.

The Let’s Move and Retire Ronald campaigns are very different, but both ultimately want children to make better decisions when it comes to what they eat. And they’re both garnering the attention they were intended to. As with any campaign designed to change behaviors, knowing your target audience is key. Let’s Move is addressing parents and children (and not victimizing any one source of our obesity problem) and, as such, will likely have a longer shelf life than a Happy Meal or the CAI’s efforts.

“That will never happen.”

It’s human nature to avoid thinking about anything negative happening down the road.  While there is a myriad of bad things that can happen on any given day, it’s unproductive and even unhealthy to dwell too much on the “what ifs” of life.

But when it comes to a company’s reputation, preparing for the seemingly unthinkable is vital to maintaining good relationships with all the constituents an organization values.

Toyota’s situation is an excellent example of this, as my colleague Tracey explained in her recent blog post about the company’s current woes.  I imagine that Toyota, with its heretofore stellar reputation for quality products and outstanding customer service, considered the extent of their cars’ technical problems a “never event.”

Similarly, pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis likely didn’t count on the fury of a very vocal woman who used Facebook to vent about hair loss she alleged was caused by the company’s chemotherapy drug Taxotere.

We counsel clients to contemplate “never events” – whether it’s an accident, a faulty product, a security breach or an errant employee – and be prepared to respond to all the various audiences who may be affected by (or at least interested in) the incident.

When crisis strikes, unprepared companies scramble to assess the situation, track down contact information, craft thoughtful statements, assign an appropriate spokesperson and proceed with an agreed-upon plan of action.  All the while, the clock is ticking away – and the delay alone may irrevocably damage the company’s reputation in the eyes of the public, even before any remedies are implemented. Tiger Woods demonstrated what happens when you wait too long before addressing a crisis.

We advise developing a crisis communications plan that includes possible scenarios with action steps for each, a key party contact list (with office, home and mobile phone numbers), media list (which today must include social networking sites and bloggers), statement template, company backgrounders and fact sheets, among other items.  The company’s executive team should review the plan carefully so everyone is onboard and on point.  In some cases, we suggest conducting drills to test the efficacy of the plan.

When we speak with clients about crisis communications planning, they sometimes say they want to shelve such preparations until later and deal with current issues at hand. It’s true we can’t control our destinies, but there is much a company can do upfront to save precious time if and when a crisis hits. 

Why not be prepared?

HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY (April 1, 2010) – Rose Communications, an independent, strategic public relations firm, today announced it added Sabre (Stock Symbol: SBR) to its growing client roster. The agency will provide corporate communications counsel to the Tallahassee, Fl.-based printer company.

Rose Communications has a wealth of experience in assisting companies of all sizes through mergers and acquisitions. Its assignment will include community relations, seasonal office décor, PowerPoint best practice instruction, media outreach, employee sensitivity training and branded promotional items.

Sabre made the decision to hire its first agency of record on the heels of its December 2009 acquisition of the only surviving branch of Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pa.

“Transitioning from just selling paper to selling both paper and printers requires a truly concerted approach to communication, something Dunder Mifflin clearly wasn’t accustomed to prior to the acquisition,” said Rosemary Ostmann, president and CEO of Rose Communications. “We’ve had our sights set on the Scranton market for years and I am thrilled to finally establish our presence there.”

Among the areas Rose Communications will focus on is Sabre’s first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art diversity program, which is called, “Print in All Colors.” 

According to Sabre’s Web site, this unique, game-changing initiative “recruits, hires, trains, and promotes without regard to race, skin tone, gender, age, religion…or surgical history.” The recent passage of health care reform presents an opportunity for Sabre to serve as a national model for other companies across all sectors of business.

The woman-owned boutique firm will also manage Sabre’s relationship with spokesperson Christian Slater. In addition to closely overseeing his current appearances in the company’s employee training videos and commercials, Rose Communications will work tirelessly to book interviews with high profile media outlets throughout the Scranton area.

The selection of Rose Communications followed a lengthy request for proposal (RFP) process. “When I saw an RFP come in from an address on Monroe Street in Tallahassee, I knew instantly it was meant to be,” said Ostmann. “We’re on Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey.”

“We’re both excited and nervous about hiring Rose Communications,” said a Sabre employee who refused to be identified for fear of losing her job in the accounting department. “I like the idea of systemizing our company’s communication policy, but I don’t yet understand what this means for the Party Planning Committee, which is doing just fine the way it is.”

About Rose Communications Inc.

Rose Communications Inc., a strategic public relations firm, helps clients uncover and share their stories with key audiences and decision makers. The agency gives clients a voice in the marketplace by engaging trusted industry influencers. From emerging entities to established global brands, the team has experience in consumer and business-to-business categories in a variety of industries, including home products and services, health care, education, financial services, publishing, media, and technology. Rose Communications: Fresh perspective. Authentic approach. Meaningful impact. (And a pretty good sense of humor.)