Noel Hidalgo Deported from China for Qik Video of Protesters in Tiananmen Square

A world traveler and citizen journalist was deported from China for recording the video below. It is Noel Hidalgo’s chance encounter in Tiananmen Square with protesters from the West decrying the human rights violations in Tibet.

Noel is on a trip around the world: Read more

Online Delivery of Broadcast Ready Video :: Alabama’s Governor and AU Grad

For some time I’ve wondered about the possibility of pitching broadcast quality video to local stations via the web. Oh, I know it is done. But, that’s for large corporations or PR firms, for example. With the growth of online newsrooms and the reach of broadband access today, I’ve wondered if it is more viable today. And, more importantly, even doable for medium to small PR efforts.

I believe the answer is now a resounding Yes!

I realize this example is from a Governor’s Office, but the technology required to accomplish it - and the ease of doing it - now proves, to me, that this is doable for others to begin considering video delivery to TV stations.

A camera capable of producing this video is now available for approximately $1,000 and the rest of the requirements - like hosting - are now available for as little as $25 per month. So, why not try it?

Here’s the latest example I’ve learned of, from a former student.

Most recently the Alabama Governor’s Office has offered up two videos and had pickup from state TV stations.

• Alabama Homeland Security Director Discusses State Efforts Before Congressional Committee
• Governor Riley Opens State Motor Pool’s E-85 Pump

Why do I mention this now? Well, it is being done by a former student, Todd Stacy. How cool.

Todd has been providing a password protected FTP download for the stations, and some have been taking him up on the offer. The downloads are not all that big. Certainly the file sizes are several gigabytes, but that has not stopped stations from taking the release and using it.

I think this is much more likely for the future than we think it is. I believe that Alabama, through Todd’s efforts, is way ahead of other states in doing this. Can anyone tell me of other such efforts?

Congrats to Todd for the great work, by the way. We love to tell you about our graduates!

Blogs, Press Releases, and Farmers in Appalachian Valleys

This is the meme that won’t die. I was going to stay away from it, until I received a comment from Stowe Boyd yesterday. His comment was so long that my response (I feel) deserves a post, rather than a simple reply. The funny thing is, today I received an email from a former student (Sarah) who opened her eNewsletter from Lawrence Ragan Communications today and saw my name at the top of Shel Hotz’ post about the post in question. Kinda cool. Oh, and “Hey, Sarah!”

If you aren’t confused, re: Farmers in Appalachian Valleys, then I’ll appreciate your help - ’cause I am confused. You see, I have never written about Appalachain Valley farmers and press releases (have I?), but apparently Stowe Boyd thinks I did.

The title of this post is but part of a comment left by Stowe Boyd on the post, Blogs are Soma to So Many. At least he liked the metaphor - sort of. His comment is in blockquotes below. I respond.

Stowe Boyd: I think the metaphor is pretty, but misleading. You could make the case that anything that any group advocates is like Soma. I don’t buy it. Blogging is not like taking an anti-depressant. It is (at a physical level) a collection of tools for web publilshing, and (at the societal level) a social medium through which we gain understanding of the world. Not a drug.

Actually, my intention re: the use of the metaphor is as follows.

The assertion that blogging will right the wrongs of poor corporate and organizational communication with stakeholders gives blog enthusiasts solace. Enthusiasts hope and believe that social media’s conversational form will bring relief to the distress of poor customer service and customer relationship marketing / management. So, it is the idea of a blog revolution that serves as your soma. You embrace it as something that will make society and corporations, for instance, co-exist in harmony. And, you seem to expect us to get in line - quick.

I agree that blogging is a medium, but I’m a little surprised that you used that term. Isn’t “place” or “space” the blog-speak appropriate term, along with “people” instead of audience? I wouldn’t want you to be drummed out of the Blog Thought Leaders Club. (See David Weinberger’s JOHO the blog, your own reference to Doc Searls, Dan Gillmor’s The Former Audience Joins the Party, and Jay Rosen’s The People Formerly Know as the Audience.)

Those enthusiasts are, after all, creating waffle words or jargon. (See Milton Friedman.) But, wasn’t this supposed to be the movement that did away with required appropriate norms of speech and definitions. Isn’t it the movement that frees all to speak in their own voice? The implication being, if you don’t subscribe to the dogma, “you don’t get it.” I think Stowe Boyd used that phrase.

Stowe Boyd: Your argument boils down to the fact that established mechanisms of PR have been baked into law and other conventions, and therefore blogging — which wasn’t foreseen when those where codified — shouldn’t be used in place of old timey ideas like press releases distributed by newswire services. I have suggested that we could work collectively to get these conventions, or laws, if necessary, changed.

No, my argument is two-fold. But, yes … we can work to change the old laws. However, it will take a lot of time. Read more

The Day That Changed The World

For those of my generation, and older, this is the day that changed the world. November 22, 1963 at 12:30 p.m. CST.

If you are going to read one book about the events of November 22, it might as well be this one. When the News Went Live: Dallas 1963 (Hardcover), by Bob Huffaker, Bill Mercer, George Phenix, Wes Wise.

It is a great book.

The stories of these four men are quite remarkable. Students, they were - for the most part - just starting out in their careers. Imagine that for a moment. Powerful stories.

Excerpt from the Publishers Weekly review of the book:

Before November 22, 1963, people depended on the morning or afternoon newspaper for their news. But once Kennedy was shot, America turned to television for up-to-the-minute reports—most of which were supplied that fatal weekend by Huffaker, Mercer, Phenix and Wise of Dallas’s KRLD, a CBS affiliate. As Huffaker explains, back then a TV reporter had to be able to do everything, from getting the scoop at the scene to writing the piece and reading it on the air. Mercer describes the huge sound cameras they’d lug, with film that they’d have to process and edit in time for the next newscast. As each of the authors gives his account of the segment of the Kennedy assassination he was most involved with—the race to get the injured president to the hospital, Oswald’s flight and capture, Ruby’s shooting of Oswald and Ruby’s trial—he opens a window into that earlier era of broadcast history. In the conclusion, the contributors make comparisons to today’s “embedded” reporters. One big difference emerges: in 1963, the KRLD crew had a whole nation awaiting their latest report.

Emily Melton Takes SEC Football on a Wild 100 Day Ride

Another Auburn grad makes good! Who says you can’t get a fun job in social media!

I am really excited about this news. Emily Melton - a former student and recent AU graduate - is working with CSTV on Mission: SEC. She is blogging and vlogging SEC football! The world of social media and college football will be changed forever.

…this will be a fun fall odyssey as Emily Melton turns college football and the SEC on its ear…

Mission SEC is a 100 day road trip through the Southeastern Conference leading up to the December 2nd SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

They are blogging and sharing videos about the culture of SEC football. There are three videos up now and tomorrow I believe we’ll start seeing the long list of interviews with many of the colorful characters of SEC football.

Funny thing is, they’ve got one of the most colorful and enjoyable characters on their team. Emily Melton is terrific. She’ll be an absolute delight to watch. Seriously, CSTV could not have picked a better person for this project. Now we just need to pray for Jean Neuberger and Glenn Anderson, her cohorts in this 100 day marathon.

So, good luck Emily. We’ll all be following your odyssey. This is going to be fun. War Eagle!

P.S. I really hope you guys will be putting these videos up on YouTube.com. There are a lot CSTV videos at YouTube, but I don’t see these in there, yet.

For context, if you are not familiar with SEC Football, it is basically a religion here. Compare it to the popularity of cricket in the UK, Australia and India or football (soccer) in Latin and South America and Europe, I guess. The SEC is the Southeastern Conference of university sports programs - 12 universities. The SEC drew about 1.5 million fans to their baseball parks this year, alone. Football in the SEC has outdrawn every other college conference for 25 years. Last year, SEC college football programs drew over 5.5 million fans to stadiums and untold tens of millions watched on TV. It is big business. CSTV is a CBS company.

Here is just one example of the revenues generated:

The SEC (distributed) approximately $116.1 million to the 12 league schools in its revenue sharing plan for the 2005-06 athletic year…

Broken down by categories, the money derived from $47.4 million from football television, $20.7 million from bowl games, $13.2 million from the SEC Football Championship, $12.1 million from basketball television, $4.4 million from the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and $18.3 million from the NCAA Tournament. (Source)

Two Words :: Great PSA

Two Words. When Auburn grads hear them, they know they belong.

Auburn University has released a PSA that aptly reflects our unique greeting, “War Eagle”. The phrase, I imagine, draws curious looks from the unaware. Perplexing looks - kind of like a puppy staring at a ceiling fan and thinking, “What is that?”

Real Player | Quicktime | Windows Media

It is currently receiving a lot of play locally. Too much, if you get my drift. It is popular and the local cable provider has used it to fill ‘every’ open avail. The spot is also now the halftime spot du joir for all Auburn TV games. Seriously, I think you’ll like the spot. I do.

See all of the currently available PSAs here. Also visit War Eagle Moment.

The spot is based upon real world experiences. I’ve seen it happen and I’ve even done it myself. Check it out.

War Eagle! Not what you’d expect. It means belonging - and a lot more.

Read on for a detailed story of the phrase’s mythical origins. Read more

“Whorehouse coming fall 2005″ :: AU Theatre Banner Causing Controversy

Auburn University :: Theatre Banner Causing Controversy
WSFA TV Montgomery, AL

One word is turning a lot of heads and drawing much controversy. “I think it is dramatic,” says Joseph Ansell, Interim Dean for Auburn University’s Department of Liberal Arts.

The theatre department is promoting “The best little whorehouse in Texas” by hanging a banner on the theatre. It reads “Whorehouse coming fall 2005.” Ansell says, “Given where we are and the fact there is a lack of support for the arts in the region and certainly on this campus, getting people to pay attention is important.”

A little background will likely be helpful here. Read more

A “Virtual Coup” :: Cory Treffiletti, MediaPost

Interesting story and ideas from MediaPost and Cory Treffiletti.

Do You Podcast?
by Cory Treffiletti
From: MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines

If you take note over the last few weeks of my columns and those of my colleagues, you will continue to see more and more proof that we are losing control. We are losing the battle for ownership of the media we create. The consumer is becoming a partner in its development by demanding what they want, how they want it, and when they want it. Sooner or later, it’s inevitable that the consumer will completely own the relationship. The iPod ad, the Nike ad, the Volkswagen ad… these will be examples of the future. This year might be recognized as the year when the consumer overthrew the throne. A virtual coup, if you will.

I, of course, think that this ‘losing of control’ started a long time ago. Perhaps the first real change was the VCR. Maybe you could go back to the days when making cassette tapes of albums was seen as so cool. But, those are minor compared to the loss of control going on today.
Read more

Douglas MacKinnon’s Chicago Tribune Op-Ed | Missing white female alert

Chicago Tribune | Missing white female alert
Why won’t the media cover missing minority women?

An op-ed by Douglas MacKinnon, press secretary to former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole from 1998 to 2003, was published at chicagotribune.com on May 8, 2005.

This is a great editorial and everyone should read it. Then, write to every major news source: cable, network, print (they all did it, you know) and demand better practices in the future.

Note to the news media–with an emphasis on the cable networks: Enough is enough.

Your continual focus on, and reporting of, missing, young, attractive white women not only demeans your profession but is a televised slap in the face to minority mothers and parents the nation over who search for their own missing children with little or no assistance or notice from anyone.

My first “Camp ASCCA” story …

Kind of amazing that I’ve taken this long to post about this. Camp ASCCA.

My first PR job was with the Alabama Easter Seal Society. Yes, students, I’m talking about Camp ASCCA (Alabama’s Special Camp for Children and Adults) - again.

For those of you few people, other than my students, that read this - you need to know that I tend to talk about ‘camp’ from time to time. It has become a joke, of sorts, since students will sometimes ’sigh’ when I use a ‘Camp ASCCA’ analogy. But, this is my reality. So, here goes …

I wanted to try new things. I wanted to make Camp ASCCA the voice of new ideas about dealing with, and responding to, people with disabilities. I wanted people to think differently about them. I wanted to put more focus on their abilities than their disabilities.

Some people thought what I was doing - was a deal with the devil.

My deal with the devil, in the eyes of the administration and Board of Directors of the camp, was with mainstream media. Everybody wanted the attention. They didn’t want the ‘message’ to be contrary to the (then) accepted theme of ‘No man stands so tall when he stoops down to help a crippled child’ … honest, that was the phrase of that day. You see, ASCCA originally stood for ‘Alabama Society for Crippled Children and Adults’. I didn’t like that saying or the term - crippled. Certainly, the campers didn’t like being called crippled. So, it occured to me - why not talk about this raw reality. Let people see what it is like to live with daily ostomy bag changes. What is it like to be confined to a view from three feet off the ground 24/7?

The camp had never received significant media attention. It was still young. Only 7 years old. Today, the camp has over twice as many buildings and facilities as it did then. A multi-million dollar facility operating year-round. The site covers 260 acres and sleeps up to 450. In camping terms, it probably more resembles a resort. Why? All the buildings and cabins have air conditioning and wide, spacious interiors. Why? Hey, we serve people that are not used to the rigors of ‘roughing it’ in the wild.

Still, we actually did (and still do) rustic camping trips. I’ll just ask you to imagine, for a moment, what it is like to get a wheelchair deep into the forest. Heck, just imagine what it is like to get one 10 feet deep into the forest.

My ‘deal’ was to invite (in intervals) all of the major print and television markets in the state (Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery and Huntsville) to visit the camp for a few days, or a week - as long as they wanted to stay. We provided them with a place to stay (private rooms - unheard of for camp visits at that time). We provided camp meals and full run of the facililty. This last part - full run of the facilities - was the part that scared the camp’s directors and leaders.

I’ve always believed that if you trust your employees and trust your program (the mission, the purpose) you can’t go wrong with exposing it to anyone - even in its rawest of forms.

So, surprisingly, when I was successful in attracting attention from each of these markets (they actually came over for visits), the administration was a bit surprised and - well, wary.. We were so successful that they came just about every other year and also for special events. Some of them came several times a year.

Upon arrival, I met with the reporters and photographers and shared that I would, of course, be available for anything they wanted - but, I would really prefer it if they would just - have free run of the camp. I wanted them to be in the camp cabins in the morning when campers are getting ready and at night when they were going to bed. I wanted the reporters to see - everything!

We secured all of the appropriate releases - separating out those campers that were wards of the state and could not be included for legal reasons - and released the hounds, so to speak. Anything was fair game.

Why did I do this? Well, does anyone really think that a reporter would be cruel to a camper? Put them in a bad light/situation? No. If anything, they (the reporters and photographers) became - advocates. They saw everything. They experienced the relationships developing between campers and counselors. They saw kids that rarely even got out of the house, now riding horses, going canoeing and much more.

I won’t go into all the details, but just sit for a moment and imagine what it must be like to be quadraplegic. To have little, if any, movement abilities. What is it like to live with an ‘ostomy’ of any kind? How does it make you feel to have to depend upon others - always? Once the reporters experienced this (and most had no clue as to what they were in for) they were taken with the relationships that can develop between camper and counselor in just a few short days.

It was funny, sort of. Almost all of the reporters took the Cinema Verité form in their reports. The reporters saw that the story would tell itself. I don’t know of one story from all of those visits (and there were lots of them) that did not win some sort of AP or UPI best news series/story/feature award over those years. They were powerful.

At the end of their visits, I always provided the reporters with [a] blank video tapes (then 3/4) and home 1/2 VCR tapes, and [2] a request that they provide us with a copy of the finished projects. Every station always provided b-roll footage and complete stories. Later, when we made presentations to groups - we just showed these stories. What could be more powerful? Then, local TV had great respect among viewers. OK, it still does to a large degree, but back then - WHOA! It had real impact.

These stories came with built in trustworthiness. And, later on, when we needed to make PSAs, I just wrote to the stations and asked for permission to use the video from the b-roll tapes. Everyone of them ‘always’ said yes. We edited the spots ourselves. Hey, we had great video, ambient sound, etc… and those spots? All of them won awards, too. Go figure.

Why were we, a little camp serving children and adults with disabilities, so successful in attracting attention? Typically, my experience was that these media outlets looked upon these stories as fluff. They were seen as ‘public service’ spots … void of real value for their target audiences.

I tried to change that. I wanted the stories to bring out the real lives of these people dealing with (not suffering from) their disabilities. Back then, that was a new idea. Very new.

First, I pitched the camp’s attributes in what was then considered an almost sacrilegious way. I was talking about disabilities just as the people with disabilities talked about them. In a raw, personal and (sometimes) painfully open form. I actually had people say (only a few times) that my ‘pitch’ was irreverent and contrary to a topic that is held to be sacred. Children with disabilities.

I pointed out that many of our campers (ok, ‘clients’ if you want the sterile view) were essentially shut-ins. Some looked at their one or two week stay at ASCCA as their vacation from boredom. Schools, if they were lucky enough to be in one, didn’t offer much (if anything) for their recreation needs.

It was at Camp ASCCA that I learned direct mail, outdoor advertising, TV production, media relations, government relations, public speaking (thousands of ‘em, actually) and much more. This kind of experience is invaluable to any new PR practitioner. Working for a non-profit often requires that you be jack (or jill) of all trades. It develops you into a zealot, of sorts. I worked 12 to 18 hour days without blinking an eye. It was wonderful.

So, perhaps this gives you a better idea of where I come from in my PR career. I strongly encourage students to consider work or internships with non-profit organizations. I do believe that you will both love, and benefit from, these experiences. Helps you develop the ’servant philosophy’, too.

Camp ASCCA was the greatest experience of my life. I would never exchange those 10 or so years for anything in the world. Part of me actually wants to go back - every day.

Peter Jennings :: ABC News

‘World News Tonight’ Anchor to Begin Chemotherapy

Peter Jennings, Anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, sent an email to his staff today announcing that he has lung cancer.

Dear All – Forgive me the group mailing – but it seems the easiest way to tell a lot of people I care for ….. about a change in my life.

I have been diagnosed with lung cancer. Yes, it was quite a surprise.

As you all know, this is a challenge. I begin chemotherapy next week. I will continue to do the broadcast. There will be good days and bad, which means that some days I may be cranky and some days really cranky!

Almost 10 million Americans are living with cancer. I am sure I will learn from them how to cope with the facts of life that none of us anticipated. In all the years I have worked here I have had the most outstanding support from this news division.

Hundreds of you have been like family. It feels good to have such a family right now.

Peter

ABC News also announced that he will be talking about it on the news tonight.

Jennings starts chemo-therapy on Monday. He plans to continue his duties as anchor.

From Romenesko at PoynterOnline.

Update: Peter Jennings was amazing on this evening’s ABC News. His ability to express his feelings and how he is dealing with, and will deal with, the reality of lung cancer is commendable, to say the least. Just one wonderful part of this is how he will serve as the best possible spokesperson and role model for the cause of cancer research and why we all shouldn’t smoke. I have even more respect for him and his solid character after experiencing his presentation at the conclusion of the news.

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