2.0 Workshops and Conference: Focus East Texas

Texas Public Relations Association held its “Media Relations 2.0” workshop in Lufkin on Oct. 29 where a panel of PR professionals, reporters and broadcasters discussed the changes social media has made on the way consumers get their news and its effect on the public relations industry.

This workshop allowed all attendees to discuss how to evolve with the ever-changing social media industry’s captains Twitter and Facebook; explore how to pitch stories to the new media world; and dive in to how important building relationships with the media is. Andy Adams (Editor of Lufkin Daily News), Tina Alexander-Sellers (News Director, KTRE-TV), BethAnn Black (PR Professional/Agency Owner), Pam Rosen (Social Networking Manager for Shell Oil Company) and Rebecca Elliott (Sr. Communications Manager for Shell Oil Company) were featured on the distinguished panel for the 2.0 workshop.

This is the first PR workshop for East Texas and had a great turnout (41 attendees) despite the stormy weather conditions. TPRA hopes to increase its membership by coordinating events like these to provide PR opportunities for smaller Texas cities.

Get Connected: Texas PR Leadership Day and Gala

Mark you calendars for March 5 in Austin, Texas for the Texas PR Leadership Day and Gala.  This gathering of state-wide communicators will focus on “Get Connected:  Personally, Professionally and with your Planet.”  You’ll be seeing more about this day during the next few months.

What is this day you may be asking?  It’s the 2.0 version of our annual conference.  We’re beefing up the line-up, streamlining the day and promoting it throughout the state to make this the largest gathering of Texas communicators.

Making this a reality is a dedicated group of students from Texas State University in San Marcos.  Dara Quackenbush — fellow TPRA member by night, college professor by day — assigned four students from her senior PR campaigns class to partner with me to develop and execute to a PR plan.  They have really done a great job and have designed a social media strategy leveraging our two platforms — this blog and Twitter.  They will be jumpstarting the conversation about PR in Texas and keeping you up to speed on how to get involved in the Leadership Day and Gala.

Also, to build on what the students are doing, I’m hosting a kick-off conference call for everyone who wants to help with the Leadership Day and Gala.  I’ve got folks from El Paso to Dallas to San Antonio who’ve already volunteered.  Just let me know if you want to help as well by replying to this blog.

See you in Austin!

University Makes Twitter a Required Class for Journalism Students

From Barb Dybwad at Mashable.com, we learn that Australia’s Griffith University is requiring journalism students to learn how to tweet. Good thing, too. At the Houston PRSA media day recently, TPRA/PRSA  member Terri Larson twittered what one panelist told the crowd – Twitter is the new police scanner.

Reaching Shareholders Online

TPRA member and Abilene Christian University instructor David A. Hogan, APR,  sets down his thoughts on the reluctance of investor relations departments to use social media tools to reach their shareholders.

Hogan presented his paper recently at the 2009 Annual Conference of the International Association of Online Communications.  Read his paper here.

Media Relations 2.0

Are you an East Texas professional communicator? Mark October 29 on your calendar. TPRA is coming to you with “Media Relations 2.0″.  To register, call Yana Ogletree at 936-639-7163 or YOgletree@memorialhealth.org.