A 15-member "blue ribbon task force" headed by
Seattle counselor Bob Frause is studying a new designation
that the PR Society may offer "certification."
Frause, former head of the Ethics Board of PRS who is on
the current EB, the current nominating committee, and who
is chair-elect of the College of Fellows, told a leaders'
teleconference yesterday that the "next step in professional
development" is certification of specialized areas
of PR like healthcare, utility PR, and government relations.
Bob Frause
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PRS has studied proposals for licensing PR people but concluded
licensing is "not feasible," he said. However,
he added, providing certificates of expertise in various
industries is worth studying and the topic will be taken
up with the 19 sections of the Society and its 115 chapters.
He told the leadership teleconference that six months of
study will be needed on the proposal and that 15 members
are working on it including CEO Rhoda Weiss, CEO-elect Jeff
Julin, director Gerard Corbett, counselor Patrice Tanaka,
and Mary Graybill, 2006 chair of the Universal Accreditation
Board.
Formal
Boycott vs. Press
Frause was reached by cell phone this morning but hung
up the phone. An e-mail to him was not answered. One question
would be whether a member has to be APR before becoming
"certified."
Linda Cohen
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PRS has a formal boycott against the press in which board
members, officers and staff are forbidden to answer questions
from the press.
CEO Rhoda Weiss is the only authorized spokesperson for
the Society.
This was confirmed by EB chair Linda Cohen of the Caliber
Group, Tucson, who refused to discuss the resignation from
the EB last week of Rick French of French/West/Vaughan.
She said she was not allowed to talk to the press on any
PRS matter.
Low
Turnout for APR Exam
Participation by members of PRS and eight other PR groups
in the exam of the Universal Accreditation Board has been
low. The first two years and 11 months of the new exam,
which took four years to create at a cost of $250,000 and
which was three years old as of June 30, 2007, resulted
in 367 new PRS APRs or about 123 yearly. The previous test
resulted in an average of more than 300 new PRS APRs yearly.
After 42 years of APR, which was started in 1965, there
are now fewer than 4,000 APRs among the 21,937 members.
PRS had 19,600 members in 1998, for a growth of 2,337 members
in nine years or about 1.3% yearly.
Two "members" of the UAB have never sent anyone
to the exam-the Agricultural Relations Council and the Religion
Communicators Council.
Two others sent one person each to the exam in three years-the
Texas PR Assn. and the PR Assn. of Puerto Rico.
With at least 20,000 PR people eligible for the exam, participation
by taking the Readiness Review or the exam itself is less
than two percent yearly.
Marisa Vallbona of Cim Inc., La Jolla, Calif., chair of
the UAB, told the teleconference that applications are up
8.4% to 219 from last year, Readiness Reviews are up 27%
and the number of those taking the computer exam is up 59%.
"It's looking really, really good," she said.
Pass rate is about 70%.
APR
Study Guide Published
The UAB has created an APR study guide of 153 pages to
help those interested in APR.
To help those who have a fear of taking the test, said
Valbonna, an online demonstration of questions on the exam
is now available at praccreditation.org.
An interested person gets 20-45 minutes to answer sample
questions while a clock runs, she said.
Only members of one of the groups can take the exam. APR
status is lost unless annual dues are paid to one of the
groups and $40 every three years to PRS accompanied by a
list of articles and books read to show evidence of professional
development.
Prof. Wright
Heads Online PR Journal
Prof. Donald Wright of the College of Communication of
Boston University is supervising a new online "PR Journal"
sponsored by PRS which will carry scholarly works on PR.
Prof. Donald Wright
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Wright told the teleconference that it can take years for
professors to get their articles published and the new online
PR Journal will make it possible for them to considerably
shorten this.
A panel of scholars and practitioners is being formed to
review works proposed for the online journal, he said.
16
Leaders Make Presentations
The Leadership call that started at 11a.m. yesterday had
an agenda of 16 speakers plus Weiss.
They spoke without interruption from any callers to 12:10
p.m. when four questions were placed by listeners. The questions
were about the online PR Journal and "tools" on
the PRS website.
In past years, leaders would talk for about a half hour
and leave a half hour for questions and answers.
Bill Murray, COO who joined PRS on Jan. 22, said he has
experienced an "exciting" six months in his new
job and urged PRS leaders to "contact me any time."
Phil Bonaventura, the new CFO, said revenues in the first
half were $5.6 million, resulting in a surplus over expenses
of $391,000.
Reports are that 15 staffers have left since the first
of the year but this could not be confirmed. Two PR positions
remain open. Missing from the current roster on the PRS
website are 17 names that were on the staff listing in the
2005 OneSource Book.
"Record"
Early Sign-ups for Conference
'Contact me any time,'
Murray told PRS leaders. |
The annual conference Oct. 20-23 in Philadelphia has drawn
a "record" 242 full registrations thus far, the
teleconference was told. Member rate before Sept. 7 is $1,075
and $1,275 after that. About 4% of members attend an annual
conference, according to 2005 chair Judith Phair. About
25% of attendees are non-members.
More than 100 sessions featuring 200 speakers are scheduled.
Thirty-five or more PRS staffers usually attend a conference.
Brad Rye, Assembly task force chair, said the list of delegates
is still being prepared.
The names of the 250 or so chapter delegates are not usually
revealed to the general membership until about one month
before the Assembly. A member wishing to express an opinion
to the delegates would have to send them individual e-mails.
No e-mail address book is provided by PRS.
The conference program notes that PRS and its Assembly
will be meeting in "the birthplace of American democracy."
Since 1973, about 80% of the membership has been barred
from seeking national office. That privilege has been reserved
for APRs. There has been no mention by leaders this year
of changing this setup
Russert,
Farrow, Tierney Are Speakers
Brian Tierney
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Speakers at the conference include Tim Russert of "Meet
the Press"; actress Mia Farrow, who is noted for her
humanitarian efforts, and Brian Tierney, a member of PRS
who once headed Brian Tierney & Assocs. in Philadelphia
(now part of Interpublic).
He is CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings and publisher
of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia
Daily News.
The nominating committee of PRS, meeting in Chicago, will
pick nominees this weekend and announce the results Monday.
Anthony D'Angelo of United Technologies' Carrier unit and
Michael Cherenson of Success Communications are vying for
the post of chair-elect.
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