PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 1996, Volume 3, No. 4

by Joel Bleifuss

Downtown St. Louis is a deserted hub of suburban sprawl: vacant, turn-of-the-century office blocks, a few hotels, a couple of office complexes, more than a couple riverboat casinos, a sports stadium and the Gateway Arch. On the weekend of November 10-12, 1996, this hub was home to public relations professionals from throughout the country, gathered to attend the annual conference of the Public Relations Society of America.

The theme of this year's PRSA conference was "Telling the Truth: Building Credibility in an Incredible World." The content of the workshops might lead you to imagine that telling the truth, for some, is an even more difficult balancing act than the feats of circus acrobats.

My first day of conference-going began in the foyer/dining room at the Adam's Mark, St. Louis' swankiest hostelry. Waiting for a bowl of oatmeal, I checked out other diners to figure out what the conference planners meant by "casual business attire is recommended." My second-hand, pea-green cashmere sports coat was on the edge, but not the cutting one. And I lacked the requisite USA Today, which I was to discover is not only the nation's paper, but the PR industry's as well.

I scanned the workshop schedule. Should I check out "Telling the Truth Under Deadline Pressure?" A professor of public relations at Kent State promised to explain how "it's not as tough as you think" for the PR professional to fill the role of "corporate conscience." Or maybe I should stop in at "Labor/Employee Relations and Public Relations" for "the scoop on upcoming labor issues expected to set off corporate, legal and media hot buttons in the next few years."

by Joel Bleifuss

"The need to effectively manage any and all communications issues is driven by one common reality: the bottom line," says PR executive Pat Farrell.

Farrell currently guards the bottom line at Ralcorp Holdings, the human-feed company spinoff from Ralston Purina. His previously experience was managing the Nutrasweet image for chemical giant Monsanto. There was nothing artificially sweet, however, about his presentation at a PRSA conference workshop titled "Identifying trends and issues management in the food and beverage industry."

Farrell was one of several panelists at the workshop, which the conference program billed as an opportunity to hear about "big-company experiences with consumers," "media relations during campaigns against various food items," "crises management planning," and "consumer advocacy groups." The moderator introduced Farrell as a "veteran of food tamperings, one employee shooting--that I know of, strikes, you name it."

At the podium, Farrell corrected the record. It was "two fatal shootings in the workplace, not at the same time." He told the audience that he had "worked managing issues for 17 years"--issues like "restructuring, reengineering, downsizing, rightsizing, capital expansion, product improvement, technological advances, synergy, long-term plans, short-term outlook, new product introductions, cost-reduction initiatives, strategic alternatives and renewed focus." Said Farrell: "I've lived through all of these buzzwords and, more importantly, the real issues behind them."

Sympathy for the Devil

If Mike Tyson and O.J. Simpson are looking for some free advice on how to improve their images, they'll want to check out the November 1995 issue of Public Relations Tactics, a monthly tabloid published by the Public Relations Society of America. Tactics devoted its cover story and several accompanying pieces to answering the question, "What do you prescribe for a public relations client who's a world-class athlete, charged with a vicious crime, and forced to endure a protracted incarceration?"