Chairman Emeritus of Publicis Public Relations and Corporate Communications Group, Lou Capozzi goes On the Record…Online with Eric Schwartzman about his upcoming luncheon keynote at the PRSA International Conference on restoring America’s connections with the world.

Lou Capozzi manages Publicis Public Relations and Corporate Communications Group’s public relations and corporate communications businesses. He also is president of ICCO, the International Communications Consultants Organization, which represents more than 1,000 firms in 27 countries around the world.

Show Notes:�
3:22 – Capozzi on what he will discuss during his keynote at the PRSA International Conference in Detroit, MI Oct 25-28.

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While most public relations practitioners appear to be infatuated with the blogosphere, corporate podcasting could be lower hanging fruit.

According to a wave.3 [PDF], a global study by Universal McCann, the number of podcast listeners in the United States more than doubled in the last year and a half. During the same period in the United States, blog readership declined 2 percent and membership to social networks grew 3 percent.

That doesn’t mean blogging and social networking aren’t important, but it does mean the blogosphere and social networks have become crowded, busy and saturated. It also means blogs and social networks are among the most competitive new media communications channels to engage constituents through.

Podcasting, on the other hand, represents a far less competitive new media channel. Public relations podcasting initiatives can whisper in the ears of an influential, outspoken audience of brand ambassadors, compelling listeners to serve as word-of-mouth agents, repeating what they hear to their friends and family, and unfortunate as it may be, the source from which information comes is often seen as more important than the information itself.

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Doug Simon, president & CEO, D S Simon Productions, authors one of the industry’s leading video blogs at D S Simon Vlog Views. The award-winning firm specializes in social media video communications creating and distributing video to web influencers and virally. D S Simon productions also offers traditional services including satellite and radio media tours, B-roll, corporate video, webisodes and event production. Clients include: The American College of Physicians, Parade Magazine, Macy’s and The Wall Street Journal. Simon is a Director-Delegate of the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) New York Chapter and was a three-time Past-President of the Publicity Club of New York. He began his broadcast career at NBC Sports where he served as Talent Assistant to Bob Costas.

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When developing your media message, you’ll need to answer some basic questions a reporter is going to ask. Don’t get caught off guard, learn how to think on your toes, and prepare yourself with this review.

By TJ Walker, president, Media Training Worldwide. He is “the leading media and presentation trainer in the world,” and “the #1 expert for executives seeking guidance on speaking to the public and media,” according to quotes from Viacom and Bloomberg TV. T.J. has trained thousands of executives and government officials over the last 20 years.

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1. Timeliness Is Key.

Pretty good answers NOW are a lot more valuable than perfect answers tomorrow. If the story is breaking and the reporter calls now, you need to react quickly. If you have to take 20 minutes to prepare message points and sound bites, do so. But make sure the reporter knows you will absolutely, positively 100 percent call back in 20 minutes or less. And then do it. If a reporter from a major national TV network or newspaper calls you for the first time, give them an interview RIGHT THEN. If you let them off the phone for even five minutes, you might not ever get them back.

2. Be Accessible.

If you want to be a part of breaking news stories, you need to be easy to reach. Public relations counselors hate it when I say this, but I believe that anyone who is seeking news coverage should allow direct access to the media. That means you and your clients should have your cell phone and home phone numbers made accessible on your Web sites, press releases and work voice mails. A reporter working on a deadline after hours does not want to have to call a public relations firm just to get a number of a news source. I have often been a guest on national TV news networks like MSNBC and Fox News Channel on Saturday morning, not because I am a famous big shot. (I’m not.) I got invited on because desperate bookers had my cell phone and home numbers and knew I wouldn’t be mad if they called me at 11:15 p.m. on Friday night or 7:05 Saturday morning.

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