2009 News Generation Nonprofit Winners

Thank you to everyone who helped us by voting for and spreading the word about our client nonprofits!  We were so impressed with the level of participation and support for these great organizations.
 
The first place winner, who will receive a $4,000 donation, is Friends of the World Food Program with an incredible 10,800 votes.
 
The runner up, who will receive a $2,000 donation, is the American Diabetes Association with 7,412 votes.
 
We hope that our combined efforts are helping make the holiday season a bit brighter.  Happy holidays!

Twitter Your Final Vote for Charity!

Friends,

Voting was disabled yesterday due to a problem with the Google network.  We received notices from many of you and are grateful for your support!  To amend the situation, we have established a workaround and will be extending the voting until 5:00 P.M. tonight.

We ask that you cast your final votes on Twitter.  Simply tweet the following message:

@newsgeneration My vote goes to (insert charity) for this year’s holiday donation.  #newsgenvote

Every tweet we receive will count as two votes and will be added to the existing count.  Winners will be announced tomorrow morning.  We truly appreciate your participation!

Thank you and good luck!

The News Generation Team

Reminder: Help Us Help Others

To date, there have been over 9,000 votes cast to decide which of News Generation’s non-profit clients will receive this year’s holiday donations.  We are thrilled to see so many people getting involved in support of these great organizations!  With less than one week left, it is time to rally for your cause!

 

Include your friends, colleagues and family in the voting.

 

Just follow the link and select one of the charities listed, no later than Tuesday, December 1, 2009. You may vote more than once.  Click here to cast your vote: http://tr.im/EPh3.

What's All the Twitter About?

This podcast was produced by News Generation, Inc.  

Now is not the time to downplay the effectiveness of Twitter during this global credit crunch.  According to our panelist, social networking has the ability to add other dimensions to your next event or conference. Live blogging and tweeting from conferences and other gathering have expanded the reach of events that take place in a fixed location – a timely benefit with the economy curbing business travel.

PRSA’s Professional Development Committee assembled a diverse panel of experts who examined ways public relations professionals can make effective use of Twitter and other social networking sites to spark discussions with the public resulting in productive PR campaigns. The presentations revealed Twitter secrets and tricks to the trade when using new technology as part of your overall public relations strategies.

The panel included:
•    Michael Pranikoff, director of emerging media, PR Newswire
•    Susan Cato director web and new media strategy, 
     Biotechnology Industry Organization
•    Susan E. Jacobsen President, LUV2XLPR
•    Mike Holden, American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence 

•    Moderator: Debbie Friez, vice president, BurrellesLuce and co-chair, 
     PRSA-NCC Professional Development Committee

To listen to the podcast, click here.

News Generation: 2009 Charity Choices

2009 PRSA-Maryland Best in Maryland Award

News Generation and American College of Emergency Physicians were awarded a 2009 PRSA-Maryland Best in Maryland Award in the Audio Programs/PSA category for the campaign “Stayin' Alive: Element of ACEP’s awareness initiatives to reach Americans with life-saving health care information.” The Best in Maryland Awards are presented each year by the Maryland chapter of PRSA in recognition of projects and programs that demonstrate excellence in the public relations profession in Maryland.

The entire audio campaign reached more than 100 million listeners and helped educate the public on supporting access to Emergency Medical Services Act legislation and focused on raising awareness about the importance of providing quality emergency care.

More on the Consolidation of Radio

How to Craft Stories to Take Advantage of the Changing Landscape

The struggling economy continues to take its toll on all forms of media outlets, with radio bearing a healthy brunt.  Large ownership groups, such as Clear Channel, have laid off thousands of employees and sold off chunks of their holdings.  Other groups, such as Metro Networks/Westwood One, one of the nation’s largest radio networks, has been forced to consolidate its operation by shuttering some local news bureaus, in order to focus more on regional news coverage.

Even venerable outlets like Associated Press have been forced to alter the way they conduct interviews and dispense their news.  These moves have changed the landscape of radio and therefore, have changed the way that stories must be pitched to these outlets.

Although change is inevitable, there are some events that set about a more rapid evolution.  To address these developments, one must be willing to adapt along with them.  As large national networks streamline their operations, stories must be crafted to take advantage of this change.  For national networks, the best solution is to provide a strong, well-prepared national spokesperson – a person who is versed on local statistics and events, but also has the cache to attract interest on a national level.  read more…

                                                                   ~ by Curt Gill