Archive for May, 2010

Name: Caron Golden   

Title: Freelance Food Writer, Food Columnist for SDNN.com

Outlet(s): SDNN.com , my blog San Diego Foodstuff, Edible San Diego, and others

Phone: (858) 496-0526

E-mail: caron@goldenwriting.com

Twitter: @carondg

Facebook: Caron Golden

What are your main daily responsibilities? Researching and writing pieces on interesting food developments, trends, events, products, and markets in San Diego and beyond. Read the rest of this entry »

Author note: This post breaks from the traditional Q&A format of The AP Stylist, as it is a response to the previous “The AP Stylist: Web site vs. web site vs. website” post.

Many would laugh at how excited I get when I see the subject line “AP Stylebook Update” in my inbox – as I eagerly click to find out the latest change in “The Journalist’s Bible.” But last month when I opened the update e-mail, I scowled:

“Editor’s Note: A separate entry on website has been added to note a style change from Web site.”

“website: A location on the World Wide Web that maintains one or more pages at a specific address. Also, webcam, webcast and webmaster. But as a short form and in terms with separate words, the Web, Web page and Web feed. See Web.” Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve served as Ethics Officer of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) San Diego Chapter for the past five years. During that time, I’ve received numerous phone calls, e-mails and heard countless complaints from colleagues “ratting” out other colleagues about unethical behavior. They want the bad apple kicked out of PRSA or barred from practicing public relations altogether. Frankly, after hearing some of their stories, I don’t blame them. I want that too!

The problem is that the re-written PRSA Code of Ethics is not intended to be enforced.

You read that right. It’s no longer intended to be enforced.

So what’s the point of having a Code of Ethics if it can’t be enforced?

The point is that acting morally and ethically is the responsibility of all practitioners no matter what industry they serve.  It’s really the responsibility of all humans on this planet. But I won’t go there.

I would hope that as public relations practitioners who disseminate information to the public and our clients, we would hold ourselves to the highest standards and operate with the utmost honesty and integrity always adhering to the principles set forth in the PRSA Code of Ethics. The Code is intended to serve as a guideline for ethical conduct among PRSA members.
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The term mat release is sort of a blast from the past. Unlike typical press releases, the mat release approaches the “news” more from the end-user’s perspective, melding consumer-geared verbiage with a journalistic writing approach.   In its original form, the early mat release firms mailed formatted articles on glossy paper to participating newspapers and the newspapers would choose among dozens of articles from that particular mailing.

Are PR pros still using mat releases?  They are, but the tools have evolved to meet the needs of the online world.  One company, ARAcontent, has “digitized” the release of feature articles through a focus on media web sites and backlinks to client sites.

According to the company’s materials, ARAcontent matches topics with editorial calendars, which improves the chance of the story being published. In addition, they provide rich analytics that provide insight into editor accesses, placement results, circulation and ad dollar equivalency (if you are into that). The idea appears to be to save the practitioner time and energy. Hundreds of editors use the service after an easy registration.

According to Matrelease.com, you can expect mat release stories to appear in suburban and community papers, though articles do appear in the top-100 newspapers with regular frequency; however the top newspapers like USA Today and The New York Times probably won’t use them because they have the staff needed to generate editorial in-bulk. That said, in today’s environment, when staffs are increasingly slimmer, many newsrooms may gladly welcome additional content. And coverage in the top 100 dailies is significant.

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Just imagine, showing up to work on the assignment desk and thinking it’s going to be a routine shift. You’ve handled breaking news before, but this time you are the news.

That’s what it’s like for Jacki Wells Cisneros who works at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, and her husband Gilbert, who are the winners of Tuesday’s multi-state Mega Millions draw. The ticket was purchased at an L&L Hawaiian Barbecue on Pico Rivera.

Check out how the story unfolded in the newsroom here.

Emmy Nominations Announced

The Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announces their nominations for this year’s Emmy Awards. The chapter’s awards program recognizes excellence in television in the following cities/regions: San Diego, Bakersfield, Orange County, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara and Las Vegas. The 2010 Emmy Awards presentation is Sat., June 26 at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. For event details and a complete list of nominees, visit the Chapter’s website.

 Semi-New Owner for San Diego Magazine

Our city’s namesake publication has a new owner, well sort of. Jim Fitzpatrick, who sold San Diego Magazine to Curtco Publishing in 2005, re-purchased the business for less than he sold it for originally, according to sandiego.com. This announcement came on the heels of the departures of long-time staff members, editor-in-chief Tom Blair in early April 2010, and senior editor Julia Beeson Polloreno in March 2010. Polloreno is now editor-in-chief of Triathlete, a magazine published by the Competitor Group. San Diego Magazine is also looking for a talented professional for their associate editor position. Learn more here. Read the rest of this entry »