Sign the Petition

Our friend, Mr. K. Srinivasan, of PR Point, has sent the following circular for you to take note of this an sign the petition. It is in public interest. 

"Election Commission of India has submitted their recommendation 5 years back to the Indian Government to include 'None of the above'  option in the ballot papers/ EVMs after listing all the eligible candidates.  Four years back, one Senior Advocate has filed a PIL in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India praying for direction to the Election Commission/Government of India to direct them to implement this to enable voters to reject bad candidates.  If this recommendation is implemented, political parties would start fielding better candidates.

Since, the General Elections are likely to be announced soon,  India Vsiion Group has made out a petition to Hon'ble Chief Justice of India to take up the case and order the Election Commission to implement this.

If you have not already signed the peition, please go to this link and sign the petition today itself.
http://www.petitiononline.com/elec2009/petition.html

We plan to submit to Hon'ble Chief Justice of India on 1st Jan.  Please sign this immediatley and circulate to your friends and contacts.

K. Srinivasan"

Next All-India PR Conference in Chandigarh

The PR fraternity is requested to keep the next December free for the Public Relations Conference which has been awarded to the Chandigarh Chapter. 

As we shall keep you updated through this Blog on the developments as the preparations for the Conference proceed, we assure every participant a grand memorable experience in 'the city beautiful'.

Already, the three state governments i.e. Panjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, and union territory of Chandigarh have expressed their solidarity and support to the Conference, and hopefully we shall have participants and speakers from the South East Asia region. 

We invite all the Public Relations practitioners to send in their suggestions to make the program more meaningful. 

The Chapter has already had a couple of meetings with the Directors of Public Relations of various state governments, as well as within the Chapter, and the planning is afoot at a fast pace. 

Depending upon the response, we intend to have a pre-conference workshop session to be conducted by an international faculty, besides the pre- and post-conference tours to nearby hill stations. 

Chandigarh is linked with the rest of India with six available flights, fast train connections, and express highway from Delhi. 

Looking forward to your arrival to contribute to the knowledge bank of the PR profession.

Best Programmes Award for Chandigarh Chapter of PRSI

The Chandigarh Chapter of Public Relations Society of India received "The Best Programmes Award" for the year 2008 at the recently concluded 30th PRSI National PR Conference at Guwahati from 11-13 December 2008.

Mr.V.P.Sharma,Jt.Director(PR),BBMB & Chairman,Chandigarh Chapter,PRSI and Renuka B.Salwan,Dy Director,Bureau of Indian Standards & past chairperson of the chapter, who attended the Conference, received the award on behalf of Chandigarh Chapter.

The current Chapter Chair, Mr. V.P. Sharma, Joint Director Public Relations with Bhakra Beas Management Board, was a happy man, as he received two awards on behalf of his organisation, which received the “Best Corporate Film" and also the "Best Corporate Brochure" awards at the PR Conference.

Our heartiest congratulations to all those who contributed extensively in keeping the Chapter active through their participation.

Mr. Sanat Lahiri is no more

Another stalwart of Public Relations, Mr. Sanat Lahari, who held the reins of PRSI in 1974, has passed away.  He left for his Heavenly Abode on the same day, i.e. 7th October 2008, the day we lost Mr. K.R. Singh.  Unfortunately, I learnt about it only now through Ms Aditi Syam who was informed by Mr. J.M. Kaul from Kolkata.  

Mr. Sanat Lahiri has also been the past President of IPRA, and served TISCO Ltd as Director Public Relations.  He was member of the PR sub-committee in Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and was the visiting professor of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.  

He has also been in the Government of India's Advisory Board on Communication and Broadcasting, as also in the Committee on PR and Publicity in Public Undertakings; Consultant on the UN Economic Committee, Asia and Far East on Communications.  

In his career he has also served Dunlop India Limited.

May his soul rest in peace. 

Desh Sewa Rattan Award for Renuka Salwan

It is a matter of great pride for PR fraternity that one of our active PR practitioner, Ms Renuka Salwan, Deputy Director Public Relations, Bureau of Indian Standards, Chandigarh, and immediate Past Chairperson of PRSI Chandigarh Chapter, has been conferred the Desh Sewa Rattan Award yesterday at a function in Ludhiana. 

A four-decade old NGO, Shaheed Memorial Sewa Society at Ludhiana, conferred the award on eight women who have contributed to the society through their commitment and dedication in their field of work. 

Renuka Salwan indeed is a dynamic leader with determination and resolve, and as a professional has contributed immensely in generating awareness about the safety and standardisation of consumer products. 

We wish her many more winning innings.

Ravi Dara is no more

Many of us in the PR field would have heard her name or met with her at various PR fora. An energetic lady, and a great person that she was, was shot dead in her 19th floor room in Hotel Taj. I, who had known her so closely for the last nearly two decades, deeply grieve this loss.  And the grief is aggravated by the unprecedented mayhem that Mumbai has faced at the hands of terrorists, shattering lives of hundreds of families around the globe who lost their nears and dears. 

May her soul rest in peace. 

Remembering KR

I met Mr K.R. Singh - Kanwar Rajendra Singh to be exact - at the national council meeting of PRSI in 1989 and was greatly impressed by his clarity of thoughts and articulation. He was a multifaceted personality who could interact with anyone and everyone with ease and could discuss with you on any subject, whether it is the kind of wine he was drinking or the fish curry or the Indian diplomacy.
And I remember in 1991, he was the first sitting President of PRSI who agreed to visit the Chandigarh Chapter and address the members. I had gone to pick him up in a borrowed Ford from a friend, and the moment he was in till the time we got down at the hotel, I was better informed about the Ford's history and car's attributes.
KR was a respected journalist, having started his career as a staff correspondent of The Times of India. Later he was with Hindustan Times as Chief Reporter, and later published an English tabloid from Mumbai, 'The Daily' for five years.
He moved to corporate communication after joining IBM and also served as President of Birla Engineering Services, and later of Birla Medical Technologies. He was on the board of directors of three Birla companies for several years.
He was chairman and managing director of a Kirloskar Group company engaged in setting up of cancer treatment facilities in India.
He was the man in a hurry, but would enjoy every moment of his life. He would spend hours with his friends from PR fraternity till late evening, and one could find him up early in the morning ready for the day ahead.
The leadership he provided to PRSI, and the India Foundation for PR Education and Research, that gave me the opportunity to interact with him quite frequently, had been exceptionally memorable golden moments that I cherish so fondly today.
CJ

A legend passes away

The man full of verve, wit, and smiles...the legendary communicator...the former National President of Public Relations Society of India, Mr.K.R. Singh, passed away yesterday after a cardiac arrest. He leaves a deep chasm in every heart who knew him personally. His contribution to the PR profession had been unmatched...and we shall miss him.
We pray for peace of the great departed soul, and convey our heartfelt condolences to all nears and dears. CJ

National Media Conclave at Mt Abu

The two-day National Media Conference 2008 at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India, was held on 20th and 21st September 2008.

You can read about the discussions at the conference and view pictures at PRPoint. Just click here to get the complete update on the Conference.

Dr. Kalam's Message to Youth

Our friend, Mr. Srinivasan of PRpoint met Dr Abdul Kalam, former President of India at Chennai on 24th July 2008. You can go to click here to listen to Dr. Kalam's message to the Indian Youth. CJ CorePR

India on the crossroads?

India is passing through a political crisis. May be for the time being. But it is great masala for all the TV channels which for the last two days have got a lot of fodder to munch around, and opportunities of "Breaking News" every hour of the day. Though India is passing through a crisis of sorts, it is time for our channels to 'make hay (the mullah) while the sun shines'.
Watching every Indian tv channel these days is an effort to find out what is the fact and what is the fiction, though for the majority of the viewers it is the entertainment value the channels are trying to offer.
What is the role of media in any national crisis? Mr Vijay Menon, former Secretary General of Asian Mass Communication and Research Centre, Singapore, in his Foreword to "Role of Media in National Crisis", writes, "The media, in the popular view, should play a healing role in times of national crisis. But there is a lack of clarity, leave alone unanimity, about that role.... The journalist is often in a quandry, torn between his professional duty to provide a true and complete account of developments or events and exhortations to temper candour with caution lest his reporting should inflame passions rather than cool them."
Looking at this definition one wonders how many journalists, especially on the electronic media, are really in a "quandry", morally, while reporting.
Let's think.
CJ

PR is not a substitute for truth

Last year there had been discussion on whether PR people lie and some of the senior PR practitioners at an international conference made no bone about the fact that 'yes they do lie on behalf of the client', that led to serious discussion on the issue, with many votaries for the business of lying.
Unfortunate indeed. Most corporates do not understand the need to be truthful, honest and ethical, and they run to PR agencies to white wash their image, who, again many of them, oblige with a smile.
As a firm believer in the ethical practice of all professions, and the dictum that Public Relations is NOT a substitute for truth, lays down the mandate for the practice of PR. It does not mean that the bad image cannot be corrected, provided the individual and/or the corporate is willing to learn and clean up its own act and adopt the right course of action.
The recent Hollywood release Hancock holds the message for the PR practitioners as well as the corporates. Here's a super hero who carries a bad image until he runs into a PR man, Jason Bateman, who helps him change his habits and his behaviour, and the good things follow...even attracting a positive media.
CJ

One of our members Paddy Padmanabhan very rightly pointed out about India's rank at 120 in the international ranking, and aptly mentioned about PR intervention.
It is time that Incredible India also wakes up to the reality of our times. There are numerous issues right from corruption, bureaucratic redtapism, injustice, poverty, health crisis, etc., that emanate from mismanaged communication. Living as we are in an interdependent world, and the good that the liberalisation process brought for the Indian economy, it is time to review and improve the situation further through re-engineering the old hackneyed systems of governance, and speed up the process of development.
The need is to communicate government's concerns and vision to all segments, horizontally and vertically, and roll out time-bound action plan, besides initiating the sensitisation process within the government machinery.
Even today, any corporate initiative is looked with suspicion and every possible hurdle is put in place where the formula of MBO-management by objectives (objections?) is seen in action. Lack of intra-departmental and inter-departmental communication where each works at tangent with maximum attempt to subvert any developmental process by hiding essential information from the stakeholders.
Despite the e-governance process being implemented the accountability factor in the government has yet to take appropriate shape.
Communication challenge involves putting their cards bare with all procedures and processes shared at one instance with defined timeline of approvals without which the responsibility shall never get fixed, and India shall continue to suffer in terms of its progress, and its image.

National PR Education Day

Global Forum for Public Relations has always been proactive in contributing to the knowledge of the public relations practitioners, and this time it has come up with another novel idea of designating 6th August as the National PR Education Day.
The day has been earmarked in honour of former National President of Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) and Editor of PR Voice, Dr. C.V. Narasimha Reddi, who turns 75 on this day.
Indeed a great tribute that we can pay to this great personality whose contribution to PR practice in the country is unparalleled.
The young aspirants who intend to adopt PR as a career are always at a loss to understand the nuances of Public Relations practice, primarily because of the lack of adequate literature, research, and studies on the subject in Indian context.
All PR practitioners are requested to send their ideas as to how we can perpetuate this day most meaningfully and contribute to the enhancement of PR educational resources.
Let 6th August be the Day of reckoning for all the PR practitioners, and chalk out plans as to how we would like to contribute to this cause for the next five years, to make PR education and its practice in the country to match, and even surpass the international standards, and establish benchmarks of its best practices here.
So put on the thinking cap and start writing back.
And wherever PRSI, PRCI, IABC, and other similar organisations have their chapters, must hold a meeting and brainstorm on the issue engaging the academia in this process.
CJ Singh, CorePR, Chandigarh

Global Forum for Public Relations: Awards function

GLOBAL FORUM FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS, the India International Association for Values and Ethics in Public Relations Profession, is organising an Awards and Felicitation Function at Hyderabad, on 18th July. Sri G. Vinod, Minister for Labour and Employment, Government of AP shall be the chief guest, and guests of honours include our very dear Dr. C.V. Narasimha Reddi, amongst various other dignitaries.

Rajayogi B.K. Karuna ji, Chief of Multimedia and PR, Brahmakumaris, Mt Abu; Sri Atluri Subba Rao, Former President, FAPCCI, Hyderabad; are to receive the Awards, while Shri Suraj Prasad Agarwal, President, FAPCCI, Hyderabad shall be felicitated.

PR Blogs

Google Blog Search is the new utility from the Google team. Just key-in your favourite subject and it would turn up links to all the bloggers from around the globe. What a resource for the public relations practitioners! A search for 'Public Relations' turned up 8,215,944 links to blogs on the subject. Imagine the vast treasure-trove available in the netspace for everyone to learn. Happy blogging!

New issue of PR-e-Sense available for download

The 27th issue of the most respected and read online ezine on public relations, PR-e-Sense, edited and published by Mr. K. Srinivasan of PR Point, is now available for download.
This issue focusses on the theme "PR Online Resources". Image Management and PR Point Groups complete 9 successful and active years and enters 10th year in June. To coincide with this, various PR online resourcs available today have also been included in this ezine.
This ezine will be a handbook for professionals and students to get all the top PR Resources.
Please enjoy this ezine and give your feedback to editor@corpezine.com.
Please Click here to Download the e-zine. Don't miss it.

Women in Media: Seminar Programme

Different sessions for the Women in Media scheduled next week in Chandigarh, includes:

Session 1: Major Problems of Women Journalists in Print & Electronic Media
Session 2: The Superiority Myth: Men vs Women
Session 3: Why coverage of women issues get a raw deal?
Session 4: Need for well-defined gender policy in print and electronic media

We shall welcome any views and opinions of the readers on the issue.

PR. What?

A usual question that befuddles everyone. Majority do not understand what PR people do? Perhaps you can find them in the morning having 'Power Breakfasts', whiling away time on their cell phones, courting media people at lunch, and having a cocktail bash in the evening.
Ask a student, and he would like to get into PR for its glamour, hefty pay packet, and because "he/she likes to socialise".
Ask a politician, and would squirm at the word 'PR' and would like him to be his henchman to see that his photograph appears next day in the newspaper, or is in camera on television in the evening news, for having inaugurated a eating joint.
Ask a journo, and he would scorn at the mere mention of the word.
The debate continues. The scorns, and preconceived notions about PR continue to rule the roost, except for ruing by the PR practitioners once in a while at various PR fora; pointing fingers or making critical comments, without any positive action plan to correct the situation.
Public Relations is a sacred management practice that manages an organisation or an individual's perceptions in the eyes of their stakeholders by managing communication in all its forms and shapes.
Its practice not only requires a basic understanding of psychology, semantics, management principles, human relations, behaviourial sciences, media processes and operations, research, etc. etc., but also a thorough knowledge and experience in devising creative communication solutions to manage issues and perceptions.
Public Relations is and remains the science and art of managing communication, which is based on truth.
There are numerous points of view on the issue of 'truth', and how truthful PR practitioners can be when the organisations they represent want them to communicate the message which they want, is definitely a point for debate, which we can discuss some other time. However, the fact remains, Public Relations is not a substitute for truth.

Women in Media

Media Information and Communication Centre of India (MICCI) is organising a two-days seminar on "Women in Media:Fighting Stereotypes - Identity & Gender" on 7-8 June 2008 at Golden Jubilee Auditorium, Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Though there is no registration fee, formal registration in advance is necessary to make appropriate arrangements.
Public Relations Society of India-Chandigarh Chapter and CorePR are the Knowledge Partners in organising this seminar.
For further information please contact Geetu Batra, CorePR, 0172-2613190 / 5016581, or email at info@corepr.com
CJ Singh

PR Conference on Communication Challenges

The Chandigarh Chapter of PRSI is organising a one-day Conference on "Media Paradigm and Communication Challenges" on Sunday, 16th March 2008 at the CII Convention Centre, Chandigarh.
Leading luminaries from the field of print and electronic media, PR practitioners, and academicians shall be addressing the Conference.
The registration fee is Rs.1500.
For further details, please send email.

Golden Jubilee Year of PRSI

Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) completes 50 eventful years this year. There are a number of activities planned around the country. The Chandigarh Chapter, one of the 33 Chapters of PRSI, is organising a Golden Jubilee Felicitation function on 15th March 2008, at the CII Convention Centre, Chandigarh, where former National Presidents of PRSI shall be felicitated.
For further information please get in touch with us through email.

Opening for Corporate Head PR

A leading IT company in Chandigarh requires Corporate Head PR.

MBA or Equivalent qualification in Mass Communications or Public
Relations with 4-6 years of relevant work experience.

The candidate will be required to liaise with the media (Print, TV, Radio and Online) on a regular basis. Other KRA's will include:

• Media Research, Writing articles, Preparation of newsletters, Distributing press releases to the targeted media
• Preparation and editing of marketing materials and collaterals
• Co-ordination of PR activities at an all India as well as international basis, mainly the US

Knowledge of new age media like Blogs, internet media etc. will be a key requirement

In brief, the candidate will be responsible for complete ownership of the Brand building exercise including collateral, PR and other customer acquisition techniques.

A candidate with extensive networking with the media and excellent written and communication skills will be preferred. He/ She must also possess a good knowledge of computers.

Key Skills: PR, Public Relations, Liaison with Media, Blogs, Online Marketing, Media Research,

Qualifications: MBA/ Mass Comm with minimum of 4-6 years work exp. Age below 35 years.

Please send resume to info@corepr.com

Corporate Ethics: Infosys shows the way

Many would have missed the newsitem in several newspapers last week about Infosys fining its Executive Directors for violating company's code of conduct. He was fined for failing to notify the company in time that he sold 10,000 company shares the week before. Infosys' insider trading rules state that directors and officers may buy or sell company shares only after prior notification to the company. Further, notification must also be given within one working day following the execution of such transactions.

Looking at all the news reports it is clear that the news is based on Infosys's release where it is making a clear acknowledgment of the lapse, identifies the senior director by name, and specifies the 'misconduct'. Great example of conformance to good corporate conduct, and proactive acknowledgment.

The penalty of Rs.5 lakh imposed on the director, again, shows the corporate vision...the penalty does not go to the corporate coffers but to a charity.

In today's world of cut-throat competition and race to save the corporate face and image from public glare, here is a company which continues to, and infact, enhances its corporate image in the public eye, by sharing an otherwise damaging news. Kudos to Infosys management for following the fundamentals of public relations...there is no substitute for truth....and it pays to be truthful and honest.

Why Public Relations?

Last week a harried colleague from the industry called up to ask that his management is asking him to explain as to why their organisation needs public relations? This is the question perhaps still taking the round of corporate circles primarily because most of the work relates to intangibles, and also because, majority of our PR practitioners have not started using the measuring techniques of their PR efforts.
Another significant aspect of PR is its role as a strategic management function. PR has, unfortunately, remained limited to media coverage and the amount of photographs or clips one can generate. Since PR is not a substitute for truth or the good work, the PR practitioner must set the agenda for the corporates to prepare itself to address larger issues since existence of every organisation impacts a large number of stakeholders. Therefore the moment we profile our stakeholders and address the issues that concern them directly or indirectly, there is whole lot of PR deliverables needed to generate goodwill and better understanding about the organisation through appropriate communication, which, at times, goes beyond mere media relations.
The challenge for the PR practitioners today is to understand the professional aspect of their calling, so that no one asks them 'Why PR?'