- Attendance was down about 200 from last year's conference (to 1,854), despite the strong health of the industry. PRSA's chief operating officer, Ray Gaulke, said the lower turnout --1,854 attendees --probably stemmed from PR people's limited interest in visiting St. Louis, city that PRSA officials hoped would draw well because of its central location.
- In line with the conference theme of "Telling the Truth," PRSA intends to "own" the credibility issue, said Conference Chairman Jerry Bryan, vice president of corporate communications at Sverdrup Corp., Maryland Heights, Mo.
Bryan's statement last Monday (Nov. 11) follows earlier comments by top PRSA staff that the group plans to create an index that would monitor the credibility of institutions as seen through the eyes of the public. PRSA hopes that the index will become as widely recognized as such well-known measures as The Conference Board's (New York) index of consumer confidence.
- There was abundant hallway conversation about the gusher of bad news surrounding Texaco tape recordings allegedly showing top officers denigrating African-Americans.
With a sensitive situation with potential racial angles emerging about a large contract involving his company, Sverdrup Corp., Conference Chairman Jerry Bryan told attendees that he discussed the situation with his bosses on his cellular phone last Monday morning (Nov. 11) --and had no worries that any transcript of the conversations could embarrass him or his company.
In line with the conference theme, "Telling the Truth," Bryan said one measure of PR execs' integrity is whether their telephone conversations about sensitive situations can withstand public scrutiny such as that now enveloping Texaco.
- After a year's absence, the conference once again featured exhibitors. Indicating the overall health of the business, a number of them reported that business was very good. Medialink said its new radio service, launched early this year, has really taken off.
Dan Cantelmo Jr., president of news release distributor Media Distribution Services, New York, said that last month was the highest sales month in the history of his company.
- Should PR execs and PR firms in the Northeast consider moving to another region? Research by Roper Starch Worldwide unveiled at the conference showed that employees in the Northeast are twice as likely to condone dishonesty in certain situations as workers in any other part of the United States.
- Next year's conference will be Nov. 9-12 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn.