PRSA to Celebrate 50 Years by Launching Community Programs
The Public Relations Society of America, New York, is celebrating its 50th anniversary by encouraging individual PRSA chapters to spearhead community-involvement programs that promote PR as a profession.
The programs, which will be announced later this year, will mark the society's anniversary celebration, slated to start in August and continue through 1998.
PRSA, which has more than 17,000 members, was established on Feb. 4, 1948. The move had been prompted by a 1947 gathering during which members of the American Public Relations Association and the National Association of Public Relations Counsel discussed merging the two groups.
In other news, PRSA's Accreditation Board adopted a new policy concerning the maintenance of accreditation requirements for members who were accredited before the maintenance program was created.
The board decided that members who were accredited before 1993 will no longer be required to record their continuing education activities with PRSA. (PRSA, 212/460-1454)
Schwartz Relocates to New Office in Massachusetts
Schwartz Communications Inc. has relocated from Wellesley, Mass., to new corporate headquarters: Prospect Place, 230 Third Avenue, Waltham, Mass. 02154.
The phone number is 617/684-0770 and the fax number 617/684-6500. (Schwartz Communications, 617/684-0770)
PR Tools
The 1997 Senior Media Directory, distributed by GEM Publishing Group, Reno, Nev., became available this month. The directory includes 1,040 listings, including 225 new references - a majority of those Web sites and e-mail addresses. Information includes frequency, circulation, editorial profiles, deadlines and ad rates. The book, which can be ordered by calling 702/786-7419, is available for $99 plus $4 postage. (GEM, 702/786-7419)
Computing & Communications Law & Protection Report, Madison, Wisc., has produced an eight-page legal source book: "Creating a Website: A Preventive Law Guide," which costs $10. The book covers legal issues, including copyright and trademark law, pertaining to developing content for Web sites. The book can be purchased from Assets Protection Publishing, P.O. Box 5323, Madison, Wisc. 53705-0323. (Computing & Communications, 608/231-6730)
U.S. Newswire has made its full-text data file - previously distributed exclusively to news organizations - publicly available at http://www.usnewswire.com. The wire service, headquartered in the National Press Building in Washington, D.C., has transmitted breaking news about government happenings and other public policy issues for more than a decade. (U.S. Newswire, 202/347-2770)
SBA Study is Good News for Start-Ups and PR
PR practitioners take notice: 68 percent of 398 U.S.-based small business owners queried for a survey by Dun & Bradstreet, Murray Hill, N.J., expect their customer base to grow in 1997.
The 15th annual survey included a range of businesses as well as those with women and minority ownership.
Other findings showed that the most popular routes for finding new customers include advertising (68 percent) and direct mail (52 percent) - both areas where PR plays a part. (D&B, 908/665-5694)