PR has been riddled with talk of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the tide hasn't changed just yet. Hurricane Wilma put a damper on the Public Relations Society of America's
International Conference in Miami (set for Oct. 22-25) - and its reputation for handling communications crises.
With a week to decide what direction to take - cancel, postpone or move forward full throttle - a final decision to call the conference off was made at the 11th hour
(Friday, Oct. 21, at 12:30 p.m.) after days of wavering Web updates, e-mails and College of Fellows/PRSSA assembly cancellations.
Coincidentally, PRSA's newspaper, PR Tactics, has a front-page story this month called "Going back to basics: Hurricane Katrina illustrates the importance of aligning
action and communications."
Ample negative reaction to PRSA's haphazard response by attendees and presenters alike is a tough card to be dealt, but PRSA couldn't have foreseen a monstrous storm this late
in the season.