Offensive Halloween Costume Creates Controversy

Among the many distasteful costumes that go sale prior to Halloween there’s a particular one causing disdain among the immigrant population, the "illegal immigrant."

The costume appeared in Target's online sale this season with the following description: "He’s got his green card, but is from another planet!" Sure to get some laughs, the illegal alien adult costume includes an orange prison-style jumpsuit with the words 'ILLEGAL ALIEN' printed on the front, an alien mask and a 'green card.' Of course, the costume has alarmed immigration rights groups.

Angelica Salas from the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles has asked Target to remove the "distasteful, mean-spirited and ignorant of social stigma" costume. Lizette Olmos, national communications director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, referred to the costume as “really disturbing” Other social action groups, such as the United Farm Workers have urged their supporters to send complaints to the stores selling the dehumanizing costumes.

I believe Target has responded positively to the complaints during this PR crisis. Target spokesman Joshua Thomas said the item was put on its website by mistake when an employee entered a wrong number into the system. Target has a strict review process with its vendors, he said. "We apologize, this was never intended to be part of our assortment." Thomas said Target is doing everything they can to take the costume down from their website. Media adviser, Vicki Adame, said that this is exactly the kind of divisive issue that a major brand like Target should want no part of. "It's insensitive, it's offensive. Immigration is such a hot-button issue. Why would Target fuel that fire?"

Other companies and websites have been getting angry complaints from the public for selling the costume too; but I believe their PR responses have not been done as well as Targets. The costume can/could also be found on toyrus.com, amazon.com, meijer.com, Walgreens.com, buycostumes.com, eBay. No changes or response have been made yet, however recently, Amazon had taken down the full-body costume, but still offered this equally offensive mask.

The backlash has already begun. Anti-immigrant groups are now asking followers to buy up the illegal alien costume from Amazon and other retailers and wear it on Halloween to make a statement. Americans for Legal Immigration PAC's President William Gheen is even offering to wear the costume during media interviews next week.

"The illegal alien supporting groups in America are attacking free speech once again," said Gheen. "These are the same types of people that are trying to ban Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck from television. They want to control what people can see, hear, say, or even wear for Halloween in pursuit of their open borders agenda."

NWA Flight 188

Most of you have heard of the Northwest Airlines/Delta flight 188. If not, a Minneapolis/St. Paul bound plane missed their landing and went 150 miles beyond their destination. Further, the pilots were out of communication with air traffic controllers for more than an hour. The pilots finally realized their mistake when one of the flight attendants asked them, via intercom, why the plane had not yet descended. It was then determined that both pilots were distracted in conversation and using personal laptops while discussing the scheduling system. Delta said this would be a violation of company policy on personal computers.

The story made national news and I think Delta did a good job responding to the PR crisis. They posted a press release on their website soon after stating that the company suspended the pilot's licenses until the federal investigation was complete. Also, Delta CEO Richard Anderson made a statement saying: "Nothing is more important to Delta than safety. We are going to continue to cooperate fully with the NTSB and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in their investigations." Further, Delta stated that using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination. On Monday Delta Air Lines said they were sending letters and $500 vouchers for future travel to all passengers on the flight.

On the evening news earlier this week I saw one of the pilots speak and apologize to TV reporters from his home's front door. Even though he did not say anything wrong, I thought it was interesting that someone from Delta/NWA had not advised him not to publicly speak.

The incident has been taken very seriously even though no one was hurt. It was a sad day for the pilots On Tuesday. The FAA revoked their licenses, saying they "carelessly and recklessly'' put their passengers and crew in jeopardy. Now they have a chance to appeal.

Here Comes The Next Generation

There are more than 120 million member's part of Generations X and Y and they will soon be taking over the workforce. Findings from studies on these groups of young people say that they are very different than any of the previous generations, and that companies and organizations are not quite sure how to meet their needs as they move into retiring Baby Boomer's positions.

I am part of Gen Y (aka: Millenials, Echo Boomers, Baby Busters, Digital Natives, Slackers - I'm not sure about this one. It seems contradictory since we're also called high achievers). I was inspired to write this entry after reading an article about me on the front page of the Star Tribune this week. I read this article and was surprised to read how right on the conclusions made about myself were true. "They want to work when it's convenient to their lives - not punch in at some 9-to-5 job and be stuck sitting in a cubicle. They relish a challenge more than a paycheck, and resent it when bosses look over their shoulders or fail to reward them for a job well done." (Crosby, Jackie. "Younger Workers Want More Than A Paycheck." Star Tribune. 21 Oct. 2009.)

Our generations are considered slackers when compared to past groups. This generational nickname has caught on because our new demands: we do not define ourselves by our job like previous generations, we demand a work-life balance and will not work a crazy long hour work week and on average people under the age of 30 spend 20 months on a job.

A conference was held this week at the Minneapolis Convention Center and more than 200 attendees from seven states came to the event to share strategies for recruiting, retaining, managing and marketing to Gen Xers (aged 28 to 44) and Gen Yers (14 to 27).

How I Believe Companies and Organizations can Recruit, Retain, Manage and Market to Gen Xers and Yers:

• Develop good first day/week employee welcome traditions. If an employee feels included and important right from the get go, the more part of a team and valued they will feel.
• HR departments should teach managers good ways to manage employees of these groups. Make sure they understand that structure, stability, both constructive and complimentary feedback, independence and a willingness to learn new things is important to these generations.
• Companies/organizations should value employee input. They can do this by including employees in their decision making process by inviting them to meeting or creating surveys.
• Workforces should value community service and ask employees to take part volunteer work through them.
• Work places should value education and try to teach these employees new things on a continuing basis.
• Create a fair promotional process and give rewards to employees as they stay long at company/organization. This way employees can see the growth ladder and know their workplace cares about their career development.

Generation X
Numbers: 49.1 million
Characteristics: Anti-authority, highly individualistic. They are the children of workaholics and divorce, and grew up with cable TV and computers.
Raised to be: Self-sufficient
Job requirements: Positive relationships with colleagues; interesting work; continuous opportunities for learning.
Work style: Want autonomy; dislike being micromanaged; want to be trusted to figure out tasks; want to work outside 9 to 5 schedule.
Motivations: A fun workplace; seeing outcomes of their work; constructive feedback.
Turnoffs: Unrewarded loyalty.

Generation Y
Numbers: 73.5 million
Characteristics: Confident, well-educated, digital thinkers, sense of entitlement, needy. They were micromanaged by parents and have never known life without technology.
Raised to be: High achievers.
Job Requirements: Meaningful work that makes a difference in the world; shared values among colleagues; meeting personal goals.
Work style: Want structure and stability; want immediate and increasing responsibility; prefer small goals with tight deadlines.
Motivations: Collaboration and teamwork; social causes; learning new technology.
Turnoffs: Unchallenging work; being dismissed for lack of experience.
(Source: Rock Stars Incorporated by Sarah L. Sladek)

The History of Public Relations

I learned a little bit about the history of public relations in college, but I wanted to dig deeper to gain a better understanding of where the industry came from. The names Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays are often considered to be the first public relations professionals, but as I'll explain the work of PR began long before he came along.
The history of public relations is mostly confined to the early half of the twentieth century; however there is evidence of the practices scattered through history.

lst Century B.C. -- Romans coined the phrase Vox populi; vox Dei, "the voice of the people is the voice of God." Underscored the emerging importance of public opinion.
18th Century -- Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, whose efforts on behalf of Charles James Fox included press relations, lobbying and, with her friends, celebrity campaigning
1623 -- Pope Gregory XV created the College for Propagating the Faith, the first large-scale use of public relations, created by the Roman Catholic Church to retain followers and solicit converts in the aftermath of the Reformation. Origin of the modern term propaganda.
1748 -- King's College (now Columbia University) used first news release to solicit press coverage.
1773 -- Colonists staged Boston Tea Party, a pseudo-event that helped crystallize public opinion against British rule.
1787 -- The Federalist Papers, a series of 85 pamphlets that were also reprinted as articles in newspapers, were produced to generate support for the formal creation of the United States and passage of its Constitution. 1850s -- American railroads used publicity, advertising and printed materials to attract tourists and settlers to the American West.
1889 -- First corporate public relations department established by Westinghouse, a year after Mutual Life Insurance Company created a "species of literary bureau" to coordinate advertising and publicity. Westinghouse ultimately prevailed in the ensuing "battle of the current" to promote the benefits of alternating current (AC), versus the direct current (DC) invented earlier by Thomas Edison and the General Electric Company.
1897 -- General Electric creates a publicity department.
1900 -- The Publicity Bureau was organized in Boston as the nation's first publicity firm -- and forerunner of today's public relations agency.
1906 -- Ivy Lee was hired to represent the industry in the anthracite coal strike. Lee issued his "Declaration of Principles," considered the birth of modern public relations counseling. (Lee later represented JD Rockefeller's interests in the Colorado Fuel and Iron strike in 1914, also known as the bloody "Ludlow Massacre."
1923 -- Edward Bernays published Crystallizing Public Opinion and popularized the term "public relations counsel." He also taught the first public relations course (at New York University).
1929 -- "The Golden Jubilee of Light" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the invention of the electric light bulb -- probably the greatest worldwide public relations event of the century, orchestrated by Edward Bernays.
1934 -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt used his famous "fireside chats" to instill confidence in the American people.
1934 -- Edward Bernays develops the very successful "Green Ball" campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes to raise usage by women.
1945 -- US Government announces, in a carefully crafted press release, that an American plane dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
1948 -- The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is founded. The organizations primary objectives are to advance the standards of the public relations profession and to provide members with professional development opportunities through continuing education programs, information exchange forums and research projects conducted on the national and local levels.
1982 -- Six people in a Chicago suburb who took Tylenol capsules die of cyanide poisoning, causing a PR nightmare for McNeil Labs and Johnson & Johnson. Due to a very successful PR crisis plan Tylenol gained its strong public opinion back.

The public relations industry has changed a lot over its short lifetime into what it is today. This change is strongly influenced by the development of social media. Currently, the advertising dollars in media products from corporations like News Corp., Dow Jones, and CMP are under rapid decline in favor of direct advertising products offered by search engines and other tools. Traditional media publications are laying off journalists, consolidating beat reporters, shrinking their print editions, and many publications are shutting down entirely. Blogs have lower over-head costs than traditional media and are often said to provide better news coverage and analysis. Blogs are increasingly sprouting to replace traditional media with a more sustainable low-cost business model and are gaining more of a following. The advent of social media is the most pre-eminent trend in PR today. It's important to note, while social media is on the rise, traditional media is yet to be taken over by the trend as of January 29, 2009. Social media releases, search engine optimization, content publishing, and the introduction of podcasts and video are other burgeoning trends.

Letterman's Tragically Creative Statement

I've always been a fan of David Letterman and his show, especially since I visited the Ed Sullivan Studio for a taping of The Late Show a few years ago. I was very curious about the news of Letterman's affair and want to know how it will play out.

From a PR perspective, I see Letterman's surprising announcement as a nightmare for any publicist. However, the more I think about the way Letterman gave the news, the more entertaining and clever I see it as. For someone who being blackmailed and never does interviews, I think it's a very honest, great, disastrous idea.

When in a situation like this, there are not many options to take. Letterman could have done nothing and paid off the accuser. He could have held a press conference to make the announcement, or he could have said nothing directly to the media, handled it as a legal matter and just let the media find information out on their own.

For a horrible PR situation, I really think Letterman came up with a witty way to handle a tough personal issue. Now, I'm interested to know if this incident will affect his popularity at all.

What's in a Name?

I'm a life member at a old United Methodist Church in South Minneapolis, Asbury UMC. The beautiful organization has been struggling to find new members and has suffered financially for the past decade. Last fall we considered merging with another UMC, Oakland UMC, not far away. This past spring both churches voted whether to come together under one roof or to close. The vote passed and just a little over a month ago we started worshipping together at the previous Asbury building.

The agreement decided upon if the merger went through was that the church and congregation would be considered brand new. This means new committees would be organized, a new worship service would created and a new church name would be chosen.

I was very excited and honored when I was asked to serve on the 'New Church Name Committee.' They liked my history with Asbury, my PR expertise and want me to give a young person's perspective.

A name is very important. It's what we will put on the building sign in the front yard, it's what will use to represent our self on every piece of stationary, it's how people will search for our website, it's where people will make their donation checks out to and most importantly it's the first thing new potential members will see.

The idea of a church organization and even the word 'church' has changed drastically recently. Studies have shown that using the word 'church' in the title of a religious organization carries certain negative connotations with it. I'm exactly sure why this is and why it would attract new people more than another religious organization with word church at the end of its name. Another Methodist church in the same area as ours used to be called Hobart UMC. In the last year it closed due to the same reasons we are facing. Recently a new group reopened it as a UMC, made many changes and renamed it Solomon's Porch. It's doing very well now.

At our next meeting we will start determining criteria we want our name to have. I'm doing some research on the side to see what I find about church names and am curious to see what we decide is important for our name.

How important do you think a church name is? What name would you like to see on the front of your religious organization?

Is Internet Really the Only Affective Way to Reach People With News?

In case you haven't heard, the news industry is suffering and needs a face lift. Recently, a fellow journalism major and I went back to our undergraduate college, the University of St. Thomas (UST), for a visit. I ran into my old broadcast journalism instructor and learned that the ENTIRE student news outreach has changed and is being done through the Internet on a new website: http://www.tommiemedia.com/

The website has completely taken over the well respected weekly school newspaper, The Aquin and the previous monthly produced UST TV news show, Campus Scope. Just like the past news media outlets, the news media website offers paid positions to its directors and editors, and offers educational positions in other areas of the journalism world.

Before I start sounding too negative about change, I want to make it clear that I am very excited for UST and the Journalism Department. I looked at the TommieMedia website and think it looks great. It does a nice job of intertwining broadcast and print journalism in a professional way. (Even though I was sad to see something so important to my fellow journalism students had changed in such a short time after our graduation.)

However, I am wondering if the Internet is the only way the news outlets can reach their target publics? These days I only hear that you need to get your words or products online somehow, either through a website, social media outlet, blog, etc.