Mainstream Media Bloggers Panel at June 4 Meeting

Blogs are becoming a more prevalent part of everyone's regular online news consumption. Come listen to bloggers from mainstream media outlets in Sioux Falls talk about how how they integrate blogs into their online news gathering and reporting duties.

The panel will include speakers from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, KSFY TV and KELO TV and be moderated by SD Communicators Network President Nathan Schock. Panelists will talk about their blogging efforts, the successes they've had and the challenges they've faced. The member spotlight will be on Mike Nitz, professor of communications from Augustana College. It should be an excellent event!

The meeting will be held June 4 at 11:45 am at the Sioux Falls Seminary (1525 S. Grange Avenue), upstairs in the worship and leadership center. Attendees should park in the parking lot on 24th & Euclid. Cost is $10 for members and $15 for guest. A catered lunch from Valentinos is included. RSVP by noon on June 2 to prnsiouxfalls (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Avera McKennan PR Director to speak at May meeting

Kenyon Gleason, the Director of Media & Public Relations for Avera McKennan is the featured speaker for the May 7 meeting of the Public Relations Network of Sioux Falls. Among other things, he will recount how Avera Mckennan handled a national story when victims of a school bus crash were treated at the hospital.

Gleason is a graduate of St. Cloud State University. He has been a reporter / weekend anchor for KELO TV, Director of Communications for the University of South Dakota and a member of the Sioux Falls City Council. You can find more information on Kenyon on LinkedIn and Facebook. He also blogs about public relations at LMNO...PR.

The lunch meeting is in the Ivy Room at 2425 S. Shirley Ave. (near Century Theatres), in Sioux Falls, S.D. May 7 from 11:45-1:00. The cost is $10 for members and $15 for guests. To attend, please RSVP before noon on May 2 on our Facebook event page or by emailing prnsiouxfalls (at) yahoo (dot) com.

American Coalition for Ethanol VP to Speak at April Meeting

Ron Lamberty, the Vice President of Market Development for the American Coalition for Ethanol, will speak at the April 2, 2008 meeting of the Public Relations Network of Sioux Falls. As VP of Market Development, Lamberty works with petroleum marketers nationwide to facilitate the use of ethanol nationwide. For his full bio, click here (PDF).

The lunch meeting is in the Ivy Room of the of Ruby Tuesday at 2425 S. Shirley Av. (near Century Theatres), in Sioux Falls, S.D. from 11:45-1:00. The cost is $10 for members and $13 for guests. To attend, please RSVP before noon on March 28 by emailing prnsiouxfalls (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Argus Leader unveils web site redesign

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader has undergone a major redesign of their web site, which now looks very similar to the Des Moines Register, another Gannett newspaper. The Argus Leader added several social media features to their site, like social tagging, reader and reader blogs. Their long list of staff blogs includes executive editor Randell Beck, whose latest post is an explanation of how a newspaper this week almost didn't get published.

What do you think of their new look and features?

Public Relations Network on facebook

The Public Relations Network of Sioux Falls now has a group on facebook. If you're already on Facebook, join the group. If you haven't signed up yet, maybe now is the time.

We decided to start the facebook group for three reasons. First, communicators need to stay up to speed on the latest communications tools and and can't ignore the growing popularity of social media sites like facebook. Second, with all of the people on facebook, it's an opportunity to market the group and our meetings. Third, I hope it provides a forum to continue the discussion of issues that start at our regular meetings.

So join the group and let the discussions begin!

Local magazine publishers to speak at March PRN meeting

The husband and wife publishing team of Craig Ellerbroek and Angela Efting are the featured speakers for the March 5, 2008 meeting of the Public Relations Network of Sioux Falls. The member spotlight is on the Center for Active Generations.

Ellerbroek is publisher of Prime Magazine, a monthly men's interest magazine that launched in 2005. Efting is publisher of etc. for her which has been around for event longer. You can read the February, 2008 (PDF) issue of her monthly magazine online. Both are free publications that are written, produced and printed locally and available for free all over Sioux Falls.

The lunch meeting is in the Nebraska Room of the Oaks Hotel in Sioux Falls, S.D. from 11:45-1:00. The cost is $10 for members and $13 for guests. To attend, please RSVP before noon on March 3 by emailing prnsiouxfalls (at) yahoo (dot) com.

KSFY anchors are blogging

KSFY, the ABC affiliate in Sioux Falls, has joined other local mainstream media outlets by adding blogs to their web site. There are six blogs in total, from their meteorologists, reporters and anchors.

For PR pros, mainstream media blogs are a great source for more information about the reporters and how they view the news. I've added two blogs from their anchors, Brian's Blog and the Rupiper Report, to my list of RSS feeds.