Monthly Archives: June 2010

A piece of advice from Steve Harris, former head of global communications at General Motors, in The Public Relations Strategist:

What do you expect from the next generation of PR professionals?

The only thing they’re going to have to learn is to really listen — to understand exactly what the objective is before they start acting.  They’re action-oriented; they’re ready to roll on a moment’s notice.  I try to slow them down and say, “Make sure that you understand before you go.”  Even in this day of 24-hour news cycles.  Before you start talking, you better understand what it is you’re talking about and what the issue is.

We agree.  In a time where communication can happen so quickly, and crises are lived by the second and not the day, many PR professionals do become reactive.  In reacting, your heart rate is increased, your adrenaline is pumping and your thoughts may not be as clear and as calculated as they could be.  Often for crisis tasks, you want to respond swiftly, but with strategy and process.  To listen means to take a step back — don’t assume and don’t react emotionally.  Rather take the time to consider the situation, its implications, and the most efficient and effective path forward.

Preparation, even on short notice, can improve the quality of PR communication immensely.

The blogs have been all atwitter this week (pun intended) regarding the embargo policy at ADA.  Apparently, the embargo (below) lifts on June 26 – almost two weeks after the abstracts were posted online.

All meeting abstracts are governed by the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions embargo policy. An embargo means that information from any abstract or presentation may not be announced, publicized or distributed before the embargo date and time. This applies to all formats of abstract publication—including abstracts on CD, the hard copy Diabetes Abstract Book, online via the Association’s website, scientificsessions.diabetes.org, and other presentations.

As Ivan Oransky says on his blog, “In other words, all of those abstracts are freely available online, but no one can write about them…”

Many of the more prolific biotech writers, including TheStreet.com’s Adam Feuerstein, are taking to Twitter to talk about why it is that they can’t write about the abstracts.  Oransky makes the interesting point that analysts are not beholden to any embargo to make their stock picks.  Rather, the information is public, it will be used, and sadly journalists are the only ones unable to discuss it.

Like ASCO before it, ADA’s release of the abstracts online affords the market a sneak-peak at the data to be presented.  Why, then, are they uncomfortable with media use?  Wouldn’t it benefit them to have some interest ahead of the conference?

I guess we’ll never know.