STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION

The changing patterns of news consumption affect strategic communicators every bit as much as they do journalists. So it is not surprising that an increasing number of public relations professionals are turning to Newsplex for insights and training.

Perhaps the largest client in Newsplex since Fall 2005 has been the U.S. Department of Justice's AMBER Alert program. Working with faculty from the USC School of Journalism, we have conducted nearly 50 seminars for media and law enforcement. The goal of the workshops is to raise awareness about the nuances and complexities of AMBER cases.

Using the same roles training techniques as in Ifra's convergence training, participants are taken through AMBER scenarios derived from actual cases. At key points, participants use state of the art interactive technology to register their opinions about coverage decisions. The sessions have been well received and are credited by some participants for improving their response to actual AMBER cases.

We have done seminars around the country for PR Newswire, which is a member of the Newsplex Directorate. In Newsplex, we have done workshops for both the South Carolina and Columbia Chambers of Commerce. Just as news organizations benefit from focusing on stories rather than production platforms, so too do strategic communicators.

The U.S. Army became a client in 2007. The Newsplex team journeyed to Washington to conduct a training program for the Army's newly-formed Soldiers Media Center, which combines Soldier Magazine, the Army's radio and TV operation, its web desk and its internal wire service.