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Thanks for dropping by, however I no longer blog here. Check out my collaborative blog at http://themediapod.net

Lush Cosmetics and Voiceless, the fund for animals, are offering a grant to help highlight  the use of animal testing in the cosmetics industry, or encourage consumers to take action against the use of animal testing:

The 2007 Voiceless Grants Program will be offering a specific $5,000 Lush Cosmetics Grant to a project that has one of the following aims:

A) To raise awareness about the use of animal testing by the cosmetics industry (for example through a publicity campaign or a community education program); or

B) To encourage consumers to take action against the use of animal testing and animal products and by-products in the cosmetics industry (for example through the creation and/or promotion of an animal friendly cosmetics pocket-guide or website directory of animal friendly cosmetics).

For more information see:

voiceless : the fund for animals – New! Lush Cosmetics Grant…

A lobbyist for US president?

The Huffington Post reports that lobbyist Fred Thompson could soon announce his candidacy for the 2008 US presidential election.

“If Fred Thompson is elected president, he will be the first federally registers lobbyist to become Cammander in Chief,” The Post Reports.

“Thompson’s prospective presidential bid stands out in another respect: No campaign has been so dominated by staffers and advisers who have worked on behalf of Philip Morris, one of the world’s leading tobacco conglomerates and a leading force in promoting cigarette smoking.”

Read the full story at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/06/25/fred-thompson-the-philip_n_53736.html

Fred Thompson: The Philip Morris Candidate – The Huffington …

Letters to the Editor: Write today, get published tomorrow!

Congratulations to final year Deakin PR student Mel Hart who had a letter to the editor published in today’s Sunday Age. Mel’s a mum and believes that parents need to take more responsibility in regards to making sure their children eat well.

Getting a letter to the editor published is relatively easy if you write well (like Mel). The hard part is finding the to sit down and writing it, and email it to the newspaper.

Letters can be used in your portfolio, and demonstrate to potential employers that you are a good writer, keen and enthusiastic about current affairs.

The semester is almost over, and most students have a few weeks off. Why not set yourself a goal of getting one letter published?

Let me know how you go!

Mel’s letter is here (however it’s not a permalink, so if you don’t click it on Sunday 17 June, you’ll just be taken to the latest letters to the editor):

Booze biz hooks teens with sweet mixer drinks – Letters – Op…

In Ron Shewchuck’s fantastic blog For Your Approval, he poses the a question to readers:

I challenge readers of this blog to let me know of any company that has actually set up a broadcast radio station so employees in a tight geographic area can hear company news over the airwaves on old-fashioned FM or AM radios. Who’s done it, and why?

I’m not aware of any organisations doing this, but I know I did look at this when I was working for a steel manufacturer with several large production facilities. As Ron points out in his entry, there are considerable regulatory hurdles to overcome before moving into this area. The cost of production and broadcasting, sorry narrowcasting, is (or was) also considerable. Compared with traditional tactics such as newsletters and team meetings, we decided the case for our own radio station wasn’t strong. However:

• At that same company, we used commercial and community radio get messages across to employees. We also used commercial free-to-air television. Each week we ran a series of one minute advertisements on either employee or community issues. We also produced a one-hour segment on community radio. We also produced and ran three-minute television commercials focusing on employee or community issues. They rand three nights a week, just before the 6pm news bulletins.
• I know of several organisations, including my own local council, that uses community radio. Although the programs are primarily for the community, I understand that employees are also keen listeners.
• One of the comments on Ron’s post talks about corporate television. I visited Ford in Detroit many, many years ago specifically to find out about their corporate television program that was beamed out via satellite to their North American facilities. It was very impressive, and very expensive I’d imagine. I’m not sure if it’s still running, but I’d guess they’d be making use of new online technology now.
• Many universities have their own radio stations. Not specifically for employee communication I know, but it could be used for that purpose, and I’d suggest it’s probably the closest you’ll get to finding an organisation with it’s own radio station. I’ll keep an eye on comments to Ron’s post, and I’ll be happy to be proved wrong!

PS – I’ve also produced CDs and cassette tapes to get messages out to employees too. Works very well for a mobile workforce.