“I think the media are taking this seriously,” reporter Judy Miller said, “because this part of a trifecta of scandals, and one of those legs involves us.”

“I think I heard Judy say that the media are giving this adequate attention,” said Jim Pinkerton, a former Reagan and Bush White House staffer. “Did I hear that right? I just couldn’t quite believe my ears.”

“The exciting news about Obama’s picture from senior prom in 1979 got way more attention on the morning talk shows than did the IRS scandals,” Pinkerton said, referencing right wing media watchdog NewsBusters. “Come on, Judy, give us a break.”

Richard Grennel, a conservative foreign policy spokesman, also disagreed, claiming that the media had long avoided the IRS story, and were still attempting to dismiss it:

This started in March of 2012, Alan Fram at the Associated Press wrote about the IRS targeting conservatives, except his whole take was ‘this is just typical complaining.’ Fast forward to this week, we had NPR doing two different stories, Brian Naylor interviewing liberal groups saying, ‘Well, it took us a very long time to get our tax exempt status as well, so this is just pretty typical.’ And then you had Scott Horsley, the NPR White House reporter, who just chalked the whole thing up to, ‘The law is just confusing.’ I don’t think Judy is right at all, I don’t think the media are taking this seriously.

Fox analyst Ellen Ratner was shocked that journalists had and expressed opinions. “Some people who are reporters leaned into past reporting,” she said, “such as Chuck Todd from NBC, who said, ‘Republicans better not overreach because this would come back to haunt them.’ I was shocked when I heard them say that.”

“Why?” Scott asked.

“Because he’s supposed to be a reporter, not a commentary person.”

“Ooh, that’s a new one,” Cal Thomas scoffed.

“Is it possible for Republicans to look into this without appearing partisan?” Scott asked Thomas.

“Everything is partisan in Washington,” Thomas said. “You’d have to be completely neutered, you’d have to be from another planet not to be partisan.”

“These hearings are very, very useful,” Thomas continued, “carried on Fox live, carried on C-Span. In the old days, you had to rely on the three broadcast networks to use snippets through the prism of their bias. People can actually tune in now and watch these clowns up there squirming after taking their oaths and dissembling, especially with the IRS, who nobody likes.” (That is, of course, until Congress goes on recess and Issa can’t call those useful hearings, but that’s another column.)

Watch the whole segment here:

—
>> Follow Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) on Twitter

UPDATE: The New York Times Updated Their Story Below:

It is not clear how often the government has obtained reporters’ communications records. In the North Korea case, the F.B.I. obtained call logs for five lines related to Mr. Rosen, and — as in the A.P. investigation — notified the news organization only afterward. That was nearly three years ago, a law enforcement official said. But the subpoena’s existence became public only this month, when unsealed court papers also showed the government had obtained the warrant for Mr. Rosen’s e-mails.

On Saturday, a Fox News executive said that the notice had gone to News Corp., its parent company, on Aug. 27, 2010, but that Fox News was not told until Friday. The executive said they were still trying to sort out how the notice fell through the cracks.

—-
As originally published below:

The New York Times revealed today that the Justice Department informed Fox News of its subpoena of Chief Washington correspondent James Rosen‘s phone logs, a fact which Fox News did not disclose:

While Fox was informed nearly three years ago about the subpoena for call logs for five lines related to Mr. Rosen — apparently after the phone company had already provided them — it did not publicly disclose the action. Instead, it emerged only this month when court papers were unsealed that also showed that the government had separately obtained a warrant for the contents of Mr. Rosen’s private e-mail account. A lawyer and spokesmen for Fox did not respond to requests for comment.

It sounds as if Fox knew of the seizure of phone logs, but not of the actual breadth of the investigation, which included monitoring Rosen’s comings and goings at the State Department, seizing his emails, and even considering naming him a co-conspirator.

In this light, Monday’s response by Fox‘s executive vice president of news Michael Clemente’s sounds a bit more carefully crafted:

We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter. In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.

It is the charge Fox learned about Monday, not the actual subpoena.

The Times somewhat buried the lede, but it got caught by a few writers, including Michael Calderone with Huffington Post.

Commenters were quick to respond, “That’s your take away? [This] has nothing to do with emails. Stop carrying Barry’s water.”

Read the full (Updated) New York Times article here.

[h/t New York Times]
—

Editor’s note: This post has been edited since its original posting – Jon Nicosia

In a conversation earlier this week with Janine Gibson, editor of the US edition of the Guardian, said the new URL is a way to tie together all of the Guardian’s operations. “Having one url, one domain, which is the global home of The Guardian, is the most sensible way to grow and expand and make it clear that’s what we are,” said Gibson.

Gibson said it’s a sign the Guardian is no longer just a printed paper in the UK, but a company with a digital emphasis and global reach. She said the US is a good example, as the American edition had more than 13 million unique visitors in April, a 38 percent increase over 2012.

[P]rofessional journalists now share the information ecology with a much wider array of members of the public who care about particular communities and issues. These individuals can often speak from deep personal knowledge and identify important information that others might miss. And from the Rodney King incident forward, there has been recognition that sometimes informing the public is not about education and professional commitment, but about being in the right place at the right time. Institutional media organizations still play an important role in conveying information gathered by individuals to the public at large, but the Internet provides many other paths to an audience. The citizens involved in bringing this information to the public don’t need to be called “journalists” for the information they possess to have value (although these people are entitled to respect and are free to argue their right to that title). Regardless of names, the manner in which this information of public importance is gathered and conveyed is entitled to no less protection than traditional newsgathering.

The expectation that any desired information or service is available, on any appropriate device, in context, at your moment of need.

Our research on the Mobile Mind Shift and our global surveys allow us to examine in detail how attitudes and behaviors are shifting around the world. While the shift is undeniable and is rapidly accelerating, the regional variations are fascinating.

In a speech today at the Forrester Marketing Leadership Forum EMEA, I revealed that Europeans are in general behind Americans on the Mobile Mind Shift. Here's a slide from that speech, showing the spread between Europe and the US:

As you can see, Europeans differ from Americans on all three components of the Mobile Mind Shift: the number of connected devices, the frequency of access, and the diversity of locations in which connections occur. While Europeans actually have more connected devices, they connect significantly less frequently and in fewer locations. This appears to be a result of the data plans on European mobile devices, plans that interfere with users' natural desire to access mobile everywhere as a matter of habit.

In data released at the event, we also showed variation by country. Germany actually has the lowest Mobile Mind Shift Index, at 22.5. At the other end, Sweden has an MMSI of 29.0, a higher average than the US.

Europeans have just as much desire for mobile utility as people in other geographies. The data suggests that this desire will lead to more expansive data plans, reducing the friction that's interfering with European's Mobile Mind Shift. Within six months, we expect European attitudes to catch up to where Americans are right now.

The revolutionary changes reshaping journalism have driven the industry to search for new financial models and respond to marketplace demands. Journalism schools are part of that search: … Read more

Some of this new quest for higher-level measurement results from the now-famous Barcelona Principles, which were established by the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), PRSA, the Institute for Public Relations and two other industry associations at the 2010 AMEC European Summit in Barcelona, Spain. Utilizing much of the language and ideas found in PRSA’s The Business Case for Public Relations™, the seven Principles primarily mandate the importance of setting measurable goals and objectives, and moving toward linking outputs to outcomes.

All that is great, but PR pros have been left wondering how to execute these mandates. They have plenty of guidance on objective-setting, but not as much on how best to measure outputs — and then, how best to link them to outcomes.

Fortunately, the founders of the Barcelona Principles didn’t stop there. A special taskforce was deployed to develop what has become the AMEC Valid Metrics Guidelines, a set of practical frameworks that guide PR pros through developing a holistic, meaningful measurement process. I have found the Guidelines to be of enormous help to my clients, so I hope the following brief overview will be helpful to you.

The AMEC Valid Metrics Guidelines

The Guidelines are essentially a series of frameworks (matrices) that provide suitable metrics for a variety of campaign types, which will be discussed later. To simplify the process, the Guidelines first break public relations into three basic phases:

1. A message or story is created and told.
2. It is disseminated by a third party (such as the media or influencers).
3. It is consumed by the target audience (which ideally results in behavior change).

These three phases are then translated into measurement terms:

1. PR Activity — metrics reflecting efforts to produce and disseminate a message.
2. Intermediary Effect — metrics reflecting third-party dissemination of the message to target audiences.
3. Target Audience Effect — metrics showing that the target audience has received the message and is considering acting on it. or has acted on it.

For those who are used to the “outputs, outtakes, and outcomes” terminology, here’s where they fit:

1. PR Activity — (New)
2. Intermediary Effect — (Outputs)
3. Target Audience Effect — (Outtakes and Outcomes)

These three levels are then used in the vertical axis of the master framework below:

Next, on the Horizontal Axis, you’ll see the five stages of the Communications Funnel: awareness, knowledge/understanding, interest/consideration, support/preference and action.The idea is to see measurement on a multi-dimensional continuum, leading from the campaign’s initial effort to its outcome by moving toward the bottom right-hand corner: the ultimate organization/business result.

The Taskforce created eight different frameworks full of metrics for each type of campaign or PR effort, which focus on Brand/Product Marketing, Reputation Building, Issues Advocacy/Support, Employee Engagement, Investor Relations, Crisis/Issues Management and Not-for-Profit, Social/Community Engagement.

For example, take a look below at some of the suggested metrics for an Issues Advocacy/Support campaign:

Now, please don’t feel overwhelmed. This looks scary, but it is quite simple. Here’s how to get started:

1. If you haven’t already set measurable objectives for your campaign, take a few minutes and read “Guidelines for Setting Measurable Public Relations Objectives: An Update” from the IPR Measurement Commission. A measurement program is meaningless unless it starts with objectives.
2. Then, use a blank AMEC template and plot the metrics you use now. This will help you see where your focus has been, and where it needs to shift if objectives are to be met. Don’t be surprised if you learn most of your metrics focus on the simplest areas — outputs and awareness!
3. In a new AMEC template, choose at least a few key metrics in all three of the vertical PR phases.
4. Across the horizontal axis, choose metrics from the stage that is the focus of your campaign. For example, if your campaign is focused on “knowledge,” be sure to include measures that reflect “key message alignment.” However, also include metrics from the earlier stages, such as from “awareness,” so you’ll have the data you need to diagnose where things went well, and where they did not. In other words, say you don’t meet your goal regarding “knowledge.” It could be that your audience reached declined and have nothing to do with key messages.
5. Once you’ve completed your AMEC template, look for the tools you’ll need for implementation. The template will force you to think beyond your comfort zone and perhaps find require your finding new vendors or tools!
6. Finally, do not try to measure everything. Just pick a few key measures in the areas that matter most, but make sure they move as far as possible toward the bottom right hand corner.

For more information on how to use the Framework, go to: AMEC Valid Metrics Guidelines. To ensure that your measurement is methodically sound and follows the seven Principles, check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the PRSA On-Demand Webinar, “Demonstrating the Value of the Work You Do.”

 Angela Jeffrey is senior counsel to CARMA International, a leading global media analysis company, and president of MeasurementMatch.com, a high-level consultancy helping clients create PR and social media measurement strategies. She is also a member of the Institute for Public Relations Measurement Commission. Find her on Twitter @ajeffrey1 or at angie@measurementmatch.com.

The discussion during the webinar was rich. It’s clear that today’s public relations professionals are already incorporating blogger relations into their marketing mix. But many are curious about how to identify the right bloggers, how to disclose your relationship and how to measure the success of your efforts. Here is a recap of some of the most frequently asked questions.

Tools of the Trade

Finding the right bloggers for your engagement is critical to success. Remember, don’t invite just anyone. You have the right to be picky, especially if the information or experience you are providing is valuable. Building a successful blogger list is part science, but also part art. Use tools like Cision and Marketing Cloud and Compete.com to develop an initial list for consideration. These tools will yield large blogger lists. However, not everyone on these lists will be relevant for you. It takes a layer of human research and intuition to build the perfect blogger list. Once you’ve narrowed the list to your top prospects based on the criteria you set (reach, engagement, content focus), follow the bloggers for at least two weeks to get to know them and their readers. This valuable information is what will set your brand apart from the many others demanding their attention.

More information on the tools

Cision – Cision’s media database contains the “who’s who” of today’s top influencers, which allows you to build lists containing your industry’s most relevant influencers who write about your topic.

Marketing Cloud (formerly called Radian6) – Now owned by Salesforce, Marketing Cloud pulls from more than 400 million sources, allowing you to listen to the social Web in real time and build robust lists.

Compete.com – Compete.com is a tool (you pay a fee for additional benefits) you can use to get initial site traffic for almost any blog. Just simply copy and paste the URL into the search function on the site and you will receive instant information on the blog’s unique monthly visitors, UVS rank and competitive ranking (which is also good information for list building). Tip: Use these metrics just for a baseline. Nobody knows the blogger’s site statistics better than the bloggers themselves. Once you’ve built a relationship with them, don’t be afraid to ask. You can also find similar information by looking at the “About” pages on the blogs.

Bloggers and FTC Guidelines

Bloggers must disclose, per the FTC guidelines. Most bloggers will automatically disclose in their own way. However, it’s our job as marketers to ensure each and every blogger you work with is properly disclosing. And remember, disclosures must be “clear and conspicuous,” meaning the disclosure statement must be as close as possible to relevant claims. Disclosure statements that have historically been buried in terms and conditions or on a disclosure page are simply not enough.

For more information on FTC guidelines and the latest additions to the policy, check out a summary blog post my colleague, Rachael Powell, wrote. In addition, download the PDF of WOMMA’s Social Media Disclosure Guide for additional disclosure information.

Pay to Play or Earn Your Coverage

Oh, the great blogger debate over whether or not to pay bloggers. Here’s our take: There’s a time and a place for both so don’t limit your thinking to one or the other. If you have compelling content or an experience that the bloggers can’t get anywhere else, that’s a sign you should take an earned approach. If you’re simply looking for a product review and you’re limited to a sample and a press release, you should consider a paid approach. Other considerations for paid include unique, one-off sponsorship opportunities (e.g., holiday gift guides, special editions) or leveraging the blogger as a thought leader or expert on your brand’s owned platforms (e.g., if you ask a blogger to contribute content or want to use their name and likeness in a mass media campaign).

Measure Your ROAS

Proving your blogger campaign paid off is important, especially when marketing spend is being dissected into dozens of different areas (we do love multi-channel marketing). Before you send one pitch email, make sure you set your success criteria. If it’s simply awareness, impressions are easy to measure. But if you’re interested in business goals like increasing sales, you’ll want to put tracking in place to capture those important metrics.

If your blogger outreach campaign is part of a larger media mix (TV, print, digital display), consider executing a marketing mix model to determine your ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). This will allow you to statistically attribute sales to each effort. For Rust-Oleum, this study proved that their blogger campaign was the most cost-effective sales driver and netted a 260 percent return on ad spend. These metrics are important to the leadership team and can help you secure additional funds to sustain your blogger network.

Thanks to everyone who joined the webinar live or downloaded the podcast version. We’d love to hear from you. What questions do you have, what challenges are you facing? Any other tips to add to the Eight Ways to Fail at Blogger Relations? If so, let’s start the discussion here.

Ashley Walters, APR, is director of Powerhouse Factories’ Word-Of-Mouth Marketing team.

We are in the midst of a mobile mind shift. This is not just about "mobile first" or apps. This is a complete change in the psychology of consumers.

In a change in behavior that can only be called Pavlovian, people with smart mobile devices request information and receive service. What's the weather? That's the weather. Where's the nearest Gelato shop? There it is. Does this laptop have good ratings? Sure it does. What are my friends up to on Facebook? Each request cements the idea that smartphone has everything you need. As a result, consumer start by requesting, then expecting, and then demanding that companies give them instant service. This is the mobile mind shift:

The expectation that any desired information or service is available, on any appropriate device, in context, at your moment of need.

But how far along are people on this shift? Have your customers made the shift? How many of them are demanding mobile utility?

To assess this, we created the mobile mind shift index, a way to measure how far along any individual is. It's a 100-point scale. US online adults score an average of 27.9. If your customers score more than 35, then it's urgent that you provide mobile utility -- they will judge you based on the level of utility you provide. We also look at what proportion of your customers score above 40 - -the group we call the "shifted segments." If more than 35% of your customer base are in shifted segments, again, this means they are urgently demanding mobile utility from you.

We can score any group. Here's the scoring for E*TRADE and Fidelity customers for example. Now you can see why E*TRADE moved so rapidly to create great mobile and tablet apps. Their customers demanded it.

We're pretty excited about this tool, which let's any company analyze its customers on the mobile mind shift. If you want to learn more, join the webinar with Melissa Parrish and me on Wednesday May 1 at 1:00 PM eastern time. Register here. If you're a Forrester client, you can read the report here.

But as a business strategy, being secretive fails time and time again.

It seems that Toyota is learning that lesson the hard way.  Today’s Wall Street Journal article about Toyota, “Secretive Culture Led Toyota Astray,” makes it clear that Toyota leadership knew as early as 2007 about problems with gas pedals in its Lexus models.  Following a fatal crash in September 2007, Toyota recalled floor mats [emphasis mine], but failed to admit that the gas pedals themselves were responsible for cars’ malfunction.

On October 5, 2009, Toyota recalled 3.8 million vehicles; January 21 it recalled 2.3 million and recalled another 1.1 million a few days later.  On January 26, under order from the U.S. National Highway and Saftey Administration, Toyota stopped selling cars in the U.S. 

The problems with the cars will ultimately be fixed. Toyota’s engineers will undoubtedly  correct any defective engineering in its models.

But how long will it take for consumers to trust Toyota?  Can its communication staff help management see the harm that secrecy can do to a company?  Can they help the company repair the damage to its reputation?

[comments]

It doesn’t matter the number of templates I’ve created, the formats and ideas I’ve borrowed (stolen) The input I’ve asked for, the time I’ve spent getting buy-in. I should be used to it.  But every time, it’s a big hairy communications plan and every time, I love it and I dread it. 

There’s something edgy about building a big picture.  Searching out and assembling all of the parts.  Stepping back and knowing that it’s just not right, grinding your teeth over whatever’s missing, but then, the aha! moment.  A new idea hits and actually makes sense and fits in with the whole.  It’s looking good and you feel sooo satisfied with creating something fresh, something you can believe in. Of course it has old, reliable, time tested parts. It’s got new stuff too, new exciting stuff to deliver and make work and measure and achieve.  What a powerful good feeling when the pieces become a mosaic that tells a story and you, the storyteller, got it right.

But I’m procrastinating.  Going through the ritual of kvetching before I plant myself on the task. My first communications plan at IABC. Creating a plan to communicate to the professional business communicator. They tell me its a scary job.  I will be under a microscope.  But my thinking is this – each and everyy one of us – when we’re taking on the job of building something that holds such value and weight for our organizations – we’re all of us under a microscope.  And we’ve got each other to make it come out right.

 So what’s so scary? A search of the IABC web site is showing me a boatload of resources. MyComm, an online planning tool is smart, it makes me think, it’s giving me direction. Articles in Communication World, manuals in the Knowledge Centre. The eXchange site is downright awesome. There’s a lot to get my juices flowing.  Steve Crescenzo’s March 12 Strategic Communications conference (wouldn’t I just love to be there). The World Conference is going to make me wish my communications plan wasn’t due for another couple of months. 

But what I really want are more aha! moments right in front of me, right here, right now.  That “thing” thats going to make everyone do the happy dance. A big bucket of creative, interesting, workable ideas.  I’m tired of thinking about it in the shower.  Better yet, won’t somebody just tell me what the next great idea is?  Oh right, that’s what we’re all thinking about in the shower.

In the meantime, I’ve got resources up the whazoo, I’ve got an online tool to keep me on the right path, I’ve got a brain and experience and most important, I’ve got my friends and colleagues, the network I turn to for critique.  In a nutshell, I’ve got all of you.

 [comments]