FPRA exPRess | January 2005

INSIDE THIS ISSUE
December Program Review
Board Member Spotlight
Hispanic Media Access

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The Florida Public Relations Association is dedicated to developing public relations practitioners who, through ethical and standardized practices, enhance the public relations profession in Florida.

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To be Florida’s most respected public relations organization.

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Attendees at our December program received an early holiday treat as two of Tampa Bay's most influential news decision-makers and an internationally recognized academic shared their views on the growing journalism trend known as convergence. Panelists Gil Thelen, publisher and president of The Tampa Tribune and Forrest Carr, news director at WFLA TV (NBC) are employees at Media General's News Center. Ken Killebrew Ph.D., is director of Graduate Studies for the School of Mass Communications at the University of South Florida.

Since it opened in March of 2000, the News Center has received international attention and has been cited as a model for the future of journalism where three media platforms - print, broadcast and online - are integrated for news gathering and reporting. Some key points from the discussion are as follows:

- Convergence allows franchise reporters to successfully cross platforms. Examples of such cross-platform franchises at the News Center include religion, consumer, health and business reporters who contribute to The Tampa Tribune, WFLA TV and TBO.com.

- Convergence allows for greater impact and service to the community. An example cited by Mr. Thelen was the recent hurricane season in which the public was able to watch WFLA TV and listen to it simulcast on the radio, hear the familiar thud of The Tampa Tribune being delivered to their homes, and go to TBO.com for a community repository of critical information.

- Journalists in converged media operations are taught to put aside some of their competitive instincts for the greater good, and remember that news belongs to the community, not to any one reporter or news platform.

- The additional opportunity for news coverage through online media is one of the greatest implications of convergence for public relations professionals. However, pitching to converged media relies upon standard methods as each platform maintains its own editorial independence and news personnel. The platforms are not merged, and there is no central assignment desk.