The term “flack” is a wee-bit outdated, but ever so endearing term referencing PR professionals. It recalls the days of journalists with press passes stuck in the band of their fedoras and loud-mouth, hard-nosed PR guys getting their own word out on the street. “Flack” calls to mind a time when news really was news and PR pros really worked hard to earn their keep.

While the days of flacks may be long gone, replaced by strategic communications professionals, I like the play on words. As a PR practitioner, I’m a word-smith. And a catchy turn of phrase never hurt anyone.

I hope that as this blog develops, industry peers, industry observers and I can address issues that are important to our clients, ourselves and our profession. To name a few:

1. Social media. How on God’s green earth do you keep up?
2. Industry standards. Ultimately, what we do across the board is the standard. So, to borrow words from Al Roker, “What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods?”
3. Measurement. I see this as key to the survival and evolution of the public relations field. How do we attach value to what we do? How do we demonstrate a return when dealing with perception?
4. Current projects. It takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to make a public relations initiative come to life. Sharing ideas and feedback, successes, near-successes and total failures makes us all more adept at our craft.
5. Industry news. To be ahead of the game, one must be in the know.

So even if a girl can’t catch a break, hopefully, someone will cut her a little flack.