On Tuesday, March 22, four IABC Fellows will talk about Corporate Social Responsibility on the seventh episode of the live broadcast, Circle of Fellows. You will be able to watch in real time and ask questions of John Deveney (owner and president of Deveney Communications), Tamara Gillis (professor and department chair, Elizabethtown College), Amanda Hamilton-Atwell (Managing Director, Business DNA), and Mary Ann McCauley (principal and founder, Catalyst Communications).
Continue Reading →

You’re called into the office of your CEO. “We’re launching a new initiative,” he tells you, and then outlines just what that initiative is all about. As he talks enthusiastically, your blood runs cold. You know, as certainly as you know how to punctuate the possessive “its,” that there is no good way to tell this story without it going sideways. On episode 6 of Circle of Fellows, four IABC Fellows and moderator Shel Holtz (also a Fellow) will explore the various ways to handle the situation, from convincing leadership the initiative is a bad idea to delivering the message as effectively as possible.
Continue Reading →

Communicators are routinely bombarded with opportunities to earn accreditation and certification from a variety of organizations, and to get additional (or continuing) education from universities, companies, associations, and consultants. Some communicators flock to these opportunities; others dismiss them.

Join a panel of IABC Fellows at noon EST on Thursday, January 28 for a freewheeling discussion on the value (or lack thereof) of the “shuns” — accreditation, certification, and education. The panel — moderated by FIR host Shel Holtz — will feature Barbara Puffer, Mark Schumann, Jennifer Wah, and Brad Whitworth.
Continue Reading →

Circle of Fellows is produced late each month, and given the holidays are upon us, we have decided to suspend the show until the new year. Because it is produced initially as a live broadcast with Q&A from the audience, we figure it makes sense to hold off until there’s no competition from turkey, family, egg nog, latkes, and the like. We’re looking forward to resuming the conversation among IABC Fellows in January.
Continue Reading →

There is no shortage of crises to fuel the discussion when four IABC Fellows join FIR Podcast Network host Shel Holtz (also a Fellow) on the next episode of Circle of Fellows. Volkswagen’s self-inflicted crisis will certainly be on the table, as will other crises du jour. The panel will address age-old crisis wisdom along with the new realities of the digital age. Mark your calendars so you can watch the conversation live on a Google+ Hangout on Air, where for the first time on a Circle of Fellows broadcast you will be able to ask questions. The broadcast is set for noon Eastern on Friday, October 23. You’ll be able to watch right here in this post (at the bottom of the page) or on the FIR Podcast Network’s YouTube channel. Don’t worry if you can’t make it to the broadcast. The session will be available aftewards as a YouTube video and as a Circle of Fellows audio podcast.
Continue Reading →

Some voices have been calling for the elimination of Internal Communications as a discrete organizational function, given the fact that — thanks to digital media — employees have access to all the same information their employers are sharing with other stakeholder audiences. On the September edition of Circle of Fellows, four of IABC’s thought leaders will tackle the question of whether an employee communication function is still valid and, if it is, how its role has changed since the days when the department’s output was focused mainly on publications for employees.
Continue Reading →