Tag Archives: public relations

Pressing Issues: What is a Journalist in the Digital Age?

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 Pressing Issues March 18
The Press Club of Toledo is hosting a Pressing Issues forum on Friday, March 18 from 9-10:30 a.m. focused on the question “What is a journalist in the digital age?” The FREE forum will consist of four panelists who specialize in different areas of media including a news publisher and director, a journalist professor and a blogger.

The forum will be hosted by Toledo Lucas County Public Library, Main Library (325 N. Michigan Street). Moderated by Marlene Harris-Taylor of The Blade, the forum will include presentations by each panelist, as well as Q&A.

What is a Journalist in the Digital Age? 

Today’s digital world provides the opportunity for anyone to become a publisher, whether it is through a personal blog, Twitter account or other social media platform. This availability of information has resulted in people seeking and trusting the information presented from “publishers” without journalism degrees or credentials, which brings up the intriguing question of “what is a journalist in the digital age?”

The Press Club of Toledo’s Pressing Issues forum will provide the opportunity to discuss this current trend of news consumption while highlighting the skills, abilities and responsibilities of a journalist.

The panelists for this Pressing Issues forum include:

The forum will be moderated by Marlene Harris-Taylor of the Blade.

Pressing Issues Forums

The Press Club of Toledo’s ‘Pressing Issues’ forums are organized around
 topics driven by the news of the day. Panelists representing the newsroom, PR industry and digital communications offer advice surrounding issues in the media and invite audience response.

Touchstone Award Nominees Announced

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Press Club of Toledo Touchstone Awards

The 17th annual Touchstone Awards will be held on Thursday, October 8 at the Toledo Club. This event brings media professionals together for a night of celebration, highlighting the community’s excellence in journalism and community service.

This year’s Keynote Speaker is Lew Dickey. A second generation broadcaster, Lew founded Stratford Research in 1985 and built the company into a leading provider of market research and strategy consulting to the radio and television industries. He is also the author of The Franchise — Building Radio Brands, published by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in 1994 and is one of the industry’s leading texts on competition and strategy.

Don’t miss the chance to hear Lew Dickey’s keynote speech. Join the Press Club for an evening full of celebration as we bestow the following prestigious awards:

  • The Lifetime Achiever Award
  • The Touchstone Contributor Award
  • Excellence in Journalism
  • Press Club Scholarship

Countless nominations were received for the established categories and are listed below. All journalism awards will be judged by the Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists.

2015 Touchstone Nominations

Lifetime Achiever

  • Joseph Zerbey
  • David Waterman

Contributor

  • Sheriff John Tharp
  • Kimberly Kaufman
  • Judy Seibenick
  • The Toledo Zoo
  • Hart Inc.
  • The Lathrop Company
  • Republic Services

Excellence in Journalism

  • TK Barger
  • Michelle Zepeda
  • Ben Cathey
  • Jeffery Gerritt
  • Kelly Thompson
  • Kayla Williams
  • Athena Cocoves
  • Saul Jacobs
  • Marisa Rubin
  • Hasan Dudar
  • Katie Rausch
  • David Patch
  • Ignazio Messina
  • The Press Newspaper Staff
  • The Toledo Blade Staff
  • 13abc WTVG

Student Excellence in Journalism

  • Amanda Pitrof
  • Angelique Baird
  • Devan Lutz
  • William Channell
  • Annie Furia
  • Cameron Teague-Robinson
  • Dustin Sopher
  • Katie Wernke
  • Nick Dombi

2015 Touchstone Awards Tickets

The Touchstone Awards serve as the Press Club of Toledo’s main fundraiser. The money raised at the Touchstone Awards goes towards our annual scholarship fund in which we recognize students at local universities for their achievements.

Ticket prices are listed below. If you have questions, please Shaun Hegarty at 419.265.9138 or email touchstone@toledopressclub.com. We have sent out RSVP cards to our members, but also take reservations via email or phone if you have not received one.

  • $65 – Press Club members
  • $75 – Nonmembers
  • $45 – Students
  • $450 – Table of 6

We look forward to seeing you at the 2015 Touchstone Awards.

Press Club Mixer: September 17

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 Press Club of Toledo Mixer

The Press Club of Toledo is hosting an end-of-summer mixer on Thursday, September 17 at Maumee Bay Brewing Company in downtown Toledo. We encourage local media and PR professionals to join us for this relaxing and casual networking opportunity!

Press Club of Toledo End-of-Summer Mixer

The Press Club hosts quarterly mixer events as a way to bring reporters, editors and producers from all local media to meet each other, in addition to the people they cover.

Press Club of Toledo Mixer

Toledo Networking Events 

Our networking events are held at venues throughout the local community and create an opportunity for public relations professionals to strengthen relationships with the local media, allowing them to become better-equipped in receiving media coverage when they need it most.

For more information about the Press Club of Toledo, visit our Facebook Page and follow us on Twitter@ToledoPressClub.

Powers & Pitfalls of Social Media Panel

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The Press Club of Toledo’s social media panel was a great success on Friday, June 26. Held at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, the forum was free to the public.

Press Club of Toledo Pressing Issues Forum

Panelists included the following local social media experts:

Lisa Stromme Warren is the Assistant News Director at WTOL in Toledo, where she helps manage a newsroom staff of 80+ employees to produce more than 50 hours per week of news content. She started in Northwest Ohio as the head of WTOL’s digital team, managing content on web, mobile and social platforms before moving into a role that utilizes her expertise in both news and digital content.  Originally from Sacramento, California, she spent the first 10 years of her journalism career in newsrooms from Santa Barbara to Portland, Oregon as a line producer and executive news producer before moving to the Midwest.

Lisa Stromme Waren Social Media

Heather Hoffman has been the Social Media Coordinator for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library since November 2014. She is responsible for the development and coordination of the Library’s social media program. Heather’s skills include media tracking, news writing, social media graphics and analytics, web writing, blog platforms and traditional media relations. Heather also has experience and proven outcomes placing advertisements in online spaces. Heather has been a great addition to the Library’s Marketing Team of eight professionals.

Heather Hoffman

Laura Hanley is the Director of Content Marketing at Concentrek Group, a creative agency based in Toledo. An experienced content marketing professional, Laura manages brands of all sizes, delivering an increase in social presence and online exposure. With a pulse on emerging trends, Laura is able to implement effective strategies, leading clients to increased social engagement and overall success.

Laura Hanley Director of Content Marketing

Social Media Resources

Presentations provided by the panelists are below:

Social Media & Content Marketing — Laura Hanley, Concentrek Group

The Powers & Pitfalls of Social Media in the News — Lisa Stromme Warren, WTOL Toledo News Now

Pressing Issues Forum Discusses Crisis Management

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The February 27 Pressing Issues Forum held at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library was a platform in which media and PR professionals had the opportunity to discuss the topic of crisis management, which has been at the forefront for Toledo’s PR and media professionals the past year.

The crisis management panel was moderated by Shaun Hegarty, investigative reporter at WTVG-TV, 13abc, and included Jim Blue, anchor and managing editor of WNWO-TV, Channel 24, Dave Kielmeyer, senior communications director at Bowling Green State University, and Shannon Lands, the public information office for the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.

Public Relations: Crisis Management

The August 2014 ‘Toledo Water Crisis’ was the topic of much conversation during the forum. The media professionals present at the forum said that they would rather have received phone calls at 2 a.m. regarding the crisis, rather than faxes during the middle of the night.

One of the reasons the Press Club of Toledo hosts Pressing Issues forums is to help public relations professionals to better share information with members of the media.

Panelist Jim Blue explained, “I’d prefer to have a phone call on my personal phone.”

Toledo Press Club - Crisis Management

Other highlights of the forum included the mention of social media and how during times of crisis, anyone can provide information or misinformation. It was highlighted that BGSU uses social media to distribute the correct information out to large numbers of people quickly.

For information regarding future Pressing Issues forums, stay tuned to the Press Club of Toledo’s event’s calendar.