Yes it’s the start of a new work week, but also the first Monday of the new year and the new decade! Goodbye "Uh-Ohs" and hello "Aught Ten"!

Time to move on from debates on whether 2000-2009 was the ‘worst decade…ever’ (as well as arguments over whether the new decade starts now, or in 2011). We’re onward and upward here at CooperKatz – looking forward to what awaits us, our client partners and the PR industry as a whole in the year to come. So while we hope for the best and know there are never any guarantees, here’s our initial take on the road ahead and a few of the signs we’re seeing. 

I usually cringe when I hear PR people say, “I got into PR because I'm a ‘people person.’" A “people person”…really?  It seems like a given that anyone in the communications field would like working with people. But recently I participated in two public relations / communications events that again reminded me of the ‘P’ in PR, and what personal relationships mean to our profession. 

Many print publishers have turned to the digital world as a way to stem falling circulations and advertising revenue hardships.  Most have Web pages, but many are directing significant energy toward devices like the iPhone or the iPod touch in an attempt to garner a digital fan base of E-Readers. Magazines such as Elle, SPIN and Car & Driver all have iPhone applications available. And according to AdAge, Conde Nast recently announced the upcoming launch of their iPhone application for GQ. 

So what’s so special about the GQ app?  Unlike other magazine applications, which often exclude stories that are in the print version (including much of the significant editorial content), the GQ app will offer a full replica of the magazine. For $2.99 per issue, users will be able to see every page as it appears in print with all of the content modified for the small screen.  As a result, people who pay for the app will count toward GQ’s paid circulation by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

This week, Ad Age published a story written by Michael Bush titled, “As Media Market Shrinks, PR Passes Up Reporters, Pitches Directly To Consumers.”  Bush notes in the piece that traditional approaches to public relations are challenged now given ongoing shifts in the media landscape — and that “instead of pitching their stories to reporters, a growing number of marketers are directly engaging consumers through original content they and their agencies are creating.”

I was reflecting again this weekend on an interview segment with President Obama that aired on “60 Minutes” two weeks ago. Close in the wake of the “You lie!” incident, interviewer Steve Kroft noted the shrill level of discourse that has surrounded the debate over healthcare reform. Kroft wanted to know President Obama’s take on this now infamous moment of Congressional heckling – which came to represent the epitome of our national failure to have a sincere, thoughtful dialogue about a high-stakes issue for all Americans.