Want to get the lowdown on the media job market, current and future? Our own Laurel Touby is speaking this Monday, Nov. 24th alongside NY1's Leah Moses, Columbia Journalism Review's Justin Peters, Career Coach Win Sheffield, and Columbia/WNBC's Sree Sreenivasan.

Among the topics to be addressed:

Is journalism as we know it a dead-end career? Will the rise of "citizen journalism" and the Web mean we'll soon get our news from journalists with day jobs in some other industry?

Get all the details here.

(More with less, via SavageChickens)

The press release distribution service Marketwire issued a white paper to help companies navigate the troubled waters of slashed communications budgets titled: "Top 10 Strategies for Boosting ROI Despite Shrinking Budgets and Dwindling Resources". Indeed.

Much of the advice hinges on making the most of web2.0 and SEO (with press releases, of course) in the thorough 21-page paper. Also included is some sound advice on squaring marketing with sales, and PR with IR.

Get your copy free by filling out a short form here.

Continued:

continued...

(Holiday parties serve lower shelf liquors during tough times)

Here's an invitation from our editor at mediabistro.com to get your Holiday gathering featured in The Press List:

In these dark economic days, it's pretty badass to be celebrating anything. We've told you all about the media party cancellations--now we want to focus on the few, the proud: The Media Parties That Will Go On, Come Hell or High Water.

If your company is still planning a holiday party, tell us here so we can spread the good cheer.

Fill in the short form, and let us know the details. (Will there be open bar? Top shelf alcohol or just beer, wine and pretzels?)

We assume your holiday party is closed to non-company attendees, so when asked for info that does not apply (i.e. "How to RSVP") just write "N/A" in those fields. We'll then compile the entire list in a week or so and present it for all to view in our events newsletter, The Press List. Submit your holiday party.

Enjoy, and party like it's 2009!

T. Boone Pickens won Quinn & Gillespie's (QGA) Flak Jacket award for Best Spokesman last night in their new Industry category.

Pickens followed up his $50 million ad buy to promote his wind/solar/natural gas energy plan with a slew of TV interviews prior to the Presidental election.

The other flaks / flacks honored were:

Republican, Presidential Campaign: Ken Spain, National Republican Congressional Committee

Democrat, Presidential Campaign: Jennifer Crider, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Republican, Capitol Hill Press Secretary: Don Stewart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Democrat, Capitol Hill Press Secretary: Brendan Daly, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

According to QGA Chairman Jack Quinn, "This year we have seen superb communicators not only on Capitol Hill, but in the business sector as well. Our newest Flak Award category honors industry communication leaders and, as our judges agreed, T. Boone Pickens has been at the forefront, fighting in the trenches to redefine the energy debate in the US. We honor Mr. Pickens, and all of the award winners, for their ability to effectively work with the media."

[image courtesy NYTimes]

Robert Nardelli of Chrysler, Alan Mulally of Ford and Rick Wagoner of General Motors (pictured above) have created quite a PR firestorm after arriving in Washington to plead for a $25B bailout package for their companies...in separate private jets.

While Mulally, "arrived on Capitol Hill driving a new Ford Fusion Hybrid," according to The Atlantic, "The press knew this was going to happen because Ford's PR machine sent word to daybook editors yesterday."

It didn't do anything to quell outrage on the Hill. Writes The Atlantic's Eric Holder:

...you've got to wonder whether anyone in Mulally's inner circle was thinking through the consequences of allowing the CEO to travel to Washington on the company's own private jet as they're seeking a bailout -- the failure or success of which depends on the automakers winning a public relations battle.... within which the company has to prove that (a) it really is running out of cash (b) its management is cutting back on expenses and (c) management gets it.

Perhaps the auto execs could've taken a queue from Goldman Sach's top brass, who will forgo their 2008 bonuses. The takeaway here: actions speak louder than words. No press release or media relations campaign is more important than your real life actions.

This morning, former MSNBC anchor and, as of yesterday, image consultant Dan Abrams, gave analysis of former call girl Ashley Dupre's latest public admissions, She's saying all the right things." It's impossible to forget--especially with lingering shots of the white bikini photo--that Dupre was muse of "Client 9," former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

It's a nice place to be for Abrams to maintain his NBC Senior Legal Analyst title. He did manage to drop reference to his media strategy firm within the segment.

Presumably, Dupre's new round of press and what was said was carefully coordinated by her firm Susan Bond Public Relations to simultaneously stay out of jail and tee up a music or fashion career. Fifteen minutes--tick, tock, tick tock.

Politico: It's time to rewire the bully pulpit

Catching Flack: Big Three Auto Chiefs Fly Into PR Turbulence

Defamer: World's Worst Publicist Gets Client Tossed From Thanksgiving Day Parade

Richard Edelman: AP: What's Old Is New

Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence Blog: FAQ's about Twitter Strategy and Public Relations

PRWeek's Tonya Garcia reports:

PR Newswire (PRN) has cut 25 positions as part of its parent company United Business Media's overall headcount reduction of 300 staff during the second half of 2008...PRN's profits for 2008 will be lower than last year "due to the loss of market share" in its "US wire distribution business earlier in the year," and continued investment in its infrastructure, sales and marketing, as well global expansion. Also, David Armon, PRN president, plans to step down from his position after the first half of 2009, at which time he will consider a consulting role.

Rachel A. Meranus, Vice President of PR for PR Newswire tells us, "there were no departments cut entirely, rather the positions cut spanned different departments."

This week Spin the Agencies of Record is happy to report account wins in video gaming, electric vehicles, baseball bats, an iconic cartoon character, and semiconductors able to deliver your high-def wirelessly throughout the home (cool!):

Reverb Communications plays well with Steel Penny Games, beginning with Bruiser & Scratch for Nintendo Wii

Adamson to keep swinging for Rawlings and sister company Worth as their interactive agency of record. In the past they created a flash game for Worth, and the "Boy vs. Pinata" viral video for Rawlings

Investor Relations Group hired to drive Leo Motors's message. Leo makes electric cars, or "EVs"

Rogers & Cowan hired to "facilitate promotional partnerships" Astro Boy, the comic superhero about to become a CG-animated film character

Calysto Communications hired to boost Celeno throughput

Dan Abrams, former anchor and GM for MSNBC is getting into the PR game. The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Dana reports:

Want good press? Hire a journalist. That's Dan Abrams's pitch. The former general manager of MSNBC is launching a media-strategy firm, Abrams Research, to help business executives navigate public-relations challenges -- from major acquisitions to bothersome bloggers to outright scandals.

The firm's chief selling point will be a network of media insiders whose advice is available in exchange for an hourly fee. Mr. Abrams has assembled a roster of "thousands" of such professionals, he says, with the aid of former Huffington Post media writer Rachel Sklar. The firm has already signed its first client: billionaire investor Ronald Perelman.

Abrams tells PRNewser, "This has been something I have thought about for over a year. It has taken on many shapes and forms but I am convinced this model is the best one particularly during this period of economic uncertainty."

While some have hinted at potential conflict of interest issues, Abrams insists the firm will play by the rules. "No Forbes reporter, for example, is going to be part of a panel on how to get better media coverage from Forbes. Its not happening. Period. We have contracts for prospective network members that require the disclosure of even a possible conflict which we intend to enforce vigorously. Finally I think in the end if its bad for "journalism" its bad for my business," he said.

Abrams Research has announced strategic partnerships with The Abernathy Macgregor Group and Dan Klores Communications.

RELATED: TVNewser: The New Abrams Report? A Research Business

PR and lobby shop Quinn & Gillespie is hosting their annual Flak Bash tonight to "honor D.C.'s most daring and verbally agile communicators." The awards--flak jackets--are handed out to flaks (or flacks) to the Best Spokesperson in the following categories: Presidential Campaign (Republican and Democrat); Capitol Hill Press Secretary (Republican and Democrat); and Industry (business and association).

According to Quinn & Gillespie's Ashley Prime:

Nominees come from the general public, and are judged by a top journalists including Jeff Birnbaum, The Washington Times; Eleanor Clift, Newsweek; Bob Cusack, The Hill; Eve Fairbanks, The New Republic; Arianna Huffington; Kathryn Jean Lopez; National Review Online; Charlie Mitchell, Roll Call; Brody Mullins, The Wall Street Journal; Bara Vaida, National Journal; and Jim VandeHei, The Politico.

This is always a pretty popular affair, of course, honoring the best flaks in each political party in campaigns, on the Hill and in industry.

We hear there were two full pages of names that were culled, topped by all the usual suspects: the Tucker Boundses, the Danny Diazes, the Bill Burtons, blah, blah.

But there are some names that pop out. Sarah Palin, for one. Joe Biden. Tim Kaine. T. Boone Pickens. Tom Tancredo?

And other, more reasonable and actual communications people: Ryan Loskarn, Pepper Pennington, Brad Dayspring and David DiMartino.

Where's Obama's smooth talking southerner Robert Gibbs, and McCain's Nicole Wallace? Surely they deserve respective kudos for being keeper of the message, and nearly-shot messenger/Needless Markups shopper?

Potomac Flacks: Ted McKenna, the DC correspondent for PR Week will be leaving his job at the end of the month

Marketwatch (via Romenesko): Satterfield resigns as Mercury News managing editor to join PR firm

LA Times: Obama, the first social media president

Strategic Public Relations: Motrin Moms and the Monday Morning Quarterbacks

PRWeek: Detroit auto industry faces tough battle

The Economist is looking for a Communications Manager

The Fireman Hospitality Group is looking for a Director of Press & Publicity

National Public Radio is looking for a Director, Media Relations

The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale is looking for a Communications Director

Slate is looking for a Marketing Director

As you may have read by now, Jerry Yang is no longer CEO of Yahoo! While many may be concerned with the company's stock price, or just who the new CEO will be, here at PRNewser we care about - obviously - the PR tactics behind the announcement.

Specifically, Newsweek technology columnist Dan Lyons is a bit annoyed at AllThingsD's Kara Swisher, who was the first to report the news. He writes:

Just for the record, here is Kara's big scoop, which she posted today at 4:50 p.m. Pacific time. And here is the official press release from Yahoo hitting Business Wire at 5 p.m. Pacific time - a whopping ten minutes later. Kara, honey, I love you dearly, but girl-child, having a company send you a press release ten minutes before they put it on the wire isn't a scoop. That's called taking dictation.

Take that! If anything, Lyons is angered - and justifiably so - that the PR team at Yahoo! has burned him one too many times, starting with the never ending "Google deal" story and continuing with the Yang CEO news:

I'd never dealt much with Yahoo before, and I was stunned by their PR operators - they're really an unsavory bunch...The take-away: Do not believe a word that Yahoo says. Ever.

The lesson here: When dealing with sensitive news, sometimes it's not worth it to tip a reporter off, no matter how much you'd like to do them a favor. Just put it on the wire and let the races begin. That being said, we're not sure if the release was deliberately sent to Swisher or truly was an unapproved "leak," so we'll try to reserve some judgement.

[image cred]

Faithful readers, it's almost that time of year. We hope that your company holiday party has not been canceled due to financial constraints. If it hasn't, we here at PRNewser are happy to attend. We're nice, too! And don't worry, we won't ask your CEO for a quote after he or she has had one too many drinks. Promise.

Do you have party info to send our way? Email us.