The 2018 PRSA Southeast District Conference is once again privileged to have the current PRSA national chair attend the event.
Anthony D’Angelo, PR, Fellow PRSA, will kick off the conference Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. D’Angelo will discuss convergence along five critical axes that public relations professionals must attend to if they’re to stay relevant and effective. Hear and discuss the implications for our industry, for our jobs and for PRSA.
D’Angelo is a professor of practice in public relations at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, director of its Executive Master’s Program in Communications Management and its Financial and Investor Communications Emphasis. His appointment followed more than 25 years of service in the corporate and agency sectors, including communications leadership roles for ITT Corporation, the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation, Magna International, United Technologies and Sage Marketing Communications.
We talked with D’Angelo about what to expect:
What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in media relations in the last 10-15 years?
With revolutionary changes brought by digital and social media, we’re all now in the business of media production and distribution, and this has changed the dynamic between the news media and news sources. Any of us can now publish or broadcast to all of us.
What skills will PR pros need five years from they don’t have now?
PR pros will need greater depth of knowledge in analytics, and literacy in artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Will “the media” still be relevant in the future?
Yes, the news media will continue to have an essential role as the Fourth Estate, but their tools, channels and tactics will continue to change with increasing speed.
As PRSA Chair, how do you see the organization evolving in the next five years?
PRSA will make substantial advancements in its technology capabilities, in its variety of professional development offerings, in diversity and inclusion efforts, in serving specialty sectors through our Sections, and PRSA will have a relentless focus on ethics.
What can conference attendees expect to learn from your discussion?
I hope to stimulate their thinking about strategic priorities for our fast-changing profession.
The PRSA Southeast District Conference takes place April 18-20, 2018, in Raleigh, N.C. For more information or to register, visit prsasummit.org.