Hail to the newsletter association and to the newsletter foundation!While reading the latest issue of Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter, "The Inside News of Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most ," I was reminded of how fortunate the newsletter industry is in having the Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association and Foundation. O'Dwyer reported on and, in a bylined piece, excoriated the two principal associations for communicators for significant mismanagement--the Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), based in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The organization has more than 30,000 professional and student members, and is organized into 112 chapters nationwide. (PRSA PRSA Public Relations Society of America PRSA Personal Retirement Savings Account PRSA Puerto Rican Student Association PRSA Puerto Rican Studies Association PRSA Park and Recreation Service Area PRSA President of the Royal Scottish Academy ) and the International Association Business Communicators (IABC IABC International Association of Business Communicators IABC Indo-Americans for Better Community ). I won't go in detail about the associations' problems with debt, poor administration on the part of both staff and elected officers, ceased publications, millions of dollars lost in ill-planned websites, and even (given their constituency) poor communication to the point of secrecy and PRSA's once forbidding its staff and officers to speak with O'Dwyer--all documented by his newsletter over the years. One of his current complaints centers on PRSA's financial report being issued four months after year-end and IABC's five months after year-end.. Contrast that with NEPA's financials reported one day after the board meeting in Washington ("NEPA's financial house in good order," NL/NL 6/16/04). And, while NEPA and NEPF are currently having a mild dispute ("Newsletter foundation grapples with possible administrative fee imposed by association," NL/NL 6/16/04), that's nothing in comparison to the back-biting among PRSA's and IABC's various committees, staff, and elected officers. Plus, NEPA and NEPF have generally been very candid can·did adj. 1. Free from prejudice; impartial. 2. Characterized by openness and sincerity of expression; unreservedly straightforward: In private, I gave them my candid opinion. with the only independent publication covering the industry, the one you're reading now. Their openness and efficiency stand in stark contrast to the secrecy and mismanagement mis·man·age tr.v. mis·man·aged, mis·man·ag·ing, mis·man·ag·es To manage badly or carelessly. mis·man  age·ment n. of PRSA and IABC.
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