Trent Testa Cover Sheet This story is about John Philbins advice to up and coming public relations students

s and a quick overview of his FEMA firing. The angle I used was writing a story directed towards people who want a career in public relations. This story is most appropriate for the Metro section in the local newspaper or could be in a national paper as well. The story is a human-interest story. Recommended visual elements should be a picture of Mr. Philbin. Word count: 515 Grade level: 10th grade

John Philbin Years Later

John Philbin Reflects on His Resignation From FEMA in 2007 COLLEGE PARK, Md., - Its been several years since John P. Philbin resigned from FEMA for a staged press conference, but he now says that his side of the story was never heard. "The next day I spoke with Washington Post reporter Spencer Hsu and I told him, 'I didn't orchestrate this, this is not how I do business. I would not condone or authorize it, but at the end of the day, I was the guy in charge and I regret that it happened,'" Philbin said. The crisis escalated quickly, putting Philbins rep on the line in front of the entire country. In October 2007, the Federal Alert Management Agency (FEMA) conducted a staged press conference with no reporters in the room, sparking mass-media attention. John P. Philbin resigned from the agency just days before being promoted to director of public affairs, but hes lost more than just his job. The personal consequences have been pretty devastating, Philbin said.
John P. Philbin

The personal consequences have been pretty devastating, Philbin said.

Credibility can be lost when false information goes viral, and Philbin says he is not the villain in this case. "I am a firm believer in ethical behavior, because I think all you have in this business is your credibility, which is particularly troubling to me because that's what has been called into question, Philbin said.

Philbin Uses Military Experience to Change Social Media

John P. Philbin used his military experience to improve distribution of information using social media tools for the U.S. Coast Guard. PR Tactics has recently added web blogs to its website to distribute public information. The company currently uses images, videos and YouTube to public information such as oil spills and rescues. The company also uses Twitter as a form of communication. Philbin says that social media is critical to distributing information these days, noting the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. Universities struggled to determine the best ways to notify students about emergencies. They realized that students often check their Facebook accounts more often than e-mail, and changed their communication plans accordingly to keep up with the latest social media developments. Philbin served in the Coast Guard for 21 years.

In retrospect, Philbin said that he would go back and call off the staged press conference. University of Maryland communication students in Susan Simons summer-school class were interested in what it takes to be successful in the public relations. Some advice Philbin has for ones pursuing a public relations career is to make sure that all the information you put out to the public is correct and to understand your own values.

Peter Lovelace, Director of Operations at Bethesda Country Club, says that the information he tells the public is vital to running a successful operation. I hold myself responsible for any information that is released into the public and its critical for that information to reflect the club in the utmost respect, said Lovelace. If I am not holding true to my values, than I know its time to get a new career. Philbin said that there is a tested formula he relies on to reducing risk in the public relations field. It is important to make the inside of your company look as clean as the outside of your company, Philbin said. The critical values needed to be successful in public relations spills into other careers as well, such as sales. Daryl Testa, a sales representative for Pentax Medical, said in order to be successful one must be truthful to your clients whenever possible. Working in sales has taught me to never lie about the performance of the equipment because if it doesnt perform to the standard I have presented it to have, then I may never sell anything else in my life, said Testa. The media is always looking for a story to break, and this time it came to the expense of John Philbin. He claims to have talked to only three reporters during the FEMA firing. The media were only too glad to find the person who would assume responsibility, Philbin said. ###

Contacts Peter Lovelace: Bethesda Country Club 301 440 0000 Daryl Testa: Pentax Medical 301 996 1833