What else would I post about today?

Turn on the radio ..... turn on the news ..... fire up the Internet and what do you see today? On the 10th anniversary of 9/11 - it's all about 9/11. As well it should be. We can read about commemorations and ceremonies around the U.S. We can listen to memories of those affected, and see how things have changed - in New York, around the country and around the world - since 9/11. An MSNBC article is titled "From Sydney to Paris formal ceremonies pay tribute to those who perished," reminding us U.S. citizens aren't the only ones whose lives were lost and whose lives have been affected. I believe that everyone alive on September 11, 2001, will always know exactly were they were that morning their world turned upside down.

What does that have to do with PR? In a cold and impersonal way, I would say that a company or organization providing information in the public realm who does not publicly acknowledging the day - particularly the tenth anniversary - would be thought very cold and impersonal, definitely affecting how they are thought of by their publics (I hate that word). Since public relations is about developing effective relations between organizations and groups that are important to them, acknowledging the day that so greatly affected each one of us is a very good way of reaching out. Reaching out is a way of sharing a common issue, a common concern, a common need to make sense of it. And if we can't make sense of it, at least we can stand together and go forward with strength.

Where was I? I was at work in a meeting about changing benefits, sharing my expertise about how to best communicate the changes that were coming in 2002. I stepped out for a moment, and a colleague told me a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I thought that was just terrible - unbelievable - but I didn't understand what was happening. Like many, I was very slow to comprehend the magnitude of the day. Of course, by mid-day, I was beginning to understand, and instead of working on benefits communications I was working on communications about the events of September 11.

And that's all I have to say about that.