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Redmont Health Services picks Murphy to launch new treatment center

Murphy Media Services has been selected to provide marketing and media outreach for the launch of the new Redmont Health Services drug and alcohol addiction treatment center opening in Boise in January, 2009.

Murphy Media Services will partner with FusionSet, Inc., on this project, which will involve conducting a statewide media outreach and publicity campaign to promote the new facility and its services. Redmont is a private treatment facility that will provide  affordable and effective treatment options for adolescents and adults including assessments, individual, group and family counseling, and personal, individual treatment plans.

Headquartered in Alabama, Redmont is expanding into Idaho to address the state’s acute need for affordable and effective substance abuse treatment. The company will open its outpatient center in January 2009, and has plans for a 48-bed residential facility to be built in Meridian later in the year.

This is the second project that Murphy Media Services and FusionSet have collaborated on. In the summer of 2008 they partnered on the national launch of the National Diving Dog Tour presented by Oust® and Purina®, which involved developing and conducting media and publicity campaigns in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Georgia, and California.

“Hacks and Flacks in Transition”

When I got my first job in public relations in 1981, it was industry standard to get in a car, drive all over town and hand-deliver news releases to the reporters on our media list (guess who got to do it?). Time consuming, yes. But it was important to have that personal, face-to-face interaction between us PR “flacks” and the media “hacks.” We also mailed our releases, and after giving the U.S. Postal Service a few days to deliver them, we’d follow up with a phone call to maintain that personal connection with reporters and chat about our story ideas. In the late 80s and early 90s the fax machine became the new, fast way to deliver our media information. With a touch of a button, swoosh! a fax could be blasted to everyone on our list in a matter of minutes. No more stuffing envelopes or driving around looking for a parking space. Then came e-mail and sending out a news release was instantaneous, although in those early days, many news organizations had somewhat unreliable e-mail programs and our our releases often got sucked into their spam mail. But, this wasn’t so bad because it gave PR folks a good reason to continue making follow up calls (“Hi, I was just calling to see if you received the news release we e-mailed you”) to maintain a personal connection. Even if it wasn’t face-to-face, it was still voice-to-voice.

My point? No matter how technology has changed, it has always been important for PR professionals to figure out the most efficient way to connect with their counterparts in the media and get information into their hands. Today, with newsrooms growing leaner, media migrating online, and news being delivered and received by way of blogs, social networking sites, text messages, and yes, news releases, finding the right connection becomes an art, if not a science.

“Hacks and Flacks in Transition,” is an event being hosted by the Southwest Chapter of the Idaho Press Club to discuss how PR professionals can work better with journalists in this new era of news.  As newsrooms shrink and the dynamics of the news industry change, the working relationship between journalists and PR practitioners has a potential for being impacted, either positively or negatively.

The event is open to the public and even people who don’t work in PR or journalism might find it interesting.

Panelists: John Miller, Associated Press; Brad Talbutt, reporter, Idaho Statesman; Rachael Daigle, editor, Boise Weekly; Lisa Chavez, managing editor, KTVB News Group; George Prentice, morning show host, NPR.

Moderator:
Marc Johnson, president, Gallatin Public Affairs

When: 6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008

Where: Water Cooler, 1401 W. Idaho

Cost: $8.00 Press Club members and students, $12.00 non-members

RSVP to the Idaho Press Club, (208) 389-2879 or idpc@mindspring.com

Client News: You can donate to Idaho Veterans Services at tax time

Idaho’s veterans have given much to our state and our country, and sometimes they need a little help too. This year there is a new spot on the Idaho State tax form where you can choose to donate money to the Idaho Division of Veterans Services. Why should we consider donating to Idaho Veterans Services? Well, they are the ones who help our veterans receive the benefits that they’re entitled to when they return from serving our country. They oversee the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery and ensure that our veterans receive proper burials. They  operate three Veterans homes around the state where they care for elderly, disabled and sick veterans, and provide them with healthy activities for their minds, bodies and spirits. When you choose to donate to the Idaho State Veterans Services, your gift will help support these programs around the state. So, this year consider giving a little back to Idaho’s heroes. It’s a great way to say “Thank You” for all their service and sacrifice. Take a look at the public service announcement – Donate to Veterans on your Tax form


Client News: Idaho Veteran’s Cemetery Honors Abandoned Vets

VetsMIAOn November 7, The cremains of 11 veterans that had been abandoned at funeral homes for many years will be interred in a special “Missing in America” ceremony at the Idaho Veteran’s Cemetery. The public is invited to attend the ceremony, which will be held at 11 a.m., at the cemetery located at 10100 Horseshoe Bend Road, Boise.

Among the cremains are the ashes two World War I veterans that had been forgotten in a funeral home for more than 60 years. In all, the ashes of nine Army veterans, one Marine veteran and one Air Force veteran will be interred during the ceremony.

Members of each branch of the armed forces will perform a simultaneous flag fold and presentation, and an Army bugler will play taps, followed by a rifle volley by the United States Marine Corps. After the veterans cremains have been interred by a member of their respective branch of service, the ceremony will conclude with a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace.

The Missing in America Project began in Idaho in 2005. The goal is to locate and recover the cremains of veterans and their spouses that have been lost in funeral homes and other locations and provide a proper burial for them at the Veterans Cemetery.

For more information call the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery at 334-4796.

AGENCY NEWS: EDDIES and OZZIES and Awards, Oh My!

The May, 2008 issue of Sun Valley Magazine, which carries two of Patti’s articles on falconry, just won TWO of FOLIO Magazine’s prestigious awards − the EDDIE Award, which recognizes editorial excellence, and the OZZIE Award for best use of photography. The publication won Bronze in each of those categories and competed against other national magazine with circulations of up to 250,000. As an award winner, Sun Valley Magazine now shares the company of such giants as Bon Appetite, Billboard, Travel & Leisure, Architectural Record, Harper’s Bazaar, National Geographic, Forbes, INC, Time, Fortune, SELF, and other respected publications that have also been honored with this coveted industry award.

According to FOLIO, this year’s competition drew more than 2,800 entries, and more than 100 expert judges spent weeks evaluating the entries and selecting the winners.

Client News: The art of compassion

The Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival, (Sept. 19-21) is featuring an impressive list of 30 films from around the world that will uplift us, help us think and remind us why the human spirit is worth celebrating. If you are lucky enough to be attending the Film Festival, I encourage you to also consider going to the special presentations by speakers Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. and David Shlim, M.D.

Embracing the Mystery: Learning to see with new eyes
Dr. Naomi Remen

Limitless Compassion, Dr. David Shlim

The Doctor and the Soul: The Art of Healing
Panel Discussion, Dr. Remen and Dr. Shlim Moderated by Britt Udesen

Client News: Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival announces film lineup

More than 30 films from around the world that celebrate the human spirit, champion humanitarianism, and explore different spiritual traditions, will be featured at the 4th Annual Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival, Sept. 19-21 in Sun Valley and Hailey, Idaho.

The film fest is not religious gathering, although spiritual beliefs from around the world are explored through the films. It’s more about strength of character, celebrating the human spirit, and exploring the ways in which we humans all “rise to the occasion” as we tackle life. Humorous, touching, inspirational films and thought provoking speakers will fill the weekend. For more information go to www.svspiritualfilmfestival.org.

Agency News: Murphy Media Services selected to manage media outreach for National Diving Dog Tour

BEARDED COLLIELast month, Murphy Media Services was picked to provide media outreach and promotion for the National Diving Dog Tour presented by Oust® and Purina®. Most people have seen this event as part of the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, produced by Carson International, Inc. It’s where dogs race down a 40-foot platform and dive as far as they can into a 20,000 gallon pool. The dog that dives the farthest wins. Lots of barking and splashing and cool dog entertainment. It’s just dog-gone fun. Our job was to get media attention and, hopefully increased audience attendance, in the tour sites – New Jersey, Wisconsin, California, Tennessee, and Georgia. For this project, we teamed up with another great Boise marketing firm, FusionSet, Inc. Media coverage in each market was exceptional.

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