PR issue

[Burke McCrory]

At 08:41 AM 2/10/97 U, you wrote:
> Scientific Placement, Inc.
> PR issue
>
>Not to "pick" on Galen' comment, because I think this is a very common
opinion
>in the SCA.  As a former Senecshal, I feel very strongly about this.  And I
>really dislike it when I hear someone say something along these lines.
>
>ie: That is ........'s job.  So I don't have to worry about it.  
>
>And this is another point, very often, it is not even that person's job.  Do
>you really know what the Laws of this Kingdom say?
>
>Actually according to Kingdom Law the Seneschal (with respect to me
public) is
>simply the SCA legal representative to the local area.
>
>The hospitler ... (quoting from Kingdom Law Article II section 11) ... shall
>be responsible for the advertising and public relations of the Society for
>Creative Anachronism, Inc ....
>
>(Now that both Copora and Ansteorran Kingdom Law are on line, I suggest that
>every SCA person rush to read these documents.  It is amazing what you can
>learn from them.)
>
>HOWEVER ....  As I said in a previous posting, I do not in any way believe
>that the hospitaler should be the only person expected to help with PR.   The
>hospitlers job is to coordinate PR and newcommer's not do all the work by
>themselves.   I think that each member should work to help in these efforts. 
>(Do you remember what it was like when you first joined?  If not, think about
>it for a while.)
>
>However, on the topic of a PR person.  In the shire I was in, we did have a
>"PR" person, this was run as a deputy to the hospitlers office.  There was a
>file with copies all past articles that the press had written about us.
Twice
>a year we would invite the local paper to either attend a local "fighter
>practice" or local event where the PR person would "baby-sit" them.  We also
>had a "standard" blurb, all written out that we could give them that
explained
>what the SCA was all about.  The reporters really seemed to like having a
>"hand-out" that they could take back to the office.  And we were sure that
>they were getting the "story" that we wanted printed.  
>
> (snip)
>
>Just my 2 cents.
>L. Crystal Berringer
>

Remember that at one time the Hospitaller was a deputy the Seneschal.
There has been and still is a concern that someone speaking "officially for
the SCA" should be an officer.  The Kingdom seneschal's office issued
guidelines for official public contact with the media a few years back.  In
short the are that the only person able to officially speak for the SCA was
the seneschal or their representative.  The practice has ment that the
seneschal's, hospitaller, and other long standing members (usually peers
and nobility) are able to speak for the SCA.  This is not to say that there
is a "Gag Order" on the populace.  We can't prevent anyone from talking to
the media.  However you must remember that you are speaking as a private
individual not the SCA.  I think that having a deputy hospitaller or
seneschal for media relations is a good idea and would encourage it.  But
there must be communication between whoever is doing media relations and
the seneschal's office.  Remember that in this Kingdom the buck eventually
stop with the seneschal.  That is where the statement that it is the
seneschal's job comes from.


Burke McCrory
Sir Burke Kyriell MacDonald
burkemc at ionet.net