The Orlando Chapters of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) recently hosted their annual media roundtable, where members of the local media gave PR pros the low-down on everything from pet peeves to their extra curricular activities. Here is a small sampling of informational tidbits you might not have known…

Katy Widrick (@growingbolder), executive producer of Growing Bolder

• “Growing Bolder recently got picked up for national syndication on PBS, so we’re always looking for inspirational stories of people over the age of 50 overcoming obstacles and doing extraordinary things.”

Raquel Giorgio (@RaquelGiorgio), managing editor at WKMG-TV

• “The station is open to talking to experts via Skype.”

Peter King (@PeterKingCBS), news correspondent at CBS Radio

• “We like stuff that makes sound because radio is theater of the mind. That being said, if you have an accompanying audio file (e.g., screeching tires for a car story), send it with the pitch.”

Barry Glenn (@OrlandoMag), managing editor of Orlando Magazine

• “Orlando Magazine just released the premiere issue of Orlando Wedding, a new bi-annual publication aimed to help local brides-to-be plan for their big day.”

Mark Baratelli (@MarkBaratelli), editor of The Daily City

• “Our blog’s target market isn’t just kids in skinny jeans; it’s also suburban moms who want to know what interests their kids (who wear skinny jeans).”

John Cutter (@johncutter), digital media editor of the Orlando Sentinel

• “When pitching a story, include video if you have it. Newspapers need online visuals, and video is a great asset to any story.”

Thanks to the media representatives who were present and, most importantly, candid. Can you share any other tips about working with the media? If so, please post them in the comments.

Anyone who has ever worked for me will tell you that I am a demanding editor. When it comes to writing, I expect perfection. But, that doesn’t just mean that I freak out when “it’s” is used as a possessive – or when “affect” is erroneously substituted for “effect.” It also means that I don’t believe what people say, just because they say it. And I don’t trust information that I haven’t vetted. Anywhere. Not in our office. Not in the media. And certainly not on the Internet.

Given free speech and all, people have the right to use blogs to promote their personal points of view. And in doing so, they can say hateful, despicable things. They can use innuendo at will and lie with abandon. It’s all protected under the First Amendment.

But, here’s the rub. Bloggers, if you want to “rage against the machine” or spew out all the bile that’s in your system, have at it. My problem is not as much with you – or even with the “news” organizations that use you as “reliable” sources. My concern is with the people who actually believe you. Blindly. Naively. Without thinking. Without verifying.

Nothing illustrates this any better than the Shirley Sherrod case, which has dominated this week’s news cycles. The former official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture was forced to resign from her position after a blogger appears to have manipulated and edited video tape that presented Ms. Sherrod as a racist. The tape was aired by a news network and portrayed as truth. As a result, the USDA asked Sherrod to step down – before anyone (including the NAACP, her boss or the White House staff) bothered to view the entirety of her speech. Had the proper fact-checking been done, it would have been crystal clear that the clip was edited out of context and that it bore no resemblance to the truth. Meanwhile, the network that broke the story accepted no responsibility for shoddy reporting and simply reframed it to redirect their audience’s attention. Shame on everybody involved.

Lots of folks are culpable here, and there’s plenty of blame to spread around. But, this is, I believe, a teachable moment. Lessons to be learned: 1) Opinion isn’t fact. Recognize the difference. 2) Don’t allow yourself to be duped. Do your own research; dig as deep as you can to identify the source. Then find out if that source is pushing a particular agenda. 3) Adopt a healthy level of skepticism. Understand that many bloggers simply masquerade as “journalists” and be aware that news organizations can and do manipulate the truth. 4) Balance your knowledge portfolio by taking the time to read in-depth articles penned by good, old-fashioned reporters writing for real newspapers or magazines. Sadly, there are fewer of them around than there should be, but their insight will give you much-needed perspective. 5) Use common sense. When you hear every talking head on radio and television – plus a litany of politicians – using exactly the same catch phrases on the same day, it ought to raise a red flag. Don’t think for one second that they haven’t been fed those talking points. I mean, come on.

So when it comes to making a pitch, promoting a client – or just expanding your own knowledge base – today’s reality dictates this: Verify. Verify. Verify. Then trust.

This stuff keeps me up at night. How about you?

Linda Costa is president and founder of Costa DeVault – a wordwise company. This is her first blog post.

In case you haven’t seen Old Spice’s newest smash ad campaign, it centers around an attractive, mostly shirtless young man who calls himself “the man your man could smell like” (with the use of Old Spice bodywash, of course). All the clips are available on the company’s YouTube channel.

Between the coy, almost ridiculous lines and the smart delivery of actor Isaiah Mustafa, the commercials transcended television and were a near-instant hit across the Internet. Given his popularity, it was only natural for Mustafa to do a round of promotional interviews on shows like Ellen, Oprah and G4.

Old Spice took another step and moved to capitalize on Mustafa’s popularity on social networking websites, including notoriously cynical Reddit.com and 4chan. This post, titled “The Old Spice Man Responds to the Internet,” invites Reddit users to submit questions. Then, he created video responses to the most popular comments.

I’ve watched all the videos Old Spice posted, and I’m impressed with how well this campaign was done. While some questions are about the commercials and the product, others are more random – for example, one Reddit user asked, “Is it true you tore the wings off Pegasus and ate them buffalo style to achieve the manliness you exhibit today?” (See Mustafa’s response here.)

What surprised me most was that some of the responses even include inside jokes and jargon from Reddit – indicating that someone on the team regularly participates in the community. Additionally, the campaign is even courting Anonymous from 4chan (the collective whole of the website, known for large-scale Internet jokes and attacks) – a bold move.

If the responses on Reddit and 4chan are any indication (nearly 2,400 upvotes on Reddit as of the time I wrote this blog), it’s been a smashing success, and a great example of how to reach out to social networks.

Photo source: OldSpice

The newest wave of instant gratification is coming out of Japan in the form of QR – or “quick response” – codes. The pixelated images resemble your average barcode, but are capable of decoding a variety of information. Just snap a photo with your phone, and voilà!, the message is revealed.

QR codes are most commonly used as an alternative to lengthy web addresses, but can also contain phone numbers and hidden text. But, there is a catch: you need to have the appropriate software installed on your phone before you can read the code. (I recommend Barcode for iPhone users.)

Recently, Calvin Klein replaced their usually racy billboards with QR codes encouraging passersby to “uncensor” the ad, which redirects them to an exclusive provocative 40-second commercial.

And, in one of the most creative uses I’ve seen, blogger David Fell uses a QR code to complement his business card. Snap a photo of the code and David instantly becomes one of your contacts, complete with name, phone number, email address and website.

Given that you not only need to have a smartphone, but also an additional application to reveal the codes, it’s unclear whether the codes will live up to their potential. Either way, it’s fun to decode the secret message … and even more fun to create your own.

Photo source: Mashable.com

A few members of the Costa DeVault team hung out with Jason Sadler of iwearyourshirt.com fame this week. A big thank you to Jason for speaking at the FPRA Orlando event yesterday and for sharing social media sensibility, salad and smiles (he’s a funny man) at lunch today.

Source: Bess Auer, Central Florida Top 5

Twitter is at its best when users are free to express themselves and share information candidly. That is why Costa DeVault pays special attention to those who do just that. Below, we’ve compiled some of our favorite tweets from the past couple of weeks. Let us know which ones you like, and share your favorites with us, too.

Thanks to @tristanwalker, @ChristineNgo, @DavidSpinks, @NickSwisher, @pbarbanes and @Spirit_Helper for sharing your humor, insight and philosophies with us.