Comments? Send us an email at insideprcomments@gmail.com, call us on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or leave us a comment on the Inside PR show blog.

This
week on InsidePR, Terry and David discuss student internships and talk
about the differences between big and small agencies. They welcome
audio comments from Patricia Parsons, a professor of public relations
at Mount St. Vincent's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and from
Michael Seaton from The Client Side. Also, Terry does his segment of "Inside PRoper English". Finally, they play this week's contribution from Chris Clarke.

Show Notes

00:28 David is glad to be back and introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at insideprcomments@gmail.com, the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:48 Terry talks about an interview he did with Canadian Podcast Buffet with Bob Goyetche and Mark Blevis. The episode can be found here.

03:32 David talks about a new post on KD Paine's blog about the top 10 PR firms in the world and their presence in the blogosphere.

05:28 David introduces the first comment from Michael Seaton from The Client Side. David thinks Michael did a great job, and thanks him for stepping in during his absence.

07:45 Terry talks about how he only met Michael face-to-face after
recording last week's episode together. They got together for a geek
dinner organized by Micheal and Mitch Joel.

08:28 David brings up the Third Tuesday and Third Monday meetups
happening at the end of September for Toronto and Ottawa communicators.
Shel Israel will be speaking at both inaugural events. You can find the
signup link for Toronto here and the Ottawa link here.

10:55 Terry introduces a comment from Patricia Parsons, a professor
of public relations from Mount St. Vincent's University in Halifax,
Nova Scotia.

15:15 David brings up this week's topic: small agency vs. big agency, for students considering a placement.

16:08 Terry mentions the fact that both he and Terry have worked at
both big and small agencies in Canada. He doesn't intend to provide
definite conclusions on the debate. He recalls that a decade ago the
big agencies had the big clients, which is no longer a rule of the
agency world. According to Terry, there are advantages and
disadvantages to both. He makes the case that at larger agencies there
might not be the variety of tasks and responsibilites offered at
smaller agencies.

19:42 David says that regardless of where you work, there are things
that stay the same: you will start at the bottom and you'll learn from
the bottom-up. To him, the difference between big and small is simply a
game of numbers: there are more opportunities for people in small
agencies based on the fact that there are fewer to draw on. But, at
larger agenies, there are certainly more opportunities for advancement
because there are simply more positions to be filled. Nonetheless, the
opportunities go to those who deserve them.

23:40 Terry claims that the only way to get anywhere is to take the
opportunities that come your way. Be aggressive, but reasonable. Also,
at smaller firms, the junior people get to sit around the table for
creative sessions with the senior people, which is an excellent
opportunity. That's not to say that it doesn't happen at larger firms,
but it is more likely to happen at smaller firms.

26:20 David wraps up the chat and says that there are pros and cons
to each size of firm. He says the most important part is about knowing
your job and knowing who's on your team. There are great people in
terrible agencies and terrible people in great agencies.

29:00 David introduces and plays Chris Clarke's segment for the week.

32:41 Inside PRoper English for the week: tennet

33:45 From the files of Inside PRoper English: Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

35:15 Terry closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at insideprcomments@gmail.com, on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.