On Working Together

Our PRSA chapter recently held a joint program with our friends at AAF Fort Worth and Social Media Club Fort Worth to host author/speaker Jackie Huba for a fun evening at Four Day Weekend Theater. This night on the town took well over four months to coordinate, as the organizations' presidents met and e-mailed each other to work out details.

The groups share a few members, and we all recognized an opportunity to join forces on the March 27 event to meet our common desire to provide quality programming. We had a great time, too, as you can see by the photos on our Facebook page.

One day before, March 26, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram and WFAA-TV announced their own partnership. A content sharing partnership. 

"The news executives said their companies will share a wide range of content, including breaking news, sports, business, traffic, weather, dining and entertainment from all over North Texas. They also expect their staffs to work together occasionally on joint projects."

Both of these partnerships, our three organizations and the two local news outlets, caught some people by surprise. They took planning. They took not being afraid to fail. Hopefully when we look back, they will have provided positive outcomes. But if it was a fail, let us fail forward with intelligence gained.

My point is, I believe we are stronger together than we are separate. Unlikely mass communication compatriots can (should?) occasionally work together for the greater good. It might be one of the things that keeps us all afloat.

Corey Lark (SMCFW president), Jackie Huba, Rene Murphy (AAF FW president), and me.

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A version of this post appeared as my President's Column in the eChaser newsletter.