August - September 2001

 
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On PR for Engineers (July-August 2001)…

Engineers and technical societies, as engineers' representatives, should stage PR events just like Hollywood does. We should create news when the media seems indifferent. Individual engineers may not be able to do it alone, but our societies could.

The problem is that the societies are just as recessive as their memberships. They are also wary of losing their non-profit status and of alienating politicians. But PR-generated news does not need to be offensive or controversial to be newsworthy. "Dog bites man" is not news, but "man bites dog" will get attention. We can do that and need to do that, before our profession is erased from history.

Engineering "stars" and "MVPs" deserve the same or more attention and recognition as actors and athletes receive. After all, we have contributed more to the progress of the society and the economy, and these contributions are certainly newsworthy.

Couldn't we make engineers as interesting to the public as baseball players?

— Rudolph P. Guzik
Executive Director, Chicago SPIE/OSC Optical Group
Frankfort, Illinois

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Part of the reason actors get front-page coverage is they seek publicity for their entire careers. Promoting their movies, plays, and other performances is a necessary part of their business. It increases ticket sales and, indirectly, their ability to secure future work. Look at how many TV shows feature "guests" who are there simply to push their newly published book or their latest movie.

In engineering, companies promote their products to increase sales. The role of the engineer is generally seen as being indirect to the sales. Somehow I can't see an ad for product that states that "designed by John Finley Yardley."

For that matter, look at NASCAR. The names of the winning racers make the news, but you almost never hear the name of the crew chief or head mechanic who made it those wins possible.

— Paul Zander
IEEE member
Los Altos, CA

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We do need publicity experts to boost our public image. When something goes wrong, the public always hears about how the designers or engineers blew it. And when things go well or are perceived to be going well-such as the development of new medical treatments through genetic modification-new "engineering" fields are created and publicized when, in fact, there are no such fields. New fields are often described as being engineering specialties, but developers in those fields have little or no "hard-core" engineering training. This kind of publicity muddies the image waters further for engineers.

It's time that we target publicity to help people understand what engineers do. We need to share engineers' accomplishments as well as their frustrations, and celebrate the "highs" when things turn out well.

Now, positive accomplishments rarely make "headline news"-except maybe in sports-but I'd settle for a page three article any time. In the meantime, we need to seek a balance between waiting for the world to recognize engineering achievements and getting on the front page. Expert spin doctors earn their keep for politicians; they would be a good investment for IEEE and other engineering organizations as well.

— Peter Tarjan
IEEE Senior Member
Miami, Florida

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I also am dismayed at the publicity given to sports and entertainment figures, to the near disregard of scientists and engineers. But the news media print what is fed to them. Therefore, if we want publicity or recognition, we need to provide the news media with intriguing news releases and other PR pieces.

Of course, a headline such as "IEEE Member Demonstrates GHz Bandwidth" may not have the same immediate appeal as winning the World Series or receiving a Hollywood award. But it is worth trying to obtain recognition for the profession by ensuring well funded activities directed outside the profession are in place. I think it is within the mission of the IEEE to build up the Public Relations staff so they serve the same function as PR staffs at any large business. They should promote engineering activity and successes, recognize individual engineers, scientists and other technical professionals, and generate general publicity for distribution frequently and widely to the media.

— Roger L. Boyell
IEEE Senior Member
Moorestown, New Jersey

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