A Cautionary Tale for PR Pros to Use Consent Forms or a Case for the Compost Pile?

In today’s edition of Syracuse’s Post-Standard newspaper, there was a fascinating account of a two-year legal battle that involves issues of consent and implied consent, privacy, public records and even ownership of metadata. Yes, that right. You read it correctly — metadata. I bring this case to your attention because I believe it bears special relevance for those of us working as public relations professionals.

At the core of the case is a retired engineer whose image was used for promotional purposes in an e-mail blast sent to 2,600 subscribers to a monthly e-mail distributed by a county recycling agency. The man, whose photograph was shot by the agency’s now-retired public affairs officer, contends his image was published without his consent. But according to the agency’s legal papers, the public affairs officer informed the man that the photo might be used by the agency in the future.

The man subsequently filed a Freedom of Information request after the agency first declined to compensate him with two free passes (worth $20) to the compost facility where the photo was taken. By the way, he told The Post-Standard that he was willing to settle for one free pass. The FOI request failed to compel the agency to provide him access to an estimated 36,000 digital photographs (published and unpublished) he now sought. So, he sued after the agency said it would only provide previously published photos.

The case has now gone to the New York State Supreme Court, where it was appealed and the issue of metadata comes up. Along the way, the retired engineer decided he wanted the digital record of when, where and how each photo was made —the metadata, which one court ruled was public record. It looks like it will be up to the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, to finally dispose of this case since he plans another appeal after the lower court narrowly rejected his arguments based on privacy. The majority agreed with the agency that the unpublished photographs of individuals should not be considered public records.

Unfortunately, county taxpayers have borne most of the financial brunt of all this legal wrangling. The recycling agency’s lawyer says he’s already performed more than $10,000 of legal work on the case. The plaintiff is represented by a New York City attorney, who happens to be his son-in-law.

Chapter Activities are Now in Full Gear

PRSA chapters in the Northeast District are no different than their counterparts elsewhere in the nation. The chapters in our district put a human face on the society through the professional development events, accreditation assistance, award programs and other activities they offer throughout the year for their members in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. For some PRSA members unable to attend in person PRSA’s annual international conference or on-site seminars, those chapter events and activities, as well as our annual district conference, represent their only direct exposure to PRSA.

Chapter activities have already begun in earnest throughout the district and many more are planned.

I’d like to give you a brief sampling of what’s coming up in the Northeast District. My apologies if your chapter event or other event information is missing. Future updates will be posted on this blog as information is received.

• March 24, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Digitas/MS&L, The Deck, 18th Floor, Boston, MA
  “PR + CSR = Respect: An Insider’s Guide to Effective CSR Campaigns,” sponsored by the PRSA Boston Chapter
• March 30, 8:30 a.m., Independent Health’s Medicare Information Center, Depew, NY
  “Ten Social Media Tips and Tools that will Take You to the Next Level,” sponsored by the PRSA Buffalo/Niagara Chapter
• April 9, 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., Hiscock & Barclay Room, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, NY
  “Communications Gumbo: A Mash Up of Traditional Media Relations, Crisis Communications with a Potion of Social Media & 24/7/365 Concerns,” sponsored by the PRSA Central New York Chapter
• April 27, 3 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., The NHHEAF Network Organizations, Concord, NH
  “The Micro-script Rules: How Ideas Break Through in the Hyper-connected World,” sponsored by the PRSA Yankee Chapter
• April 28, 3:30 p.m., Gelia in Williamsville, NY
  “The Life of a PR Career: A Panel Discussion of Successful PR Professionals,” sponsored by the PRSA Buffalo/Niagara Chapter
• April 29, 7:30 a.m., Mario’s Italian Steak House, Rochester, NY
  “Driving a Product Launch with Public Relations,” sponsored by the PRSA Rochester Chapter
• June 10, 5:30 p.m., Casa Larga Vineyards, Fairport, NY
  “2010 PRism Awards,” sponsored by the PRSA Rochester Chapter
• June 17, Salvatore’s Italian Gardens, Depew, NY
  “2010 Excalibur Awards, Excellence in Public Relations,” sponsored by the PRSA Buffalo/Niagara Chapter
• Nov. 3, Hilton Garden Inn’s Roebling Library
  QuickStart Leadership Training
• Nov. 3, Hart-Cluett House, Troy, NY
  “The Empire Awards,” sponsored by the PRSA Capital Region Chapter

and

• Nov. 4, Hilton Garden Inn’s Rensselaer Conference Center, Troy NY
  “2010 PRSA Northeast District Conference,” hosted by the PRSA Capital Region Chapter

If you’re a PRSA member within driving distance of these venues, you should make it a point to try to attend these outstanding programs. For more event and registration information, as well as award deadline information, contact the chapters directly or visit their Web sites.

If you’re a chapter president, program chair or other officer and don’t see your event listed here, e-mail your event information to jbmccampbell@gmail.com.