Registration now open! The Valley of the Sun chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists — celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2018 — will once again present this fall the 15th annual Valley Publicity Summit, which brings media and PR pros together to share information and story pitches.

PR pros: Register now at https://publicitysummit2018.eventbrite.com.

What we call the greatest Saturday morning in Valley PR-media relations will be Sept. 15, 2018, at Barrett, the Honors College, at Arizona State University in Tempe. PR people pay to register for the event, proceeds of which benefits the SPJ chapter’s programs and activities. The journalists volunteer their time. Parking is free in the ASU garage across Lemon Street immediately north of Barrett.

The morning begins with a continental breakfast/networking session, then a panel discussion with eight or nine journalists representing different media in the greater Phoenix area — they discuss the state of media-PR relations and general do’s and don’ts in pitching stories to each one’s medium.

The balance of the morning is devoted to “speed pitching,” in which 20-25 journalists (last year’s approximate number) are seated at individual stations in three-minute intervals with (last year’s approximate number) 55-60 PR people. Each will bring real story pitches about their clients to try out. The media people are welcome to accept (or reject) any pitch for a possible story; the PR people get to learn what Valley media outlet are looking for (and not looking for). The pitching starts at 10:30 a.m. and usually ends by 12:45 or 1 p.m. Click here for a list of media people we’ve signed up so far for 2018.

PR pros: Register now at https://publicitysummit2018.eventbrite.com — because early-bird rates end Aug. 22!

Media people: Be part of the dialogue for better media-PR relations. Volunteer for the Summit! Email Sherry Butler, sbutler@slbcomm.com, for details.

Questions? Email phoenixspj@cox.net.

EVENT SPONSORS: We are grateful to OH Partners and Fingerpaint Marketing for sponsoring the 2018 Valley Publicity Summit!