On May 11, our main feature will be the Leadership Special, an article profiling industry professionals who are showing outstanding examples of leadership. This can be within their agency/company, as an industry thought leader, or even beyond the PR industry. If you have someone you’d like to suggest, please send an e-mail to .

PRWeek is now accepting agency financial information for its 2009 Agency Business Report, including rankings. The rankings will appear in the April 27 issue of PRWeek. All agencies are encouraged to submit information. This year’s process has been moved entirely online. Submissions must be received by February 27, 2009 at 6 pm EST. To submit your information, click here.

We’re getting ready for our Agency Business Report 2009, which will publish in the April 27 issue. This year, we’re bringing the process completely online. Look for announcements on our Web site, magazine, and blogs in the next week or so on how to submit your agency’s rankings form.

We’ve posted PRWeek’s editorial calendar for 2009. Please keep in mind that unlike PRWeek’s news content, features- the topics for which are found on the ed cal- are planned at least two months in advance. So please think of PRWeek’s features section as a long-lead magazine.

Also, as regular readers of the magazine know already, nearly all of PRWeek’s features are based on some type of client case study. It was a major refocus for the magazine when we redesigned in January 2006, so please, if you are going to pitch for an upcoming feature, make it a detailed pitch. Simply writing, “I noticed you have a consumer feature and would like to suggest my agency, XYZ PR as a source,” is not helpful and will not get a response. Instead, include a short description of some the trends you’re noticing in a particular sector, and include some of the work you’re doing on behalf of clients, but only ones that are willing to share their story with PRWeek. Please e-mail  with any questions.

The only exception to the long-lead and client case study rule is the agency business section, which is assigned about three weeks ahead of the publish date and focuses exclusively on issues happening within PR firms. To pitch that section, please e-mail .

You can download the 2009 editorial calendar here.

Media reporter Frank Washkuch had the chance to go to Washington, DC area recently to visit with the staff at The Politico, the newspaper and Web site started by Washington Post veterans. The outlet is the subject of today’s feature, this year’s media special, and is really an interesting read. Please take a look and share your thoughts with us.

PRWeek is now accepting nominations for its second-annual “40 under 40” feature, to be published in the December 8 issue. This special feature will profile 40 agency, corporate, and nonprofit professionals, as well as educators, under the age of 40 that are doing outstanding work for their clients/companies and for the PR industry as a whole. Individuals featured on the list will demonstrate innovative thinking, strong determination, and results that indicate a long and successful career in the PR industry. Those individuals profiled on last year’s list are not eligible for inclusion in this year’s feature.

To nominate someone, please download the entry form here and e-mail to . Individuals nominated must be under the age of 40 as of 12/8/08. Entry forms must not exceed two pages. Please contact Erica Iacono at [email protected] with any questions. All nominations must be received by 5pm EST on September 15.

If the PR industry needed any further proof that developing digital capabilities is essential to its future, the results of this year’s PRWeek/MS&L Marketing Management Survey make a loud and clear argument. Of those surveyed, more than 75% expect their companies to increase budgets for digital/online initiatives, and digital/online is the last area of the marketing mix that they would cut if forced to because of economic conditions. The accompanying article offers examples of companies that have truly embraced this space, and the value they’ve found in doing so.

This year’s Global Special, published on June 30,  will focus on the Olympic Games in Beijing and all of the PR initiatives associated with them. We’ll be looking for all types of stories, from public affairs to sports to consumer PR. Please e-mail if you’re interested in being part of this special feature.

I’m planning an upcoming market focus on mobile for the May 19 issue. Now, while I understand that mobile marketing hasn’t taken off in the US as it has in Europe and Asia, I didn’t realize how true that was until I started researching to find PR campaigns that incorporate mobile. When I put a Profnet out asking for recent campaigns with a mobile components, 99% of the responses involved traveling exhibits. Seriously. And many firms are willing to discuss the work they do on behalf of mobile content providers, but have struggled to suggest actual campaigns that are using mobile tactics. So, if your firm is working on such campaigns, please feel free to email me at .

PRWeek’s Agency Business Report, featuring the agency rankings and profiles, will be published in the April 21st issue. The deadline for submissions is February 29. To download the rankings form, click here.