Brian Berkman launches PR-Net for peers

Explaining the move Brian Berkman says: "I found I was arranging the lion's share of events for the Forum anyway and after being irritated by the bureaucratic treasurer one too many times I decided to just do the whole thing myself."

Initially events will only be arranged in Cape Town but Berkman plans to expand to Gauteng later in 2004.

Talks will be held in Cape Town on the last Tuesday of every month with Conde Nast's Glamour editor Pnina Fenster as PR-Net's first guest on Tuesday, January 27 at 5pm. "Glamour launches in March so this is the perfect time for communicators to meet the team and understand the editorial and promotional opportunities it offers," says Berkman, adding, "PR-Net is being hosted by Pigalle Restaurant for this meeting which makes it a good time for venue scouts and event managers to explore Pigalle from a functions perspective."

There is no charge for membership, which is open to all professional communicators, and once contact details have been entered through Berkman's website, www.BrianBerkman.com, email alerts of meetings will be sent out. "My vision for PR-Net is to build a strong platform where skills can be shared, especially with people who are just entering our industry. We all suffer when people mess up and the industry gets tarnished with the 'incompetent' brush, I hope those of us who have something to share will do so," he says.

Cape Time's cartoonist Tony Grogan was again commissioned to create a corporate identity for PR-Net that would fit with the caricature initially created for Brian Berkman Publicity. Berkman has also included copies of his Restaurant Reviews for the Cape Times on his website, www.BrianBerkman.com.