Archive for July, 2010

TOW 9: Tips for New PR Bloggers

{ July 12, 2010 @ 11:13 pm } · { PRCA 3330, Topic of the Week }
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Coming into this class I didn’t really know much about blogging nor did I want to know anything about it. I have never been any good at keeping up with things such as journals and things like that so I knew that I was going to be bad at this. Blogging was something that was foreign to me and I didn’t think I would ever get the hang of it.

If I had the opportunity to give new PR students that are new to blogging I would tell them NOT TO DO IT!! Just kidding. I would definitely tell them to give it a shot because it is actually something that could help out in the long run. Some of the advice that I would give would be

  1. Make a Twitter and follow as many PR practitioners as you possibly can.

Professor Nixon’s Twitter Starter Pack was an amazing gift! There were a list of hundreds of PR practitioners for us to follow just to get started with Twitter. During the One Week of Twitter experience I learned so much about the PR world, blogging, and Twitter. Yes, Twitter is a great way to connect with friends but it also an amazing way to start your future in Public Relations. One girl in our PRCA3330 class got offered a job from one of the PR practitioners on Twitter. When you know how to use your Twitter it can be a great networking

  1. Read other peoples blogs as much as possible

Reading other peoples blogs is how you learn how to develop your own blog. Professor Nixon’s blog Public Relations Matters is a great blog to learn from. It doesn’t matter what type of blog you read as long as you’re reading them! It is a good idea to read a variety in order to expand your horizons also.

  1. Blog in short paragraphs

People’s attention spans are short and for some reason shorter paragraphs online are easier and more interesting to read.

  1. Keep it conversational

Nine times out of ten the people that read your blog have something in common with you and are already somewhat interested in what you have to say. If you write as if you’re writing to get into Princeton (using huge words you don’t understand and things of that nature) people will be bored by your blog and might take your tone the wrong. It may seem as if you are talking down to people.

  1. Stay on topic

Although it blogs are conversational it is important to stay on your topic and complete your thoughts.

  1. Keep up with your blog

I made the mistake of slacking off on my blog lately and it’s a terrible thing to try and play catch up with. It is a good idea to try and get into good habits from the beginning and stick with them.

  1. Comment on other blogs

The only way that you will gain interest in your own blog is if you comment on others. Usually when you comment on other peoples blogs you have the option to insert a link to your own blog.

  1. Be careful what you say in your comments

Along with #7 it is important to use tact when commenting on other peoples blogs. People appreciate honesty but there is a thin line between honesty and being just plane rude. Learn the difference and adjust accordingly

  1. Blog about things that matter

Use your blog to write things of substance. People usually don’t care that you woke up and did 300 sit ups in the morning unless you add some substance to your post. If you woke up and did some exercise because you read in one of you magazines that increases blood flow in looks is more important. See the difference?

  1. Have fun with your blog

Don’t look at your blog as a drudging task that you have to do. Look at it as an opportunity to learn more about your field of work and how it all works. Enjoy your blog, embrace your blog!

Is ALL Publicity GOOD Publicity?

{ July 12, 2010 @ 9:41 pm } · { PR Connections, PRCA 3330 }
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The buzz around the news media world this month is the big news of Lindsay Lohan. Yes ladies and gentlemen Lindsay is supposedly going to jail!

E! News did a story on her last day and court and Lindsay Lohan looked terrible. She looked like she was strung out and the new discovery is the message on the her middle finger nail. It simply reads “f*c* you” on both of her middle fingers.

People are trying to read into this as gesture as much as possible. I’m starting to believe that Lindsay is just giving the media something to talk about. She’s acting out against all of her morals and values just to get some attention. I believe that she is going the absolute wrong route.

If Lindsay Lohan doesn’t get her act together quick she will be just another name that nobody remembers. I am not a up and coming PR practitioner that believes that all publicity is good publicity. I believe that there is a such thing as bad publicity and Lindsay Lohan is giving out the best example right now.

The first time Lindsay was caught doing inappropriate things it did get her some attention that she needed but now people are just getting disgusted with her actions. Audiences will only put up with someone doing terrible things for so long before they decide to write someone off.

Lindsay and her PR team better get it together before they all find themselves out of a job. It is not cute to go to jail and it doesn’t gain anyone more friends. The bad girl image has gone entirely too far and it needs to stop NOW!

Chapter 8 Notes

{ July 12, 2010 @ 8:41 pm } · { PRCA 3330, Reading Notes }
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Notes taken from:Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques

The Importance of Publicity Photos

Photographs and graphics are important components of news releases and feature stories. They add interest and variety, and they often explain things better than words alone.

Components of a Good Photo

1. Technical Quality

2. Subject Matter

3. Composition

4. Action

5. Scale

6. Camera Angle

7. Lighting and Timing

8. Color

Working with Photographers

1. Finding Photographers

You should have a file of photographers, noting their fees and particular expertise.

2. Contracts

a.  Any agreement with a photographer should be in writing. A written document helps you to avoid misunderstandings about fees, cost of materials, and copyright ownership of the images.

b. A Contract should cover:

1. What is the photographer’s profession fee for taking pictures

2. How many out-of-pocket expenses

3. What will be delivered upon completion of the assignment

4. Who will supervise the photographer

5. Who will retain the images?

6. Nature of use

7. Photographers

3. The Photo Session

You will save time and money with regard to the photo session if you plan ahead

4. Cropping and Retouching

a. The two primary techniques for editing photos are cropping and retouching.

b. Cropping is editing the photo by cutting off parts of the picture that you don’t want

c. Retouching is done to alter the actual content of the photo.

Writing Photo Captions

Caption: A brief text under the photo that tells the reader about the picture and its source

5. Ethical Considerations

Chapter 7 Notes

{ July 12, 2010 @ 7:57 pm } · { PRCA 3330, Reading Notes }
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Notes taken from:Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques

Planning a News Feature

1. Conceptualize how something lends itself to feature treatment

2. Determine if the information would be interesting to and useful for a particular audience

3. Be sure that the feature helps achieve organizational objectives

Types of Features

1. Case Study

2. Application Story

3. Research Study

4. Backgrounder

5. Personality Profile

6. Historical Piece

Parts of a Feature

1. The Headline

2. The Lead

3. The Body

4. The Summary

5. Photos and Graphics

Placement Opportunities

1. Newspapers

The primary use of features generated by public relations personnel is in the special sections of daily newspapers

2. General Magazines

Usually have their own staffs and regular freelancers who write features, but they do rely on public relations sources for ideas and information

3. Specialty/Trade Magazines

1. 2 Types of magazines:

1. Ones that serve particular interest and hobby groups

2. publications that serve a particular industry

4. Internal Publications

Chapter 6 Notes

{ July 12, 2010 @ 6:22 pm } · { PRCA 3330, Reading Notes }
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Notes taken from:Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques

Fact Sheets

1. A list of facts in outline or bullet form that a reporter can use as a quick reference when writing a story.

2. Often accompanies a news release or a media kit

3. May form the basis of a whole story for a reporter, or the reporter might use just one or two of the facts provided to supplement the information in the news release

Media Advisories

1. They tell assignment editors about upcoming events that they might be interested in covering from a story, photo, and video perspective

2. The most common format uses format uses short, bulleted items rather than long paragraphs.

Media Kits

1. Usually prepared for major event s and new product launches

2. Purpose is to give editors and reporters a variety of information and resources that will make it easier for the reporter to write about the topic

3. A basic media kit may include:

1. A main news release

2. A news feature

3. A fact sheet

4. BAckground information

5. Photos and drawings with captions

6. Biographical material on the spokesperson or senior executive

7. Some basic brochures

Electronic Media Kit

1. Advantages

1. More versatile than traditional printed media kits, because they can include multiple pieces of information in a variety of formats

2. It expands the potential audience. It has the potential of reaching a wider audience of consumers, bloggers, online forums, and other websitesvia social media tags and RSS feeds.

The Pitch

‘1. The purpose of a pitch letter is to convince editors and reporters to cover an even or do a story.

2. Pitches to editors must:

-be brief, raise interest, and come immediately to the point

3. Pitch letters a re customized to each editor based on the publication’s content, demographics, and circulation.

4. E-mail pitches must have succinct creative subject lines.


BET Awards 2010

{ July 12, 2010 @ 2:15 am } · { PR Connections, PRCA 3330 }
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I am very late about posting this but, I just watched the BET Awards tonight and I believe that I MUST speak on one performance in particular: Chris Brown’s tribute to Michael Jackson.

For those of you that do not know 18 months ago Chris Brown beat up his ex girlfriend, hip hop sensation, Rhianna on their way to an awards show. The news went wild with this story painting Brown as a monster woman beater. Once pictures of Rhianna’s badly bruised face hit the media Chris Brown’s fans and supporters started dropping like flies. He lost his endorsement deals and other music moguls such as rapper Jay-Z and Kanye West refused to work with him ever again. Needless to say this incident seemed to have killed Chris Brown’s career.

On June 27 loyal Chris Brown fans were pleasantly surprised that his fall from grace was very short lived as Brown lead the one year tribute to the King of Pop Michael Jackson. The performance was EPIC! No one was expecting what BET had in store for us that night! Even more shockingly Chris Brown started to break down in sobbing tears in the middle of his performance.

The question of the month from critics all around is “Were the tears genuine or was it a publicity stunt?” Well I’ll tell you this much, if it was a publicity stunt, IT WORKED! I do not believe it was a publicity stunt. Chris Brown has expressed his love and adoration for The King of Pop way before his incident with Rhianna and I believe his emotions were 110 percent genuine. Did it work out well for his image? Yes. But I personally believe that that was just an added bonus for Chris Brown’s PR practitioner.

Chris Brown also won the Viewers Choice Award that night and I believe it was well deserved. It is time for the Hip Hop world to move on with life and forgive and forget. There is no doubt that what happened in the past was wrong and very upsetting but that does not change the fact that Chris Brown is a phenomenal artist. Everyone deserves a chance to make things right and I believe it is about time the media give Chris Brown a break! Lastly, KUDOS to Chris Brown’s PR practitioner if that was a publicity stunt because it was beyond believable!

Fundamentals of Multimedia

{ July 12, 2010 @ 1:55 am } · { PR Connections, PRCA 3330 }
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For Term B of summer school I registered for Fundamentals of Multimedia (Jour 3631). Just like any other Public Relations students close to the end of there college career I was looking for something new and exciting to take that would help with my major but also be outside of the everyday PR classes that I am used to taking. Not once did I even think about the prefix for this class which CLEARLY states that this is a JOURNALISM class!

When I got to class the first day and Professor Boyter passed out the syllabus and told us that we would be multi skilled journalist red flags just went off in my head! “Not another journalism class!” is what I was thinking. At that point I wanted to run out of the class and never return. I am a PR major and I’m sick of writing news articles. My job is to write press releases and media releases, NOT journal articles.

It took me about two days to realize that my Fundamentals of Multimedia and my PR Writing classes go hand-n-hand and both have been wonderful classes for me to take. In Jour3631 I actually had to create a news website using Google Sites and it is just like creating an SMNR! The site that I created The Make-Up Artist Corner incorporated APA Format, hyperlinks, tags, and tons of other things that are discussed in my PR Writing class.

I am amazed at how much I have learned with these two classes and how much they overlap. Both classes stress APA format which has helped me enhance my writing skills. It is interesting to see how far the media has come in such a short period of time. The things that Public Relations practitioners and journalists can accomplish are amazing. Technology is opening all types of doors for creativity in the news world and creating more opportunities for college students to have a job.

Through these two classes I have realized my passion for my PR major and I am excited to go out into the real world and start applying my techniques. It is exciting to learn something new and be inspired everyday and that is exactly what these two classes have done for me!

Final Project- SMNR

{ July 8, 2010 @ 10:10 pm } · { PRCA 3330 }
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What is a Social Media News Release?

Like any other computer savvy college student of today’s generation, when first approached with this question I went straight to Google. I have been here at Georgia Southern University for three long years and when asked this question at the beginning of this term I was unable to answer.

One site that was pointed out to me through a friend and Google was realwire. Realwire has many different videos that explain what an SNMR is and its importance in the world of Public Relations.

After spending nine fast paced weeks in my PR Writing class I now understand what a Social Media News Release (SMNR) is and can explain it in my own words:

A Social Media News Release, also known as a Smart Media Release, is a tool used by PR Practitioners to distribute news releases throughout the internet.

Advantages of SMNR’s

There are certain things that Social Media News Releases accomplish that a regular printed news release cannot.

By posting a news release via internet a practitioner is allowing the story to reach a much wider audience than just a single printed news release.

One news release that is put on the internet can be circulated through many sources, such as bloggers, journalists, consumers, and publishers, by a simple click of a few buttons.  A Media News Release is a faster way to get news out to the public.

Another aspect that I witness on a regular basis is that a Social Media News Release has the advantage of being more creative. There are more tools that can be utilized to make a SMNR than in a regular print news release. A practitioner can use images, color, video interviews, sound bites, and many other things that enhance a news release and makes readers want to dig into a story.

Disadvantages of SMNR’s

The biggest disadvantage that is associated with a SMNR is that not everyone has access to the internet. As crazy as it may seem to people of my generation, there are still some people that do not have access to the internet or do not use the internet on a regular basis. By creating a SMNR practitioners are running the risk of missing out on some important consumers that do not necessarily know how to navigate with the modern technology that is the internet.

When should SMNR’s be used?

SMNR’s should be used whenever there is announcement that needs to be made, and needs to be made QUICK. The best thing about a SMNR is that as soon as something is updated it is put out for the entire (internet) world to see. SMNR is the epitome of FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. If the client would like to keep an announcement quiet for a while then SMNR’s are definitely not the way to go.

It should also be used when a client wants to be more creative and exciting with the news that they are presenting to the public. SMNR’s are flashier than a regular news release and tend to grab attention easier than a regular release.

Getting Started with a SMNR

Two websites that will help any practitioner that is interested in creating an SMNR are: PitchEngine and PRXbuilder. On my Professors blog Public Relations Matters PitchEngine and PRXbuilder are the two websites that she suggested for us to get started with our own SMNR’s. Although I opted not to do that particular assignment I did explore through the two websites just to see how helpful they were in getting started.  I was surprised to find that both were very easy to navigate through and understand.

For someone like me who has never created a Social Media News Release these two websites made it seem very simple. They took me through step by step exactly how to create my release. Both are very helpful and I would suggest them to anyone who is first starting off with SMNR’s

Another website that could help you get started with the writing aspect of SMNR and not necessarily the creation of the page is News U. This website has a wide variety of courses that is useful for journalists and PR practitioners alike but one course in particular, Five Steps to Multimedia Storytelling, is very helpful in giving tips and ideas on how to write a successful SMNR.

Tips for a Successful SMNR

  1. Like in all news releases make sure to write in a conversational tone
  2. Use a catchy headline that will be easy to find through a search engine
    1. Remember that people don’t usually go straight to a story they search key words in a search engine
  3. Use pictures and audio/visual to draw the audience into the story and make the story more lively
  4. Make sure the font on the SMNR is easy to read and understand
  5. Bold face certain words for “scanability”
    1. People that frequent the internet tend to scan instead of reading. By using bold face it gives the reader an idea about what is being said without forcing them to read the entire article.
  6. Use strong quotes from the client that will get the reader interested in what is being said.
  7. Be creative!

TOW 7

{ July 7, 2010 @ 2:11 pm } · { PRCA 3330, Topic of the Week }
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While doing the Five Steps to Multimedia there were many things that I learned, but there was also a lot of things that I have already known because I am taking a multimedia class for B Term.

1. When choosing a story you must look at it from all angles. Most print journalists come into a breaking story with a pen and a piece of paper and sometimes a tape recorder.

When you are a multimedia journalists it is important to come with a camera, a vide camera, and a pen and paper. Multimedia journalists usually put their stories online and with the different elements that come with the camera/video camera make the stories more readable and interesting.

2. I found that editing for the web is very important because usally people don’t stop to read an entire site they scan it.

Readers will scan a web story in order to find the important facts and move on. Pictures and video always help make the story fast and easy to read. They also catch the attention of the reader and get them interested in reading more.

3. One thing that I would like to know more about is the storyboard. I have never had to put together a storyboard in the past three years here at Georgia Southern.

I have taken plenty of journalism classes and we always go over what a storyboard is and what they’re used for but we never actually create one. I think creating a storyboard would help a lot with my writing and creativity.