Topic of the Week 8

Public Relations and the media have a relationship that is based on mutual cooperation. Although PR people can sometimes drive journalists crazy. Ways that a PR person can drive a journalist crazy includes:

• excessive hype
• not doing the necessary homework
• making a nuisance of themselves.
• improper advertising
• over communication
• hyperbole
• use of artificiality and manipulation
• damaging the fragile
• spam
• not meeting deadlines

PR people tend to send too many emails, faxes or call too many times. so avoiding doing this would reduce the aggravation for journalists. It is important for a PR person not too make too many follow up phone calls.

In journalism, time is everything and there is no such thing as late. So naturally journalists get angry when PR people do not meet deadlines. It would be best if the PR person met the deadlines that journalist set for them.

It is important for journalists to be careful when selecting e-mails and and “trinkets” to send to journalists. Journalists find these to be tasteless and trashy. PR people often times send gimmicks in hope that it helps separate their media kits and releases from the pack, journalists find these to be a waste of time.

The over-usage of hype and promotion have caused journalists to openly insult PR as nothing but deception. Here journalists use the term “flack.” Such name calling implies lack of respect among journalists and PR people.

Some of these ways are discussed in public Relations Writing And Media Techniques.

Add a comment July 8, 2010

Topic of the Week 7

For our topic of the week for week seven we were to complete a course called Five Steps to Multimedia Storytelling. The first step of the course focused on choosing a story. Here I learned that the best multimedia stories are multi-dimensional. I learned that multimedia stories are nonlinear, which means you engage readers by by letting them choose which elements to read and when to read them.

When choosing a story it is important to keep the main characteristics in mind. Since middle school I have always been taught to develop my paper by breaking it up by paragraphs, but here they advise you not to do so which I found surprising. They said to focus more on “this part” and “that thought.”

The next step in this course was making a storyboard. Here I learned that creating a story board involves three parts. The first part is defining the elements. The second part is identifying the media. the third part is storyboard the concept. I wish they had gone into more detail about this step, I would have liked to learn more about each part.

I found step three to be the most helpful. We had activity that we had to complete and it involved choosing the right equipment for a backpack journalist. I found it surprising, how many tools they needed in case of an emergency on set.

The final step was producing the story. I learned that both print reporters and and multimedia reporters organize and shape they’re stories the same way. I found it surprising that they use different tools to decide which elements to choose for the story. Here the web designer for your site will serve as your editor.

Overall, I found this course to be helpful. I liked the activity that they offered it gave me a better idea of what making a story implied. However this course took me longer than the other courses have taken. I still enjoyed it.

http://www.newsu.org/node/338

Add a comment July 8, 2010

Topic of the Week 6

Add a comment July 8, 2010

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 discusses Writing E-mail, Memos, and Proposals. I  learned that public relations personnel spend a large percentage of their working day engaging in interpersonal communications. I found it surprising that it takes a lot of time to just read all the messages that inundate us, considering all the technology that public relations professionals have access to.

It is important to follow the guidelines when writing e-mails, memos, and proposals that are set, which include:

• completeness
• conciseness
• correctness
• courtesy
• responsibility

I learned that a memorandum also known as a memo, is a brief written message, they are usually a page or less in length. When writing memorandums it is important to have a purpose, and it be specific and to the point. The first paragraph of a memo should contain the key message that would be most of interest to the reader.

I learned that as a public relations professional you will write two kinds of letters, a personal letter and a less personal letter. Letters are commonly used to give information, ask for information, to motivate, and many others. the most important  part of any letter is the first paragraph . It should state exactly what the purpose is that the writer is trying to get across.

Proposals are commonly used to provide information on offering services to an organization. An informal proposal consists of  four components, they include:

• introduction
• body
• conclusion
• transmittal
• table of contents
• tables and exhibits
• summary
• introduction
• body
• recommendation
• exhibits and bibliography

I found it surprising that public relations writers, often, author position papers for organizations.  Some tips for writing a position paper inclide:

• on a cover page, use a title that tells exactly what the paper is about
• use simple graphs, bar charts, and pie charts to present key messages
• avoid overt marketing and promotion for the organization’s services or products

I wish the book would have provided more examples of proposals that i could see.

Add a comment July 8, 2010

Chapter’s 11 & 12

This information is based upon my reading from “Public relations Writing And Media Techniques,” 6th ed. by Dennis L. Wilcox.

Chapter 11 discussed Getting Along with Journalists. In this chapter I learned that media relations is the core activity in many public relations jobs. I found it surprising that public relations professionals and journalists have long had a love- hate relationship.

The relationship between public relations and the media is based on mutual cooperation, trust, and respect. Areas of friction between them include:

• hype and news release spam
• name calling
• sloppy/biased reporting
• tabloid journalism
• advertising influence

I learned that media etiquette is crucial to public relations professionals. Failure to follow media etiquette often leads to poor media relations. They include:

• Irritating phone calls
• inappropriate requests
• lunch dates
• gift giving

Chapter 12 discusses Tapping the Web and New Media. I was surprised how big of an impact the internet has on our lives. The World Wide Web has traditionally had the following characteristics:

• it is centralized, having a top down hierarchy
• it costs a lot of money to become a publisher
• it is staffed by professional gatekeepers known as editors and publishers
• it features mostly one-way communication with limited feedback channels

Some advantages of the world wide web include the ability to update information quickly, it allows interactivity, inline readers can dig deeper into subjects that interest  them by linking to information provided on other sites, other articles, and sources.

There are some important tips that a public relations professional must follow when writing for the web. These tips include:

• write the way you talk
• limit each page to a single concept
• use a lot of bullet- point lists
• make sure each page provides the context readers need
• limit the use of italics and boldface
• don’t overuse hyperlinks within narrative text
• make sure your hyperlinks are relevant
• provide feedback options for readers

I found it surprising that the world wide web acquires a unique characteristic that traditional media does not, it is interactivity between the sender and the receiver.

Add a comment July 8, 2010

Chapter’s 9 & 10

This information is based upon my reading from “Public relations Writing And Media Techniques,” 6th ed. by Dennis L. Wilcox.

Chapter 9 discussed Writing for Radio and Television. In this chapter I learned that radio and television offer many opportunities for the public relations writer who wants to reach both mass and specialized audiences effectively. I found it surprising to learn that radio reaches about 94 percent of adults over the age of 18 on a daily basis, with an estimated audience of 225 million.

Unlike traditional news releases, radio news releases are based on sound and every radio release must be written so that it can be easily read by an announcer and clearly understood by a listener. Some tips for creating a radio news release include:

• Topicality
• Timeliness
• Localization
• Humanization
• Visual Appeal

I learned that public service announcements are defined as an unpaid announcement that promotes the programs of government of nonprofit agencies or that serves the public interest. I found it surprising that profit-making organizations do not qualify for “free” PSA’s despite the “public service”nature of their messages.

Chapter 10 discussed Distributing News to the Media. In this chapter I learned that media databases usually provide such information as:

• names of publications and broadcast stations
• mailing addresses
• telephone and fax numbers
• e-mail addresses
• names of key editors and reporters

Tip sheets are another good way to find media personnel who might have an interest in your material. I found it surprising to learn that tip sheets increase the odds of getting a media placement for a public relations professional.

There are several different ways that materials are distributed which include;

• e-mail
• online newsrooms
• electronic newswires
• mat distribution companies
• photo placement firms

I found it surprising that there are firms that specialize in strictly the distribution of publicity photos and captions. I also found it surprising that although the internet is widely used snail mail is still popular among public relations professionals. I would have liked to learn more about photo placement firms, since I have an interest in photography.

Add a comment July 8, 2010