T.O.W #9 July 7, 2010

Seeing as I am new to blogging with this being my first time in this class, I feel that I have very helpful tips for first time bloggers.

1. Make your blog your own.

• This is because when people see your blog you want it to say something about yourself. Whether it is from the layout or just the quotes let it be all about you.

2. ALWAYS proofread

• You never know who could be looking at your blog. It could be a future employer or just a friend. You never know so you should always spell and use correct grammar. DO NOT use texting slang or anything like that.

3. Post regularly

• If you do not do this you will most likely stop and not keep posting. I found this difficult throughout this class because I would put things off and then be out of time.

4. Always but your OWN spin on things

• When you post blogs always make the post in your own words.

5. Don’t rush the growth of your blog.

• Your blog will eventually grow but you cannot rush it because then it might become messy and disorganized.

6. ALWAYS put pictures

• This livens your blogging up because even if it is just a little cartoon sketch it makes people more interested in reading the post if it has artwork with it.

7. ALWAYS give credit

• If you post a video on your page always make sure you give credit to the original source.

8. Make sure the topics you are writing about are SOMEWHAT interesting.

• This is because if you are not writing about interesting things why would anyone want to read your blog. It’s just like a newspaper if the article is not interesting people are not going to read it.

9. Be to the POINT

• If you are not interesting in the beginning of your blog readers are going to move on. This is just like when editors read press releases if the first 30 words are not interesting they are going to move on and not publish it.

10. HAVE FUN

• This is one of the best and easiest tips. Your blogging experience should be fun. You should want to do this. Don’t do it just because your friends are doing it. Do it for you.

PR Connections #1 July 7, 2010

I just watched the WKRP Turkeys Away Episode for our wrapping up exercise of PRCA 2330. This episode showed you everything NOT to do in when planning an event. Yet the actual event was well-planned it was not logically planned. This is because for one Mr. Carlson did not let anyone know what was going on. This is definitely a no-no when planning an event your team should always be in on the event at hand.

Also this plan was not well-thought out, this is because obviously it was not a good idea to launch live turkeys out of a helicopter. Many people could of been hurt and it is not humane, which you could see because the Humane Society called the station to complain about it.

This exercise has definitely showed me what not to do when I get out into the real world and get to start planning events.

T.O.W #8 July 5, 2010

I began to look around for my top ten list of tips for writing a news release and I found so many it was hard to choose, yet a lot overlapped though. I broke it down to choosing some from my PR book Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics and 10 Essential Tips for Writing Press Releases from press-release-writing.com

1. Provide as much Contact information as possible: Individual to Contact, address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.

• This is the most IMPORTANT tip of them all. This is because you want them to have your information if they have questions.

2. Make sure the information is newsworthy.

• You want the news release to contain information that people want to know about.

3. Critique your writing by asking yourself, “Who cares?” Why should readers be interested in this information?

• This is also a very important one because if no one is going to care about this story then there is no reason to write a news release about it or try to get it published.

4. Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are the most important.

• If the first 10 words of a story do not stand out the editor will throw away the release because there would be no point in reading it.

5. Avoid excessive use of adjectives and fancy language.

• There is no need to add fluff to your story if it is a newsworthy story.

6. Don’t use generic words such as “the leading provider” or “world-class” to position your company.

• Be specific, such as “with annual revenues of.”

7. Make sure you wait until you have something with enough substance to issue a release.

• You never want to submit something that is not done.

8. Don’t use lame quotes.

• Write like someone is actually talking- eliminate the corporatese that editors love to ignore. Speak with pizzazz to increase your chances of being published.

9. Deal with the facts.

10. Don’t throw everything into a release. Better to break your news into several releases if material is lengthy.

I hope these 10 tips help you if you ever write a news release. If you do decide to write one I would definitely check out the links I posted on here and check out the full detail list of the tips from each source.

Chapter 15 July 5, 2010

My notes from chapter 15 are from the book, Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics. This chapter was all about media related sources like radio, television, and the web in how to get  news releases and other material out for the public to learn.

Helpful tips on getting an audio news release out to the public are:

1. Topicality
2. Timelines
3. Localization
4. Humanization
5. Visual appeal

Different ways to get your news on the television are:

1. Send the same news release that the local print media receive
2. Media alert or advisory informing the assignment editor about a particular event or occasion that would lend itself to video coverage
3. Phone or email the assignment editor and make a pitch to have the station do a particular story
4. Produce a video news release package that is formatted for immediate use with a minimum of effort by station personnel.

I still feel as though the internet is the best way to get your information out there.

T.O.W #6 June 23, 2010

After looking over the  Public Relations During Times Of Crisis slideshow, I feel like I would be fully prepared to deal with a crisis once I get into the work field.

First off, a crisis is a “a nonroutine even that risks undesired visibility that in turn threatens significant reputational damage,” according to the slide show.

There are four different types of crisis:

• Meteor
• Predator
• Breakdown
• Lingering

Sparks of a crisis include:

• Environmental
• Technological
• Terroristic
• Criminal Misconduct
• Managerial
• Accidental

Now for people to be prepared for a crisis, they usually make a crisis communication kit which includes the following:

1. A list of the members of the crisis management team
2. Contact information for key officers, spokespersons, and crisis management team members
3. Fact sheets on the company, each division each physical location, and each product offered.
4. Profiles and biographies for each key manage in your company.
5. Copies of you company, division and product logos, your press release format and the scanned in signature of you CEO on disk.
6. Pre-written scripts answering key questions that you have generated through your crisis scenario analysis.
7. Contact information for each of your key media contacts both locally, nationally, and if appropriate, key financial press and analysts.

The 3 R’s of crisis communication are:

• Research
  • Relationship building
  • Environmental scan
  • Emergency personnel
    • Spokesperson (1-2)
    • Phone team
    • Research and writer
    • Business continuity
    • Decision maker
    • Legal counsel, if applicable.
• Notification procedures
  • Emergency personnel team
  • Board of directors
  • Employees
  • Members
  • Other stakeholders
• Communication procedures
  • Platform
  • Priority
  • policy
• Practice
• Response
  • Emergency notification
  • Gathering information
  • Releasing information
  • Stage of crisis
    • 4 stages of crisis
      • Heroic
      • Honeymoon
      • Disillusionment
      • Reconstruction
      • Recovery
        • Follow up
        • Proactive storytelling
        • Solidify relationships
        • Adjust plan

I have learned a lot from this slideshow and how to help deal with a crisis.

Chapter 14 June 16, 2010

These are my chapter 14 notes from Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics

Press Releases (News Releases):

• Ivy Lee is known as the Father of News Releases
• story that you write with hopes of having it published in a mass media channel (i.e. TV, internet, newspapers, radio)
• Should be written in inverted pyramid style

Inverted Pyramid:

• start with 5 w’s and 1 h (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?)
• story formatted like this:

Guidelines for news release:
1. double-check ALL information
2. eliminate boldface and capital letters
3. include organization background
4. localize whenever possible

Never send an internet news release as an e-mail attachment! (journalists very rarely open attachments, because it could be a virus)

Fact Sheets:

• usually 1-2 pages
• “cliff’s note” version of your organization
• 8 things the fact sheet may provide:

1. organization’s full name
2. products/services offered
3. annual revenue
4. number of employees
5. names and bios of top executives
6. markets served
7. position in the industry
8. any other pertinent details

Media Kits (press kits):

• prepared for major events or new product launches
• more than just a story and facts
• will include:

1. main news release
2. news feature about the development of the product/something similar
3. fact sheets on product, organization, or event
4. background info
5. photos/drawings (with captions)
6. bio material on spokesperson
7. basic brochures

Pitches:

• PR people use pitches to convince a journalist that their story is something their readers want! (impossible to do over e-mail or phone if they’ve never met the reporter before)

E-mail:

• Most surveys show that editors and reporters prefer to recieve pr materials via e-mail.
• Tips for e-mailing news releases and other materials:

1. don’t send HTML e-mails
2. don’t send attachments unless specifically requested to do so
3. use extended headlines at top of news release that give the key message or point
4. keep it short! reporters hate to scroll through multiple screens
5. use blind copy distribution!! (no reporter wants to know that they’re part of mass mailing..this lowers your chance of your story getting published!)
6. continually update e-mail addresses

Chapter 12 June 16, 2010

These notes came from chapter 12 in Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics. This chapter was about public relations and the law. I pretty much just took vocabulary from this chapter.

• Libel is a printed falsehood.
• Slander is an oral statement that is false.
• Defamation is the combination of libel and slander.
• Invasion of privacy is an area of law that particularly applies to employees of an organization. Public relation staff must be particularly sensitive to the issue of privacy in at least four areas:

1. Employee newsletters
2. Photo releases
3. Product publicity and advertising
4. Media inquiries about employees.

Chapter 11 June 16, 2010

Chapter 11 notes from Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics.

Generalizations made about audiences today:

• diversity is the most significant aspect of the mass audience in the United States
• the international audience for public relations has expanded swiftly
• technology can be used to segment the mass audience and compile related valuable information
• the public is increasingly visually oriented and seems to have a shorter attention span
• audiences are increasingly taking controls of information streams
• fervent support is generated for single issues
• heavy emphasis is placed on personality and celebrity
• strong distrust of authority and suspicion of conspiracy can arise from sensationalistic investigative reporting

Generation Y (born after 1980…this is where I roll!):

• it has been projected that Gen. Y will spend 23 years online, which will have some interesting impacts

Generation X (born 1965-1980…my parents are even to old for this one!)

• Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964…hi mom and dad!)

• they comprise a market of 76 million people (28% of US population)

* “Those wishing to be successful in the market can’t ignore the boomer numbers, the wealth, and the spending power they have” – Pat Conroy, vice chairman of consumer business practices for Deloitte and Touche accounting firm

Seniors (men and women 65 years or older, although the AARP include everyone that is over the age of 50…wow, huge difference)

• financially, they are better off than the stereotypes suggest
• the Census Bureau found that people ages 65 to 74 have more discretionary income than any other group (median assets = $108,885)

Hispanics:

• the average person listens to 26-30 hours of radio per week (13% more than the general population)

Asian Americans:

• Calif. is home to 70% of the US’s more than 650 Asian-American focused tv channels, radio stations, and newspapers. San Francisco’s population is 19.2% Asian

**PR professionals must be aware of emerging audiences and pay attention to them (catholic/evangelical groups, gay/lesbian community, disabled, and women)
Supermoms: (5.4% of mothers)

• have at least 75 friends with whom they keep in touch
• give their friends advice on what to buy and restaurants to try
• spend at least nine hours a week on the internet
• participate in online chats and discussion

Chapter 10 June 16, 2010

These notes are from chapter 10 in Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics. This chapter is all about crisis, conflicts, and how to deal with them.

The 3 major points of the chapter were

1. Issue Management

• How to identify and how to approach the issue.

2. Crisis Management

• This is more focused on the not good issues. An example would be a natural disaster.

3. Reputations Management

• This dealt with how the economic outcomes, social responsiveness, and efficiency all deal with how the reputation is.

Chapter 9 June 16, 2010

Here are my Chapter 9 notes from Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics.

Public Opinion = the sum of individual opinions on an issue affecting those individuals; a collection of views held by persons interested in the subject.

Opinion Leaders: (as described by sociologists)

1. highly interested in a subject or issue
2. better informed on an issue than the average person
3. avid consumers of mass media
4. early adopters of new ideas
5. good organizers who can get other people to take action

Persuasion is used for:
1. change or neutralize hostile opinions
2. crystallize latent opinions and positive attitudes
3. conserve favorable opinions

Persuasive Communication = the PR practitioner should be knowledgable about audience analysis, source credibility, appeal to self-interest, clarity of message, timing and context, audience participation, suggestions for action, content and structure of messages, and persuasive speaking.

Appeal to Self-Interest:
1. power
2. respect
3. well-being
4. affection
5. wealth
6. skill
7. enlightenment
8. physical and mental vitality

Propoganda – the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.

“What people in PR have to understand is not only do you have the facts on your side, you have to know how to communicate them.” – Peter Pitts, senior vice president of Manning, Selvage, and Lee