by Jamie Brian and Gabrielle Gentile Kent State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication hosted an open forum on Sept. 10 to recognize the 13th anniversary of 9/11 and discuss the effects of terrorism on American society. The panel discussion “Terrorism and the Media” featured JMC faculty members Jan Leach, Stephanie Danes Smith and Wendy Wardell relating their views on terrorism from experiences in their respective fields. The panel examined the moral and ethical impact of terrorism on public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media. JMC Director Thor Wasbotten encouraged students to participate in the discussion. “Your first media memory was a terrorist attack that led to a lot of other things happening throughout this country and the world. It’s been a part of your life for as long as you can remember,” Wasbotten said. “Terrorists will exploit whatever tactic that gains the most media attention. This isn’t just a news issue. It affects you, too.” Wardell offered her view from an advertising perspective. She said advertising is all about the connection between people and brands and, more importantly, brands to consumers. Some may have been confused why advertising was present at a terrorism event. Wardell explained much of terrorism employs very sophisticated, strategic advertising. ISIS demonstrates this very complex marketing and advertising. ISIS' increasing strength caused growing concern among students and faculty. Former CIA senior executive Smith said ISIS’ messaging is extremely sophisticated and effective. “Terrorism today is more complicated, more widespread and, potentially, more dangerous than 9/11,” Smith said. “ISIS is not a terrorist organization; it is a terrorist army.” ISIS uses semantics and words that resonate strongly with its target demographics. ISIS recently declared the creation of the Islamic caliphate. Smith explained the word caliphate holds a very deep and spiritual meaning with Muslims. Smith said she has confidence the U.S. will be successful in destroying ISIS but posed a concerned whether or not the U.S. will ever be successful in destroying the ideology behind it. Leach added her own perspective on terrorism via her media ethics background. She explained pictures and videos can be very effective but can also be offensive. She said it is vital to examine the newsworthiness and ethics behind a picture and how to minimize harm as a reporter, journalist or consumer of media. Leach responded to a student who noted media in the states is very American-centric. She explained American media is in the business to make money. Americans want to buy and hear the media they want to hear. Wardell elaborated by explaining what Americans say they want to consume and what they actually want to consume are two very different things. Leach closed the conversation with a call for students to take the future of media into their own hands. “You are the future, and you can make a difference. I see in you, the opportunity to use other forms of media to sell the information,” Leach said. Students were very engaged and eager to share their thoughts during this discussion. The room was full of passionate young people ready and willing to take Leach’s call to action. The event had a great turnout and was a complete success for everyone involved. It is always a humbling and enchanting experience when faculty and students meet to collaborate on a prominent world issue. Wasbotten plans to host forums once a month to engage student and faculty perspectives. Next month’s conversation is entitled “Diversity Redefined.”
0 Comments
by Erin England First of all, I just want to recommend that every member of PRSSA Kent attend a regional conference. It was a valuable learning experience, and I hope to be able to attend again next year. That being said, I’ll tell you all about my day at the “insPiRation: Looking Ahead to the Future of Public Relations” regional conference hosted by the Ohio State University Chapter of PRSSA April 12. Meghan Caprez, PRSSA Kent web and content producer, and I started out at 6 a.m. and made it to OSU with time to spare, which was good because we got a little lost on the way to the parking garage. We went inside the student union, picked up our “swag bags” and breakfast and made some OSU PRSSA friends before the first keynote speaker. Dan Guitteau of GolinHarris, the first keynote speaker, was definitely my favorite. He spoke about the future of PR, and he brought up some very interesting case studies as examples of the innovative things that companies are doing to interact with their publics. From McDonald’s tweet to Al Roker to Ellen’s famous Samsung Oscars selfie, we learned all about the value of news jacking in public relations. Some other topics covered throughout the day were public relations entrepreneurship, brand journalism, word of mouth marketing and international PR, just to name a few. Overall, Ohio State PRSSA put on a great program and I am excited to see what next year’s regional conference brings! (Shout out to our new friends at OSU PRSSA, Capital University PRSSA and Ohio Northern University PRSSA!) by Cindy Deng
After a nauseating flight, I stepped off the plane, rushed to the shuttle exit, dropped my bags and took in a deep breath of the warm, tropical breeze. I had finally arrived in Charleston, North Carolina, for PRSSA National Assembly! National Assembly gives PRSSA members a chance to participate in leadership workshops, vote on National bylaws and elect the following year’s National Committee. From March 13-16, I attended National Assembly as a Kent State University delegate. This was my second trip to National Assembly as a PRSSA Kent member. This, specific, PRSSA National event is the reason why I’ve come to love PRSSA. But this year was different for me. I chose to run for Vice President of Chapter Development for the 2014-2015 National Committee. I chose to run for the position mainly because of my experience in helping grow and develop PRSSA Kent for the past three years as a member, officer and president. Candidates were not allowed to campaign for their candidacy, but are required to deliver a five-minute speech to more than 100 delegates from more than 300 Chapters across the nation, as well as to non-delegates and the 2013-14 National Committee. Was it scary? Absolutely! My knees were shaking and my palms were sweating the entire time! The not-so-fun part of being a delegate is that elections can run more than 10 hours, including a parliamentary motion for a FEW bathroom breaks and one lunch break. Breaks can only be motioned after each position has been filled. We motioned for bathroom breaks after every two position, which meant I only had about three bathroom breaks throughout the election process. If all you’ve been drinking the entire time is water and coffee, I guarantee you’re going to want to use the bathroom every hour. And to top it all off, social media is not allowed by anyone during the elections. We were deprived! I can almost guarantee #PRProbs was quickly trending at National Assembly after the elections were over. Unfortunately, I did not win the position. Paige Weber, Chapter president of Louisiana State University, was my running mate and won. Paige, Mallory Richardson (PRSSA National Publications Editor-in-Chief) and their LSU Chapter are excellent PRSSA examples and resources. In the short amount of time I’ve spent at National Assembly, they have become some of my closet PRSSA friends, and I’ve certainly learned a lot from them. Other than the elections, this year’s experience was no different from last year’s, but the content was new and refreshing. Guest and keynote speakers from this year’s assembly were Ben Brown and Jeff Tobler, representatives from the Warner Bros. Television (who also hosted the Day-Of Competition); Joe Clarkson, former PRSSA National Vice President of Internships and Job Services and Ohio Northern University alum; Fred Cook, CEO of GolinHarris International; and John Deveney, founder and president of Deveney Communications. One key message from Cook that I took away was “stop worrying so much and try new things…courage is built by experience.” Even as a public relations student and PRSSA leader, confidence doesn’t come naturally to me. I came into the public relations program blindly my freshman year. I knew I wanted to pursue a journalism degree, but wanted to do more than just reporting for the news. A part of me feared that if I didn’t choose a path outside of journalism, I would be missing out on other skills that I haven’t tried and may be actually good at. If Michele Ewing, PRSSA Kent adviser, hadn’t encouraged me to attend a PRSSA Kent meeting and participate in on activities, I would have likely become an undecided major. Since my second semester freshman year, I’ve been heavily involved and attended numerous PRSSA National events that have developed me into the young professional I am today. by Shannen Laur This time last year, I was nearing the end to one of the most valuable projects I have completed in my entire college career. It was PRSSA’s National Bateman Case Study Competition, and it was a whirlwind of a learning experience. Working with four other faculty-selected students, we researched, implemented and evaluated a real-world public relations campaign with the objective of spreading awareness about childhood bullying. Real-World PR This experience, which was less than three months long, was by far the most important learning experience I had in my up-and-coming PR career because I was actually able to implement real-world public relations tactics. Of course, everything I have learned in the classroom has been of the utmost importance to me, but I was able to take what I learned in the classroom and apply it to a real campaign. The Campaign The Bateman Competition taught me more than I had expected. Through three months of stress, late nights and team bonding, the Kent State Blue Team successfully completed its case book and campaign, which my teammates and I named Bullies 2 Buddies. In January, we spent hours researching, followed by a month of implementation in February. During February, we partnered with the local middle school in Kent, Stanton Middle School, and actually got to work with seventh graders to implement our tactics. To wrap up the campaign, we evaluated our work in March and submitted it to PRSSA for judging. Learning Experiences Although our team did not place in the competition, all of the learning experiences my teammates and I shared count as personal victories. We became more than just a team; we became friends who will always be able to reflect on our first real-world experience together. From a PR standpoint, what I learned is invaluable. I learned how critical research is to the success of a campaign. I had created case studies in classes previously but this was different. Without solid, thorough research, the campaign will not be a success. I also learned not only how interesting (and at times intimidating) it is to work with middle schoolers, but also how much planning goes into creating tactics. Since the Bullies 2 Buddies campaign was actually implemented, we were able to see our tactics in action. We also had to learn to cope when they did not go exactly as planned, or what to do when a bunch of twelve-year-olds are not as cooperative as hoped. Overall, this was the one of the most rewarding experiences I have had the pleasure of participating in. My advice to future Bateman team members is to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was extremely stressful when we were in the process, but when we got to see the case book printed, it was finally time to take a deep breath and realize why it was all worth it. by Caitlin Potts
Publicist and business entrepreneur Nicole Garner knows a thing or two about managing a client in the limelight. She also understands the desires and mindsets of aspiring publicists. At the 2013 PRSSA National Conference, Garner was gracious enough to conduct a workshop titled F.A.M.E. (Fashion, Art, Music and Entertainment) PR. I was one of the many excited attendees who filled the room from wall to wall. Although transitioning from college to the F.A.M.E. industries can be a big leap, Garner said the fundamentals still apply. • Understand your audience. What are they saying? What are they demanding? • Continue to improve your writing skills through experience. • Release content that is relevant. Don’t just talk to say something to the public; have a purpose. While the fame can be a broad topic in the PR industry, Garner broke her presentation down by categories. Fashion PR The fashion industry has five main publishers: Conde Nast, Hachette Filipacchi Media, Hearst, Fairchild and Time Inc. The editors normally work on a three-month lead time - the time it takes to gather content - for their national fashion publications. Weekly or daily issues require two weeks to a month of lead time. PR professionals must be mindful of these deadlines when pitching to fashion publications. Arts PR Garner said that PR professionals need to find positive and creative ways to gain media attention for their arts clients. She offered these four tips for media relations and publicity:
Music PR Garner said that publicity professionals must make it easy for the media to have access to their client’s information. It’s up to you to tell the musician’s story and explain why it’s so important for the world to hear their music. The more compelling your story is, the greater the chance of media coverage. The music audience is huge on social media, and providing information for them is very important. Garner recommends creating and posting on your client’s official social media outlets the second something newsworthy happens. Additionally, Garner said that up-and-coming artists should blog to create buzz by featuring samples of new tracks, writing about upcoming concerts, providing incite on recording sessions and more. Entertainment PR In the entertainment portion of her presentation, Garner focused primarily on red carpet events. Photographers should be thought of first when planning a red carpet event, Garner said.She recommended that professionals create tip sheets for photographers attending red carpet events they help plan. These tip sheets include a photo of each celebrity in attendance, along with his or her latest or most notable credit. For more information about Nicole Garner and her book Are You In? Inc., follow her on Twitter @TheGarnerCircle and visit her website, AreYouInInc.com. |
Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|