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Public Relations: Final Project and Thesis Mastery Journal Entry

This last month of Full Sail University’s Public Relations Master of Arts degree was primarily focused on getting my thesis ready for submission. This involved reviewing much of the content I had written and created from previous classes and compiling it into the template provided. It was very gratifying to look back on the previous 12 months and reflect on all I had learned and accomplished. Although I knew from the start it would go fast – a year these days seems a mere blip – it is still hard to fathom that it is in fact over and this is the last assignment I will need to complete.

The first two weeks were dedicated to developing our Capstone Project Thesis papers, receiving feedback from our classmates as well as our instructor. In week three we delved into some theories behind communications and how these tie into public relations. Although I would venture the program in general emphasized a more hands-on approach than a traditional academic model that utilizes textbooks, especially once our capstone client projects were underway, I think covering some of the theoretical frameworks behind our subject matter was important. Since public relations is essentially about delivering well-crafted messages designed to achieve a particular effect, having a modicum of familiarity with how this happens within various contexts will only make me a better public relations professional.

I also believe many of the theories we reviewed this month in our lessons, such as the Agenda-Setting Theory, Framing and Priming, and Uses and Gratifications Theory, all have a special resonance in today’s hyper-connected-through-social-media world. In fact, many of these theories can probably take on new meanings as a result of the proliferation of social media. An example would be applying Marshall McLuhan’s famous slogan “the medium is the message” to social media. If one thinks about it, each of the main social media channels in a way dictates how messages are transmitted and received by virtue of how they were designed (David, 2016).

This fourth and final week had us reviewing some key concepts pertaining to optimizing our web site, including search engine optimization (“SEO”), a subject so dense I would not be surprised if an entire degree program could be devised around it. Although possibly not the most “fun” aspect of public relations, it is nevertheless a very important way of helping a message get heard amongst the perpetual din, if not pablum, that seems to have become an inherent part of the internet and social media. It is one of the many hats public relations professionals need to wear if they wish to be at the forefront of their trade.

Being in school again, after a very long respite, brought with it many concerns and fears and it pushed me out of my comfort zone on several occasions. But I can look back now and say I am glad I did it and it was worth enduring the growing pains. Although this is it as far as this degree is concerned, I know it is just the beginning of a potentially exciting career in a fascinating field I am sure will keep evolving. I look forward to being a part of it and I am grateful to Full Sail for offering a degree in public relations. I am also grateful to all my terrific instructors, who were there for us from day one and were incredible resources. All in all, this was an amazing experience!

References:

David, T. (2016, July 6) How ‘The Medium is the Message’ With Social Media. Venture Accelerator Partners. Retrieved from https://www.vapartners.ca/the-medium-is-the-message/

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The Online Media Room Mastery Journal Assignment

I found the Online Media Room class to be an excellent opportunity to start putting into practice many of the concepts I have been learning up to this point in my Full Sail University Public Relations Master’s degree. Gathering and curating various media elements I had created thus far in the program and presenting them in my capstone project website’s “Media Newsroom” felt validating; it was nice to see many of the assignments and projects I had completed throughout the course of the degree come together in an organized and holistic way.

The themes of each week’s lessons, Week 1’s Online Media Room Best Practices, Week 2’s Inbound/Content Marketing, Week 3’s Content Strategy, and Week 4’s Content Aggregation Through Using Digital Storytelling Platforms all combined theory and practice in such a way to help me, again, realize the culmination of so much of the work I have done thus far on this journey, (which I find hard to believe is almost over!). Comparing and contrasting the online media rooms of major brands per Week 1’s Discussion was a great exercise in understanding how effective top companies can be in conveying their mission and values to their target audiences/buyer persona, which continued into Week 2’s Discussion regarding the content marketing strategies of similar major brands. C.C. Chapman’s Lynda.com tutorial “Learning Content Marketing” provided the context and was a necessary reminder about not only the importance of creating consistently engaging content, but also having specific, measurable, attainable, and time-bound (SMART) goals established prior to undertaking any content marketing campaign (Chapman, 2013).

Our Capstone Project Video Snapshot assignment from Week 2 required revisiting using Keynote as a presentation tool and reviewing elements that make presentations more interesting and engaging. It was important to me that I had the confidence to go back and make a Keynote presentation and record myself presenting the content, as this will be a very useful skill to hone as I move forward in my career as an aspiring public relations professional. Not being as intimidated by technology was one of my goals for this class and it will be a key factor in my ability to create quality content for any would-be future clients.

As always, being required to give and receive feedback to and from my classmates continues to be an invaluable aspect of this whole experience. Getting to see their branded capstone clients’ webpages and how their approaches to curating their content differed from mine and having their feedback about ways they think I can improve my site really helps overcome the many obstacles to interactivity in an online degree program, in addition to giving me some great ideas.

I think one of the key takeaways of The Online Media Room is what has become a well-known phrase: “Content Is King.” It’s something we’ve known for a while now but one of the points this course really drove home for me is that, to quote the title of a recent article on Asia Radio Today, “relevance is King Kong” (Content is king, relevance is King Kong, 2018). In other words, to quote Morten Rand-Hendriksen, whose excellent Lynda.com tutorial “Foundations of UX: Content Strategy” we watched in Week 3, it has to be ”the right content to the right person and the right place at the right time and in the right context” (Rand-Hendriksen, 2016). I believe keeping this concept in mind at all times as I venture into the world of public relations after my degree is over will serve me well, both professionally and personally.

References:

Chapman, C.C. (2013, October 22). Learning Content Marketing [Lynda.com online course]. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Content-Marketing-tutorials/Introduction-Content-Marketing/135355-2.html

Content is king, relevance is King Kong: #DBS2018. (2018, March 9). Asia Radio Today. Retrieved from http://www.asiaradiotoday.com/news/content-king-relevance-king-kong-dbs2018-wrap

Rand-Hendriksen, N. (2016, June 30). Foundations of UX: Content Strategy [Lynda.com online course]. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Content-Strategy-tutorials/Foundations-UX-Content-Strategy/473877-2.html

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Reputation Management Strategies Mastery Journal Assignment

My original three goals for Reputation Management Strategies were to: 1) explore tactics for repairing a brand/organization’s damaged reputation; 2) brush up on tools and ways to report data and analytics from social media and other online activity to inform business decision-making, and; 3) learn about how top public relations professionals have responded to crisis situations that could have potentially damaged a brand’s/organization’s reputation.

The first lesson in this class, the YouTube video featuring Elliot Schreiber and how he defines “reputation management,” was very helpful in providing context for the rest of the course (LeBow College of Business, 2011). Understanding how a company’s reputation directly impacts its bottom line made it clear why this is such an important aspect of public relations (LeBow College of Business, 2011). The notion that “reputation can be managed but it can’t be controlled” and how controlling one’s “brand” in an increasingly competitive market relates to a company’s overall reputation is a powerful one (LeBow College of Business, 2011).

Week 2’s focus on Online Reputation Management tied directly in with my first two goals for this course. Reviewing some of the chapters from David Booth’s “SEO Fundamentals” Lynda.com course was a great refresher on how search engine optimization and coming up with a keyword and content development strategy can be extremely valuable tools in not only boosting a brand’s/organization’s reputation, but in managing it during times of crisis (Booth, 2014). I remember watching chapters of this course during Week 2 of the “Social Media Metrics and ROI” class and realizing then that this is an important concept to grasp and, as an aspiring public relations professional, to ultimately be able to practice. The ability to master and utilize tools and techniques like these is what makes public relations professionals rightfully deserve a seat in the boardroom along with the other C-level executives (Capozzi, 2005; Marken, 2002).

A critical part of managing a brand’s/organization’s reputation is having a plan in place for when a crisis occurs, as Week 3’s readings and lessons demonstrated. One of the more memorable quotes from the Rick Kelly video “What Is Crisis Communications?” is “you can’t communicate your way out of something you behaved yourself into” (TriadStrategies, 2012), which I take to mean there are certain guidelines companies need to follow as part of their messaging during a crisis, depending on the particular situation, which in many cases means owning up to what happened. The Jonathan Bernstein reading “The 10 Steps of Crisis Communications” was also an indispensable resource in the way it described how, by being proactive in the wake of a crisis and having a crisis communication plan in place, a company can minimize the potential damage of the crisis (Bernstein, 2016). Among these tactics include establishing a team and assigning specific roles, including the spokespeople, pinpointing the company’s various internal and external stakeholders and having their contact information readily available in order to facilitate the dissemination of the appropriate messages during a crisis, and having statements prepared in advance for these stakeholders (Bernstein, 2016).

Although there are many takeaways from Reputation Management Strategies, I think among the most important ones for me and which I will keep in mind as I pursue a career in public relations goes back to the Elliot Schreiber video from Week 1 and the Bernstein article from Week 3 about how there are certain aspects of reputation management that cannot be controlled but the crisis communications piece is something that can be controlled and planned for in advance (LeBow College of Business, 2011; Bernstein, 2016). I am also now familiar with how to leverage tools such as social media and social media monitoring to successfully implement a crisis communication strategy. Having gone through the exercise of creating  a crisis communication plan for my capstone client, I feel confident I can apply this knowledge in the real world for a variety of clients and help them understand the importance of preparing for the inevitable crisis that will befall them and how having such a plan in place will mitigate the potential damage to their reputations.

References:

Bernstein, J. (2016). The 10 Steps of Crisis Communications. Bernstein Crisis Management. Retrieved from https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/the-10-steps-of-crisis-communications/

Booth, D. (2014, December 15). SEO Fundamentals [Lynda.com online course]. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Marketing-Enterprise-Marketing-tutorials/SEO-Fundamentals/187858-2.html

Capozzi, Louis. (2005) Corporate Reputation: Our Role In Sustaining and Building a Valuable Asset. Journal of Advertising Research. Vol. 45 Issue 3, p290-293. 

LeBow College of Business. (2011, April 7). Defining Reputation Management and Why It’s Important [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=117&v=3YT47XdKfjM

Marken, G.A. (2002). One Minute Corporate Reputation Management. Public Relations Quarterly. Vol. 47 Issue 4, p. 21.

TriadStrategies. (2012, May 4). What Is Crisis Communications [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXiVjjGjIFQ

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Events Marketing and Production Mastery Journal Assignment

As with all the previous classes from the Public Relations Master’s degree at Full Sail University, the Events Marketing and Production class exposed me to yet another important and relevant aspect of this field. I have obviously attended many events in my life and have many times participated as a member of the team putting on the event, but it hadn’t occurred to me just how much planning goes into them and how important it is to approach them with specific measurable goals in mind. The textbook we used throughout the month – Event Planning and Management by Ruth Dowson and David Bassett – was an excellent reference and gave some great insight into the many types of events and how important it is to have a clear vision of what one is trying to achieve at them, as well as the various potential players involved depending on the size and scale of the event.

The two concurrent weekly assignments – promoting and ultimately producing our webinars and planning and evaluating our hypothetical events on behalf of our capstone clients – were great exercises to help sharpen our public relations skills. Learning about Smore as another of the many user-friendly content creation tools available provided me with another great opportunity to tap into my creativity. The lessons about creating compelling slides for webinars were valuable as I put mine together for my webinar. I tried to apply these lessons but feel I can still sometimes be overly reliant on text.

To turn back to the creative aspect of public relations, one thing I really appreciate about some of the assignments we’ve had to do in these classes, including the ones from this class, is to have to rely on our creativity. We are also forced to familiarize ourselves with technology that, speaking for myself, can be quite daunting. The thought of creating and producing a webinar was, frankly, terrifying at first. I had all kinds of doubts and fears about my ability to pull it off. But, as has been a pattern throughout the whole degree, once I find myself getting to the actual work and then getting through it, I realize that it’s not impossible, that I can do this. This is a huge obstacle to be able to overcome and has given me a boost of needed confidence to do similar projects in the future, whether as a PR professional, for work, or for fun.

Giving and receiving feedback to and from my classmates continues to be an integral and invaluable aspect of this whole experience. The Event Peer Review assignment from week 4 perfectly exemplifies the value gained from these exercises, as we sharpen our critical thinking skills and get ideas to improve upon what we have learned.

As I enter the last third of this degree program, I marvel at how quickly it has gone and also at the common thread that has been running through them as I continue to add to my public relations tool kit. The Events Marketing and Production class was another wherein I had to go outside my comfort zone but have grown in more ways than one as a result.

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Media Relations Mastery Journal Assignment

The media has come to play a massively influential role in today’s world and is obviously a hugely important aspect of public relations. As a result, gaining a better understanding of trends in news-media and how to approach journalists is a critical skill to master as a public relations professional. The Media Relations class was an excellent introduction to these concepts and their applications. The lessons and assignments exposed us to what we need to consider when working with the news media and gave us the tools to help them tell our client’s story in an engaging and compelling manner.

Week 1’s Discussion of “Developing a Media Relations Strategy” was a valuable exercise in helping me further hone my pitch for my Capstone Project Campaign by focusing on key details that can ultimately determine success or failure. Examples of these include my target audience and measurable outcomes. As always, I find the discussions themselves and the feedback I receive from my classmates to be invaluable. The assignment of researching a list of media contacts was great in that it made me that much more aware of the various types of media outlets there are and why they would be useful for my particular campaign.

Week 2’s Discussion of “Pitching Different Story Angles” stressed the importance of brevity in writing pitches and making sure to offer the multimedia needs of each journalist to which you are pitching. The “Writing Targeted Pitches” assignment expanded nicely on the discussion by revisiting the importance of writing press releases and personalizing our targeted pitches, key skills to sharpen as a future public relations professional.

In Week 3, the focus was on a less pleasant but inevitable aspect of public relations: crisis management. The news today seems like a never-ending barrage of PR disasters followed by textbook examples of what to do and what not to do. Researching a recent public crisis and how a company mishandled it was a valuable lesson in that it made me aware of some common themes and rules to follow in such situations. The “Preparing for News Conferences” assignment stressed that the news media is not always going to be on my side and that it is critical to be able to anticipate the hard questions that might come my way. Part of being successful at public relations is going to entail dealing with a potentially hostile media.

Lastly, in Week 4 we delved back into the multimedia production aspect of public relations by having to research and then devise our own media kits for our capstone clients. Learning about the various elements of a media kit, such as b-roll footage, is yet another important skill set in the PR professional’s tool kit. Although at first daunting, compiling and editing footage for a media kit is actually fun and taps into the more creative side of public relations.

I found the Media Relations class to be another important step on my journey in the Public Relations Master of Arts degree program and I plan to draw upon what I learned in it as an aspiring public relations professional.

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Market and Consumer Research Analysis Mastery Journal

The Market and Consumer Research Analysis class provided me with yet another valuable set of skills from which to draw as an aspiring public relations professional. The lessons pertaining to identifying a target market, creating a Brand Positioning Statement, setting SMART goals, performing qualitative and quantitative research, identifying a Buyer Persona, and creating meaningful survey and/or focus group questions will provide a solid foundation in any of my future PR endeavors, especially ones that entail working with brands. Our brief foray into statistics and how to report on them as PR professionals was good insight into another aspect of this profession that didn’t occur to me was important. The Week 2 Case Study Discussion provided a good example of how research is conducted and presented and how to apply the statistical concepts from that week’s lessons and readings. Having to write an Executive Summary in Week 3 was good practice in case we ever find ourselves in a boardroom having to pitch a research proposal to executives. And, as always, the weekly discussions were excellent opportunities to read and critique our classmates’ work and also get valuable feedback from them about our own work. I feel this is an important component of any online degree in lieu of having an actual physical classroom in which discussions can occur.

The Capstone Research Paper assignments gave me the opportunity to conduct research on a graduate level and to utilize various available resources. Conducting primary and secondary research on behalf of my capstone client and presenting my findings within the context of a research paper showed me the extent to which these types of research go into important marketing decisions. Having identified a target market and gaining a better understanding of the various media channels used by them, I feel better equipped to forge ahead with my capstone project and hone my marketing and communication strategy on behalf of my client.

It was also important to delve back into the media production aspects of PR, which we did in Week 4’s Promo Video assignment. For this assignment, I was able to draw upon what I learned from the Public Service Announcement assignment from month two’s Public Relations in a Digital World class by revisiting iMovie as a video production tool. Having to create infographics for the Capstone Research paper and narrated Keynote presentation assignments exposed me to an array of other multimedia tools at our disposal and gave me the opportunity to further explore my creativity.

In summary, Market and Consumer Research Analysis exposed me to valuable tools and resources I can access in any of my future professional and/or personal PR-related endeavors.  

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Social Media Metrics and ROI Mastery Journal Assignment

I have to admit – and it is my belief that I am not alone in this – that the terms “analytics,” “metrics,” and “return on investment” tend to create a good deal of anxiety within me. As a result, I entered the Social Media Metrics and ROI class with a good deal of trepidation about whether or not I would be able to grasp the concepts therein. I have always been aware that everything in business, if not everything in our complex data-driven world, is driven by numbers. Numbers seem to have informed just about every major business decision ever made and with the internet and social media having become the primary vehicle for just about all communications-related activities occurring today, the sheer amount of data being collected and analyzed is staggering and is only going to increase.

Social Media Metrics and ROI introduced me to some of the key analytics concepts and tools used today, such as Google Analytics, Search Engine Optimization, Multi-Funnel Attribution Channels, and Key Performance Indicators. I had heard of these terms and tools before but had not really delved into them that much. The lessons and assignments definitely took away some of the mystery behind them and why they are so important. However, there is still so much more to explore within them and a month-long class cannot possibly even begin to cover it all. And while my anxiety has lessened slightly as a result of having completed the course, I have to admit to still feeling like I have a way to go in terms practical application of the concepts and practices. But this class provided a great springboard for further exploration and, again, made me aware of some of the common tools used to obtain the data that can then be used to inform sound business decisions.

A slight regret I have at this time is not having an actual business of my own to which I can apply the lessons learned in this class and use them to help grow the business. But in time there may very well be an opportunity to do so, and I know we will be using them in the rest of the program as the coursework now starts to be about our final capstone projects. From a public relations perspective, I also know now that explaining social media ROI is a very important skill to have when trying to convey to a business executive why social media matters and why financial and human resources need to be allocated for it. I see data analysis in general as a specialized skill that one needs to cultivate and refine over time and one I hope to open up more to and utilize more in my personal and/or professional endeavors.  

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Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources Mastery Journal Assignment

Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources is an aptly titled course. In addition to providing a great overview of the tools and resources PR professionals need to use in their day-to-day work, it also addresses some very important concepts and provides real world scenarios in which to apply them.

Week 1’s emphasis on personal and professional branding and the different kinds of content to put on social media to promote a brand will no doubt be instrumental as a PR/communications professional-in-training. The Critical Thinking reading and discussion was a great exercise in helping me understand the complexities behind a brand’s messaging. The two campaigns we looked at – Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” (Dove US, 2013) and Coca-Cola’s “Small World Machines” (Gupta, 2013) – were great examples of what elements help a video go viral as well as what can cause backlash. The Personal Brand video assignment, although initially quite daunting, as someone who has difficulty talking about himself, was very helpful in getting me to think about what a personal brand can be, something which I now feel I can apply to a professional brand. 

Regardless of how one feels about it, social media is an integral part of our lives and, in the world of PR, marketing, and communications, an absolutely essential way to promote a brand. Week 2’s content, including Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Online Marketing Rockstars” (Vaynerhcuk, 2017) keynote speech, gave me a newfound appreciation for how strategic social media can and should be and how to use each platform in a way that addresses that channel’s unique characteristics, as well as the mindset of the person who is on it. As someone who tends to have a more cynical attitude about social media, especially given how toxic it has become in the past year, I now see it more as a tool to better understand and leverage in a business context. The additional research I conducted as part of my assignments further brought this notion home to me.

Week 3’s content, with its focus on mobile PR and the role of a COMMS Organizer within an organization, was a great way to follow up Week 2, as it further emphasized the important role social media plays in business and helped me better understand why companies need to have employees who can focus on it to help the company achieve its overall communications goals. This knowledge and skill is no doubt going to become increasingly crucial for an aspiring PR professional like myself. The App Review assignment was a great opportunity to explore the myriad number of mobile apps out there for PR professionals and content creators and get me to think critically about them.

Week 4’s focus on Global Social Media Strategy and our discussion about two recent PR fiascos, the ones with United Airlines (Petroff, 2017) and the Pepsi Kendall Jenner video (Watercutter, 2017), introduced a new concept and drew from Week 1’s content pertaining to Critical Thinking and the aforementioned Dove and Coca-Cola campaigns; it was a nice way of tying it all together.

All in all, Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources was a great balance between the theoretical and the practical. Its assigned readings/viewings and discussions provided excellent contexts for learning about PR best practices and the assignments exposed me that much more to technology PR professionals need to feel comfortable using, increasing my own comfort and confidence level with them as a result.

References:

Dove US. (2013, April 14). Dove Real Beauty Sketches: You’re more beautiful than you think. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk&feature=youtu.be

Gupta, Himanshu. (2013, June 23). Coca-Cola Small World Machines – Bringing India & Pakistan Together. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wK8Tasa8M&feature=youtu.be

Petroff, A. (2017, April 11). United Airlines shows how to make a PR crisis a total disaster. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/11/news/united-passenger-pr-disaster/index.html

Vaynerchuk, G. (2017, March 13). Online Marketing Rockstars Gary Vaynerchuk Keynote: Hamburg 2017 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_6yFerLNmU

Watercutter, A. (2017, April 5). Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad Was So Awful It Did The Impossible: It United The Internet. Wired. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2017/04/pepsi-ad-internet-response/

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Hello. Above is the link to my “Personal Brand” video for my Innovative Public Relations Tools and Resources class for my Public Relations Master’s program at Full Sail University.

Below is the script I wrote for it too. Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoy!

Hi. My name is Paul Mauceri. I am a Career Advisor at Full Sail University, a student at Full Sail as well, a father, husband, and a drummer.

I think if there were three words that describe me and my modus operandi they would be: Consistent, Reliable, and Steadfast.

This definitely applies to the instrument I chose to play as a young boy. All good drummers need to be consistent, reliable, and steadfast.

Drums and rhythm are the foundation upon which all music is built. We drummers are usually not in the spotlight but we play an indispensable role in the band, supplying the heartbeat as well as the tension, emotion, and excitement.

I have been a Career Advisor at Full Sail University for over seven years. During these seven years, it has been my mission to serve Full Sail’s students and graduates in a consistent, reliable, and steadfast manner.

Similar to the foundational role I play as a drummer, I see my role as a Career Advisor as providing a firm foundation from which students can then jumpstart their careers.

I never forgot the keynote speech at my college graduation. It was delivered by the then Dean. He said, as we prepared to leave the hallowed halls of our institution, that life can be distilled into three essential ingredients: 1) having something to do; 2) having someone to love; and 3) having something to hope for.

With my job and my family, who are without a doubt my foundation and play a consistent, reliable, and steadfast role in my life, I feel I have satisfied number 2), but I am still actively pursuing numbers 1) and 3).

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Legal Aspects of Media Week 4 Mastery Journal Assignment

The Legal Aspects of Media class, part of the Master of Arts in Public Relations degree at Full Sail University, gave me an excellent overview of the important legal issues to consider as an aspiring communications professional. I believe the topics covered this month - the Freedom of Information Act, intrusion, invasion of privacy, defamation (libel and slander), copyright, intellectual property, and copyright protection, deceptive/false advertising, commercial speech, and speech protected under the U.S. Constitution - will all be equally helpful to me as a communications professional. Each one pertains to a particular aspect that is critical for me to understand so I not only know what is within my legal rights as far as the content I produce, but I am also aware of what can make me potentially liable for violating someone’s rights. For example, if I interview someone for an article I write and plan to publish, I know now how important it is to get their consent, preferably in writing, to quote them in the article, regardless of the nature of the piece. Another example pertains to copyright protection and people’s intellectual property. The internet is a vast resource that gives anyone easy access to content created by others. As a result, it would be easy to not give a second thought about using others’ work but, as a result of what I learned during Week Three’s copyright-themed assignments and discussion, I now know that doing so without having obtained prior permission is technically copyright infringement and can put me in a potentially legally vulnerable situation.

My favorite assignment in this course was Week Three’s discussion about copyright and the hypothetical scenario we were given about the digital press release, for which we planned to use an old photo and video clip of Irving Berlin. I enjoyed this assignment because, first of all, I love and am passionate about music and can easily see myself being involved in a project like this. Also, I used to work in the music industry in a copyright-related capacity, first for the performing rights organization ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and then for the mechanical rights agency HFA (Harry Fox Agency). I learned a good deal about copyright at these companies and enjoyed reviewing some of these concepts and expanding upon what I already knew. Copyright and intellectual property has interested me for years, so I enjoyed all of Week Three’s content. It was eye opening to learn how easy it is to infringe on someone’s copyright even if one had absolutely no intention of doing so.

I really enjoyed all the topics covered in this class and found reading about and discussing them challenging as well as intellectually stimulating. Reading the law cases was especially challenging but also rewarding. Law can be very abstract at times and it is fascinating to consider how some longstanding concepts have evolved, and will continue to evolve, over time and with changing technologies. It is also interesting how so much of law can be open to interpretation. Legal Aspects of Media was without a doubt an excellent class and will be an integral part of my journey to becoming a PR/communications professional.

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Writing for Interactive Media Mastery Journal Entry

The Writing for Interactive Media class was a great introduction to the art of crafting a compelling story and delivering it as a newsworthy piece. I believe it is well placed as the third class in the Public Relations Master’s program in that it focuses on the storytelling aspect of PR, which is ultimately what draws in audiences. It also seems fitting to have it overlap with the New Media Journalism Master’s program (a degree I was seriously considering taking), and I found the discussions very engaging. It was nice to be able to interact with students from the New Media Journalism degree, read and see their work, and get their perspectives.

The readings and story examples were excellent resources for our About Me page assignments as well as the two stories we had to write. Although the course placed less emphasis on the additional media (which I believe future classes will focus more heavily on), we did get a taste of how text should fit in with the overall media. A good example of this is the About Me page research assignment, for which we had to describe and critique the layouts of several About Me pages we had found.

One thing I appreciated and enjoyed about the class and the story assignments in particular were the constraints within which we had to work. Our instructor stressed on more than one occasion the importance of focusing on a particular aspect of a story and not taking on a huge topic. I think this lesson will serve me well as I move forward in the degree program and if I ultimately end up working in public relations. I did struggle with my own About Me page assignment because I am still unsure exactly what it is that makes me unique, or, rather, how to convey this in writing. But it was a good exercise and one I see as a work in progress.

I also really enjoyed the journalistic nature of the writing assignments. It was fun to have to conduct interviews, review them, and then incorporate relevant quotes into our stories. I even enjoyed researching people to interview and the challenges of trying to reach them in the hopes they would agree to be interviewed. It was a taste of what I assume all journalists have to contend with in their profession. I was very fortunate to be able to interview people who were integral to the stories I wanted to tell and who were very generous with their time. The instructor’s feedback was also invaluable; she gave excellent tips on the overall structure and flow of my stories. I will certainly remember and try to apply her expertise in future pieces I write. All in all, I am very pleased with the Writing for Interactive Media class and how it fits in with the trajectory of my degree.

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Public Relations in a Digital World Week 4 Mastery Journal Assignment

My favorite assignment for my Public Relations in a Digital World class for month two of my Master of Arts in Public Relations degree was planning and executing the Public Service Announcement. I liked this assignment best because it pushed me out of my comfort zone by requiring me to delve into tools I had not yet explored, namely the video editing software iMovie. It also forced me to tap into more of my creative side, something with which I have struggled for much of my life, as well as face my anxiety with learning new technology. Although I am by no means an expert with iMovie, and much of the software is fairly intuitive, I feel I have overcome one small technological hurdle by successfully completing this assignment. I also particularly liked having to work within narrow time constraints – the PSA could not be more than thirty seconds – as I believe it is crucial in today’s media saturated world to be able to get one’s message across as concisely as possible.

While I felt the readings were very useful in helping me gain a fundamental understanding of the public relations field, including its origins and evolution, I believe the assignments that had to do with content creation will be most useful to me as a public relations professional.  These include the Website Platform Research and initial setting up of my website assignment from Week 1, the Public Service Announcement assignments from Weeks 2 and 3, the Press Release assignments from Weeks 3 and 4, and the Social Media Strategy assignment from Week 4. It seems that anyone wishing to enter the public relations field today must be comfortable utilizing the tools needed to create compelling content and to be able to strategically make that content available on various social media channels.  The Internet is where most people go now for their news, information, and entertainment, so the assignments that exposed me to the tools, techniques, and strategies for developing these critical skills will serve me well as I continue my journey as an aspiring public relations professional.

In addition to what I have written above about requiring me to take initial steps toward learning tools, techniques, and strategies for creating relevant content and posting it online, the readings and videos that had to with branding will be extremely useful in working with public relations professionals, as so much of what I will be doing will revolve around helping clients determine and promote their brands. This seems a key aspect of what public relations and marketing professionals do, so being able to demonstrate my awareness of and knowledge in this area will be a great asset for communicating with other public relations professionals. The assignment from Week 1 that required me to research public relations websites also made me aware of the vast amount of information that exists online written by seasoned PR professionals who have great wisdom to impart. By consistently accessing these resources, learning the PR jargon, and keeping up on current key trends, I believe I will be more able to relate to public relations leaders who are steering the industry into new and uncharted territories and hopefully also be able to partake in this effort.

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This great infographic pertains to this week’s assignment in my Public Relations in a Digital World class in which we have to write a press release. I particularly like how it uses imagery from the older, pre-Internet days, e.g., the typewriter and the transistor radio, as symbols that some traditional PR practices are still relevant today. 

References:

DR4WARD Dr. William J. Ward. (n.d.). Press Releases Do’s & Don’ts [Pinterest pin]. Retrieved June, 19, 2017, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/367536019561705889/

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Lou Reed is one of my heroes. I discovered him, or was exposed to his music, my first year of college and I became hooked instantly. His cynical deadpan delivery and penetrating insights into the dramas of human existence really struck a chord with me. I am also in agreement with so many other music snobs/geeks in championing his band The Velvet Underground as one of the greatest and most influential in rock and roll and strongly believe their entire catalogue rightfully deserves a place in the rock and roll canon.

In 1992, he released his album Magic and Loss, a somber, reflective, powerful meditation on the fragility of life and the meaning we make of it. Most of the album is in response to the death of two of his friends from cancer, one of whom was the legendary songwriter Doc Pomus, who composed standards like “This Magic Moment” and “Save The Last Dance For Me” (Fricke, 1992). The below excerpt is from the last song on the album – “Magic Loss – The Summation” – (see posted video) and I feel it speaks to our aspirations and how to deal with our inner demons:

“They say no one person can do it all but you want to in your head But you can’t be Shakespeare and you can’t be Joyce so what is left instead You’re stuck with yourself and a rage that can hurt you You have to start at the beginning again And just this moment This wonderful fire started up again

When you pass through humble when you pass through sickly When you pass through  I'm better than you all When you pass through  anger and self-deprecation and have the strength to acknowledge it all When the past makes you laugh  and you can savor the magic that let you survive your own war You find that that fire is passion and there's a door up ahead not a wall”

-Lou Reed, “Magic and Loss – The Summation”

If anyone out there is close to someone who is dying, or has died, of cancer or any terminal illness, this album, as Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke writes, “can help with the starting over” (Fricke, 1992).

References:

Fricke, D. (1992, January 23). Lou Reed: Magic and Loss. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/magic-and-loss-19920123

Reed, L. (1992). Magic and Loss – The Summation {Liner notes]. On Magic and Loss [CD]. New York, NY: Sire/Warner Bros. Records.

Rhino (2015, May 21). Lou Reed – “Magic and Loss”(Official Music Video) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOCs3CNdMVg

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My inspirational post for this week is a TED Talk by Author and Philosopher Alain de Botton about success and how it gets defined in today’s world. There is so much in his speech I can relate to given my New England prep school upbringing and the messages I received growing up about what it means to be successful, and I still struggle with what I believe success is supposed to mean and how I should define it for myself. He has a charming witty delivery that makes the serious nature of this subject extremely palatable and I’d like to share what I believe are some choice quotes from his talk, (and there are many):

“I think we live in an age when our lives are regularly punctuated by career crises, by moments when what we thought we knew – about our lives, about our careers – comes into contact with a threatening sort of reality.” (de Botton, 2009)

“It’s perhaps easier now than ever before to make a good living. It’s perhaps harder than ever before to stay calm, to be free of career anxiety.” (de Botton, 2009)

“There’s a real problem with snobbery . . . A snob is anybody who takes a small part of you, and uses that to come to a complete vision of who you are . . . The dominant kind of snobbery that exists nowadays is job snobbery.” (de Botton, 2009)

“. . . we’re often told that we live in very materialistic times, that we’re all greedy people. I don’t think we are particularly materialistic. I think we live in a society which has simply pegged certain emotional rewards to the acquisition of material goods. It’s not the material goods we want; it’s the rewards we want.” (de Botton, 2009)

“Never before have expectations been so high about what human beings can achieve with their lifespan. We're told, from many sources, that anyone can achieve anything . . . There is one really big problem with this, and that problem is envy . . . if there's one dominant emotion in modern society, that is envy. And it's linked to the spirit of equality.” (de Botton, 2009)

“There's a real correlation between a society that tells people that they can do anything, and the existence of low self-esteem.” (de Botton, 2009)

“ . . . if you really believe in a society where those who merit to get to the top, get to the top, you'll also, by implication, and in a far more nasty way, believe in a society where those who deserve to get to the bottom also get to the bottom and stay there. In other words, your position in life comes to seem not accidental, but merited and deserved. And that makes failure seem much more crushing.” (de Botton, 2009)

 “ . . . hold your horses when you're coming to judge people. You don't necessarily know what someone's true value is. That is an unknown part of them, and we shouldn't behave as though it is known.” (de Botton, 2009)

“When we think about failing in life, when we think about failure, one of the reasons why we fear failing is not just a loss of income, a loss of status. What we fear is the judgment and ridicule of others. And it exists.” (de Botton, 2009)

“The other thing about modern society and why it causes this anxiety, is that we have nothing at its center that is non-human. We are the first society to be living in a world where we don't worship anything other than ourselves.” (de Botton, 2009)

“You can't be successful at everything. We hear a lot of talk about work-life balance. Nonsense. You can't have it all. You can't. So any vision of success has to admit what it's losing out on, where the element of loss is.” (de Botton, 2009)

“. . . we should [not] give up on our ideas of success, but we should make sure that they are our own. We should focus in on our ideas, and make sure that we own them; that we are truly the authors of our own ambitions. . . let's accept the strangeness of some of our ideas. Let's probe away at our notions of success. Let's make sure our ideas of success are truly our own.” (de Botton, 2009)

References:

de Botton, A. (2009, July 28). TED Talks: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success - Alain de Botton [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtSE4rglxbY

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This next inspirational post is a quote from 5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian (Torossian, n.d.), and speaks to the conversational nature of public relations and how PR should not be a one-way street when it comes to communications. It is about receiving feedback from customers and using that information effectively. I also like the tennis analogy because a) I like tennis, and b) we are now in the season of the major tennis grand slam tournaments, with the French Open happening now. 

References:

Prezly. [Pinterest pin]. Retrieved June 4, 2017, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/367536019565007684/

Torossian, R. (n.d.). Linkedin [Profile page]. Retrieved June 4, 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronntorossian/

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This week’s inspirational posts are going to be geared toward my degree, starting with this one from marketing firm Shift Communications. I think this speaks to what ultimately makes marketing effective, which is appealing to our innate desire to be told a story to which we can relate in some way from our own unique experiences. 

References:

Penn, C. (n.d.). Story_Poster [Pinterest pin]. Retrieved June 4, 2017, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/568931365401142962/