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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Great Divorce

   I am working on an extensive crisis research paper for my Media Programming class. Our assignment was to choose a crisis in the past two years and research on how the media covered it and the public relations efforts that were implemented. I thought about it, but it didn't take long for me to come up with what I thought was a HUGE crisis. Many people would choose something normal...the BP Oil Spill, the Toyota mess, the toy recalls...but I chose the most important...The Divorce of Jon and Kate Plus Eight! 


I mean, who can deny this was a huge crisis for America, for television, for TLC and for the family itself? I am in the process of researching the statements TLC released about the tabloid allegations and the statements released from Jon and Kate individually. 



Of course, I have my own opinions (Jon is a tool bag), like most people do, but it will be interesting to see how the media framed my opinions along with the public opinion. Until then, watch Kate plus Eight and stay tuned to be influenced on your opinion of Jon Gosselin!





Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Mission Possible.

My group has continuously been working on the OurBlook.com public relations campaign this week. One of my assignments was to write a mission statement for the Journalism Resource Center. This sounds easy, but don't be fooled. Trying to come up with a mission for someone else's company is difficult, and this statement represents the company and it's goals for the entirety of its existence. In order to draft the mission statement for OurBlook, I first did research about what a good mission statement should include. It needs to provide direction, a vision and a goal. 

Then I got hungry...and started craving my new favorite food...







So naturally I looked up Chick-Fil-A's mission statement and it said, "Be America's best quick service restaurant."
Genius. I think they have accomplished this, but that's just my opinion.



Here are some great tips I gathered before I wrote the mission statement:
1. Bring in many perspectives. 
    In order to do this, I talked to the company employees as well as my group members to     see what they thought should be included.
2. Allow enough time. 
    I am glad I did this. I started drafting ideas, made changes as I read it the following days and got input from my fellow members.
3. Be open to new ideas. 
    To be close minded is to be ignorant. My group members saw different perspectives than me and our collaboration is what will make this a successful campaign.

Here is what I came up with for OurBlook.com's Journalism Resource Center:
"The mission of OurBlook.com's Journalism Resource Center is to provide the journalism world with a dynamic online atmosphere that will empower students, professors and practitioners to acquire the tools and knowledge they need by engaging in conversation about subjects that will define our future."

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

"Fashion fades, only style remains the same." - Coco Chanel

Have you ever wondered how the Associated Press got to make all the grammar rules for journalists across the world? Why do they get to decide whether I write website or Web site in my article? Why can I say teenager but not say teenaged




No matter what my thoughts are, the AP Stylebook is important to the journalism world. Each year a new addition comes out with new changes, and it is important for journalists to stay on top of the changes. Since I have been in college, MySpace has become a lesser used source than Facebook and Twitter was developed. These are used in many stories and journalists need to have a blanket, common way to reference them. 




The AP Stylebook also includes text/IM abbreviations, such as G2G (got to go), BRB (be right back) and POS (parent over shoulder). I thought there was a different meaning for POS, but that is another story. AP Stylebook, you are just so young, hip and internet savvy. I'm impressed! Maybe parents should get ahold of this book to understand their children's texts, or maybe they should just go to UrbanDictionary.com. 


AND just incase you were wanting to freelance write about the teenager you met in your backyard while promoting a policymaker's online fundraising event in the Midwest, you need to look at this chart for the new spelling changes...




I think that is enough style for today. At my internship at Hillcrest Hospital, I have been working on stories for their next newsletter going out. One of my stories is on their Wellness Center and how to burn calories by doing daily chores. Stay tuned if you want to fit back into your skinny jeans!


Until then, TTYL, BRB and G2G.