Public Relations Writing

Our public relations writing class definately helped me work toward my degree and helped me learn knowledge that will be useful in the real world.  I liked having actual client assignments so I now know whats its like to have to constantly write and then rewrite press releases, media alerts, radio releases, media lists, feature articles, etc.  The class really opened my eyes as to what my job in the future could be like.

Group Project Knowledge

From working in a group project I have learned that it's best to complete projects ahead of time.  My group hit several problems with completeling our assignments because we all had such busy schedules and we ended up missing our deadlines.  I think if we had planned out the specificatinos for each assignment more than a few days ahead of time then things would have run smoother.  It's definately hard to work on group projects at Montclair because so many people are commuters, have jobs, and other class obligations.  My group found it difficult to get the assignments divided up evenly and then meet with each other to bring the assignment together as a whole.

registration!

So today is the first day of registration for classes for Fall '10. I'm getting really nervous about it since I don't schedule until Thursday night and I would really like to take all the classes I need.  Last semester I had my schedule all planned out and then I went to register and only 1 class was still avalible. I had to run down to the communications deptartment and get special permission to take all my classes.  I ended up getting into all the classes I originally wanted with the exception of one but the situation was just so stressful!  I don't understand why all of the communcaition classes are scheduled with like 1 or 2 sections, all at the same time, and on the same days.  IF I actually get into my classes I'm going to be taking 5 classes on mondays which is going to be exhausting!  I guess I'm kind of to blame since I don't want to commute 5 days a week, need to take more of my core courses since I'll be abroad next year, and I picked up a minor starting next semester.  It's definately going to be hectic next semester.  Good luck registering everyone!

Group Work

I'm not sure if its just me but I don't like bring group projects in college.  I feel like everyone has such different schedules, opinions on assignments, and ways of writing that its difficult to achieve a good grade.  Back in high school and at my job now, I enjoyed doing group projects since everyone could get together and things can be accomplished alot quicker, but in college the atmosphere is entirely different and group projects have become a chore more than anything else.  I understand my professors thinking behind assigning group proects but its so hard for everyone to get thier schedules to mesh and since some people dont care about thier grade, others are left to pick up the slack.  After graduation I understand I'll be working in a group environment alot of the time and have group leaders but those people all are getting paid to do a good job and usually are working the same hours so the process is completely different.  Right now my group project for PR writing is going relatively smoothly but its difficult to tell what our grades will be when we are finished.  For now we are going to continue to divide the work up evenly and use eachother as a checks and balances system to catch errors.

Opinion Pieces

Generally when I'm flipping through the newspaper every morning I have to pass through the opinion section to reach the horoscope and crossword section and I have to admit that I generally do read what the crazy town people have to say.  Most of the time I think this section of my local newspaper, The Suburban Trends gets over looked since most of the opinions are about when people should be expected to bring in thier garbage cans off the street.  The section can get boring and be slightly annoying since the journalist wannabe's are generally old school but its interesting to read about what actual people in my town care about.  The rest of the paper is usually written either by staff members from who knows where or are just copied from major newpapers so I feel closer to home when reading the opinion section.  I don't think I've really looked at other outlets for opinion pieces...unless the section of magazines where readers write in to criticize or apprieciate articles written in previous editions; I read those everytime :)

I just wish I had TiVo !

I think ABC's fear of bad publicity definitely contributed to their decision to keep ABC programming available for its viewers until the contract dispute is solved with Cablevision.  ABC was expected to be blacked out for Cablevision customers beginning midnight Saturday night.  On Sunday morning I checked to see if ABC was blacked out and it technically wasn't blacked out, it was a screen filled with advice on how to get the channel back.  The screen alternated colors for the next few hours but kept the same message urging viewers to go online and email ABC executives and ask for their programming back.  As a Cablevision subscriber, I even recived an email that said, "Many of you just want WABC-7 back on your television. That's why we are working hard to get WABC-7 back on the air. You can help make a difference by visiting cablevision.com/abc and sending their executives an email expressing how you feel."  Then a few hours later I received another email saying how sorry Cablevision was that their contract dispute with ABC was effecting our regularly scheduled viewing so they were making all on demand movies free until midnight Sunday.  By this time at my house ABC had already resumed its programming and I was watching the Academy Awards as scheduled.  The mix up with ABC and Cablevision is ridiculous.  Cablevision is trying to start issues with everyone's contracts and refusing to pay anymore money but yet its customers bills keep increasing.  Where is all the money going that Cablevisions customers are paying monthly?  Cablevision is becoming a monopoly in my area and its upsetting that they can take away the channels i pay for and not leave me with any other options.  ABC definitely made its channel available for Cablevision customers to save themselves the bad publicity and continue to uphold their reputation as a caring family channel.  If anyone should be receiving bad publicity its Cablevision, not ABC.

I guess I had more fears than i thought!

When I first read this weeks blog topic I had no idea what to write but after thinking about it I realized I had quite a few fears...Starting to work in the media is definately starting to stress me out.  There are constant pressures from all sides of the equation to be creative, accurate, professional, and mulit-talented.  Working in the media industry versus many other professions is scarier since everything you do is on display, if you mess up its possible for people around the globe to get wind of it.  Another thing about the media industry that worries me is the constant need to be networking, I'm usually a shy person until I get to know someone so thats going to be something I have to work on when entering the work force.  PR is all about who you know so what happens if you don't know anyone?  Quite possibly the thing that worries me the most about the media industry is getting started and where exactly I will fit in.  Finding a job I'll enjoy in such a tough market seems virtually impossible.  many companies are cutting out thier personal PR professionals and outsourcing to huge PR firms.  I'm not relaly comfortable just being a number and working for one client then moving onto the next, I want to have a relationship with the company I'm working for.  Writing this all down ow makes me more nervous then ever becasue I guess I never really thought about my fears going into the industry and its alot to soak in.  Hopefully over the course of the next two years I'll be able to cope with some of these issues through knowledge and experience.

March Maddness

So for me March is one of the worst months of the year.  Its kinda snowy/kinda rainy all the time, all of my tv shows are reaching their final episodes of the season and all of the TV's in my house are overrun by my step dad with constant basketball.  After March, if I never hear a whistle again it will be too soon.  The only thing good about this March is that I'll be going away for spring break(hopefully they will still have some snow) and that there are so many good movies coming out.  Last night for free movie Tuesday I went to see Shutter Island. I originally got tickets for me and my 15 year old sister to go but the jerk ripping tickets asked for her I.D. and she clearly didn't have any.  Instead of seeing the movie by myself or just leaving I dragged my Mom  out of bed for the show.  We both enjoyed it but I have to say it was as good as I thought it was going to be.  I think the plot left a lot of loose ends and had a few unnessesary scenes.  Needless to say I would recommend people see the movie since Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley are phenomenal in thier characters.  The other movie im psyched to see is Alice in Wonderland.  Tim Burton has ceased to entertain me with his creative film adaptations over the years so I can hardly imagine anything short of amazing from Alice in Wonderland.  I'm trying to see it opening night in IMAX but who knows if that will really happen.  And last but not least i want to see The Runaways.  The film had mixed reviews at Sundance but that definately won't stop me from seeing it; the only problem is that right now it is only expected to play in limited theaters aka Los Angeles.

The Nestle Hotline

Before class on Tuesday I had actually heard my Mom talking about the hotline while the on the phone with a friend, I shrugged off her comments since shes a little crazy.  After reading this blog post, I think that Nestle had a really fun idea to spark intrest in thier new product as well as the company as a whole.  I have always loved Nestle chocolates as well as Haagen Dazs ice cream and thier cookie dough but after reading about this hotline it makes me like the company even more! The hotline shows a fun and creative side to Nestle and that the company is really trying to have its customers enjoy their products.  Also after reading the article, I was extremely inclined to call the hotline and have a listen for myself but unfortunately the line was busy the numerous times I tried to get through.  It seems to me that the hotline was designed cleverly by a public relations person at Nestle and is having no trouble reaching the masses through word of mouth.
check it outtttt :)

Bad Mouthing Blog

I have to admit that I was a little turned off by The Bad Pitch Blog.  All the posts seemed kind of harsh and unnecessarily critical.  I will say that some of the pitches talked about on the blog were not the best pitches but I also think they didn't deserve to be treated like the worst.  The people who host The Bad Pitch Blog failed to give any explanation of who they are or what experience they have in determining what constitutes a good pitch or a bad pitch.  Who's to say that this blog wasn't made by a middle aged man sitting in a coffee shop? It's hard for me to enjoy reading this blog when its entire purpose is to exist on bad mouthing other people and their pitch tactics.  If the posts maybe criticized the pitches but then showed how the pitch could have been done properly then this blog might have been useful but it didnt.  Maybe The Bad Pitch Blog should work on fixing its own pitching tactics before criticizing other people.

http://badpitch.blogspot.com/

buzzkillllll

I'm glad Tiger wrote down this speech word-for-word;  it was super creative, informative, and difficult to memorize!  I can't believe I was excited for this press conference....

southwest mistake

I may be biased towards this article since I travel a lot and have never flown with another airline besides Continental, but I think it was simply rude for Southwest to deny Kevin Smith a seat on the plane.  I understand Southwest's argument that overweight people only occupying one seat are a safety issues and basically a hassle to their other passengers but the attendant’s who denied him a seat should have known better than to publicly humiliate a Hollywood director.  James states in the CNN article that he could properly fasten his seat belt and lower the arm rests so he never should have been asked to leave the aircraft.  It's a sad truth but I'm sure many fans of Kevin James' as well as people who are overweight are going to have second thoughts about booking with Southwest in the future.  In this situation the PR people of Southwest can try their best but there isn't really an easy way out except to continually apologize to Kevin James and many throw in some free flights or frequent flyer miles

Publicity Stunts for the Y Generation

In 2009 T-Mobile was inspired by Improv Everywhere's freeze mob in NYC so they staged their very own flash mod in Liverpool Street Station in London. After a video of the dance was posted on YouTube, the video quickly went viral and even spread to evening news stations. T Mobile was able to promote their name in a creative way.  People who were in the actual station were taking pictures and videos to send to friends and probably discussed the phenomenon with everyone they knew.  The stunt isn't going to necessarily make you cancel your current cell phone plan and join T Mobile but it will definitely make you remember their name.   

In 2007 PETA released with winter anti-fur campaign featuring the popular actress Eva Mendes.  For the ad Mendes posed completely naked with the tag line, "I'd rather go naked than wear fur."  The ad was displayed most in Times Square, around the rest of New York and eventually made its way to the billboards of Los Angeles.  After Mendes took it off for PETA, other celebrities like Naomi Campbell and Khloe Kardashian followed suit.  The ad was extremely controversial but it grabbed the attention of fur wearers across America.  There is no way to judge if the ad actually stopped people from wearing fur but it helped to publicize PETA and all its celebrity endorsers. 

 I'm pretty sure everyone remembers the Balloon Boy publicity stunt of 2009.  A mid-western family pitched a television pilot about the family of storm hunters and was denied.  As a result, the family notified local authorities that their six year old son was missing and apparently in a balloon soaring above them.  The family became big news because government officials were called in to help get the boy safely out of the sky.  The hoax was exploited on Larry King Live when the 6 year old claimed "You guys said we did it for the show."  The parents were mortified and tried to play it off like he didn't know what he was talking about but it was apparent that the entire event had been planned by the family in an effort to get a television show. 

One of my favorite publicity stunts was performed by the Beatles in January of 1969.  As a farewell performance, The Beatles set up a stage on the roof their Apple Label Records office.  The show generated a lot of attention from the people on the streets of London.  Word spread quickly of the impromptu show and a crowd of anxious fans quickly formed.  The show was eventually shut down by the police but the photo taken that day is still famous today.  Many musicians have tried this publicity stunt after The Beatles with an effort to recreate the publicity that followed the performance but none have been able to top The Beatles. 

stunts & blunders

The article on PR Stunts was interesting since I had never heard of any of the stunts.  The Taco Bell stunt was definitely my favorite because it was amusing to think that America believed Taco Bell would be able to buy the Liberty bell and proceeded to freak out about it.  The stunt was obviously a fake because it was so ostentatious and it was April Fools Day!  The JMP Creative stunt was just plain dumb, the guy tried to drop his magician career and start a marketing business but failed miserably when he almost died during his first public appearance.  I think the idea of the Vodafone executives having people run across the field naked was hilarious.  But it also reminded me of a professional sports game when a guy ran across the game mid-play wearing nothing but Nike sneakers.
Soccer Streaker - The most popular videos are here

finally some GOOD luck!

So this past weekend for me has just been excitement nonstop. On Friday my step dad announced that for our summer vacation we will be returning to one of my favorite islands, St. Maarten!  It's absolutely gorgeous down there and will be incredibly warm since my family will be going in August.

Then on Saturday night I went with my Aunt, Uncle and 8 of their friends to the Ralphie May show at Banana's Comedy Club in Hasbrouck Heights. The show was incredibly obscene and vulgar but hilarious non-the-less. Ralphie recently underwent triple by pass surgery and has lost 60 lbs already. I hope the surgery continues to work towards bettering his health!

Sunday night was definitely the best night of the weekend though because ... drum roll please .... I bought a new car! I've been driving an old little saturn for 3 years before I got into an accident in November. A woman ran a stop sign right into the passenger side of my car and basically totaling it. I began looking for new cars and thought it was hopeless so I had my insurance company fix the car hoping I would be able to sell it in the spring. Fate took control and put the car I've been looking for right on display of Rt. 46 on my way to school. I checked out the car and it was exactly what I had been looking for! Low mileage, great condition, good price. I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Ford Fusion SE Limited Edition :)

To continue the weekends good run, my step dad decided to return to work til Monday morning after being home from work for 3 weeks to recover from surgery. 3 Weeks ago, Joe went into Lenox Hill to Laparoscopically removed a cancerous tumor from his kidney. Once the surgery began the doctors realized they couldn't perform the surgery as planned due to the size of the tumor. Unfortunately they ended up having to cut a 10 inch incision on his size increasing his recovery time from 3 weeks to 6 weeks. Fortunately the doctors were able to completely remove the tumor and he is healing nicely.

Lastly, I finally booked my spring break trip! Three friends and myself will be driving up to Jiminy peak mountain in the Berkshires. I've been there before and it's a teeny town in Mass but the mountain is nice. I'll be there for four days and three nights with two days of boarding. I'm excited!

I hope everyone is enjoying their week and the unexpected snow!

tweet, tweet

After reading our assigned twitter article, I was slightly confused. At some points the author was dissing Twitter and only mentioning their diminishing amount of users yet after speaking to the CEO of Twitter the author says that numbers are at some of the highest they have ever been. Speaking as a fan of Twitter, I have recently been tweeting more often then in the past. I think my more recent interest in Twitter lies within the fact that I think Facebook has been totally exploited in recent months. I'm sick of freshmen from my old high school friend requesting me, seeing the same status updates everyday and my parents trying to snoop through all my pictures. Twitter is a more private way to express what you are doing daily and what your current interests are without all the picture tags, bumper stickers, and Farmville gifts. The idea behind Twitter is significant in these days because people don't have much time to read long drawn out news articles so when you can only post your thoughts in 140 characters it makes staying up to date with current news a lot easier and quicker. I hope Twitter is here to stay but doesn't grow as dramatically or evolve as crazily as Facebook did.

an introduction

Welcome to my Blog!  I know it doesn't seem like much right now but I intend to embellish and get more creative as soon as possible.  My purpose for creating this blog is obviously to fulfill my blog requirement for class but also because I think it’s a great creative outlet.  Having a Blog allows me to voice my rants and raves as well as learn how to better navigate websites and correctly communicate my thoughts to a wider audience.

In this blog, you can expect me to discuss the assignments given out in class and basically some of my everyday encounters.  Daily I have to take the shuttle, sit through lectures, go to the gym, hang out with friends, work, and enjoy some me time so there are plenty of opportunities for stories along the way.

I registered for the Public Relations Writing course firstly because I had to in order to keep up with the credits required by my major to graduate but also because I think the course will supply me with knowledge I will most definitely need to succeed in the Public Relations work force.  Most of what Publicists do revolves around their writing so from this course I expect to learn how to properly express my ideas onto paper.