Public Relations

2008-12-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for the awesome assignment that Prof. Harvey assigned for our final project! Making a media kit about ourselves will not only be fun, but it will also give us a chance to practice these releases and to be creative when designing them. And what better topic to write about than someone you know the best. Perfect!

2008-11-22T10:58:00.001-08:00

Every year, the Grinch comes out in me when I see holly and twinkle lights weeks before Thanksgiving. I understand that people love this holiday for the family time and gifts, but I hate how Christmas is SO commercialized. Parents waiting in long lines so their kids can have the $400 gaming system under the tree, because if they dont get it, the kids Christmas will be ruined! It's too much stress when the focus of the holidays should stem from spending time with loved ones: family or friends. That's why my closest friends and I are escaping to Las Vegas for Christmas.

Twilight!!

2008-11-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine has been obsessed with the Twilight books and encouraged me to get a copy. After I read the first one, I was hooked and sped through the first three before the movie came out. It was a brilliant plan for Hollywood Theaters to premiere it at midnight because they filled us about four theaters to the max! The entire lobby was packed with people dressed out in Twilight gear. Apparently the midnight shows alone made something like 7 million dollars. The tween-book-saga-movie equation is definitely a recipe for success because it's "in" to be obsessed with these movies and books.

2008-11-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen the reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8? It's about a husband and wife who had twins first and through invitro treatment, had 6 babies at once. When the show first began, it basically showed how the Gosslin's struggled and the logistics of feeding, clothing, and entertaining 8 children under the age of 6. It captivated many viewers as People magazine named the Gosslin's "America's Favorite Family" and is now promoting a month-long Gosslin Wedding special where Jon and Kate will re-new their vows in Hawaii with 8 children in tow. What I found particularly interesting about this, is that not only are viewers interested in things like Gosslin's morning routine, but now they are spending 4 hours out of their month to watch the family in Hawaii. TLC network recognized that viewers were beginning to love the family as whole, not just because Gosslins have 8 kids but because they are human, and they want to share a moment like this with the show's fans, thus the gigantic, television event for this reality family.

2008-11-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

I realize that this is supposed to be one of the most important elections in a while because our economy is in the gutter, we're in a war, real estate and gas prices are out of control, along with several other things. But I cant help but wonder if the the voter turn out that has already broken records in just the absentee ballots, has anything to do with the SNL skits, the constant vote tie-ins in all of the commercials for sitcoms, and the asthetic appeal that comes with candidates like Sarah Palin and Barack Obama. The lowest voter demographic is the 18-24 age group and all of these things appeal to them and can easily viewed by them. I'm curious to see how the voting will differ from past elections as far as what kind of voters turn out this time around.

2008-10-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

My company that I'm working with for our news release and SMNR is the American Cancer Society. Recently they put on a benefit called Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) This was a chance for the ACS to appeal to the public by blocking off two hours on ABC, CBS, and NBC to showcase famous musicians, celebrities, and testimonials by cancer survivors. I thought this would be a perfect thing to write about because it appeals to a lot of audiences and it's the only type of benefit of its caliber.

2008-10-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

I think it was excellent for Sarah Palin's image to laugh at herself on SNL. Tina Fey's impression of the VP candidate is a fixture in the election and the fact that Sarah Palin got in on it was brilliant for her. Obviously viewers agreed because that SNL was one of the most viewed episodes.
While her appearance may not have earned more votes for McCain, it was a great image booster for their campaign. They probably felt the need to compete with the hip crowd that Obama appeals to.

The Chart

2008-10-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

It was interesting that Missouri Southern took October 8th issue of the Chart off the stands because of its headline about MSSU having an all-time enrollment low this year. It was unfair of them to do this, not to mention a violation of the 1st Ammendment. What happens with Missouri Southern and its enrollment is something that Missouri Southern students have a right to know about. It was completely unnecessary that they had to hide such a headline, when there have been whispers about this for the past few semesters. The article could have been an opportunity for MSSU to be clear about the low-enrollment rumors, plan of action, and how it is effecting current students. Now there is a lot more buzz about this topic than there should be.

Media Kits

2008-09-30T14:39:00.001-07:00

I'm glad that we are working with media kits in this class. I'm not too familiar with the importance of media kits or even what all goes into them such as formatting, content, or size. In PR courses, I've been introduced to things like press releases, but never media kits. By the end of the semester, I'll be glad to take the know-how from the assignments we've had that lead up to the creation of our own media kit to the real world.

Bud Light at MSSU?

2008-09-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

One part of PR is trying to create an image for a customer or business. What kind of image is Missouri Southern putting out when they are sponsored by Bud Light, yet they dont allow drinking on campus. Missouri Southern has needed some sort of image face lift for a very long time and I think Buld Light could pave the way for a more college-life friendly MSSU. Tailgate parties at other colleges create such school spirit and increase attendance at sporting events, it would be so great if Missouri Southern could take part. But if Missouri Southern is so against that image, then why are they allowing Bud Light to advertise all over the stadium?

The Joke that is Britney Spears

2008-09-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

I usually enjoy watching the MTV video music awards because of the performances and clothes. But this year, they were hyping up Britney Spears and making it seem like she was going to open up the VMAs to make up for the pitiful performance last year. The fact that she was going to try to redeem herself made headline news on all the national news stations, the internet, not to mention celebrity magazines. All of this was just a stunt to get people to tune in only to watch Britney Spears stutter her lines from a teleprompter for thirty seconds and looking sober. Excellent job, Britney.

This "media stunt" worked perfectly on me. I WANTED to see Britney open the show and show her er-- skills again. But they just used Britney and her sordid past with the VMAs to catch the attention of the viewers who wouldn't have watched it sans Spears.

American Cancer Society

2008-08-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

I chose press releases from the American Cancer Society because I have always liked the idea of doing PR for a large non-profit organization like that. Also, the ACS did a lot for my family and me when my dad was diagnosed with cancer. The whole experience definitely had an impact on me while I was deciding what field of PR I wanted to get into. ACS not only helps families like mine, but they are also determined to promote and delve further into cancer research. Being a part of that would be so awesome.

What PR means to me....

2008-08-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

I started out my college career six years ago at Missouri Southern as an English Education major. But after only one semester, I knew that wasn't the right choice for me. I took the Intro to Public Relations class and immediately fell in love with the subject and made it my major. PR is so appealing to me because it involves strong communication, planning and writing skills. Those are not only things in which I excel, I'm extremely interested in them. PR, to me, seemed to be a very broad subject matter with a lot of different career paths. Right now, I'm more interested in the Promotional/Event Planning part of PR but I'm open to any job opportunity. I only have two more semesters left, I'm anxious to complete school and gain the tools I need to be successful in the Public Relations field.