Journalism 4460: A Short Survival Guide

As my final blog post as a PR student, I wanted to pass along a few helpful tips to future students on how to survive and succeed in Journalism 4460. The top six tips include:

1. You might work well under pressure, but don’t procrastinate if it’s not necessary.

Throughout the semester there are about a dozen mini grammar quizzes, the easiest way of finishing these is by doing  most (if not all) of the quizzes at one time at the beginning of the semester… or at least before the class gets too intense with the major project.  The quizzes take less than 15 minutes to do, so just get them out of the way. Plus, if you get them finished early on, you won’t forget to do them later on in the semester when you’re neck deep in papers.

2. Blog like your grade depends on it.

Always remember to blog. This is an easy part of your grade that can bump you up or knock you down a letter grade. Yes, the main focus on your blog posts is on PR, but there are several different subjects to write about. Just a few examples include: social media, media relations, ethics, PR mistakes and PR successes. Take this time to practice writing and learn about topics you might not know much about.

Oh, and don’t forget to include your name, your blog link and a title with the blog number on each of your submissions.

3. Use Tweet chats for yourself, not just for your grade.  

Tweet chats are a great way to network. Join in the discussion and meet professionals… you never know who might be chatting or just watching. This is a great way to find new tweeple to follow and possibly gain new followers. These chats are also a great learning experience since people all over the world can join in the conversation.

4. Spell check doesn’t edit your work. You do.

Don’t rely on spell check or just one read through of any assignment. The best way to edit a paper is by printing it out and reading through it (at least twice). You are less likely to catch mistakes by looking at an assignment on your computer than if you print it out on a piece of paper. By actually editing your work, you are saving your grade and saving yourself (and classmates) from listening to multiple grammar gremlin lectures throughout the semester.

5. Speak up, you are here to learn.

If you don’t know or understand something, then ask the professor or a classmate. If you have trouble on an assignment go talk to the professor. You will thank yourself later when you’re putting your final project together if you learn how to complete each writing assignment correctly. It’s better to learn how to write different types of PR materials now (when you’re paying to learn it) than later (when you’re paid to produce it).

6. Finally, the final project.

Let me just be frank with you, the final project is huge. Not only does the communications plan count as half of your final grade, but it also ends up being around 100 pages long. Again, don’t procrastinate. Meet with your group weekly to collaborate and write your materials as soon as possible. The faster you complete your written materials, the sooner you can edit and the more you can edit.

I hope these tips come in handy, because they definitely helped me out. I wish you all the best of luck and happy writing! (That was my one exclamation point I could use this semester and get away with)

Sources:

Sarah Kubischta, University of North Texas Public Relations Senior

Tweet Chats

Throughout the semester we were required to participate in three Tweet chats. Some students groan at the thought of going out of their way to talk to strangers about different topics, but I find it to be a good learning and networking experience.

For anyone who participates in these online chats, here are a few golden rules to remember:

1. Be prepared. Before you start the Tweet chat, find out in advance what the topic is about and link your followers to the chat. This is a great way to get others to join the discussion. If a follower doesn’t know how Tweet chats work, then tell them how they can get involved. 

This also gives you a chance to do some extra research so that you can give good input during the chat. Find websites, articles, blogs or videos about the discussion topic and send the link to the participants during the discussion.  

2. Get involved. Always get involved in the discussion. There is no such thing as a dumb question, so ask the hosts and other participants if you are unsure or curious about something.

Also everyone is there to discuss a topic and hear others’ opinions about the subject so speak up. Start by introducing yourself. Simply state your name, what you do and why you’re there. It’s also good idea to say you’re new to the chat while introducing yourself because regulars are always looking for new Tweeple to join in the discussion.

3. Give and Take Relationship. Tweet chats are meant for participants to share and learn about different topics. This is the perfect way to meet new people and potential followers by sharing important ideas, useful tips and intriguing questions. You might also find someone to follow who gives great advice.

Keep these three ideas in mind the next time you participate in a Tweet chat. Just remember that you and all of the other Tweeple are there to listen and learn about the same thing. So start Tweeting and check out this Tweet chat schedule for upcoming discussions.

Twitter Chat: Do's and Don'ts

Every month in our PR writing class we are required to participate in a Twitter chat. Most of the time students groan about doing assignments for school, but I always find these chats to be interesting and a great opportunity to network with people from different walks of life around the globe.

This week’s discussion on the #socialchat discussion revolved around Tweet chat etiquette. This is something I never really thought about , but it is good to know what other people think is annoying during these networking opportunities. About 20 tweeple participated in this conversation and gave great feedback.

The top three topics discussed included:

1. Tangents = Bad
Everyone seemed to agree it is annoying when a Twitter chat about one thing turns into a random topic. Even though this might happen every day in other situations (especially in PR classes with only women), these chats usually only happen once a week for an hour, which is the time to focus on the specific topic being addressed.

Tweeple join these chats to learn from and network with people who have similar interests, so don’t ruin their experience by changing the subject. Use DMs or mentions without adding the chat hashtag.  

2. RT to the Rescue
Twitter chats can be overwhelming. I retract that previous statement; Twitter chats are overwhelming, especially when there are several participants tweeting at the same time. It can be hard to keep up with the conversation when everyone is giving input, but the consensus was that Retweeting helps if someone misses a previous tweet.

Some people find RTs to be annoying while others find them to be helpful. I think they can be a little bit of both. Don’t Retweet for the sake of Retweeting. Add your own thought to it which adds more value to the original tweet, and you might be helping a fellow tweeter keep up with the conversation.

3. Don’t Announce your Late Arrival
Twitter chats are basically virtual meetings. If you were late to a meeting you probably would quietly sneak in, figure out what the current discussion is about, and jump in with your thoughts. The same stands with Twitter chats.

The #socialchat tweeple found it to be annoying and rude to jump into a chat and announce you are late, especially if it is preceded with the question, “What did I miss?” The funny thing is during this chat several people apologized for being late to the discussion… #fail.

In a nutshell, stay on topic when you are involved in a chat, because others are there to learn and discuss a specific topic. Don’t go overboard on the Retweets because they can be annoying; instead use them to add to the conversation. Avoid announcing your tardiness, because let’s face it who really wants to admit when they are wrong?

For more helpful Twitter chat etiquette tips from the host of #socialchat, go to the James T. Dabbagian website.

Social Media to the Rescue

People across the nation fell in love with Jack, the long-haired tabby cat American Airlines lost at JFK International Airport on August 25. After two months of searching for the “fugitive” feline, he fell out of thin air… literally. 

After clearing security, owner Karen Pascoe received the news about her missing cat from an American Airlines employee. Apparently a worker stacked Pascoe’s two cat kennels on a cart, and when the top kennel fell over on the ground inside of the inbound baggage claim area, it opened and Jack escaped.

After not finding her pet during the initial search, Pascoe boarded her flight to San Francisco without her pet. The airline assured her they would find Jack, contact her within 24 hours and presumably return the cat to her how they would any other lost luggage.

Almost three days went by before the owner heard from “Andy” the baggage manager from the airline. There still was no sign of Jack. Andy also informed her, “the last time this happened, it took about a month to find the cat.”

Pascoe returned to JFK just a few days later to keep looking for her cat. She even hired a pet detective to help with the search, but there was still no sign of Jack.

During the two-month search, cat lovers bombarded the American Airlines Facebook page demanding the company do more to find the beloved pet they recklessly lost. The airline responded to the public by setting up a separate Facebook notes page to give updates and details about Jack’s status.

Pascoe’s sister, Mary Beth Griffith Melchior, created the “Jack the Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK” Facebook page, which now has more than 20,000 followers.

Someone also created a Twitter handle in honor of the missing cat. Most of the tweets were goofy including this one: “This cat is not taking any of his nine lives for granted! Having fun at JFK until they find me.”

On October 22, the airline created Jack the Cat Awareness Day at JFK, in order to spread awareness about the missing cat.

Four days later, Jack crashed through a ceiling tile falling down into a customs room. The poor kitty was found hungry, weak and dehydrated. Airport workers immediately sent him to a nearby emergency animal clinic in Queens, where the veterinarian diagnosed him with fatty liver disease due to the lack of food nutrition. Since he lost five pounds he is being fed through a nasal tube and had surgery on a leg wound. The vet estimated him to be out of the clinic and on his way to California with his owner in the next week.

This story shows the strength of social media. Major news outlets including MSNBC and Fox, covered the story throughout the search for the missing cat. If an airline lost a cat ten years ago, this story would not have even made local news, but with thousands of people talking about this lost cat the news spread globally.

The power of social media helped save this cat since people and airport workers knew about the lost cat; they kept their eyes open for Jack and knew what to do if and when they found him.

Blackberry Blacks Out

Every week when I am researching current public relations news, I always tend to stumble across a new communications crisis. I find this interesting considering there are thousands of real examples to learn from; blogs about what to do or what not to do during a crisis; books about how to create and implement a crisis communications plan; and other numerous sources to help before, during and after these unfortunate situations.

Just in the past month there have been a handful of well-known companies that made huge communications mistakes including Netflix, Bank of America and the most recent failure, Blackberry.

Last week in Europe, BlackBerry services experienced an internal technical glitch causing an outage. The outage then spread to Africa, the Middle East and hit the U.S. three days after the initial glitch.

The Canadian-based company, Research in Motion (RIM), blamed the issue on a backlog of messages. According to The Wall Street Journal, it was a “failed switch and an inoperable backup.”

Four days after the initial outage, the service returned to normal for users around the globe.

RIM responded to this crisis by creating a link on their webpage that directed users straight to service updates and an apology video by the RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis. These updates might include apologies, but there were few details on when the glitches would be fixed. They also used technical jargon which means little or nothing to most people.  

The company used Twitter to update followers in different languages to reach their users around the world experiencing the outage. The issue with their tweets is that they were not timely about reaching out to customers when the glitch occurred on Monday. They also lied to users when they promised that the issue was fixed when it actually was not fixed.

For the second-quarter, BlackBerry  reported a 59 percent drop in profits and a year-over-year decline in product shipments. This outage was a major crisis for the company and they only helped damage their brand (and future) by adding horrible communications in the mix.

There are two main issues that stood out to me in this particular crisis, including the lack of being completely honest and timely.

In all of my public relations courses we learn about the most basic concept of PR ethics: always tell the truth. It’s simple. If you aren’t certain about a fact, then be honest that you’re unsure about it. Inform your audience that you will get back to them when you are 100 percent sure of the whole truth, but be timely with your response.

Blackberry stating that the issue was fixed when it actually took an extra three days angered consumers even more. I can’t say that users would have been thrilled to know that their phones would be down for that long in advance, but at least the company would have been honest in their communications.

Timing is also a major issue when dealing with a crisis. Blackberry did not get in contact with their users in a timely matter. If and when a crisis happens, a company should focus on the issue first to get through it in order to salvage their image.

Since Blackberry is a technologically savvy company that provides instant communications to customers globally, I find it interesting that their communications skills need some work.

Netflix Finally Listens to Customers

Netflix changed its mind and business plan again (which is the third major announcement in only four months) this week after receiving a horrible response by customers about all of the company’s upcoming changes.

Last month, the company announced splitting into two businesses including: Netflix, which would stream movies and TV shows online, and Qwikster, which would mail movies to customers.

The addition of Qwikster came across as a last minute, unorganized decision made by the company. I say this especially because of the Twitter handle issue. The company failed to research the use of the name Qwikster, which was a huge fail on their part.

@Qwikster on Twitter is an avid pot smoker, enjoys using unnecessary (misspelled) curse words, and wouldn’t know how to use correct grammar if it hit him in the face. If these reasons aren’t good enough, then check out some more of his tweets. You will see firsthand why you wouldn’t want him to be the face of a company.

A week after launching the new Qwikster DVD mailing business, Netflix canceled it. Instead of separating the two businesses, Netflix simply is keeping the two plans on one website, the Netflix website (which only makes sense). This basically means customers only need to have one account to use both services (which also only makes sense plus it’s more convenient).  

With raising prices and this mess of a new business plan, Netflix stock lost a whopping 63 percent of its value in the last three months. On top of this decrease, they are also expected to lose an estimated 600,000 subscribers out of 24.6 million by the end of this year.

Even though the number of canceling subscribers seems high, there are even higher hopes for the future of Netflix. With the new (and much improved) business plan focusing on online streaming, experts project the amount of subscribers to increase by about three times by 2017.

Even though they are expected to increase the amount of customers, right now Netflix needs to focus on their brand image that they single-handedly damaged. With the price increases and the change of business plans being poorly communicated to subscribers, their reputation will take time to repair.

They do have some great things going for them as a company, because they constantly try to make innovations in order to keep up with technology constantly changing. Plus, this is an excellent opportunity to shine now that they are in the limelight.

Netflix is quick on their feet (but quick to make hasty decisions apparently) so; they should definitely capitalize on the fact that they heard the negative feedback from consumers and immediately responded. The company took into consideration what subscribers were saying and apologized and changed their business to better fit the needs of the customers.

BoA Blatantly Steals Money from Customers

Bank of America (BoA), one of the largest national banks in the U.S., announced its new service charge for customers using debit cards for purchases. Starting next year, the $5 monthly fee will apply for purchases only, so at least it doesn’t include customer ATM withdrawals, online bill pay or mobile phone transfers. The new charge outraged customers across the country causing protests and petitions in several major cities. 

The bank responded to the angry customers with “[we are] adjusting our pricing to reflect today’s economics” and then blamed the federal government.

The New York Times calls the bank’s statements “simplistic” and a mere attempt to “obfuscate one of the largest illegal transfers of wealth from consumers to banks in American history.”

Vice President Joe Biden blasted Bank of America for imposing this new fee saying, “At a minimum, they are incredibly tone deaf.”

BoA blames the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. This new federal law limits the amount of “swipe fees” banks can charge retailers when customers make purchases using their cards. The bank claims it needs to charge customers to make up for lost revenue. The new cap is 24 cents for an average debit card transaction of $38, – which is about half of what the industry previously collected – and banks are expected to lose billions because of it.

This isn’t the first time BoA has added a new fee to their list this year. Back in February, the bank implemented a fee to checking account holders for receiving mailed copies of canceled checks along with their bank statements. If mailers are such an expensive issue, then why do I receive mailed credit card applications from all of the major banks on a weekly basis? Every member of my family receives these five-page applications (especially from Chase), but why waste time and money when it literally ends up in the trash?

The initial purpose of debit cards was to replace paper checks; in fact, banks actually save money when a customer pays with a card instead of a check. In the 1980s, Visa estimated savings to be between 55 cents to $1.60 per check, which has notably increased over the years.  I guess I just don’t understand why debit cards are costing them so much that they should charge for them.

Bank of America is one of the few national banks to change a monthly fee for debit card users. In February, Chase piloted a $5 fee for customers in Wisconsin, but it still hasn’t expanded to any other state.  Starting October 14, Wells Fargo starts testing a $3 monthly transaction fee in five different states.

If the Dodd-Frank reform law was significantly hurting individual banks, wouldn’t all of them issue additional fees? BoA jumped the gun on this one. They were already facing financial issues this year, and this new fee is definitely going to cost them even more. Customers are literally taking their money and running to the nearest bank that doesn’t charge customers to spend their own money.

I am thankful to be a USAA customer who doesn’t have to put up a fight or sign a petition to keep my money in my pocket versus the bank’s pocket. Thank you, USAA.