The media rely on news releases for several reasons:

• The reality of mass communications today is that reporters and editors spend most of their time processing information, not gathering it.
• No media enterprise has enough staff to cover every single event in the community.

The news release is no paid advertising. News reporters and editors have no obligation to use any of the information from a news release in a news story.

Here are some tips for “news centered” releases:

• Use short, succinct headlines and subheads to highlight main points and pique interest.
• Don’t use generic words such as “the leading provider” or “world class” to position your company.
• Don’t describe products using phrases such as “unique” or “total solution.” Use specific terms or examples to demonstrate the product’s distinctiveness.
• Use descriptive and creative words to grab an editor’s attention, but make sure they are accurate and not exaggerated.
• Don’t highlight the name of your company or product in the headline of a news release if it is not highly recognized.

Media Alerts are used to let the media know about an interview opportunity with a visiting expert or alert them that a local person will be featured on a network televion program.

The most common format for media alerts is short, bulleted items rather than long paragraphs.

A typical one-page advisory might contain the following elements:

• a one-line headline
• a brief paragraph outlining the story idea
• some of journalism’s five Ws and H
• a short paragraph telling the reporter who to contact for more information or to make arrangements

Fact sheets are usually one to two pages in length and serve as a “crib sheet” for journalists when they write a story.

A fact sheet about an organization may use headings that provide:

• the organization’s full name
• products or services offered
• its annual revenues
• the number of employees
• the names and one paragraph biographies of top executives
• the markets served
• position in the industry
• any other pertinent details

A pitch letter is a short letter or note to the editor that tries to grab their attention.

Public relations people also use pitches to ask editors to assign a reporter to a particular event, to persue a feature angle on an issue or trend, or even to book a spokesperson on a forthcoming show.

If you are doing a pitch by email here are some specific guidelines:

• Use a succinct subject line that ells the editor what you have to offer; don’t try to be cute or gimmicky
• Keep the message brief; one screen at the most
• Don’t include attachments unless the reporter is expecting you to do so.
• Send tailored email pitches to specific reporters and editors; the pitch should be relevant to their beats and publications.
• Personally check the names in you email database to remove redundant recipients.

Notes are taken from Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics by Dennis L. Wilcox and Glen T. Cameron.

Youth and Young adults

• Children and teenagers represent an important demographic to marketers because they influence their parents’ buying decisions, have their own purchasing power, and will mature into adult consumers.
• Persistence nagging- a plea that is repeated over and over again
• Importance nagging- appeals to parents’ desire to provide the best for their children
• The youth market has often been identified as Generation Y, a term used to describe people born after 1980.

Baby Boomers

• This age group, born between 1946 and 1964, represents the tidal wave of Americans born after World War II, when thousands of GIs returned home and started raising families.
• They comprise a market of 76 million people, or about 28 percent of the U.S population. 60 million are over the age of 55.
• Baby boomers have grown up in an age of prosperity and continue to have few qualms about spending on consumer goods instead of saving for retirement.
• Boomers are now maturing and starting to share many of the same concerns as the seniors. They are naturally concerned about health care, insurance, retirement planning, personal investing, and other issues.

Seniors

• This group frequently is defined as men and women 65 years or older, although some include everyone over the age of 50.
• Medical advances have improved life expectancy to the point that today almost 36.3 million Americans are age 65 or older (12% of the population). A heavy upsurge in the senior population will peak at 50 million (21%) by 2010.
• With the perspective of long experience, they often are less easily convinced than young adults, demand value in the things that they buy, and pay little attention to fads.
• They form an excellent source of volunteers for social, health, and cultural organizations because they have time and often are looking for something to do.

Americans spend an average of 4.5 hours a day watching television, more time than they spend on any other medium.

All together, the Census Bureau has calculated that Americans in 2007 spent an average of 3,518 hours using the media, which is an increase of about 200 hours from the 2000 data.

• 1,555 hours watching television (broadcast and cable)
• 974 hours listening to the radio
• 195 hours using the Internet
• 175 hours reading a newspaper
• 122 hours reading magazines
• 106 hours reading books
• 86 hours playing video games

Notes are taken from Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics by Dennis L. Wilcox and Glen T. Cameron.

Another staple of my wardrobe is the headband. I first started wearing headbands because I had gotten my hair cut really short, which i hated, and I had no idea of how to style it once I got away from the beauty salon. So I put on a headband and instantly BAM! I looked put together. ( at least I think so) When I am having a bad hair day, I just put on a headband and go.

Creativity, I think, is something that needs to be expressed on the inside as well as on the outside. It shows that you have confidence in yourself and that you are not afraid to make a statement. With everyone being content to stay within the confines of the box, it is refreshing to see someone standing outside of it.

But about the Univerity of Georgia? How are they going to overcome the negative publicity that they have gotten in reward for one of their very own comitting such a heinous crime? Their team of public relation specialists will have to set the record straight that this man does not ulitimately represent the whole college. What are they going to say to the parents of incoming students or even students that are already there who are wondering if he hadn’t gone to that theater would he have simply stepped into the classroom and started shooting?

With major shootings happening in schools more frequently, it is no wonder that people are starting to fear these institutions. Not only does UGA have to placate their students and parents but the rest of the collegiate world as well.

James Kicklighter – His view on the 2009 NAB Show

Marie Walker – Top 10 job interview tips

Jessica Cameron – 48 hours of Twitter

Lauren Smathers – Swine Flu

Victoria Greene – Her Interview with a Professional

Natalia Daies – Her tips to having no do overs

Katie Crawford – PROpenMic

In a recent press Release, Gap, Inc. announced that another store would be added under their belt. Alongside Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and PiperLime a woman’s athletics clothing store, named Athleta, will stand. With this store it seems as if the circle is complete. Just by logging onto one of these websites a woman can get dressed from the running trail to the runway.

The first item on your resume should be your contact information. This includes your name, address, phone number, and a valid email address. Your email address should sound professional, not hotbunny007. If you want the employer to take you serious, then use a serious email address.

Some people would say that next comes the Objective, but most employers know the reason you are sending them a resume so the objective could be ruled out. Instead, next comes your Academic Achievements. In this portion you want to list your school, your diploma type (Bachelor of…), skills acquired in courses, and any recognitions that you have achieved, like President’s List or Dean’s List.

In the next section you will list your Professional Experience. In this part you will list tasks or jobs that you have had that could relate to the position of which you are applying for. You will also want to put the dates on the right side of the paper.

The next section could be for any extracurricular activities that you have been apart of. Most employers would like to see that you have experience doing things outside of the academics. Any volunteer work that you have done would look really good in this section.

When you Google yourself, do pictures from that party freshman year come up? Or how about that spring break trip? These are all things that a future employer can find and hold against you. It won’t matter how good your resume is but how you carry yourself. Knowing who your digital self is will help in the job search. As easy as it is for future employers to see the bad things about you, it is just as easy for them to see the good.

Set all of your social networking sites to private and control the flow of information about you. Writing blogs about important subjects is another way for future employers to see a good side of you. Don’t let opportunities pass you by just because of a few pictures. Be aware of how you are represented and everything should go well.