HD Learning

Secrets to a Successful Career

Everyone,
As we wrap up yet another semester of hard work, it is always a good idea to reflect on where we are professionally, what our strengths are, and where we want to go from here.

A few suggested websites may provide answers for you:

www.internshipprograms.com (a site where you can search for internships of any type in any part of the country)

www.rileyguide.com/interview.html (advice for interviewing)

www.aftra.com/aftra/aftra.htm (the site for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, a union for actors and on-air news people)

www.dga.org (the Director's Guild of America site)

www.rab.com (the Radio Advertising Bureau site; contains information about how and why to advertise on radio)

Although this is a relatively good time to enter the electronic media business, finding jobs in this area has never been easy. Hard work will continue to the norm. The Internet should grow in importance--both as a source of employment and as a method for finding jobs.

Good Luck in all that you search for and in all that you accomplish!

Excellent work this week on your PR presentations!

Everyone,

Great to see all the hard work and creative effort you are putting into your PR presentations this week.

It is especially rewarding to see that many of you are accessing

PR Newswire and Businesswire

among other news release websites for your research.

Keep up the great work!

Best of the Best Blogs

Here are the winners!

CMN 3500 Electronic Media Relations

Section One Winners!

Cara Cosentino http://carapr.blogspot.com/

Monae Thompson http://mlthompson-monae.blogspot.com/

Ryan Wood http://ryanawood.blogspot.com/



Section Two Winners!

Lesley Winslow http://lawinslow.blogspot.com/

Carrie Murphy http://prandthecity-carrie.blogspot.com/

Samantha Frooman http://samm-perfectlypr.blogspot.com/

Several factors, such as substantive content, frequency of postings, and quality of overall design and appeal, were considered in the evaluation of student blogs.

Congratulations, Best Bloggers!

WEIU Documentary Airs

PR Presenters:

Last night, WEIU aired an important documentary, "Bag It", which provides important details regarding the sustainability and renewable resources movement in America.

Go to the website for general information or to this page of the site for specific ways you can incorporate these concepts in your PR presentations next week.

This documentary clearly demonstrated the importance of Public Broadcasting to our Nation, our Communities, and our Lives!

Take a look at last semester's student work

Many students get a kick out of seeing last semester's student work, so I have linked the best of the best from last year here.

Be inquisitive and search through the other posts and student work to get a better grip on how to improve your own blog.

I will be examining your blogs in the next couple of days (giving you a bit more time) to ensure that everyone is posting regularly.

Oh, by the way, have fun!

Best Inventions of 2010

What the world will be in 2014 (or may be in many ways already)

Naomi Klein outlines the principles of The Shock Doctrine

Noon Start for FCC Net Rule-Blocking Bill

John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 4/8/2011 10:39:17 AM


The House has scheduled a noon start for taking up H.J. Res. 37, which would invalidate the FCC's network neutrality rules.
The resolution passed out of committee on a party line vote and is expected to be approved in the Republican-controlled House. The president will likely veto it, but is unlikely to get the chance since it will almost certainly not be passed by the Democratically controlled Senate.
Blocking the FCC rules is the only scheduled debate or vote on the House calendar, and will follow two hours worth of floor speeches--one hour on each side--on the failure, so far, to pass a budget or a third continuing resolution.
At press time the Republicans were blaming the Democrats for not supporting the troops and closing down the government for the sake of spending the country into bankruptcy, while the Democrats were blaming the Republicans for a road-to-ruin budget aimed at killing Medicare and slashing trillions for seniors to hand over to millionaires and oil companies.

The Republican and Democratic divide over the FCC-blocking resolution is only slightly less pronounced.

Comcast Picks Microsoft To Stream 'TV Everywhere'

Cable's efforts to deliver TV programming to customers across a constellation of devices is....

hitting a speed bump on Apple's iPad.

The spat over iPad Streaming apps hinges on a question: What is a TV?

Comcast has officially cut over its Xfinity TV authenticated online video service to Microsoft's Internet-streaming platform, which the operator's thePlatform subsidiary has integrated into its video-management system, replacing the adaptive streaming player from Move Networks.

The first iteration of Comcast's online-media player -- for TV Everywhere content available only to cable customers -- was powered by Move Networks, acquired earlier this year by EchoStar Technologies. The cable operator last fall disclosed its plans to phase out the Move Networks technology and migrate to Microsoft's Silverlight media streaming platform.

Earlier this week Comcast said it increased the on-demand content available through its Xfinity TV iPad app to 4,500 hours, up from 3,000 when it launched two months ago, but live TV on the tablets won't be available until later this year. It isn't clear at this point whether Comcast will use the Microsoft technology for the live streaming of programming; the companies declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the free content on Xfinity TV's website, mostly provided via Comcast's deal with Hulu, is made available in Adobe Flash format.

Comcast is the first company to use Microsoft PlayReady and IIS Smooth Streaming technology with thePlatform's mpx video management system.

"We're always looking at technologies that will help us deliver high-quality, premium video to a broad range of IP-connected devices," Charlie Herrin, Comcast Interactive Media senior vice president of product development and technology, said in a statement. "This new, integrated solution from Microsoft and thePlatform supports our ongoing efforts to deliver great entertainment experiences for our customers on all screens and devices."

Microsoft and thePlatform, through their joint development, offer an integrated solution to let operators and content providers deliver protected HD video for both in-home and remote viewing.

Microsoft's IIS Smooth Streaming provides dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP for live and on-demand content that adjusts video quality automatically based on a user's available bandwidth and other network conditions. ThePlatform also is using the software company's Transform Manager, a server-side transformation engine built into IIS Media Services that can encode once and simultaneously deliver it in multiple formats.

Courtesy Multichannel News, April 8, 2011, by Todd Spangler

Is a government shut-down eminent?

(Story and photo courtesy Associated Press) President Barack Obama telephoned House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday, and Boehner's office said the speaker told Obama he was hopeful a deal could be reached.
As the talks continued, the White House sought to put the prospect of a shutdown in terms people would care about, warning even that the beloved National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in the nation's capital would be wiped out. The Smithsonian Institution and national parks around the country would also be closed.
A shutdown would come at an especially busy time for the Smithsonian. The Cherry Blossom Festival, which concludes this weekend, draws many tourists to an area near the museums. The Smithsonian counts about 3 million visits each April and has already sold 23,000 IMAX movie and lunch combos to school groups for the month.
Under long-standing federal rules, agencies would not be affected that provide for U.S. national security, dispense most types of federal benefit payments, offer inpatient medical care or outpatient emergency care, ensure the safe use of food and drugs, manage air traffic, protect and monitor borders and coastlines, guard prisoners, conduct criminal investigations and law enforcement, oversee power distribution and oversee banks.
Mail deliveries would continue in the event of a shutdown. U.S. postal operations are not subsidized by tax dollars.

As one who has visited Washington during the Cherry Blossom Festival, this would be a tragic missed opportunity for millions of visitors to our nation's capital.

Additional photos courtesy National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc. found at: http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/news/press-room/press-releases/ :)

Podcast Example

Eastern Illinois University has graciously provided pages for me to showcase an example of a web-based podcast. I am looking forward to adding more installments and allowing students to subscribe to the podcast.

Meantime, here is my podcast example. I used the Mac iWeb program on my Macbook Air to create this website. It is easy. Let's get together and see what you would like to showcase on your podcast.

You Can Make a Difference!

In fact, every student has web pages provided by EIU for you to showcase your work and develop your own online portfolio. Great way to have potential employers find you!

What does printing cost?

I found this great blog which outlines the costs of color printing: brochures, magazines, annual reports, etc., and explains why it is soooo difficult to get answers about these budget issues for your case studies in class (team and individual).

She Dreams in Digital

Budgets

Students are working on their team case study presentations this week. One of the areas that is somewhat challenging for them is the idea of building a budget. Here are a few resources that you may find helpful:

1. United Graphics, Inc. (Mattoon, IL)

2. Entrepreneur's Help Page (PR costs and examples)

3. E-How Money (helpful small business advice)

4. PR on a Tight Budget (superb tips and tricks)

Positive PR spin on pernicious problem

President Obama puts a positive spin on the numbers and future outlook for our nation

The Note: Unemployment Numbers Brighten 2012 Picture For Obama, But Budget Negotiations Remain Murky

Photo Courtesy ABC News

Click Here to See What's happening in Washington, DC

Obama Touts Jobs Numbers: 'We Got Good News'
President Obama says, "we have to keep the momentum going."
04/01/2011

Biden Apologizes for Keeping Reporter in the Closet

Here's the link to ABC News story: Closed Press: Orlando Sentinel's reporter kept from high-profile guests at fundraiser!

Wal-Mart Faces the Big Box of Class Actions

The Supreme Court will soon decide the fate of a million-worker class action against the retailer.

"Employment cases are just the tip of the iceberg," argues the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

More than 20 companies have filed court papers in support of the big retailer's position. They include Altria, Bank of America, Intel, General Electric, and Microsoft.

For more information, go to: Bloomberg Businessweek.

The Externalizing Machine: The Corporation

An enlightening, disturbing, and thought-provoking film about the excesses of corporate entities.

A must-see for everyone concerned about our economy, our nation, and our world.

Particularly poignant since the 2008 Wall Street Bailout, 2009 Housing Crisis, and 2011 Japanese Tsunami.

The film synopsis: Click here!

Music Non Stop--Last.fm

As part of his degree project at Southampton University, Richard Jones started tracking what he and his friends were listening to on their computers with a project he called Audioscobbler. At the same time, Felix Miller and Martin Stiksel who were running an online record label, had a vision for personalized radio that learns what you like...similar to Wikipedia for music, Last.fm provides personalized music and content in many new and interesting ways.

A free phone app is available as well.

Last.fm

Awards: UK Digital Music Award, Mashable Chip Award, etc.

Who Dominated Social Media at SXSW?

AUSTIN, Texas -- With 10 official sponsors, dozens of parties and countless startups, blogs, apps and ambush marketers vying for attendees attention, South By Southwest Interactive 2011 was a marketing maelstrom. But which brands came out on top in social media? The results may surprise you.

Ad Age teamed up with People Browsr, a social-media analytics firm, to gauge the impact of 30 key brands' reception at SXSW -- everyone from ambush marketers to tech companies to the conference's official sponsors (Chevrolet, Pepsi/Pepsi Max, Brisk, IFC, AOL, Microsoft, AT&T, Samsung and Monster Energy among them). The custom analysis from People Browsr analyzed total mentions on Facebook and Twitter from around the globe in connection with SXSW from March 10 to March 14. The results are filtered, so no FourSquare badges or check-ins and no Tumblr photos, and then scored based on sentiment.

Based on the brands submitted, the top 10 most-mentioned brands were Mashable, Twitter, Google, FourSquare, Facebook, CNN, GroupMe, Tumblr, Microsoft and Instagram. Prominent brand marketers such as Pepsi (No. 12), Samsung (No. 13) and Chevrolet (No. 14) ranked just outside the top 10, while AT&T (No. 11) was cited both for its sponsorship and complaints of iPhone reception among attendees. Unofficial ambush marketers such as Nikon (No. 19) and Friskies (No. 26) also popped up, as did hot startups such as Hashable (No. 17), SquareSpace (No. 20) and Loopt (No. 23).

Mashable scored top honors in total filtered mentions, with 6.1 million compared to No. 2 Twitter's 4.6 million. The tech blog teamed up with Facebook for "Facebook Live," an online news series that was updated throughout the conference, and also streamed coverage of the conference on its popular Twitter feed. But GroupMe was the big winner in terms of sentiment, as 59% of its social-media mentions were positive.

In fact, the social sphere was by and large a fairly gentle bunch -- none of the top 10 brands had a negative sentiment ratio higher than 3%. Neutral opinions were far more prevalent. Google got lots of buzz but 90% of it was neutral, while photo app Instagram had a 15% positive and 85% neutral ranking. CNN had the closest split, with 44% positive mentions and 55% neutral.

For complete article, click here.

Inside Job

Click here to see a preview for this important Academy Award Winning documentary

Media Education

Everyone,
Today it is more important than ever to stay informed and current on what's going on in the world. With so many media, political, and technological changes occurring at such a cataclysmic and exponential rate of speed--we must all be vigilant...Stay informed...here's a few ways to stay ahead of the curve:

Blood and Oil

Independent Media in a Time of War

No Logo

Importance of unions in the U.S.

This is a very important examination, by PBS, on the critical factors leading to the development of unions in the US:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/teachers-resources/triangle-guide/

For further information on the American Experience: file:///Users/deborahyoung/Desktop/americanexperience.html

Research on Facebook

I am researching Facebook, its meteoric rise and current exponential usage, personally and globally.  Ran across these great blog resources:


Unit Structures:  Thoughts about information, social networks, and privacy






Venture Beat:  Mark Zuckerberg (youngest billionaire to date) now worth more than Steve Jobs...read the whole story...

Don't Let Extremists Shut Down Our Free Press!

Political extremists in Congress have introduced six — yes, six — bills that would cut all funding for NPR, PBS and other public media. Now, they're rushing the issue to a vote, trying to pull the plug on the news, arts and educational programming on which more than a hundred million Americans rely. The vote could happen as soon as next week!

Help us beat back these attacks by urging your representative to stand with the American people and protect public media. Sign the letter below to put Congress on notice: It can't play politics with one of the last, best sources of news and programming we have in America:

Let Congress Know How You Feel  http://act2.freepress.net/sign/npr_congress?source=email

Photo and Graphics

Be sure to use these "Tips for Success" in developing your photo/publicity campaign:

http://www.divshare.com/download/13968100-5f6

Example of a Podcast for CMN 3500

Students,
Here is an example of a podcast that you may choose to emulate for your media piece.

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=5183228

I will have more examples during our hands-on sessions in class and at the technology center on campus.

Example of a student print (brochure) assignment for CMN 3500

Students,
Here is an example of a brochure that you may wish to emulate for a print assignment, if you choose a print  document.

http://www.divshare.com/download/13935176-906

It is easy to create in MS Word.  There are templates, which is what I used here, under "Project Gallery" in Word that are very easy to use.

Go to DivShare.com to upload your videos, podcasts, and print assignments to your blog for free!

Example of a student video for CMN 3500

Students,

Here is an example of an appropriate video that you may wish to emulate or create something similar in the next couple of weeks.

http://www.myhdpro.com/events.html

Blogs for CMN 3500-2

Lesley Winslow  http://lawinslow.blogspot.com/

Carrie Murphy  http://prandthecity-carrie.blogspot.com/

McKenzie Stults http://kstults2011.blogspot.com

Catie Hausmann http://catiehausmann.blogspot.com/

Rachael McDermott http://rachaelmcdermott.blogspot.com/

Gina DiMuzio http://gedborn2blog.blogspot.com/

Amanda Tran http://atran1125.blogspot.com/

Samantha Frooman http://samm-perfectlypr.blogspot.com/

Robert Mitchell http://bobbiemitchell.blogspot.com/

PETA Ad Highly Controversial

Warning:  This ad is highly questionable and may be considered inappropriate:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/31/peta-super-bowl-ad_n_816341.html

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals PETA, may have crossed the line of ethics in terms of Superbowl ads...in fact, the most current PETA may never make it to Prime Time.

Blogs for CMN 3500-1

Megan Tschopp  http://mtschoppblog.blogspot.com/

Heather Derby  http://hderbysayspr.blogspot.com/

Olivia Thomas  http://oliveoylxox.blogspot.com/

Jordan Cox http://askthecollegestudent.blogspot.com/

Cara Cosentino  http://carapr.blogspot.com/

Nicole Preston http://nicolepreston.blogspot.com/

Ashley Barrett http://ashleysclassblog-ashley.blogspot.com/

Kristen Balwierczak http://prbeginner.blogspot.com/

Beth Steele http://bethsteelepr.blogspot.com/

Brian Krull http://briankrull.blogspot.com/

Monae Thompson http://mlthompson-monae.blogspot.com/

Taylor Mendenhall  http://taylortalk88.blogspot.com/

Ryan Wood http://ryanawood.blogspot.com/

Michael D’Annunzio http://dnunz.blogspot.com/

Kelly Tompkins http://kelly-whatchathinkingabout.blogspot.com/

Thomas Bickham http://bickhamrules.blogspot.com/

Emma Quintin http://relatingtothepublics.blogspot.com/

Angelica Cabel http://pragmaticaffairs-ac.blogspot.com/

Angelo Jackson  http://animalhouse222.blogspot.com/

Successful PR Campaigns

Students often ask for examples of successful PR campaigns and I am pleased to provide this information...

Japanese Car Victories:  Toyota, Honda, and Nissan wanted to move up the food chain from small entry-level cars to larger, more expensive cars.  All three introduced NEW BRANDS Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti.

All three new brands benefited from favorable publicity at the time of their launch and all three new brands became successful in the U.S. market.  Lexus is the largest-selling luxury automobile brand in America, outselling Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lincoln, and Cadillac.  Consequently, selecting the right name for your "branding" leads to favorable publicity and favorable consumer perceptions.

To an editor or reporter, a line extension sounds like a me-too product.  The media is not interested in your version of somebody else's breakthrough product.  The media is interested only if you have a breakthrough product yourself.  Some examples:

• Palm, the first handheld computer
• Blackberry, the first wireless email device
• Zip Drive, the first high-capacity external storage system for PCs

All three of these "firsts" produced a flood of publicity, which helped establish the three brands as leaders in their field.

Contrast Fat Free Fig Newtons with SnackWell's, the first fat-free cookie.  Both were introduced in 1992 by Nabisco, but SnackWell's spawned a sea of publicity while Fat Free Fig Newtons, the line extension, was virtually ignored by the media.  

All these examples point to the importance of NEW news to launch a successful public relations campaign.