Wednesday, April 27, 2011

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!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

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!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

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!

Friday, April 8, 2011

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

Thursday, April 7, 2011

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/ :)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

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!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

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

Monday, April 4, 2011

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)

Friday, April 1, 2011

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