There's An App For That (#5)

Ever since Apple created the iPhone and iPod touch, other cellular device companies (like Android) have developed the "Applications" concept. With these devices, one gains the capacity to download and use the applications that they find the most interesting and entertaining. There is literally an App for everything a person could be interested in-anything from painting to zombies!

Apps have changed the way companies relate with their audiences- their public relations. Applications allow the audiences to become interactive and involved with the companies directly. For example, Macy's just released a new advertisement for their "Macy's App" that allows subscribing customers to receive personalized shopping recommendations as well as coupons. The commercial itself is entertaining and drives its purpose home, but there is a deeper message relating to public relations here.

Company's PR departments, like Macy's, are realizing that the more iPhones and Android devices gain in popularity means a window of opportunity for their business and success. So many companies and organizations are now developing applications to get their information out there and more readily available to consumers at the touch of a screen.

The PR team for the Passion Conference did this last year. Instead of trying to disseminate information via snail mail or email to over 40,000 college students, they encouraged attendees to download their app, which gave schedules, announcements, access to the conference shop, and provided push notifications for weather, traffic or emergency alerts that may have prevented people from arriving on time.

Not only do applications make it more convenient for the consumer, but it also reaps huge benefits for the company/organization itself. First and foremost it allows them to see who is downloading their app and participating. They can also find out the statistics on what kind of people they are reaching as well as what else that particular consumer is interested. These kinds of statistics enable the PR team to decipher how they can reach the other audiences. The popularity (or sometimes lack of) can help the company gauge their overall success and strengths and weaknesses as a whole.

Especially in today's rapidly evolving media age, we are constantly growing and companies realize they need to keep up. It is important that they stay at least one step ahead of the game and are always looking for new innovative ways to reach the audience. Apps are that next step and they will be around and will be successful as long as Apple and Android products are on the market.

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed (#4)

Diane Farsetta and Daniel Price compiled a list of falsified television newscasts that over the years, have been uncovered to be completely fake and untruthful. The article covers 36 VNRs (Video News Releases) and their 'spin-off' fake versions.

As a PR professional, the job is to make a person, place or thing relatable, make it look good and get the word out about that particular client. Living in the real world, we can't always expect honesty and truthfulness to play an integral role in public relations, but one would expect the individual PR agents to have some sense of morality and ethical conviction. 

In some cases, the PR professionals were actually aware of the misleading nature of the videos and their potential to be abused and still issued them based on an agreement made between either the reporter, news station or the network.

Here are the Video News Release cases I studied:

1. Sandwich Spin, Served up Fresh 
Jared Fogle, the infamous face of Subway, lost 245 pounds by allegedly eating only Subway meals and getting adequate exercise. Fleischman Hillard PR firm was hired by Subway to create the campaign "Fresh Revolution"- with that came the expected video news releases scheduled to be sent out to news stations. In January 2006, several news stations were hired by Subway to use the original VNR and edit as they wish to paint the company in the light of inevitable health and weight loss. Upon closer inspection, you can tell the video edits and cuts as well as audio edits from one fake story to the next. One station even went so far as to create a fake interview with Jared Fogle himself.

2. Safety Information, Sold Separately
Released in December 2005, Steifel Laboratories hired several news stations to run stories about a new topical eczema treatment called Mimyx. The drug (and lab) claimed that the product reduced size and symptoms of problem areas and could be used on any age. This was not the case. As many viewers found out, the ointment was not appropriate for every age and that the news stations had intentionally left out the 30 seconds of safety information found in the original VNR. As best that Farsetta and Price would find, no action was ever taken against the news stations as there had been a mutual 'advertisement' agreement between the stations and lab.

3. "Accidental Housewife" Intentionally Hides Her Sponsor Ties
Julie Eldman, the "Accidental Housewife" of a Charlotte news station, failed to mention in a Holiday gift giving special her 'special' ties to the companies she was featuring. According to research, she was given all of the products plus payment by the companies if she featured their products and services in her news clip. Essentially they 'bought' their way into her story while she featured them as 'the best products on the market.' The clients that Eldman worked with included Build-a-Bear Workshop, Tide-To-Go, Drugstore.com and Knowledge Adventure.

Dream Foundation To Host Fundraiser for Scholarship Funds

Dream Foundation to Host Fundraiser for Scholarship Fund

The Dream National Art Foundation Will Host a Record-breaking Event to Raise Funds For Exceptionally Talented and Creative Artists Around the Country

NEW YORK CITY (Sept. 20, 2013)- The Dream National Art Foundation will create the largest ever single-canvas painting, Sunday in Bryant Park, Manhattan. The canvas will feature the handprints of over 75,000 expected guests at the event. 

All proceeds of the event go immediately into the Dream Foundation's scholarship fund for the talented youth in the state of New York. Dream will also be conducting similar events around the country at the same time. 

"This event is truly one-of-a-kind. We hope that by creating a 'record-breaking event' we can draw more people in from the city and surrounding areas. We will need a lot of hands to cover the 

90-foot- long canvas,"event coordinator Katie Gryder said.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the event will have a variety of food trucks available and live music from the band, Coldplay. The fundraiser is expected to carry out until 8 p.m., and will aim to raise more than $150,000. 

Artists and donors of this event, and others like it, will be using the hashtag #HeartofArt to provide live information to the social media and other participants around the country.  

The Dream National Art Foundation was established in 1992 and is based out of New York City. It exists purely to provide inspiration and reality in the form of scholarships and funding for young talented artists in the Tri-State area. Since its conception, the foundation has grown to more than 25 smaller branches throughout the country. Annually, Dream raises more than $2 million for its core purpose and values. 

                                                          Comments from the CEO:

Contact Information:                         

Callie Caswell                                     

Dream National Art Foundation              

434-543-0083                                      

ccaswell@dreamnaf.org    

The Dream National Art Foundation 

114 W 14th St. 

New York, NY 11123 

(t) 212-118-2727

(f) 212-119-2828

www.dreamnaf.org

"The Shifty Press Release"

Three Main Points: 

1. Where is the press release headed? 

2. Companies shifting towards less official and formal forms of press release and news announcements. 

3. If companies do not make this shift, then when will their stories/new information receive the press coverage they need? 

Article Response

Response to PR Fills Vacuum Left by Shrinking News Rooms by John Sullivan

I.               The first issue this article importantly addresses is the difference between public relations and journalism. According to Sullivan (in more or less words), Journalism is geared towards the mass audience while public relations is there for specific audiences and their needs. Simultaneously, the PR industry is in place to aid companies, individuals, firms and even political campaigns gain positive press. 

   

            Some may even go as far as to suggest the more personal nature of public relations while journalism keeps its audience at arms length. Ultimately, this article serves to address the fact that journalism is shrinking in size and reputation while PR is taking center stage.

II.             Sullivan digs deep into history to provide information and background on the ‘first PR man’, George Creel, aide to Woodrow Wilson. In 1917, President Wilson decided that his administration required a boost of support from the American people. Thus, Wilson hired a former newspaper frontrunner to head his new Committee on Public Information in 1917. 

            According to Sullivan, the group “cranked out thousands of press releases in support of the [World] war and even started a speakers bureau, which grew to 75,000 people, all giving morale boosting talks across the country.” 

            

            Ironically, the demise of news journalism began here as the country began to question the honesty and motivation of journalists to provide such news. One might even say that this was the birth of conspiracy theories in an effort by the government to only provide information they wanted you to hear through the newspapers.

III.           Similarly, public relations has the ability to house propaganda just as much as journalism would have. Again, we must observe the differences between journalism and public relations: journalism is for the mass audience and lacks specialization to one group; public relations is utilized by corporations, individuals and even political heads to ensure that they are painted in the most positive light possible regardless of circumstances. 

      

            Sullivan argues that any news source has the potential to be propaganda driven and ultimately influenced by those with power and ‘sway.’ 

   

            Sullivan proves in his lengthy article that public relations is making a name for itself but that also may come with costs- the PR community must gain the trust of its audience and readers in order for their releases to have weight within the media realm.

Media is an ever-growing and rapidly expanding business that will never stay one way for too long. For most, this is a well-known fact, and for others it is a harsh realization. 

Perhaps the dwindling journalistic field is creating a void in media that can only be filled with the skill and reputation that public relations professionals are bringing to the table.

“The news cycle never ends… there is a lot of competition for people’s attention; it’s not just a press release anymore.”-Tom Collamore

Word Count: 421

Public Relations- Where am I going?

1. What field do you desire to work in? Why?

I love anything pertaining to movies and television; however some of my greatest strengths lie in organization and execution of goals. I am a very goal oriented person so ideally, I would love to pursue something in television management, production and scheduling. I love this field because I have always had an affinity for television, cinema and being able to pursue that while also utilizing my strengths in organization and completion would be the greatest dream come true! 

2. What are you doing to obtain that goal?

My major is public relations and I am double minoring in digital media and cinematic arts. All these concentrations combined will be beneficial to me in the future. I work very hard in my courses in order to obtain as much knowledge out of each course that I can. I also will be interning with a ministry next semester and will be in charge of their even planning as well as media ‘events’ such as that pertaining to their Twitter, Facebook, Blog & Pinterest accounts. I also plan to visit the sets of various television shows that my father is the set director for, such as The Walking Dead, to shadow and assist their set managers and schedulers in order to gain a more hands-on experience with the entire thing.

3. What skill are you fine-tuning?

I believe my skill that requires the most fine-tuning is professionalism. By no means do I consider myself ‘unprofessional,’ but I tend to become comfortable with others very easily. I enjoy making friends and getting to know others by ‘socializing.’ Most would not consider this a bad thing, and neither do I. I simply feel that my professionalism would be greatly enhanced if I were to be able to separate personal aspects from professional.