Semester one lessons learned

I am officially one eighth of the way through my public relations degree and I already feel like I have so much more knowledge than I did going into the program. Here are a few reflections from my first semester:

Grunig’s two-way symmetrical communication model is key. If there was one thing that was drilled into my head this semester, it was that this model, stemming from Grunig’s excellence study, is what public relations strives for time after time. It may not be the easiest or most realistic model to practice in real life, but it is the essence of public relations.

Social media is an intrinsic tool for public relations practitioners. We studied social media very intensely this semester and I started to see that to practice public relations with the two-way symmetrical model in mind, social media has to be used; it is not an option. It is one of the only ways to ensure one is listening to feedback from stakeholders and having a real conversation with them.

Being a great writer is a must. I don’t know how to thank my parents enough for ensuring that I started learning my ABCs and reading at a younger age than a lot of people. I’ve always loved to read and write and it made my writing lab this semester a lot easier than I had anticipated. Writing is such a large part of public relations that knowing how to do it well and actually enjoying it as much as I do makes all the difference.

 

Group work is a difficult thing to manage, but you have no choice. This is one thing I have trouble with. Some group members (more often than not) are unreliable and are more than willing to piggyback on your work. It is hard to decide on meeting times that suit everyone in the group. Personalities clash. I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you. Group work is involved in real public relations practice too, not just in class work. Better get used to it.

Tara Hunt is a genius. Anyone wishing to get into public relations should read her book, The Power of Social Networking. Everything she says makes sense in our modern, technological world.

I am extremely happy that all of my courses have been so relevant and already make sense in real life. What have you learned this semester?

How to pitch to the media: an inside view from Global TV

About two weeks ago, I had an extremely exciting opportunity to spend the day with a journalist. I’m sure many of you have heard of him, as he has a segment on Global TV as a consumer reporter. Sean O’Shea let me tag along for a day while he reported on the iPhone 4S launch. (You can follow him on Twitter).

I also got to meet a lot of great PR practitioners, including a few from Apple. I want to share some of the things I learned that day, because as exciting as it was to hang out at the Global TV studio, it was great for me to get an inside look at how the media perceives people in our field.

Pitching

One of the main things I learned about was pitching to the media. Here are a few things to consider:

1)    Do not pitch between the hours of 3 and 6. This is the time when journalists are getting their stories together and finishing up last minute ideas. If I learned one thing on Friday, it was to NEVER pitch during this time. Ever.

2)    Let them know what you can offer visually. Be specific. Where can they set up their cameras? What is the easiest way to get there? Will you be providing the location or will they have to set something up?

3)    Find out what their preference is for communication. Some people prefer getting pitches over email, and some prefer over the phone. It seemed to me that the trend was to email the younger journalists and phone the more senior ones.

4)Make sure they are relevant! When sending out mass emails for a pitch, make sure you do not send them to people who will not find it relevant. For example, Sean is a consumer reporter. If someone sends him a pitch that has to do with sports, he will delete the email, and will likely never open up another email from that person. It is not relevant to what he does.

This was a PR pitch Sean received while I was there from a pest control company. Their theme was something along the lines of “Goblins and ghouls won’t be the only thing visiting your house this Halloween… pests will be too!” 

Follow up calls

I also talked to a few different reporters about follow-up phone calls for pitches. Some say that they don’t mind if PR practitioners call to check up on the status of a pitch, but some HATE it. It’s a grey area, but perhaps asking around before you make the phone call is a good idea.

I LOVED spending the day at Global, and would do it again in a heartbeat. I learned a lot about how stories come together, what the Apple corporate culture is like. Most importantly, though I learned how to pitch to the media. A great deal of what I heard overlapped with what I have been learning in class, so PR students: take everything you learn seriously!