Know your role…

Back when I was a freshman I, like many others, was still undecided on my major. I’m sure we’ve all had different paths that brought us to PR, but I think it would be more important for those thinking about studying the field to fully understand what they’re getting into. In the Valley PR Blog, I came across an interesting post by Barry Kluger that I wish I had read years ago. I know it wouldn’t have changed my desicion to study PR, but it might have cleared up some confusion. 

The post advised those who are interested in the field to dig up the truth of what PR practice demands of its practitioners because the public’s perception of the industry is completely skewed. Kluger wrote that those entering the field usually think it’s a good fit for them because they ‘like working with people’. If that’s your reasoning, you might want to reconsider becoming a PR practitioner because it’s much more than getting media attention for your client, Kruger said. 

Some other advice from Kruger:

• Focus on crisis avoidance rather than crisis management
• It’s about positioning, not spin
• If an opportunity presents itself, don’t pass it up–but use ’smart, sober thinking and not shoot from hip responses’ 

While reading the comments following up Kluger’s post, some mentioned that fact that those who go into PR without properly educating themselves about the field cause a huge lack or professionalism and credibility in the industry.  

Knowing the aspects of the business is important, but what about those who stumble into a PR job? The fact that they are building on experience and learning as they go along doesn’t make them unprofessional, does it? Or is formal education one of the only ways to become credible in the field? Personally, I think having experience is what creates a professional and credible PR practitioner.

Hold the presses….literally

Everyday we hear on the news, internet, Facebook, Twitter and even in our classes that communication is changing.  I often wonder if this change  is a good change?

On Thursday the Rocky Mountain News printed their final edition.  The newspaper had been reporting on Colorado news for over 150 years.  On Waggener Edstrom’s blog “Let’s Define Death” president Frank Shaw talked about the certain demise of several major newspapers. Here is the list of Newspapers that he listed are in trouble on his blog.  He acquired the list from the Silicon Alley Insider.

• New York Daily News – Circulation: 632,595 (10% Decline Since 2007)
• Los Angeles Times – Circulation: 739,147 (4% decrease since 2007)
• St. Paul Pioneer Press – Circulation: 184,973 (3% decrease since 2007)
• Chicago Sun-Times – Circulation: 313,176 (.2% increase since 2007)
• Detroit News – Circulation: 178,280 (5% decrease since 2007)
• San Francisco Chronicle – Circulation: 339,430 (8% decrease since 2007)
• Miami Herald – Circulation: 210,884 (12% decrease since 2007)
• Philadelphia Daily News – Circulation: 97,694 (9% decrease since 2007)
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer – Circulation: 117,572 (9% decrease since 2007)

We all know that newspapers are fading fast, but it is still sad to see them go. I remember as a child watching my mom come home every night and religiously read the newspaper. Things have changed she is lucky if she gets through one paper a week. Now she mostly gets her news from the internet because it is faster and more concise. The internet plus sites like Craigslist who have revolutionized the classifieds have helped contribute to the newspapers demise.

However I can’t help but wonder if we are to blame as well? Our generation, the generation of mobile phones wireless internet and Ipods. Have we changed communication that much that we have helped ruin an entire industry?

On ABC’s world news with Charlie Gibson there was a recent report on the declining health of newspapers. Click here to view the video. Newspapers have been the eyes and ears for small and large cities. When they can’t function on the level that they need to cities are the ones that are missing out. When papers start to loose there print editions how will that effect their content? Content in most newspapers has already been drastically reduced. When a paper looses its paper what then does it become?  A glorified blog?

How will the change of newspapers as we know them affect the Public Relations field? Will reporters have the time to even report on pitches by a PR professional?

We are left wondering what the future will hold for newspapers and what the trickle down affect will be. Instead of saving newspaper clippings are we going to be printing off blog posts?

The Value of Our Degree

It’s pretty frustrating to be a college senior right now. Despite the fact that we have worked for the last four years to earn our degree, and we have done the same amount of work as people who graduated from the Cronkite school last year, the odds are we are going to have a harder time finding a job than they did. The fact is, we are probably graduating at the worst possible time to find a job in the last 75 years; and with the economy tanking, everyone is putting more thought into how their money is being spent, including myself. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking alot about my biggest expense (college), and if it truly is worth the cost.

As an out-of-state student here at ASU, the cost of tuition for the 2008-2009 school year is just under $18,000 (it is a little different for in-state students). Even though that is under the national average for four-year private schools (which is just over $25,000, according to collegeboard.com), it is still a pretty high price to pay for a state school. Because I have accumulated a fair amount of debt for student loans over the last few years (like many other students at ASU), I am going to have to get a decent paying job in order to support myself and pay back those debts. So what is the entry-level salary like for a college graduate with a degree in Public Relations?

Well, according to an article released by CNN, it’s not very good. As a matter of fact, it’s horrible. Accroding the article, the salary for an entry-level PR professional is lower than any other major, with $30,667 annually. In contrast, economics majors top the list with an average of $52,926, and nursing majors comes in second with $52,129. If that article tells me anything, it’s that the education that I’m getting isn’t worth it.

However, I think that there are a few things about those statistics that are misleading. First of all, I think that there are a lot of different fields for people with PR degrees to go into that have vastly different salaries, so I think that it is hard to say an accurate average salary for that degree. An entry-level position at a non-profit organization is most likely going to be making a lot less money than someone working at a large PR agency. Also, we are fortunate to be in one of the best journalism schools in the country. Although it seems like I hear that all of the time and I have not had much to compare it to, it’s hard to imagine a student in a different journalism school getting a better education in media than we are getting. I honestly feel that I am going to be qualified to take on a number of different jobs, and I think that the skills I’ve learned at this school will allow me to contribute to anyone who hires me in a number of different ways.

On top of the specific skills that we are learning in the journalism school, there are a number of other benefits to a college education. According to a blog I was reading on MSN, the average person with a college degree makes almost $23,000 a year more than the average person without one. Over the course of a lifetime, that adds up to more than a million dollars, the author said. Plus, there are a bunch of other benefits of a college degree that don’t even focus on money, including:

·         A longer life span.

·         Greater economic stability and security.

·         More prestigious employment and greater job satisfaction.

·         Less dependency on government assistance.

·         Greater participation in leisure and artistic activities.

·         Greater community service and leadership.

·         More self-confidence.

So, in the end, while it may be a lot of time and money right now, the money we are paying for our education today is an investment that will pay for itself  over the course of our entire lives.

Are blogs becoming paid thoughts?

For a while now, I’ve been trying to explain to my roommate what Twitter is, and why these social media tools aren’t really as useless as she thinks – they’re actually pretty fun!  She continues to be critical and simply unimpressed, reacting each time with a casual “oh, I guess that’s cool.  I just don’t get it.”  Then, last week, her reaction left me stumped.

It seems to be a topic of conversation every time I walk into my PR Campaigns class now.  “Did you see what Shaq posted today on Twitter? He’s so hilarious, you need to follow him!”  I found a blog by Niki D’Andrea  of the Phoenix New Times describing a Twittering Shaq story that I found particularly cool.  I was sure it was just what I needed to draw my roommate into the Twittering world.  Instead, when she finished reading the story, all she had to say was “Twitter must be paying Shaq for all of this publicity.”  I was speechless and, honestly, a little annoyed.  After all, how can someone be so critical and skeptical?! But, could she be right?

I came across a blog today by Steve Rubel all about the ethics of sponsored blog conversations – A.K.A. – bloggers who are paid to discuss certain topics.  Rubel discusses the controversial issue in conjunction with a Forrester Research study that said this sponsored sort of blogging is becoming more popular.  While Rubel discusses some ways to manage sponsored blogging, he also argues that this type of communication needs to be handled carefully, with a lot of disclosure and credibility.

I’ve always viewed blogging as independent thoughts.  People share what they’re thinking, without being guided by their employer or anyone else.  Is it just me, or does the idea of sponsored blogging/social media make things a lot more confusing and less reputable?  For some reason, a comparison to infomercials keeps coming to mind – people being paid to say they like a certain product.  I guess those aren’t all that bad, but then again, I don’t usually take what I see on infomercials very seriously.

I’m beginning to think that my roommate’s skeptisism might not be such a bad thing, after all.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still keep using and loving all of this new social media popping up everyday, but I’ll definitely start to keep a skeptical eye out for purchased thoughts.