Podcast Assignment :: COMM 4633 and SPC 4350

Image Credit: "untitled" by Jim Rafferty

Plan, record, edit and create a 5-10 minute podcast about some aspect of the topic of public relations. Students will work either alone or in self-selected teams of two to three each.

If you are working alone, you just need to create this one podcast. If you are working as part of a team, create this one podcast AND provide a plan for creating at least four more podcasts; you’ll only record/create this one, however, for the assignment.

Podcasting Tips

  • Keep the podcast conversational. Use an outline of talking points; do not read from a script. Talk to the audience as “you” – as if you’re having a one-on-one conversation.
  • Establish a regular structure for your podcasts.
  • Unless you can edit your mistakes without the listener noticing, record your podcast in one take.
  • Show your own interest in the topic through your tone and by explaining why the content matters.
  • See Tiffany Gallicano’s additional tips that she provided to her University of Oregon students.

Structure

  • Introduction elements (in various order):
    • Theme music
    • The show’s name (include show number and date for subscribers)
    • The host’s name
    • Sponsors (if applicable)
  • Body of podcast
    • Create your own content. (You may wish to use one of your Topics of the Week or PR Connections as a starting point for ideas.)
    • OR, interview a PR professional
  • Potential close:
    • Respond to listeners’ questions and comments
    • Theme music
    • The show’s name
    • The host’s name
    • Next show
    • Special thanks
    • Farewell

Show Notes
Show notes are like a table of contents & credit for the podcast. Use them to tell listeners what you’re covering and provide time codes so that listeners can jump to a particular section. Show notes also help people find you on search engines. Also, for this assignment, the show notes are how I will know which role each team member performed. Donna Pappacosts provides tips on creating show notes.

NOTE: Many, many thanks to Tiffany Gallicano at University of Oregon, who gave me permission to use her assignment for my class. I have made only minor tweaks to her original assignment (which appears at her The PR Post blog.)


8 Replies to “Podcast Assignment :: COMM 4633 and SPC 4350”

  1. Best wishes to your students with the assignment! For students using Audacity, I want to point out that if you’re trying to hit a menu item and it’s gray (you can’t select it), then hit the stop button on Audacity and try again. Sometimes, people hit the pause button instead of the stop button and when you do that, the options you need can’t be highlighted.

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