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News University: A Rich & Cost-Effective Resource for Journalists & PR Writers

News University

For this semester’s public relations and journalism courses that I’m teaching for Southeastern University, I am again augmenting my own content and our textbooks with several courses offered by Poynter’s NewsU.

First, create a free account at NewsU. (NOTE: When you enroll in NewsU, the form will ask you for a course code. We do not have a code for your course, so just leave it blank.) Then come back to this blog post.

Next, it’s smart to enroll in all the courses you will need for the semester.  It will make your life easier later on. To enroll, first click on the name of the course(s) below, then click on  Enroll Now under Course Overview.

COMM 2322: Public Relations Applications

COMM 4333: Writing for Public Relations & Advertising

COMM 3333: Journalism

When you have finished with each course, you will need to do two things to earn credit for finishing the course:

  1. Complete the NewsU Course Completion Form.
  2. Send me your Course Report to my Southeastern University e-mail address. The short screencast below shows you now.  Have the report come to my university e-mail address. (NOTE: This screencast was recorded earlier this year, so some of the dates are old, though the process remains the same.)

I’ve created this short screencast to walk you through the process.

For some courses, you’ll blog about what you learned as a Topic of the Week. For the ones that are not required as TOWs, you can choose to have them be PR Connections, if you wish.

[NOTE: In order to get credit for completing the a NewsU Course, you need to complete the course, fill out the form & send me the course report — by Saturday midnight during the week it’s assigned.]

Questions?

barbara_is_listening.

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PR Scavenger Hunt for COMM 4333, Spring 2011

Image Credit: "Myst Telescope" by Brapke

For our first “real” day of class, we’ll have a short scavenger hunt to find useful sites for public relations writers.

In pairs, look up your assigned site(s) below. (I have intentionally NOT hyperlinked to the sites in this post, to encourage independent searching skills.) Take specific note of the following:

  • Name of site
  • Types/categories of information you found there
  • One specific topic that you found interesting
  • How this site might be useful for PR Writing students

Reply/respond to this blog post with what you have found. Then, if you wish, you can use what you found as the basis for one of your PR Connections on your own blog later.

PR News Sites

  • PR Week
  • PR Tactics
  • Ragan Report
  • PR Daily

Public Relations Organizations

  • Public Relations Society of America
  • International Association of Business Communicators
  • International Public Relations Association
  • Florida Public Relations Association

Public Relations Blogs

  • Communication Overtones by Kami Huyse
  • PR 2.0 by Brian Solis
  • PRos in Training by Kelli Matthews
  • PR Communications by John Cass
  • Bad Pitch Blog by Kevin Dugan and Richard Laermer
  • PR Squared by Todd Defren
  • Waxing Unlyrical by Shonali Burke
  • Social Media Explorer

Podcasts on Public Relations, Writing and/or Public Speaking

  • For Immediate Release
  • Inside PR
  • Quick & Dirty Tips: Grammar Girl
  • Quick & Dirty Tips: The Public Speaker

Additional Resources

  • AP Stylebook
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.

(Though this post is written specifically for my COMM 4333, PR Writing, students at Southeastern University, others — especially PR professors — might find it useful. Please feel free to adapt as needed for your own use.)

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Topics of the Week :: COMM 4333 PR Writing

Old Ford Tow Truck 1 by Cramit.
Image Credit: "Old Ford Tow Truck 1" by Cramit

Spring 2011

In our PR Writing class, we’ll all blog about the same general topic each week during the semester. Your TOWs of 300 words or longer should be posted by Saturday at midnight at the end of each week, unless otherwise notified in class. (Posts that appear past the deadline may not earn any credit, so be sure to stay on top of your blogging deadlines.)

If you are unsure how to get started writing these TOWs, many times you can use this three-pronged approach:

  1. What did you learn?
  2. What surprised you?
  3. What do you want to know more about?

WEEK ONE

  • Which types of social media do you currently participate in (such as blogging, podcasting, social networking, etc.), which platforms you use, and why? [NOTE: Since you are creating your blog after after Week One, you will go back and add this post in.]

WEEK TWO

  • Visit Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl’s website. Either read three of her blog posts or listen to three of her podcasts on areas of grammar that are troublesome to you. Write about what you learned (using the three-pronged approach above.) Remember to link back to Grammar Girl’s site.

WEEK THREE

  • Why are comments such an integral part of blogs? What advice would you offer on writing effective blog comments? Be sure to link to at least three sources.

WEEK FOUR

  • What is Associated Press Style and why is it so important for public relations writers? Also, what are some of the trickier parts of using AP Style for you?

WEEK FIVE

  • Imagine you are working in public relations for an organization, and you discover that someone has scraped/copied content from your organization’s blog. What approach would you take to remedy this situation?

WEEK SIX

  • In our class, we use News University courses from Poynter quite frequently. But NewsU is not all that the Poynter Institute has to offer public relations practitioners and journalists. How can Poynter’s resources aid you as you begin your career? Describe and link to at least three beneficial areas in the Poynter website.

WEEK SEVEN

WEEK EIGHT

  • Using the three-pronged approach described above, describe your reactions to one of the News University courses you have completed. Remember to include a  hyperlink to the course, too.

WEEK NINE

  • This week’s topic was inspired by Adam Vincenzini’s Be My Guest month: post something by a guest blogger. Connect with another blogger (it can, but doesn’t have to, be someone in your class) and exchange blog posts for the week. (You don’t have to write something new for the other blogger . . . share your favorite post you’ve written this semester.) In your own blog, make it really clear that the post is written by another person, and link to your guest’s blog.

WEEK TEN

  • Peter Shankman started a service called HARO: Help A Reporter Out. Briefly describe (and link) to this service. As a PR practitioner, how can you and your client(s) benefit from HARO?

WEEK ELEVEN

  • Address several of the following questions about infographics. What are they? How could one be useful in a story for your client? How do you go about creating one? Create one if you can, and embed it in your blog post this week.

WEEK 12

WEEK 13

  • What advice would you offer PR students who are new to blogging? Come up with your own Top 10 list.
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Blogging Guidelines for PR Apps & PR Writing

Image Credit: "WordPress Swag" by Elea Chang

Public relations practitioners are increasingly called upon to be well-versed in social media. This semester, you will blog as a part of your grade in our class. (See your syllabus for the specific percentage.) You will add content to your blog weekly throughout the semester. Feel free to continue to use an existing blog of yours, unless you feel compelled to start fresh with a new blog for this course.

My WordPress 101 post will help you get started with your blog.

To make it easier for your readers to find what they are seeking at your blog, it’s important to  use Categories. Please add a category for each type (listed below), and make sure each post is categorized appropriately. Each post for this class must have the category of “COMM 2322” or “COMM 4333” along with at least one additional category.

1. TOW: Topic of the Week – Each week this semester, we will have a specific topic that all students will blog about. You should have at least 13 of these before the end of the semester. At times, you will watch a video, listen to a podcast, or read a specific blog post, and provide your thoughtful reactions. These posts must be a minimum of 300 words. We’ll keep our running list of TOWs for your class here at my blog (TOWs for PR Apps & TOWs for Writing for PR & Advertising).

2. PR Connections – Provide commentary, reflections and opinions about PR issues/examples that were not addressed in class. These can be responses to other PR blogs you read, links to interesting posts or articles, embedded YouTube videos, etc. Some students like to choose a theme (such as entertainment or sports PR) and have each PR Connection be related to the theme. Though these don’t have a minimum word length, you will need to adequately discuss your subject in the post. You should write at least 10 of these during the semester.

3. Blog comments – whenever you comment on someone’s PR blog (whether it’s a PR professional or a PR student), add the comment to ONE post that you update throughout the semester so I can assess your online participation. Do this only for PR-related blogs. You should have a minimum of 10 comments by your Blog Checkpoint #2 and at least 20 (total) before the end of the semester. See Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes for more information.

You may add other categories and sub-categories of your choice. Please keep in mind that when I evaluate your blog I will pay special attention to the categories listed above, but I will not ignore other posts. I will perform a holistic evaluation of your blog, looking for:

  • professionalism: Clear, correct, thoughtful writing
  • frequency: Sufficient posts in categories 1-3, posted throughout the semester. There will be at least four blog checkpoints during the semester, including a graded checkpoint at near mid-semester. (See your syllabus for the specific Blog Checkpoint dates.)
  • linking: Identify other PR blogs (use PR Open Mic or my blogroll in my Diigo bookmarks as starting points) and link to them. Respond to others’ posts. Become a part of the blogosphere. Blogging should not be lonely.
  • readability: brief & concise writing style, use of white space, bold characters, images, bullet points
  • proper credit and use of images in all Topics of the Week and PR Connections. (Use Compfight to find your images; be sure they are licensed for Creative Commons use. I’ll show you how to do this in class.)

SUPER-IMPORTANT: In order for you to get credit for your blog, I need to know where it is. Tell me your blog address by completing this Google Form; do this no later than the end of January.

Questions? Just let me know.

barbara_is_listening

NOTE: Many thanks to Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu at Purdue University, who allowed me to use her blogging guidelines from her PRinciples class. They were so well-written that I made just a few tweaks for my own class. Dr. V knows that Blogs Matter.

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Tracking Your Blog Comments

Image Credit: "Rome visit, June 2008 - 79" by Ed Yourdon

In addition to writing your own blog posts, you will also comment on others’ blogs; these comments will count as 25% of your grade on your blog. Aim to comment on two blog posts each week; you will need 20 comments before the end of the semester .

We’ll discuss writing effective blog comments in class. Kipp Bodnar provides tips for How to Be an Awesome Blog Commenter; read these.

Aim to include a variety of blogs that you comment on, ranging from your classmates’ blogs to those of PR professionals. (For a great way to find new and interesting PR blog posts to comment on, subscribe to Ragan’s PR Daily. Or, visit my social bookmarks for PR blogs.)

To track your comments so that I can easily find them, create (and keep adding to) two blog posts that you will title “Blog Comments: Peer” and “Blog Comments: Professional.” In each post you will include:

  • Comment # (keep a running list)
  • Title of blog post you commented on, followed by the author’s name
  • Hyperlink to the blog post
  • Date of your comment
  • Your complete comment (copy and paste)

See Amber Sakis’ blog and Rachel LaFlam’s blog for some great examples of how to track your comments. (NOTE: For this semester, it’s important to divide up the peer and professional comments for easy tracking; in previous semesters, comments were blended.)

NOTE 1: In order for the comment to “count” as part of your grade for this course, it needs to be a minimum of 50 words long — a few sentences. Comments such as “I totally agree” or “Thank you for sharing your thoughts” are nice, but they do not count for credit in this class. You are welcome (and even encouraged) to write comments of varying lengths, but for class credit, 50 words is the shortest I’ll accept.

NOTE 2: Do not post each of your blog comments as separate blog entries; make two pages and keep editing/adding to them.

And whatever you do, make sure your blog comments aren’t whack.

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Arrive, Survive & Thrive in Prof. Nixon’s Spring 2011 Classes

An Open Note to All of Prof. Nixon’s Students :

Image Credit: "Lotus Blossom" by Barbara B. Nixon

We’re almost off and running in our Spring Semester classes at SEU & FSC. You can see all my Spring 2001 Syllabi in my Scribd collection. If a syllabus is updated during the semester, you’ll find out in class, and the current version will aways be available at Scribd.

So that we can make the most of this semester, please (Please, PLEASE) take some time to read through the blog posts I’ve included here. I promise you, it will be well worth your time. (How often do professors let you get inside their heads, letting you know their tips for success and their pet peeves?)

Additionally, here are a few more tips:

  • When communicating with me via e-mail (or Facebook), always put your course number (such as COMM 4333) in the subject line to help me immediately identify who you are and frame your questions or comments. Do your best to write in full sentences, paying attention to standard English grammar and spelling. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name, as your e-mail address will not make that readily apparent to me.
  • When submiting an assignment in BlackBoard, always put your last name as part of the file name, and also include your name in the document itself. Papers submitted without your last name as part of the file name cannot earn full credit.
  • If an assignment is due in BlackBoard, the only way to get full credit for the assignment is to submit it in BlackBoard. (E-mailing an assignment to me can be risky; I receive 250+ e-mails a day, and there’s a chance I will not even see it in my inbox.)
  • Follow me on Twitter, if you really want to get inside my head. (What’s Twitter?)

Let’s make this a great semester together!

(PS: If you’re one of my students reading this post, please leave a reply to this post so that I can know you have read it. If your reply doesn’t show up immediately, no worries — I may need to approve it before it appears, if you’ve never commented on my blog before.)

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Shhh. Here are Nine Ways to Annoy Prof. Nixon

Image Credit: "can you keep a secret" by Tiffany Taylor

Shhh. Don’t tell anyone, but here’s a list of nine of my pet peeves. Some are big ones; others are minor irritations. You’ll do much better in my classes if you avoid ALL of these behaviors. But it’s a secret, so please don’t share it. Keep it to yourself.

  1. Try to pass off another person’s work as your own. I don’t care whether it’s in a singular blog post or in a major assignment: plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. What should you do instead? When you use the ideas or words of others in your writing, as we all must do at times, let me (and your other readers) know where they come from. Use quotation marks for direct quotes. If it’s in a blog post, always hyperlink to the original source (if the original source is available online). If you are at all in doubt about whether or not to provide attribution, ask me. If you choose to plagiarize, at the least, you will fail the assignment. You may even fail the class. And you will absolutely taint my impression of you. You don’t want this to happen. Trust me.
  2. Ask me “Did we do anything important in class last time we met? I wasn’t here.” See this poem by Tom Wayman on Delaney Kirk’s blog for some sarcastic responses you might get from me if you ask this.
  3. E-mail me without putting your class name & number in the subject line. I have about 100 students this semester, and it’s challenging to recall who is in which class. Also, it really helps me if you put your first and last name in your messages.
  4. Use Facebook or check Twitter/e-mail during class time. Honestly, I don’t care if you choose to daydream or squander your own class time. But when you use the computer (or even your mobile device) to do it, you’re distracting others around you as well. And that bothers me. A lot. (Now there will be times when we are actively using Facebook, Twitter, etc. for class purposes — that’s different.)
  5. Come to class late. Even if you “just slip in,” it’s disruptive to our whole class. If we have a student or guest speaker, it’s even worse.
  6. Ask me a question about something that I’ve recently answered to another student in the same class. This makes me think that you are not paying attention.
  7. Failing to read my blog. I use this blog to share important information with you. Sometimes it’s class assignments. Other times, it’s tips that will help you on assignments or in securing employment after graduation. I often embed links in the posts that will lead you to additional useful information; click and read the links, too.
  8. Ask “what are we doing in class next week?” Now on the surface, that may seem like you are engaged or truly care about what we are doing in class. But toward the end of your syllabus is a weekly schedule of what we’re doing in class. I stick to it.
  9. Don’t share helpful information about the class with others. You see the first paragraph in this blog post? I was being sarcastic. I really DO want you to share this information.

Now, if you’ve been a student of mine in the past, what other helpful tips can you share with students who are having me as a professor for the first time? I’d love to know. Please share your ideas in a comment.

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Keeping Organized by Using Google Calendar

If I was paid a dollar this semester for every time I heard/read a student say this last semester, I’d be rich. Well, at least I’d have enough for daily Starbucks.

It’s so confusing having so many classes! I can’t ever remember when things are due…

Here’s my suggestion.

Create a Google Calendar for yourself. (Here’s how.) Your Google Calendar is available from any computer, and it can automatically synchronize with many popular smart phones (like the iPhone, BlackBerry or Palm Pre) — which means that you’ll have the ability to know when things are due no matter where you are, 24/7.

For my classes, look in on your syllabus and in BlackBoard for deadlines for:

  • Assessments (quizzes, Readiness Assessment Tests AKA RATS, etc.)
  • Assignments

Look here on my blog for blogging guidelines and descriptions of when your blog posts are due. These vary by class. And remember to include your TOWs (Topics of the Week) for those classes that include them as part of the assignment; TOWs are due Saturdays at noon.

Create a calendar entry in your Google Calendar for each item that is due. Set interim deadlines for yourself for larger projects. You can tell Google Calendar to send you a reminder about any deadline you choose.

And that’s all there is to it. At least, except for the “completing the assignments” part.

Hope you found this helpful.

(NOTE: If you have another calendar method you prefer, and it already works well for you, USE IT. No need to switch. But if you’re having trouble staying on top of your classes, try this method. It’s how I keep myself organized.)

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Save Money on Textbooks with Amazon Book Buyback

Image Credit: "I'm Broke" by Barbara B. Nixon

Textbook prices seem to keep soaring, up to four times the rate of inflation.

A college professor, I do my best to choose the best textbooks for each of my classes. But sometimes the cost of the book will make me choose a second (or even third) best, if the book is outrageously priced.

And as a parent of two in college, I gasp — and sometimes even groan — at the cost of my sons’ books, especially for those books I know they will not want or need to keep.

I’ve recently learned about Amazon.com‘s guaranteed Book Buyback program, and I am sharing that information with all my students. For the Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics textbook (for my PR Applications class), a student can purchase a used copy of the book for less than $40, and sell it back to Amazon and receive a $38.09 Amazon giftcard. That makes the net price of the book $1.40. You can’t even get a cup of coffee most places for $1.40.

The savings aren’t quite as dramatic for some of my other classes, but it’s still a smart option to investigate.

Hope this helps,

(NOTE: All Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links for the International Listening Association.)

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Getting a Jumpstart on Prof. Nixon’s Spring 2011 Classes

If you’re looking to get a jumpstart on my classes this spring, here are the books and other required resources that we will be using. I’ve linked to many of them at Amazon.com, but of course you can purchase them from anywhere you like. I recommend you try the Facebook Marketplace first, so you can get a good deal AND help a fellow student.

Public Relations Applications (COMM 2322)

Public Relations Writing (COMM 4333)

Introduction to Journalism (COMM 3333)

Social Media for Public Relations (COMM 4633)

Honors Speaking & Writing (COMM 244L)

Questions? As always,

(PS: Syllabi for my classes will be posted in early January.)