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General Feedback on News Releases for PRCA3330

After reviewing all the first news releases in PRCA 3330, I am generally pleased with what I saw, considering it is the first news release you have written. Many of the news releases were spot-on; they were newsworthy and clearly written. You must have remembered what you learned in your Intro to Journalism class!

Here are some common errors I saw:

  • Improper use of commas (either too many or not enough)
  • Puffery (making statements in the news release that don’t seem newsworthy. Some of these would be okay as part of a quotation, however.)
  • Format (forgetting to put an embargo date or For Immediate Release, end sign, page slugs, etc.)
  • Calling women “girls” or “ladies” (even though it’s common in sororities to do this, AP Style calls for the use of the word “women” when you are writing about female adults)
  • Abbreviating the word Georgia as GA, rather than Ga. as AP Style calls for
  • Using “we” or “our” when it’s not part of a quotation (a news release needs to sound like a story one would read in an impartial newspaper, not in a company newsletter)
  • Improper formatting on dates, times, etc.

And here are two major problems I saw:

  • Turning in a corrupt file or one that is not “openable.” If I cannot open the file, you cannot earn credit on it. Several people turned in files with “LNK” as the format — which is a hyperlink to something on your own hard drive. Others turned in temp files. ALWAYS double-check to ensure a file will open properly before you submit it for a grade, or for another person to receive.
  • FAILING TO TURN IN THE ASSIGNMENT (Yes, I was yelling briefly – nearly 25% of the class did not turn in the assignment at all. That was quite disappointing to see.)

To learn how to see my specific feedback for you in GeorgiaVIEW, see this short video below.

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Your News Release #2 should be like a final version of News Release #1. Use the same information you turned in already (or should have turned in!), revise it, and submit it as News Release #2. Whereas NR#1 was critiqued, NR#2 will be graded. Be sure to use the feedback that I provided for you when making your revisions. NOTE: I may not have caught every error the first time I critiqued your news release.

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Blog Checklist :: February 2010

Wondering if you are on the right track with what I am expecting from your blogs? Here’s a checklist for you based on what should be at your blog by the end of February. I will be evaluating your blogs again (for a grade) at some point in early March. It’s likely that I will not announce the specific date ahead of time. I will go back and look at previous posts again.

Georgia Southern classes:

Southeastern University classes:

As I’ve reminded you in class frequently, it’s critical to keep up with your blogs. If you haven’t already done so, you may want to create an Editorial Calendar for yourself to help schedule your required posts.

Finally, in some informal checks I’ve done recently, here are a few things that I’ve noticed:

  • When you put in a hyperlink, don’t let the reader see the URL. Ever. Simply hyperlink from a few relevant words.
  • Blog comments (the ones you write on others’ blogs) need to be added to ONE post of yours, not as individual posts in your blog.
  • Proofread. Any errors diminish your credibility as a future PR practitioner.
  • See the Improving Your Blog video I created for you in January after the last blog check.
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Call for GSU PR Advisory Board Awards Submissions

Are you an outstanding Georgia Southern University public relations student? If so, you might want to submit your name (and accompanying documentation) for one of our annual Public Relations Advisory Board awards.

Nominations/applications are being sought in the following areas:

Public Relations Writing: Submit 3-5 short samples. Samples may include, but are not limited to, news, features, brochure copy, newsletter articles, communication plans, and web-based writings. Preference will be given to published works and successfully implemented communication plans.

Public Relations Design: Submit 3-5 samples. Samples may include, but are not limited to, newsletters, brochures, posters, advertisements, web pages, and PSA design elements. Preference will be given to original designs.

Public Relations Planning: Submit program overview and corresponding materials. Provide documentation of your contribution to this program. Indicate if the plan was completed by a group or individual. Describe each component of the plan and each team member’s contribution to the plan.

Public Relations Research: Submit 1-3 research papers and /or projects. Projects may entail academic investigations or applied projects that contribute to our understanding of public relations and communications. Co-authored work will be accepted based on applicant or applicants’ contributions to the project. Preference will be given to original research papers or projects.

Public Relations Student of the Year: Submit resume and portfolio. The portfolio should exhibit success in the following areas: (a) leadership and extra-curricular, (b) professional development, (c) academic works, and (d) academic or professional presentations.

Visit one of the bulletin boards in Veazey Hall for an application or use this PDF form.

NOTE: You must submit your application no later than Wednesday, March 3, at 5 p.m.

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The Anatomy of a News Release :: A Baker’s Dozen

The week of February 22, my PR Writing classes are learning about the components of a news release and writing their first news releases. I have recorded this short presentation for them to share “The Anatomy of a News Release :: A Baker’s Dozen.”

NOTE: I lost my voice earlier this week, and my voice is still pretty wimpy in this recording.

In order to benefit from this presentation, it’s best to have a news release from an organization–any organization–handy so that you can see how the 13 elements are used in “real life.” Go out to your favorite organization or company online, search for a section of the website called “News Room” or something similar, and find a news release there. This week, my favorite product is Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat Tea, so here’s a link to TM’s Press & Media section of its site.

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When WordPress Was Down

About a week ago, I sent out a request on Twitter for ideas for how to back up a WordPress.com blog. You see, all of my students at Georgia Southern University and Southeastern University (about 200 total) are blogging this semester as part of their course engagement and participation requirements. I had a sinking feeling that some of my students might not have the information they are posting at their blogs saved anywhere else, and wondered what would happen if WordPress.com went down or out of business.

This afternoon, WordPress.com was down for a while. And some of the students (and many, many others) began to — in layman’s terms — freak out. As I suspected, they didn’t have their information backed up.

We love having free services available for ourselves and our students. We expect the services to work all the time. And when they don’t? Life is unpleasant. And a little scary.

Because I wanted a little more control over my blog, I chose to self-host it using BlueHost. It costs me about $100 a year, which is a reasonable investment for me. (GoDaddy is less expensive, but I find its ads offensive so I choose to spend my money elsewhere.) Do I force my students to pay to blog? No. Should I recommend it as a good option? I’m thinking that I should now.

That all said, what should students do to be sure they have backup copies of all their blog posts (especially when they will be graded on their blogs)?

Here are a few ideas:

  • Use the WordPress Export feature to back up your entire blog, comments and all. I do this at least once a week.
  • Write your blog posts in Microsoft Word, and use Word to publish to WordPress. It’s easy to set up. Sometimes you need to do a little cleanup of the post when it gets to WordPress, but most if the times things come through cleanly. (Save your files to a folder on your hard drive in addition to posting them online.)
  • Write your blog posts in Microsoft Word and copy/paste them to WordPress. Sometimes the formatting gets funky when you do this, but if you don’t mind the cleanup, it works okay. (Save your files to a folder on your hard drive in addition to posting them online.)
  • Write your blog posts in Google Docs and copy/paste them to WordPress. The formatting seems to come through pretty cleanly with Google Docs. (Save your files to a folder on your hard drive in addition to posting them online.)
  • If you’ve lost a post that you already published, you may be able to recover it by going to Google, then searching for the title of the post or the name of your blog. You may find that Google has the information in its cache. Or for older posts, try the Wayback Machine (you’ll need to know the URL to the blog to make this one work).

Bottom Line: When you’re working in the cloud, especially on free sites, have a back up plan. (Back up? Get it?)

What other ideas would YOU recommend?

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Improving Your Blog

Students in almost all of my classes this semester are blogging, with varying degrees of success so far.  I recorded a six-minute Prezi with tips for them to improve their blogs.

UPDATE 2-15-2010: This Prezi was recorded with my PR Writing and Social Media for PR classes. If you’re in PR Practicum — a one-credit class — your blog has slightly different guidelines; you “only” have several specified topics to write about and blog comments to write. Most of the rest of the information I shared in my Prezi does apply to you, though.
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One Week of Twitter :: COMM 4333 and PRCA 3330 :: Spring 2010

Spring 2010 COMM 4333 & PRCA 3330 Students Only

(For Summer PRCA 2330 & 3330 Students, see the updated version of this assignment.)

Our One Week of Twitter assignment begins on Monday, February 15, and will end at midnight on February 22. Your blog post about this experience count as your Topic of the Week for Week Seven.

First, Learn a Bit About Twitter

  1. Listen to Laura Fitton discuss Twitter for Business.
  2. Listen to my Twitter: What’s in it for me? presentation.

Setting Up Your Twitter Account

  1. Go to Twitter. Click Get Started, and sign up. I prefer it if you use some version of your first and last name as your Twitter ID. (Avoid putting numbers in your Twitter ID, or you may appear like a spammer.)
  2. Upload a photo or avatar.
  3. Write a brief (140-character or fewer) bio. It’s good to mention that you’re a PR student.
  4. Send a tweet saying “I’m a student in @barbaranixon’s #COMM4330/#PRCA3330 class”. (Use the correct number for your class.) Be sure to include the #xxx1234 indicator, with no spaces between the hashtag (#), letters and numbers.
  5. If you haven’t already done so, complete my form that tells me your Twitter username before midnight on  Monday, February 15.

Setting Up Your Following List

  1. Follow at least 20 (why not all?) of the people or organizations in my Twitter Starter Pack for PR Students.
  2. Visit your class’ list for PRCA 3330 or COMM 4333 at TweepML. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to easily follow all the people on the list.

Using Twitter

  1. Over the course of the next week, send at least twenty tweets (Twitter messages of 140 characters or less). Tip: Rather than tweeting that you’re having ramen for lunch, instead consider what might be of interest to your classmates and followers. Perhaps point others to something interesting or funny you read online. Share a fact you learned in a class. Maybe you could even pose a question that you’d like others to answer.
  2. In addition to the twenty tweets that you originate, respond to at least five of your classmates’ tweets. To respond, click on the arrow after a tweet. Or you can type the @ symbol followed immediately by a username (such as @barbaranixon).

Additional Information

  1. Review my tips on how college students can use Twitter to their advantage and Choosing Whom to Follow on Twitter: My Strategy.
  2. Review Prof. Sam Bradley’s College Student’s Guide: Twitter 101.
  3. I find using the web interface for Twitter to be clunky. I prefer using TweetDeck, a free Adobe Air app that works great on PCs and Macs.
  4. I’ll occasionally post information on Twitter and use the hashtag for your class (either #COMM4333 or #PRCA3330).By using this hashtag, I’m indicating that I want students in this class to pay special attention to the tweet.
  5. OPTIONAL: If you’d like to publicize your blog posts via Twitter, you can it automatically in WordPress.

Blog About Your Experience

After the week is over, add a 300-word (minimum) post to your blog about the experience and what you got out of it. Include a link to your Twitter profile (here’s mine). Be sure to include at least one way you might find value in continuing your account in Twitter. Your blog post about this experience count as your Topic of the Week for Week Seven.

Questions? Just send me a DM (direct message) or an @ (reply) in Twitter!

NOTE: Many thanks to Kaye Sweetser and Karen Russell for their ideas prompting this assignment.

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AP Style Practice “Quiz”

Please take 45 seconds to watch this video I created as part of my Genghis Grill Health Kwest. Thanks!


To help you get used to AP Style before we have any “official” quizzes (via GeorgiaVIEW or BlackBoard), please try your hand at determining which of the sentences in the PDF below have errors in them. It’s easiest if you print the PDF and work on it as a hardcopy.

Correct all the AP errors you find, then watch the video to see how well you did.

The Quiz

AP Style Quiz

The Answers

Note: All page numbers referred to in the screencast below are from the 2009 edition of the AP Stylebook.

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