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Writing a Personality Profile

For my PRCA 3330 and COMM 4333 classes:

Want to show your publics the human side of your organization?

Write a personality profile.

For this assignment, write a personality profile about someone associated with your client’s organization. It could be about a leader in the organization, a member or maybe even a client. However, it must be about a real person (though not about you).

Chapter 7 in your Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques textbook provides a good overview of a personality profile on pages 173-174. Additionally, see pages 175-179 for more information on writing a feature story in general.

Keep these things in mind:

  • Use letterhead from your client for the personality profile (just like you would for a news release)
  • Include pertinent contact information (just like you would for a news release)
  • Write a catchy headline (just like you would for a news release)
  • Be creative, not mechanical, with your lead (see p. 177 for suggestions)
  • Use AP style and standard English grammar (though you can get away with occasional phrases, rather than complete sentences, for dramatic effect)
  • Your personality profile will be much longer than most news releases. Aim for a story between 750-1000 words.
  • Since you also have an assignment of a photo with caption due when this personality profile is due, why not take a photo of the subject of your personality profile when you are interviewing him or her?
  • Consider posting your personality profile on your blog (not required), after you get your graded assignment back

Check your syllabus for the due date for this assignment.

(NOTE: It’s a good idea to read 8-10 personality profiles from your favorite newspapers and magazines before you write your first one.)

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Creating a Media Advisory

For my PRCA 3330 and COMM 4333 classes:

As a public relations writer, one of the collateral pieces you are likely to be writing is a media advisory. A media advisory (or media alert) is designed to encourage a reporter to come and cover an event.

Chapter 6 in your Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques textbook provides a good overview of the contents of a media advisory. See pages 144-146 for details.

That said, with your client in mind, create a media advisory for an upcoming event. Though it’s ideal if this is for a real event, if your client does not have one planned in the near future, you can use your creativity to write about an imaginary event.

When structuring your media advisory, make it as simple as possible for the reporter to find the details. Keep these things in mind:

  • Use letterhead from your client for the media advisory (just like you would for a news release)
  • Include pertinent contact information (just like you would for a news release)
  • Write a catchy headline (just like you would for a news release)
  • Provide a brief opening paragraph with your story idea
  • Create headings including the 5 W’s:
    • Who
    • What
    • Where
    • When
    • Why (Tip: this one is perhaps the most important. This is where you will use your persuasive writing abilities to convince the reporter that the story is newsworthy.)

Check your syllabus for the due date for this assignment.

(NOTE: You can see many, many sample media advisories online by Googling “media advisory sample” or “media alert sample.” I cannot vouch for the content of all of them, but it would be good for you to see them to get a feel for how they look and read.)

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FAQs About Blogs, Spring 2010

We’re now about halfway through Spring 2010, and I see some students are still struggling with their blogs.

I promise that this blog assignment was not designed as 21st century version of a medieval torture device for you. Writing (and blogging) is a daily part of a PR practitioner’s life; I am helping you prepare for your careers. And the more you write, the better writer you will become.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions.

How was I supposed to know what to put in my blog? I feel so far behind.

Early in the semester, you were given your blogging guidelines for your class. All the information has been in there for nearly two months now.

Can I work ahead on my Topic of the Week?

I typically share the Topic of the Week for your class on Monday or Tuesday of the week it’s due.

If I am in more than one class with you, can I just do Topic of the Week for one of the classes and have it count for both?

No. The topics are different in each class.

If we didn’t have a reading assignment for a week or two, what should I do for Reading Notes for that week?

If you didn’t have an assignment, you don’t need to create notes.

How long do my Reading Notes have to be? I am spending hours outlining the chapters.

See the blogging guidelines.

How do I know which week we are in? You don’t have specific dates listed on your blog.

See your syllabus. Week One was our first week of class.

Where can I get ideas for my PR Connections?

Read PR blogs. Or subscribe to Ragan’s PR Daily. Or listen to a PR podcast.

What can I do to get more comments on my blog?

Buddy up with students in your class (or one of my other classes), and commit to commenting on each others’ blogs. If you’d like a “blog pal” from another university, let me know, and I can connect you.

Where can I find pictures to add to my blog (without getting into trouble)?

Go to Compfight, then choose “Only” next to Creative Commons. When you search for images that way, only ones that are okay to use will come up.

I’m still confused about how to track my blog comments. Can you go over that one more time?

See Tracking Your Blog Comments for Nixon’s Classes, originally posted on January 13.  See Lisa McLaughlin’s blog for a great example of what I am looking for.

How do I make my picture/avatar show up when I leave comments on others’ blogs?

Create a Gravatar.

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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.

View on screencast.com »

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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Portfolios for Public Relations Students

[Updated from a post written in Fall 2009]

As part of our PRCA 3711/4711 Public Relations Practicum course at Georgia Southern University, students create and present portfolios of their work.

Kelli Matthews, an assistant professor of public relations at the University of Oregon, created a packet of information for her students to help them prepare their portfolios. With Kelli’s permission, I have tweaked it slightly (only removing the U of O specific information) and am sharing it here.

PR Portfolio Reviews Overview

Also, I asked PR professionals on LinkedIn for their advice about portfolios. Specifically, I asked:

  • Do you prefer a PR student’s portfolio to be digital or in a binder?
  • How many samples do you hope to see?
  • What tips would you offer a student who is showing you a portfolio in an interview (how should they show it to you)?

I was pleased to receive nearly 20 responses within a week’s time. Here’s what the professionals said.

After Fall Semester’s PR Practicum students had their Portfolio Reviews, I wrote a short post hitting the highlights (and lowlights) of their interviews. It’s worth a read.

Do you have additional suggestions for PR students who will be interviewing for entry-level positions? I’d love to hear from you!

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