Being a broadcast communications major and a public relations minor here at Westminster College, I’ve experienced many classes and projects. When I sat down and thought about which class most impacted my stay here at Westminster, I would have to choose Public Relations and The Media. At first, I wasn’t too sure what this course would entail, besides the obvious of pr and media practices. As we got deeper into the course however and as I studied the text, I began to gain respect for the information I was being taught. The text we used was a small paperback book, approx. 300 pages long, but it sure did pack a good punch. I learned how to prepare the perfect press kit, how to organize a press conference and how to deal with reporter’s deadlines. We even had several mock press conferences where the class was divided up into half reporters and half public relations staff. The goal of the press conference was to experience how it feels for both parties of the press conference. Being a broadcast communications major, I had a slight idea of how it felt to be a reporter and what it was like to try to get the biggest, most newsworthy story. This is a reporter’s job, and sometimes it may seem we are being insincere, but we are just trying out hardest to do the best job we can. On the other side of the press conference, are the company speaker and their pr team. This course really opened my eyes because I got to experience how it felt for a pack of reporters to come at you during a conference, and you be on your toes AT ALL TIMES! I learned that you should always treat the media with respect because if you get on their bad side, then you lose important contacts for when you want to promote your company. This course definitely shaped my future career goals and senior project by showing me both sides of the media/public relations field. My senior project is to implement many strategies to promote our television station here on campus. I want to make sure to make good contacts and improve my broadcast/promotions skills for not only my senior project, but also my future career!
1 comment:
You have unique insight from both ends of the media-- that's something in your bag of tricks you'll want to push as you sell yourself to potential employers.
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