Diary of a PR Major

My journey as a PR major at the University of Southern Mississippi. 

[kaitlynkoehn]

Reflecting on Spring 2015

Throughout this spring semester, I have learned so much about writing and about myself. 

I learned that I am more than capable. I am capable of completing projects in a timely manner, capable of utilizing time management to my advantage and capable of creating colorful ideas in a short amount of time. 

I learned that I enjoy team work. I love working with people who actively participate in bouncing ideas off of one another. Even if there is someone who initially does not want to participate, I have realized that I am good at getting someone excited about a project and about being part of the team. 

I learned that this is what I want to do with my life. For so long I struggled between not knowing what career path I wanted to take and knowing that I loved to write. I've learned to listen to myself and not allow other's opinions about what they believe writing is to hinder me from doing what I love. 

I have learned there is a method to the madness of media. As an everyday person it would seem as though media just happens. However, much preparation and expertise goes into every form of media. It's a craft I enjoy and respect very much. 

I look forward to the rest of my journey ahead.

[kaitlynkoehn]

Yellowstone supervolcano: Earth’s greatest time bomb

Underneath Yellowstone park is a vast supervolcano that has baffled geophysicists for decades. Deep underground lives a magma reserve that was originally thought to be much smaller. Recent discoveries have uncovered a much larger truth: the magma reservoir holds enough hot rock to fill the Grand Canyon nearly 14 times. This discovery is powerful in that it is helping scientists understand the complete crustal magma system.

When Yellowstone decides to erupt with this amount of magma, it will most likely change the world. Possible effects include ash blocking the Sun’s rays, and as a result temperatures would plummet around the world. This occurred in 1816 after the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. 

While this discovery means we now know there is more magma below Yellowstone, this does not mean there has been an increase in magma recently. You can also sleep easy knowing that there is no sign of imminent eruption, and the chances of one happening within the next few thousand years is 1 in 700,000 according to Utah scientists. 

[kaitlynkoehn]

Indiana’s HIV outbreak increases

Two rural counties in Indiana have seen a substantial growth in an HIV outbreak in the area. The CDC reports that this outbreak is due to the use of a prescription opioid, Opana. Opana is a particularly deadly vessel for spreading HIV because it must be administered more than once a day via IV. The outbreak has spread in these rural areas where healthcare is described as “sparse.” Indiana has responded to the outbreak by sending mass amounts of healthcare resources to the rural area. This includes Indiana University volunteers who have opened a clinic to treat and test people for HIV. These volunteers are also going door-to-door to teach about the dangers of sharing needles. 

The growth of illegal drug use around the country has alerted health leaders to further educate individuals about the dangers that come along with these behaviors such as HIV, hepatitis C, and other infectious diseases.

[kaitlynkoehn]

Micro Living Spaces

Smaller living spaces have been praised for their conservation of space and affordability. While smaller living spaces such as tiny houses have been trendy for years now, micro-condos and micro-apartments are growing in popularity. Living spaces less than 500 square feet are now being offered in cities like London, Toronto, Sydney, and Manhattan. 

The attractiveness of these tiny spaces comes from individuals’ need to cut down on debt and to simplify their living spaces. These minimized spaces are very utilitarian in that no space goes unused. Tiny living spaces are not functional for living if they are not designed well with thought to every available space. Closets are made highly functional with shelves all the way to the ceiling, and chairs double as shelves or clothes hangers. 

My Micro NY is one specific project that is to open at the end of 2015. This 11-story building will hold units that go from 260 sq. feet for $2,000/month to 360 sq. feet for $3000/month. 

Would you live in a tiny living space?

[kaitlynkoehn]

Public Relations vs Advertising

Compare and contrast public relations and advertising. How are the two alike and different?

Public Relations is defined as “planned and continuous communication design to provide information about an organization, an issue or a product.” Advertising is designed to motivate an audience to take action through writing everyday people can understand. Writing for advertising should make people think and challenge their attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. These two forms are similar because they both work to relate information to an audience in a way that will catch their attention. Both PR writing and advertising writing base their messages in persuasion. 

 Differences between PR and advertising include PR’s main objective to make other people look good. PR involves building and managing strategic relationships. While an ad may come to an end when the project is completed, PR is continuous with its communication to inform the public and media about the client. Advertising writing involves researching a company/product/etc. and finding the right format and “sway factor” that will best advertise the product or service. These sway factors include using emotional appeal, a bandwagon effect, dramatization, a specific target audience, and/or showing the benefits in order to create a call to action. Advertising writing involves not only the words, but the visualization of the print, radio, or television ad. 

[kaitlynkoehn]

The world comes together: Water crisis

In January 2015, the World Economic Forum announced that water crisis is the number one risk based on impact to society. It is the number one risk for a reason: More than 750 million people are unable to access clean water. Potable water is essential for sustaining life, and without it, people resort to unsafe water and become sick or even die.

This global crisis is has brought the world together with the goal to one day eliminate the problem. Organizations such as Water.org and Charity: Water aid in long term solutions for areas without clean water. Water.org works beyond digging wells to provide water. This organization works on solutions to deliver water and to keep the water sanitary. Charity: Water invites individuals to create their own campaign to donate to clean water solutions. Many campaign possibilities exist such as book clubs, lemonade stands, and tellings friends and relatives to donate to the campaign on your birthday in lieu of a birthday gift. This donated money is then invested in building “sustainable, community-owned water projects around the world.”

Donate to Charity: Water

Donate to Water.org

[kaitlynkoehn]

Writing and communicating clearly

What are the challenges to writing and communicating clearly in today’s world? Why? How can that be changed? Or should it?  

Writing and communicating clearly in today’s world faces many challenges. One of these challenges is the information overload people face everyday. People are constantly surrounded by information, and the ability to access this information is at their fingertips. This access can lead people to information that is untrue, which makes communicating the correct message difficult. Another challenge to writing and communicating clearly is that people do not want to read a lengthy piece. Writing that is full of grammar and spelling errors also makes writing and communicating clearly difficult. 

The problem of information overload is a difficult one to overcome. However, this challenge can be eliminated by making the source well known and credible so that people will seek information from your source first. The problem of keeping the reader’s attention can be eliminated by writing concisely in order to avoid lengthy pieces. The problem of pieces that are full of grammar and spelling errors can be eliminated by ensuring that writers are well equipped with the writing skills necessary to communicate and write clearly.

[kaitlynkoehn]

Broadcast news vs. print news

How is writing broadcast news different from writing print news? How are the two similar? Which do you prefer? Why?

In order to prepare a broadcast piece, you must write in a very simplistic manner that can be quickly understood. By doing so, the newscaster is able to relay the information to the viewer in a way that is natural and time efficient because of the short amount of time allotted for broadcast pieces. This also enables those who are controlling the cameras and videos to complete the task at hand efficiently. 

Writing print news allows the writer to elaborate more on a topic because there is not a time limit. Broadcast writing and print writing are similar in that they both are time sensitive. Both of these formats must form a lead that grabs the audience’s attention and keeps it for the duration of the piece. 

I prefer print writing because it allows for more details and writing the piece is about getting the information out to the audience. In broadcast writing, the writer must be concerned with aiding in pronunciation and creating transitions between the newscaster and the video. 

[kaitlynkoehn]

Walter Scott shooting

Today demonstrators gathered at North Charleston City Hall in South Carolina to protest the shooting of Walter Scott. The 50-year old man died after being shot by Officer Michael Slager.

The original incident began after Slager pulled Scott over for a broken tail light. Slager stated that he used a taser on Scott, and that Scott attempted to take the officer’s weapon. Scott ran with his back turned to the officer, and Slager reacted by firing eight shots at Scott.

Protesters attended the news conference wearing “Black Lives Matter” shirts and interrupted Mayor Summey and Charleston police Chief Eddie Driggers, including a chant, “No justice! No peace!” Summey told reporters that the city has ordered 150 body cameras for police in addition to the 101 body cameras that have already been ordered. 

Social media has exploded with opinions on the case. #RIPWalterScott and #MichaelSlager are trending on Twitter, and #WalterScott has been mentioned over 243,000 times in 24 hours. Looking back on events such as the Trayvon Martin shooting and the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, the Walter Scott case is poised to be another conversation about police brutality and the role of race in cases such as these.

[kaitlynkoehn]

Communication formats

What communication formats are the most useful/successful these days? Is Twitter the new Facebook? Is there a better way? What new media helps maintain the integrity of journalism? Why? How?

While television, newspaper, and radio communications are still consumed by the public today, social media communication formats are extremely successful and useful for many today. Communication to an audience is easily made possible by posts on blogs and social media site, videos and podcasts. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook allow companies and journalists to reach their audience in a more intimate format that makes the reader feel like the communicator is living life with them, rather than just advertising or pushing information onto them.

Twitter is not the new Facebook. These two social media sites are great in their own respects and are not interchangeable. Facebook allows users to form a very complete profile with long posts while Twitter restricts a user’s expression to 140 characters or less. Both of these sites utilize text, photos and videos to allow users to communicate, however a better way in the future might include more live communication through mobile live streaming.

While having the ability to be a citizen journalist through these communication formats is great, media websites by trusted news sources such as CNN or the New York Times maintain the integrity of journalism by posting stories written by professional journalists.

[kaitlynkoehn]

Industrial level, waterproof tablet a new tool in the fight against Ebola

Medics working tirelessly in the fight against Ebola now have a new weapon: an ‘ebola-proof’ tablet. 

International tech volunteers and Google created this new device with features such as industrial strength waterproof casing, and the tablet can be completely doused in 0.5% chlorine for sanitation. The new features on this device don’t stop there: medics can use this tablet with gloves on, and in extreme weather conditions such as storms and high humidity. 

Smitha Mundasad, a health reporter for BBC, reported that before this new device “doctors were shouting patient notes across fences to avoid contamination.” This tablet reduces miscommunication and organizes patient information for the medics from Doctors Without Borders. 

The tablets have been tested at Doctors Without Borders treatment centers in Sierra Leone where they are powerful tools in avoiding further contamination.

Dr Eric Perakslis, from Harvard Medical School, says "And it will not just be useful for single patient encounters but for research on the virus too.”

[kaitlynkoehn]

My Starting Line: An Introduction

My name is Kaitlyn Koehn. I am a Public Relations major at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I am from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, which is an artsy little town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The unique culture of Ocean Springs influenced my love of art and all things creative. I even create and sell my ink drawings in my free time.

  My creative side also includes a love of writing and communicating. I can't remember a time when I wasn't in love with reading or writing. When I was a small child, my mom would spend hours teaching me how to read and write because she believed these skills were an important key to unlock any great door in life. My dad has always been able to create the most colorful stories right off the top of his head, and I always admired that. I am excited to pursue my dream of a career in writing, and this blog will document my journey through my program. Will you come along for the ride?