In The Words Of A Sun-Toasted Seashell

Rachael Kaapu I am a senior at the University of Oregon earning a major in Journalism with a focus in PR and a minor in Communication Studies and French. I love animals, reading, exploring outdoors and trying new food. I also enjoy traveling and have many plans to travel more. I am excited to start my career and even more excited about my summer internship in New York City.

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I want to entertain this fabulous idea and add to it; small business should look into other options besides hiring a PR firm. It is costly. I have this idea that if you are a small business and need some social media management and monitoring, perhaps small business, depending on their needs and the nature of their business could hire university seniors majoring in PR. They have all the basic tools and resources to assist your company and a fraction of the cost. Many companies could use the help and students could use the experience.

cvpartners:

The idea of a small business putting a PR firm on retainer is nuts. It’s just too expensive. For one thing, very few startup budgets have $10K to burn on something that is not actually product or customer acquisition. For another thing, PR firms are notoriously unaccountable. They have a million ways to tell you that they did their job without having any ROI.

So instead of putting a PR firm on retainer, try making your own PR plan with unconventional tactics that allow you to track ROI carefully.

Get a book deal.

Use Reddit.

Hire a blogger.

[rkaapu-blog]

Last...Week...

Well it’s a sign. I shouldn’t leave. Packing up my things here in NYC has sparked several intense allergic reactions.  I pack up a box of my things, ready to go home and my body physically rejected the idea. The time is approaching soon where I will have to get on that big plane in the sky and head back to Oregon.  Lucky for me the sun will be gone by the time I get there. Is it a coincidence that the day before I get there…GORGEOUS, the day after…RAINING! I think NOT. I am doomed to live in gloomy world.

On a brighter note there are many things I am excited about upon returning to my Eugenian habitat; my puppy for example.  I miss my fuffies so bad, they are the sweetest little angels. I am also excited to finish school, it has been so long and while the “real” world may be a bit tougher than school, I will enjoy a paycheck (assuming I find a job).

It is going to be a busy week of packing, working, dining, adventuring, packing, visiting and more packing. Then eventually leaving. L

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The Excitement of Recognition.

Today I received an email informing me that I had won a writing contest in my journalism course. The assignment was to interview a public figure and write a client ready press release. The winner's press release would be posted on the University of Oregon website for all to see. See my article here: http://goo.gl/ryaJ9

[xyzena]

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oh ET.

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I love this.

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Yoga What?

During my stay in New York, I decided that I needed something physical to occupy my time, so I decided to take up yoga.  Now as many of you know, I have never been a fan of yoga, mostly because I didn’t understand the purpose. Like many activities, I believed it to be more like a competition of who was the skinniest and most flexible (and feels the most comfortable in tight fitting clothes).  After a month of serious yoga dedication, I have come to appreciate the art of yoga and reap the benefits.

I have learned that yoga is not about anyone but myself.  I learned to go to practice to want something better for me and my body. While I have come to enjoy yoga practice, there is something more that I would like to do.

 Coming to the end of my yoga adventures here, I have decided to embark on a challenge. The first phase of the challenge is to participate in a yoga class every day for 30 days- and document my progress weekly.  Before starting this challenge, I will take a week to note all the problems I have physically and mentally so I will have something to compare at the end of my challenge. At the end of phase 1- I will take a week off to spend time observing again.  There is a second phase of the challenge is to do yoga for 60 days, however in order to set myself up for success I will commit to phase one for now.

(picture credit to google public domain)

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Two Weeks Left in the Big Apple

So, I am coming to the end of my fabulous adventure in New York City.  I am very much in love with this city and the closer the 19th approaches the more anxious and stressed out I become.  I could live here, I could have a career here. Coming from Hawaii, I would never have imagined that I could fall in love with such a city. The opportunities really are endless. I have already started crossing off my checklist of things I wanted to accomplish in NY sights wise and now I must go through my files and create a list of what I have accomplished and learned career wise. 

Labor Day Weekend- ooh I had fun. I was able to spend time with my cousin, Ryenn. We had some adventures trying to go to the zoo but ending up circling through the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  To say the least, we have picked out or bedroom décorfor our future houses. Then on Monday we had made plans to go to the aquarium and decided against it which brought us to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees play the Orioles. What a nice weekend, filled with adventures and family.

I hope to make the best of my last two weeks here and try to stay positive about heading back to Eugene, OR.  Stay tuned for the career accomplishments and last minute activities.

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Is anyone with a computer a journalist? No!

I have been reading in the news for several years now that Journalism is evolving and the "use of social media and electronic media obviously means that anybody with a laptop, anybody with a PDA, is a journalist." (http://gigaom.com/2011/08/25/the-twitter-effect-we-are-all-members-of-the-media-now/)

I tend to disagree. I think it is unfair that people are making these claims that everyone is a journalist. Yes, everyone has access to social media sites and Yes everyone can post as they please but, how exactly does that make them a journalist?

I blog, I tweet and I constantly use social media, I don't consider myself a journalist...quite yet. I don't think that people running for office who use social media are journalists, their posts are biased and have an agenda and that does not meet the definition of a journalist. Ashton Kutcher, tweets constantly although very prominent and very popular on twitter that does not make him a journalist.

While the post is more of a rant, I think its important for those of us in the journalism profession to make a stand against this accusation that our profession need not require a degree. I am not naive and I know that many people don't believe this statement, however, every time it is said it demeans my occupation and I believe journalists should get the credit they deserve.

So, not everyone is a journalist!

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NY, Hurricane Irene, Bucket List?

Well New York City has certainly proved to be unpredictable. I thought moving here from Oregon I could escape the aweful weather but it appears that wherever I go, I am doomed to suffer the inclimate weather.  I have been pushing through the rain storms, thunder and lightning, as well as the dreadful heat waves that have passed through.

This past weekend NYC was on a hurricane warning due to hurricane Irene which was sweeping up the eastern seaboard. I am no stranger to preparing for a hurricane as we have them in Hawaii but it was the first time I would be alone in a scary situation. I had to prep my house, stock up on food and water and hang out all weekend, alone in my apartment. All in all it wasnt the most pleasant situation but luckily the storm caused no damage to my part of town.

This weekend, while waiting out the storm in my apartment, I learned the importance of technology (in the absence of real people). I spent my weekend enjoying Netflix and reading my new book, The Help, on my ipad. So far I enjoy the book, the language was a little rough to get used to at first but now its a cinch.

Today marks the beginning of my last three weeks in New York City, and it is starting to dawn on me that I will greatly miss this big city. I dont want to think about leaving or packing or heading back to Eugene, which now, in comparison, will seem so dull. No more late night deliveries (unless I want to eat pizza *yuck*), no more subway rides- its back to driving and most of all, back to school.  I am excited to head back to school to finish up my last two terms at the UO but I will miss this environment.

Since I am wrapping up my last couple of weeks here in the city I have decided to make a bucket list if you will for the remainder of my trip.  The following is my list of some of things to accomplish before I leave (as it comes down I am crossing them off):

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

See Phantom of the Opera

Take the ferry to Staten Island (to say I've been to all 5 boroughs)

Explore Central Park (some more)

See Museum of Modern Art

See the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Go to the Guggenheim Museum

Visit the New York Library

Buy something Designer in NY

Explore the Upper West Side

See Chicago

Go on a double decker bus tour

Go to the top of the empire state building

Museum of Natural History.

Coney Island

Britney Spears concert

Go to a NYC street fair

See St. Patricks Cathedral

See a comedy show

Times Square

Visit the 9/11 memorial

Go to Bloomindales for fun

See a famous person

Ride in a taxi cab

Go to a yankees game

More to come...

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RECAP past few weeks.

HEY! its been quite a while and I wanted to post an update:

So much has happened over the past month, its crazy. I have been able to see most of New York, visit with family and see my boyfriend (all of whom I miss terribly).  After 4th of july week I had a week to myself to concentrate on my work and then my boyfriend and his sister came to visit. We accomplished a lot in very little time. We did FOUR double decker bus tours, we went to see Chicago on Broadway, we did Times Square, we went to a comedy show (and saw LOUIS C.K.)! It was amazing. I could not have asked for a better adventure. Then my sister came into town from New Orleans (yay). We went out to a club in harlem and stayed out until 5:30 am on the weekend, slept on sunday. Then on Tuesday we went out to the Nassau Coliseum and saw Nicki Minaj and Britney Spears.  Our seats were bomb, the show was amazing. I am so happy my sister came out, it was a short trip but it was quite an adventure.

On the business side of things: In the past two weeks I have been able to write press releases and send them out to the media and since I have gotten several placements which is incredible for me. I love public relations and since I have been able to work more closely with my director and the clients, I love it even more.

Now, that everyone is gone and I have seen so much of new york already, i thought to myself "what am i going to do now?" So I have a plan, to stay busy and happy:

Exercise- Yoga + Cardio (I just signed up for unlimited yoga for a month- yay)

Sights- All things free in NYC

(The calendar will update but tomorrow August 8, Im going to watch a movie in Bryant Park.)

Read- I hope to find a good book to start over the next week.

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Fourth of July Weekend

I had an amazing Fourth of July weekend.  The weekend kicked off with a short Friday for the holiday.   I went home and enjoyed a nice nap and a little Netflix.  Marcella (a friend) arrived in town on Friday as well so Saturday I made the grueling trek down to her new Brooklyn home from the Upper East Side. It was awful because all the trains I needed to take were down for construction, which meant I had to make a lot of transfers and wait a long time for the trains to arrive. No Bueno… Regardless, I made it to Brooklyn.  Brooklyn is a very different town and in my opinion looks run down and dirty but with very lively people. (Compared with Manhattan which looks pretty and gorgeous with cold keep to themselves people.)  Marcella and I walked to her new roommate’s restaurant and made introductions and then she and I walked to an African festival at the downtown park. It was amazing; there were so many exciting booths, activities and dancing. I got this gorgeous white and gold elephant purse that I have used religiously since.

Sunday was an awful day full of rain and intermittent thunder storms.  Regardless of the inclement weather, I managed to roll myself out of bed and head downtown to Washington Square for a quick outing.  Although it was raining the temperature was still quite warm, nearly 85 degrees which made the rain feel more like a hot shower with all your clothes on.  Marcella and I walked around downtown and explored the shops and the west village neighborhood.  I can’t say that I was in love with that part of town, the set-up of the streets in that area are atrocious, I could not figure it out which was north, east, up or down. There were a lot of cute boutiques and shops in that area, however, that may attract me to return in the near future- I had my eye on a cute dress and a pair of shoes.

Monday, the Fourth of July, was a beautiful day, the sun was shining with a nice breeze rolling through the streets.  I had gone down to the pier for the day and I had never seen so many people in my life. The docks were filled with spectators for the upcoming firework show. Canoes, boats and ships filled the Hudson River; from afar it looked like a bunch of seagulls had flocked to the river to see the show as well.  I have seen quite a bit of fireworks in my life, but none as magnificent as these.  Coming from Hawaii where there are gorgeous firework displays due to all the tourism, I wasn’t prepared for the spectacle I was about to see. The fireworks lasted for about 45 minutes which is astonishing- there were six barges shooting off the colorful explosives and all of them in sync.  I also had the pleasure of meeting some great people who were great company at the time.

New York in all its quirkiness and the mentality of the “other” sure does have a way of bringing people together.  Everyone was very nice and just trying to have a good time.  The cold silent people on the subway turned into warm friendly acquaintances for a day.  My image of New York has been shattered over the past several weeks- people are very friendly here (you just need to get them in the right setting) commuting is not so difficult (you just need to learn to get close to people) opportunities are abundant (shopping, museums, activities in every direction) and living here (whether you have money or not) makes you feel glamorous and special.

Upcoming Topics:  Week 4 at JGA. (Pictures coming soon!) Stay Tuned. 

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Weeks 2 + 3

Week 2

Working at JGA in week two proved to be difficult and stressful. In my second week I learned how to search and create media lists for clients.  Essentially, a media list is a spreadsheet of contacts you could potentially call/contact/pitch to for a client.  Usually, media lists are broken up by market or outlet topics depending on what you need and what type of client you are working with. 

During week two I created some dense media lists for the healthcare industry, which involved extensive internet research, verification, building the list, and removing duplicate contacts.  I enjoyed learning about the breakdown of certain companies and industries.  I spent most of week two learning more about the company, creating mock-ups, packing up old client products and shipping them to various destinations and building media lists.

Week 3

Week three was very interesting.  I was assigned to help Lauren and Jade on all their projects.  During week three a lot of work was required for Caliper, the Bessie Lawrence Program and The Capital Grille.

 I was able to do my first pitch to reporters, which I thought was going to be very exciting. Bessie Lawrence is a program that sends qualified high school seniors to Israel to serve an intense summer science internship.  The seniors were just about to embark on their journey to Israel and it was my job to notify the press and try to get some coverage.  The thrill of sending out pitches to reporters was exciting; however, I thought the responses would be a little more exciting. Instead they were non-existent or mundane…turns out many reporters are hard to please. 

Caliper, essentially a company that provides aptitude tests for adults and corporations, required media lists to break into the healthcare industry and also a list of speaking engagements. I spent many hours researching upcoming speaking engagements regarding healthcare and hospitals, which was mostly difficult because many didn’t allow outside speakers to attend. 

My last project last week dealt with The Capital Grille, a classy restaurant located all across the company. The restaurant is hosting a summer long promotion that allows patrons to treat themselves to nine rare wines chosen by the restaurants master sommelier.  The previous week, emails were sent out inviting members of the press to this event. My job was to call all of our contacts and see if they were interested in attending.  I was very excited and nervous to take on this task. I felt important and useful to be assigned to this task and I was interested in speaking with members of the press.  Again, I was surprised to find out that members of the press rarely answer their phones.  I felt connected to the client and their image at this moment.

I have enjoyed my first three weeks. I hope that I am doing well and I hope to continue working with certain clients. I have really grown an interest for several clients we represent and I look forward to doing more work.

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The Big Apple- Week One

5 p.m. on Friday, June 17th, 2011 marked the end of my first week at Janine Gordon Associates as an intern.

I am so happy to be able to have this experience at JGA.  I was very nervous when I arrived in NYC. I all have ever known is from what I have seen on TV and what people tell me, and it made me worried.

While it was no easy task getting here (flying with a dog, cancelled flights, long hours in an airport and 3 a.m. hotel fire alarms and fire department employees at our door) I am glad to be here.

So far everything is going great. I have wonderful coworkers who are so vibrant and helpful, a roommate who is awesome and I think we will be good friends and the wonderful city of NY with all its opportunities.

I live on the upper east side next to the Carl Schurz park which is the coolest park I have ever been to. Rest assured I have been to a lot of parks in my lifetime and very few can compare to this one.  Peanut (my miniature dachshund) sure loves it too.

I have been very pleased with the Subway system here, it always gets me to where I need to go, mostly work.  I was most worried about commuting on the subway but I am learning well and its becoming a breeze. I have also learned to embrace the importance of hand sanitizer. 

My work is a mere 15 minute train ride away.  There are about seven women who work in the office plus three interns (including me).  My first day was perfect, my supervisor Gillian had set up an itinerary for the day where I would meet each girl and they would show me how to do a task in the office. Great way to get to know everybody.

I am learning the ropes and becoming knowledgeable about our clients and how PR firms work. I hope to learn a lot more next week (and throughout the summer) as well as learn more about the wonderful women I work with.

Sidenote:  I learned the hard way that walking a minimum of two miles a day in high heels will cause big, sore blisters on the bottom of your feet and it will cause your shins to hurt. I am appalled at how New York women do it every day.

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Creating Records in the State of Empires

This post will mark the beginning of my diary of my life in New York City.  

A little background history:

I applied to an internship online to a firm in New York City called Janine Gordon Associates.  A few weeks later I received an email from a woman named Heather, who works for JGA and asked to set up a phone interview.  I set a time and date for the phone interview, the interview was set for noon.  Sure enough at 9 a.m. Pacific time my phone began to ring as I was walking to class to take a test and I began to panic, had I wrote down the wrong time?  I checked my email quickly and it said noon, I forgot to specify which noon (oregon time or NY time). I panicked for about two more minutes and then I took a deep breath and called her back to reschedule for noon my time. She was very accommodating, and we had our interview at noon.  To my standards the interview went well and then Heather asked if I could fly out to New York for an in-person interview. I was ecstatic, I thought to myself "that has to be a good sign!"

 I ended up flying to NYC in February where I had my in-person interview. The weather was awful.  I arrived at 5:30 a.m. and had 8 hours to kill before my 1:30 p.m. appointment. I freshened up in the premiere lounge for a couple hours and tried to relax and save energy for the long day ahead of me, but I was so excited I couldn't calm down.  I changed out of my grungy sweats into a very nice black pant suit and applied my makeup.  People gave me very strange looks.

 Later on I went to the cab station outside the airport, caught a cab to a coffee/tea shop called Argo Tea nearby to my meeting place and sat there for about three hours.  The shop was amazing, I had three different types of tea and bought my mother a present for her upcoming birthday.

As I sat there in the shop I stared as the rain, or monsoon, poured from the sky. I prayed several times that it would stop and become sunny.  It didnt.  The rain kept coming as I walked to my appointment at 1:30 where in the 300ft to my office my clothes were sopping.  As I was walking I noticed the ink from canvas shoes began to run, I was in Mary Poppins.  Outside the door I changed my shoes to my work pumps.  In the two minutes it took me to put my pumps on the ground and slip off my canvas shoes, my pumps were FILLED with water.  The doorman to the building next to mine was laughing at me. I was embarrassed.

Moving on, I got to my appointment, drenched and sad, but I got there.  I met with two people Heather and Lauren.  They were both very nice and overall it was good. I was then asked to do an intern prep test.  I left the meeting with a week to finish my test. I got on my 8 p.m. flight and flew home.  I spent the entire week working on that project, perfecting it.  I passed, she offered me the position.

Now I am here in the Big Apple learning my way around the subways and incredibly packed streets and coffee shops.

Stay Tuned.

[rkaapu-blog]

Clevenger Assumes Helm of UO Alumni Association

A University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication alumni is making a big career change that will affect both incoming and current students, as well as alumni.  The University of Oregon Alumni Association (UOAA) has recently selected Tim Clevenger to serve as the new executive director.  Clevenger will replace Dan Rodriguez, who has chosen to retire after serving as the UOAA executive director for 23 years.

Clevenger will begin assume his position beginning May 31st, which will mark a new era for the alumni association. Shortly after Clevenger’s installation, on June 10th the University will celebrate a grand opening for the new Allyn Ford and Sheryl Ramberg Ford Alumni Center.  The University of Oregon, which has never had a facility for alumni, will now be able to offer more opportunities for alumni to get involved.  Clevenger “will lead our team at an exciting time for the institution when alumni involvement is needed more than ever,” stated Fred Poust, the President of the UOAA Board of Directors

As a native Oregonian and a graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communications, Clevenger has been an active member of the Eugene-Springfield community for many years.  After working as a principal for two advertising agencies and holding a variety of leadership positions on campus, including the UO Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and the Journalism Advancement Council, Clevenger has 25 years of experience to offer the University and its alumni.

With 180,000 current alumni and a new facility, Clevenger hopes to bring new ideas and opportunities to the table.  He hopes to utilize his “ability to work with a variety of constituents” through his advertising agency experience with the “traditionally broad-based alumni relations,” Clevenger said.   Under Clevenger, the UOAA will “target both incoming and current students and continue to work with older alumni” and “link the two by reaching out to older alumni, on a regular basis and have them partner with and help out with orientation, recruitment and develop interaction among all alumni,” stated Clevenger.  He also plans to revamp alumni benefits and add a one-year free membership to students as graduation gift.  In the past, Oregon alumni meetings have often consisted of tailgating events. As the new executive director, Clevenger would like to continue that Duck tradition but incorporate other, more formal events.

In addition to updating and upgrading alumni benefits, the UOAA will now work with new students. Upon entering the UO, student orientation will be now sponsored and provided by the University of Oregon Alumni Association instead of Johnson Hall.  The new facility will also become the new home to the student ambassador’s offices.  The Allyn Ford and Sheryl Ramberg Ford Alumni Center will also house a banquet hall, meeting offices and a public alumni database.

Oregon faculty is excited about Clevenger as an addition to the UOAA, including Dr. Michael Redding, the Vice President of University Relations: “Tim started at the UO as a student as has continues to be involved in alumni, academic and cultural endeavors on campus and in the community.  He brings a wealth of perspective and leadership to our alumni engagement efforts,” said Redding.

Due to Oregon’s current low penetration of the alumni sector (low ability to reach out to and connect with alumni on an annual and continual basis), the UOAA has many exciting opportunities ahead of them.  With a new, fresh outlook on ideas, new opportunities from Clevenger, and a new facility to host events, UOAA expect to see a rise in membership and involvement. With experience working with a variety of constituents, Clevenger will work to get all his Ducks in a row.

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Facebook (and other social media) keep opening up opportunities for the world of journalism.  The idea that news publications are dying and I am excited to hear that news publications are embracing "new" social media and the result is positive. I have spent many hours on Facebook exploring these pages and sites because of the targeted advertising.  I believe that Facebook and Twitter, although they are not the most prominent sites, will allow the news have a major breakthrough with younger audiences.

I do have a few concerns, however, that Facebook and Twitter will not be as easily accessible as Google. I constantly use google to find stories and news articles and google easily facilitates my search. When searching on Facebook you need to know what you are searching for, which is not always the case for people. So, unless Facebook and these other social media sites create a way to facilitate searching Google will remain more popular.

Overall, very interesting article.