PRSSA at SIUC

By Ryan Reed

In 1849 Pfizer wasfounded by two cousins whose names are, Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart. Thecompany that they created was geared towards the discovering and developing ofnew and better ways to prevent and treat disease. Its purpose was also toimprove health and wellbeing for people around the world. Some of theirproducts consist of: aldactone, accuretic, altace, and several others.Eventhough this was quite an astonishing company, with peoples health always beingthe first thing taken into consideration; a large problem had arisen.  It was said that the problem was caused byboth mechanical and visual inspection failures on the packaging line.

The name of the product that has been recalled islo/ovral. Women taking two types of birth control pills made by the drugmanufacturer Pfizer may be at risk for unintended pregnancies because of apackaging mishap and a lot of other possible medical problems could occur aswell. What they did right in response to what happened was they responded in areasonable amount of time, accepted the full blame for what had happened. Theyalso recalled all of the defected packets and 1 million other packets so no onewould be affected by what had happened with the lack of peels being packagedfor women's 1 a day pill birth control packages. They also created a youtubevideo from a person higher up in the executive board saying that there was asituation, but it was taken care of. This was a great solution to a traumaticissue.

By Kristian Baldwin

One area that many professionals overlook is leaving a professional voice mail. There are a few things that you need to remember when leaving a voice mail to a boss, co-worker, etc. With growing technology you would think that the voice mail is going out of style but think again. Here are a few tips for leaving a professional voice mail...

Important Information First

State your name, number, and business at the beginning of the voice mail. This way the listener knows who the call is from and they can write down the given information.

Make sure you repeat this information twice so the listener will only have to play your message once.

Leave a Specific Request

When leaving a voice mail you want to make sure that you have a reason for calling. State your purpose for leaving this message so you can get a returned phone call.

Be direct with your listener and practice sounding natural before you make the call.

Be Short and Sweet

Keep the message between 15-30 seconds long. That gives you enough time to leave all of your important information as well as your point of the message.

Speak slowly and clearly. Rushing through the message could leave your listener unclear of things that you have mentioned because you were not speaking slowly and clearly.

These tips will help you if you have a phone interview and must return the phone call or your boss has called and you need to leave a message. There are many other tips that would be helpful with leaving a voice mail but these are just a few to get you started.

By Veronica Jones

It is safe to say that the majority of people enjoy music, but would they think to use their favorite tunes as a means of marketing or promoting?

Most everyone, PR professionals and consumers included, are familiar with social networking sites, blogs, and web pages. The difference between the consumers and PR specialists is that the public wants to use the internet for their own personal interests, where as professionals are typically using it to benefit their client/organization. Due to this clash in interests, consumers are oftentimes annoyed with the constant barrage of advertisements online and PR people are having to find new channels to get their messages heard.

This is when it becomes increasingly important to tap into your infinite creativity, to find a way to coalesce your business objectives with the public's need for entertainment. For example, President Obama's staff released his official 2012 campaign playlist, composed of well-known, inoffensive songs that are meant to reach out to potential voters and crystallize favorable views. They then effectively utilized social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to share the playlist with as large an audience as possible. Due to their use of technology people were pleased with this subtle combination of entertainment and campaigning, and they were able to provide feedback to Obama's staff by 'liking' the playlist or following it on Twitter.

By Ti'Kyla Davis

“The image showed the founders of Invisible Children — Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole, and Jason Russell — posing with guns alongside members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), who have fought against the LRA. Vice magazine posted the photograph with the headline “Should I Donate Money to Kony 2012 or Not?”

The photo of Bobby, Laren and I with the guns was taken in an LRA camp in DRC during the 2008 Juba Peace Talks. And because Bobby, Laren and I are friends and had been doing this for 5 years, we thought it would be funny to bring back to our friends and family a joke photo. You know, “Haha - they have bazookas in their hands but they’re actually fighting for peace.” The ironic thing about this photo is that I HATE guns. I always have. Back in 2008 I wanted this war to end, like we all did, peacefully, through peace talks. But Kony was not interested in that; he kept killing. And we still don’t want war. We don’t want him killed and we don’t want bombs dropped. We want him alive and captured and brought to justice.

Accusations of Stealing Money

In November, Foreign Affairs accused Invisible Children of manipulating facts. The magazine wrote:

“Such organizations have manipulated facts for strategic purposes, exaggerating the scale of LRA abductions and murders and emphasizing the LRA’s use of innocent children as soldiers, and portraying Kony—a brutal man, to be sure—as uniquely awful, a Kurtz-like embodiment of evil.”

The other most common criticisms of the trendy nonprofit organization, including their low rating on Charity Navigator, questionable spending practices, their support of military intervention, their support of the Ugandan army riddled with accusations of rape and loot, and the fact that Kony is no longer active in Uganda.

Cited Sources:

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/life/kony-2012-invisible-children-respond-to-scam-accusations/

International Business T. Stop Kony: Invisible Children’s ‘Kony 2012’ Campaign Gains Criticism. International Business Times [serial online]. August 0003:Available from: Regional Business News, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 2, 2012.

By Jasmine Vickers

On March 1st, Ron O’Connor was a guest speaker and he also reviewed resumes. When Mr. O’Connor was reviewing my resume, he discovered that I had been an EMT for almost 2 years, and he wondered why that wasn’t higher upon my resume. He urged me to make that the center of my resume and to use the skills that I learned, as well as the skills of my degree. This made sense to me, and I wondered why I wasn’t using my previous skills.

When looking for jobs, find your niche. If you have special skills, let them be the highlight of your resume and use the special skills that you have as an asset. If you were a bartender, make that the highlight of your resume. Bartending isn’t easy and not many people can pick up that skill. Having a trade is useful when job searching. Employers are looking for those who catch their eye; someone different, creative, and innovative. Trades separate you from the pack. Being a bartender, an EMT, the President of your organization, or a waitress, are skills that not only amp your resume, but they also teach you life skills that are conducive to the job market.

Let yourself stand out, and follow your Trade!

By Rosie Marszalek

In the article, “How (and Why) Musicians Are Using Twitter,” John Paul Titlow explains how much of an opportunity Twitter can be. Twitter was launched in 2006 and throughout the years it has been used for purposes ranging from people gossiping with each other, gathering news, celebrities sharing their thoughts, and fans following their idols. The latest group to join Twitter is musicians.

Last week, on the Twitter Developers site, an article titled, “Twitter for Musicians and Artists,” was published. This article stated a set of guidelines for Twitter use among musicians. Titlow stated, “It might seem surprising to those of us who use Twitter constantly, but people who make and record music for a living may or may not have much of an interest in managing social media accounts. Many just want to play music.”

Musicians today that do take full advantage of the social web are making the wrong choice since their usual mission is to have their work heard by as many people as possible. Fans are drawn to following musicians due to Twitter being in their “own voice,” resulting in an effective way to advertise their image.

"I think you lose a lot if you outsource your social communication to third parties," says Mike More, CEO of Headliner.fm, a social marketing platform for musicians. "It only takes a few minutes a day. There's a very big upside for artists that invest their time in getting it right." The biggest advantage is the ability to engage directly with fans, which helps utilize their image. Having a Twitter account is crucial for any artist who wants to expand their career in the music industry.

On February 26, 2012, Sanford police received a phone call from a man named George Zimmerman, a self- appointed neighborhood watch, about a suspicious male in his neighborhood. Zimmerman, no stranger to the policemen, described the suspicious person as black male wearing a hoodie and some sweatpants or maybe jeans. He further explained that there have been recent break-ins in the neighborhood and he didn’t want to let this one get away. While on the phone with the police, he said that suspicious male spotted him and started heading his way. Zimmerman reported this to the officer on the phone and mentioned that it looked like the male had something in his pocket. The next thing you know, he is chasing after the man making sure he did not get away. Zimmerman and the male rustle and tussle on a nearby lawn, the other male screaming for help, and then a gunshot. Silence. The police station is flooded with phone calls reporting a shooting and a man down on the ground. Dead. Police arrive on the scene.

17-year-old Trayvon Martin was the suspicious male that George Zimmerman shot and killed that night. 17 years old. He was on his way back home from a convenient store with a bag of skittle and a can of Arizona Tea. George Zimmerman has not been arrested, charged nor convicted of a crime. He is a free man to this day.

Family, friends and supporters nation-wide have taken action in finding justice for young Trayvon Martin. Through appearances on TV shows, news stations, and interviewing with local media, supporters have taken claimed this as a blatant case of racism. With rallies, vigils, and prayer services, Trayvon Martin has not been forgotten. Social media has been a driving force in this ‘No Justice. No Peace’ campaign. With many using personal blogs, Facebook posts and tweets, this case has reached government officials in hopes of a prosecution. Trayvon’s mother said in an interview that she just wants to see this Zimmerman in jail. Others want more.

There have been many opinions about his case and what should be done. I question what should happen next as well. I am also interested in how the makers of Skittles and Arizona Tea will aid in the cause, if they do at all.

Thank God for Denise! In her 280 class, we had to do a career portfolio, which included making a resume. Resumes may seem like the simplest thing to do, but they can be difficult and can go bad with one mistake. Usually these mistakes cause them to be thrown away by prospective employers. If you haven’t had the chance to take SPCM 280 yet, SIU’s career services has several resume workshops throughout the semester. In an article, they gave the 12 most dangerous resume mistakes. A few that I think are important are:

-Goofy and inappropriate email addresses

Denise told us to make sure that we use a regular account for the email address we put on our resumes. It is best if you can just use your name and a known account like Gmail or Yahoo. For students, it is not a good idea to use the SIU email account, because once we graduate, the account closes.

-Forgetting skill sets

It is best for you to include your skills so they can see what you have to offer. This isn’t the section to list every single interest you have, but a spot to let them know what they can use you for. These are also good keywords. When your resume is scanned, these words/skills will come up, which makes your resume stand out

-Not keeping up to date

One of the things that Denise stressed was keeping our resumes up to date. The easiest way to ensure that it is updated is to add something once you are done doing it. Anything from workshops to conferences can enhance your job knowledge, and employers want to see that.

There are several different resume templates available to use and customize to your liking. As a college student, having a resume is a necessity.

Here’s the link to check out the article:

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/9893.aspx

By Michelle Thorson

It's commonly known that the PR industry is predominately consisted of female workers. With so many career paths and other job opportunities available, why is it that so many women choose to get involved in public relations? Some say the reason for so many women in the field is because of the flexibility of the industry. To some degree, high powered PR professionals can also balance family lives a bit easier; allowing women to both work and care for their child.

Perhaps it’s just the media attracting women. In most cases public relations is portrayed as flashy, glamorous and purely deals with entertainment and fashion. In fact, that is only a very small percentage of the industry but yet it accounts for most of its representation. Fictional characters like Samantha Jones from Sex & the City encourage this idea of a flashy female in the workplace.

The most reasonable explanation for me is because the field requires for creativity and "softer skills" when it comes to judgment and communication. It's a balancing act- be it calmness, creativity and assertiveness that make women communicate better and get their point across. PR is all about telling your client's story. Women add an expression to the way the story is told which is of better interest to the media, clients and the public. Women today have shed their old stereotypes and are ready to put in long hours and eager to deal with difficult situations. Women are constantly breaking new boundaries in this industry and it’s only the beginning. Wi th all this said, Public Relations is not limited to females by any means. Men can certainly just as competent and skilled in this profession and the number of males entering the field is still steadily increasing

By Courtney Kennedy

Our teachers are constantly informing us of what PR skills we must acquire before entering the professional business world. Ragan’s PR Daily acknowledges the importance of those skills that include writing and communication, but also acknowledges skills that are commonly overlooked, nine to be exact. The first is management and teamwork. Working in the PR world will require us to participate in teams to finish an assigned task. Instability in a PR team can directly affect the teams balance, so it is important to be cooperative and able to work well with others. The same goes if you are the leader of the team; managing others is a huge part of our job. The second is to become familiar with finance. According to Regan “finances are the key to a healthy agency, if you don’t price properly, you could lose income,” so knowing your budget and determining the appropriate price will make you a step ahead of your competition. The third is multi-tasking. Being able to think on your feet and manage more than one project at a time is key. Extraneous Knowledge is number four. Therefore, knowing more than just the subject of PR will help you stand out. This does not just include a minor. When considering electives to take think about what will separate you from other PR graduates. Taking math and science classes will never hurt! Which leads me to the fifth skill, math competency. Don’t have a fear of numbers. Sure most PR students are not exactly mathematicians but becoming number oriented is important. Todd Fraser, account director at INK Inc. Public Relations. Says you cannot be afraid of ‘no,’ how you respond to rejection will determine your level of success. So tenacity is an important skill to have as a PR professional and is why it is number six on Regan’s list. Discretion and good judgment is number seven. This does not mean that you should be dishonest but the client does not need to know every detail of what a publicist does on their behalf. Number eight is common sense. This doesn’t just apply to PR but in the professional world as a whole. You must have common sense to be successful. But PR is about being strategic about communication. Know what to say and when to say it! Finally number nine is creativity. Finding new ways to promote your client is key and will set you apart from your competition. Don’t be afraid to stretch the normal boundaries.

For the complete article go to http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10901.aspx