The RWU COMM Connection

RWU now has just under 200 people on Professor Shelton’s facebook (“profesor Shelton”). This is great news for those of you who are wanting to network and see where some recent grads have ended up.

As a member of the Alumni Network, you have the opportunity to connect with other alumni in your area. We can start holding receptions at graduation.  We can also post the video and/or audio from guest speakers to help educate everyone.  This way if someone  can’t travel back to Bristol for these events,  you can listen various speakers share cutting-edge business information.

Facebook is just the first step in creating a lasting relationship with people who share the RWU experience!

What PR Means To You

According to a Fortune magazine survey, the field of public relations is one of the top-10 fastest growing industries nationwide. Similarly, Money magazine's 50 Best Jobs in America article states that public relations professionals earn an average annual salary of nearly $85,000, with an earning potential of nearly $250,000 a year. Additionally, the article states that there are more than 9,000 annual job openings, with a projected 23 percent 10-year growth rate increase. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are 200,000 practicing public relations professionals nationwide, while The Global Alliance estimates there are three million people worldwide practicing public relations. What do all of these numbers mean for you? Quite simply, if you study public relations, your chances of getting a job and earning a great living are very good.

Public relations is, without question, the most comprehensive type of communication. PR Graduates are sought after and on average, the highest paid. Graduating with a Degree in PR means you will possess the most comprehensive set of communication skills available.  You will be among some of the most sought after communication professionals in the industry. On average, your starting salary will be higher than most of your other communication colleagues.

Director of Communications stats

Pay
Median salary (experienced)	$78,300
Top pay	$135,000
Opportunity
10-year job growth (2006-2016)	17%
Total jobs (current)	26,000
Online want ad growth (April 2009-August 2009)	33%
Quality of life ratings
Personal satisfaction	A
Job security	B
Future growth	B
Benefit to society	B
Low stress	C

From the November 2009 issue

Notes: All pay data from PayScale.com. Median pay is for an experienced worker (at least two to seven years in the field). Top pay represents the 90th percentile. Job growth is estimated for 2006-16. Total current employment level is estimated number of people working in each specific job. Sources: PayScale.com, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data Series, and MONEY research

NYC Jobs and Internships

Check out this link for decent opportunities in the NYC area.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mar/

Fashion PR Job NYC

Emerging and exciting contemporary fashion label seeks freelance Fashion Publicist who has experience working at an agency or in-house. Must be a go-getter, who loves pitching the media, a strong writer , an excellent communicator who is enthusiastic about joining an exciting contemporary collection.
Must have relationships with media, relationship-building skills, never bored of researching new opportunities.

The salary is $10 per hour to start and would be on a contract/freelance basis.In the beginning we are looking for a time commitment of 15-20 hours per week initially and this would grow throughout the next several months.

As a freelancer, requirements for our freelancer include having access to media resources & editor lists. We seek a creative, smart, style-savvy self-starter who can work independently and as part of a team, who is enthusiastic, with fresh ideas and a great attitude.  While a part/time freelance position currently, we expect that this can grow into a more full-time position for the right person.  Please send a resume and a little bit of information about yourself and your experiences in PR and why you would be a good fit.

Send cover letter and resume here.  See Ad here

Job in NYC

Reliable and organized creative thinker needed for Marketing Coordinator position at luxury tour operator based in Manhattan's Flat Iron district. Hours are 8:45 am to 5:45 pm (or later as required), Monday through Friday.  Entry level position with possibility of advancement and significant responsibilities for the right candidate.
Duties include:
- Assist the Director of Marketing as needed
- Coordinate a wide range of Marketing projects
- Manage image gallery
- Manage the fulfillment of brochures as requested by potential travellers
- Organize trade show displays and materials
- Oversee supplies – inventory, ordering, negotiating
- Create Powerpoint presentations
- Fluent in Microsoft Office: Word, Excel
- Plus if you know Mac, InDesign, Quark, Photoshop & Illustrator big plus
Ideal candidate will be recent college graduate, enthusiastic, team player, work well under tight deadlines, able to multi-task. $10 per hour to start, 40 hours per week. Please forward resume and cover letter to marketing4travel@gmail.com.

Optimism of PR Firms Despite Poor Economical Conditions

Although this downfall of the economy has been nothing but bad news for most companies, PR Firms have been able to find the light in it all. Statistics from a survey say that 63.7% PR agencies reported revenue declines from the previous year, while only 23% of firms achieved a high revenue from last year. Given these numbers, you would think PR agencies should be just as worried as everyone else but that does not seem to be the case.

As anyone in the field of Public Relations should know, PR has appeared to be a lot more inexpensive than other services, such as advertising. That alone allows for PR to become more appealing to other firms and business, especially when they are feeling the loss from the downfall of the economy. Not only have PR agencies themselves become appealing, but their knowledge in the field of social media has as well.

Traditional media outlets have become too expensive, forcing business to look to outlets that are more individual such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, LinkedIn, etc. Therefore, the strategy businesses use in order to reach their audience has changed but the fundamentals are still the same. These fundamentals are something that are said to be "mastered by professional public relations practitioners".

Overall, the downfall in the economy has simply transformed the way in which business are to communicate with their audience, therefore creating an increase in the demand for PR services.

Social Media: A Succes or Failure?

Social Media seems to be a growing fad among many companies. These companies have looked to social media in order to advocate their selves, products or services. For some employers, it even comes down to who is most familiar and adept with the most popular social media today. Whether social media is actually beneficial is a question that has just recently been brought about.

Social Networks are not popularly used as a resource for shoppers online. According to a recent survey, a majority of consumers do not visit retailer pages on Facebook or Twitter. When consumers do follow or ‘friend’ brands or companies, it is to mostly to stay informed of exclusive deals or offers.

Social Media Today plays the roll of devils advocate by bringing up questions that are not thought about by companies prior to getting involved with social media. The main question is whether the limited money and resources you are spending to maintain social media for your company will be made back, at the least, by the sales made at one's source of social media. Most customers are all about convenience and if your web form is not explained step by step, or they are not up-to-date with current day technology, then your attempt in using social media to reach new customers is not a success. Therefore, despite what everyone says, it would behoove your business to weigh the costs and benefits of a social media source before investing your resources into maintaining one.

Local Fashion Internship

Title	Public Relations Internship
City	Hingham
State	MA
Description	Assist Vice President and Public Relations coordinator with general PR needs. Tracking and packing editorial samples, organizing and xeroxing/scanning magazine credits and updating press books. Special projects to include Editors Day, Celebrity mailings and special events.
Requirements	Candidate must be currently enrolled in a college program, as this Internship is for credit only. Requires related coursework and the desire to work in Public Relations.
Apply On-line	Apply On-line
Send to a Friend	Send This Job to a Friend

Media Relations Internship

Do you have an interest in PR and strong writing skills? If you can add a sense of humor to that list then you should apply to be our intern!

RWU University Communications is looking to fill two internship positions for the Spring 2010 semester. In this position, you will earn course credits while learning the day-to-day operations of a small in-house, higher-ed public relations department. The right candidates will be offered experiences tailored to their strengths and interests. Upon completion of this internship, you could walk away with clips, press release samples, great job references and maybe even buried treasure (okay, maybe not)! Social media users will top our short list of candidates. Please apply by contacting Ruth Bazinet, director of public relations for RWU, by e-mailing rbazinet@rwu.edu.

Adults Post to Twitter?

The Wall Street Journal reports that a study released Tuesday by Forrester Research found that 33 percent of adults update Web sites like Twitter and Facebook once a week. Forrester dubbed these people, “conversationalists.” (The study looked at 10,000 people, 18 and older, in 22 countries.) “They’re mostly women,” The Wall Street Journal said of these conversationalists, “and they aren’t only young people — 70 percent of the adults in this category are 30 and older.” The study also found that 70 percent of adults are spectators in social media, which means they’re reading blogs, Facebook updates, and tweets. Only 17 percent of Internet users don’t participate in any social media.

The Future of Newspapers?

In the newspaper industry there has been much outsourcing.  What has not been outsourced is local coverage.  Going forward papers must focus on their competitive advantage, which is local. When the smoke clears, the local newspaper, which may not be the sexiest part of the newspaper industry but is overwhelmingly the largest and most profitable part of the industry, will be a smaller and more-focused enterprise and  directed to those areas where their local presence gives them competitive advantage. In doing this, they will continue to generate better profits than the supersexy businesses in the media industry.  Read more with the link below
One Banker’s Plan to Save the Newspaper Industry - Deal Journal - WSJ.

Students Create Water Sustainability Plan

RWU PRSSA and Kohler are partnering in an new learning opportunity for PRSSA members.

Kohler invited all Chapters to respond to an RFP with a campaign plan that builds brand awareness and support for Kohler’s Save Water America (savewateramerica.com) campaign, which encourages water conservation awareness and Water Conserving product sales to college communities across the country, through a one-day community event. RWU PRSSA decided to accept the challenge.

Three students from Roger Williams University will work to create the plan; Sarah Beron (So), Stephanie Hunt (So), and Mary Conconnon (So) are working together.  Each of the three of them have just completed a campaign for COMM 300 (Principles and Practices of PR) promoting green housing to Bristol. With the contacts created for the Go Green, Save Green plan, these members are well on their way to making professional waves for Roger Williams University.

The students will partner with the local water municipality, other college organizations on campus, distributors and the university. The students will also create a media plan to help bring awareness of Save Water America, as well as drive sales of Kohler products.

The deadlie for the plan is March 1.  The top three Chapters will receive funding from Kohler to implement their proposals, and the winning team recieves $10,000 towards making a campus building green!  For more information, click here.

Who Creates News?

How many of you read the local papers? A new study by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, which takes a close look at the news ecosystem of one city suggests that while the news landscape has rapidly expanded, most of what the public learns is still overwhelmingly driven by traditional media—particularly newspapers. The study, which examined all the outlets that produced local news in Baltimore, Md., for one week, surveyed their output and then did a closer examination of six major narratives during the week, finds that much of the “news” people receive contains no original reporting. Fully eight out of ten stories studied simply repeated or repackaged previously published information. And of the stories that did contain new information nearly all, 95%, came from traditional media—most of them newspapers. These stories then tended to set the narrative agenda for most other media outlets.

See full article here,

Social Media Schooling

By Ryan Zuk, APR

As social media continues to grow and gain significance, business leaders are increasingly concerned that PR professionals do not know how to use social technologies effectively.  For instance, these leaders have accused agencies of neglecting social media in favor of accumulating more billable hours.

While some organizations probably do need to correct this mindset, most agencies and practitioners are making positive contributions to social media and passing this value on to stakeholders. Furthermore, their insights and efforts are revolutionizing the profession. Whether we’re affiliated with organizations that invest in social media training or not, we are all responsible for educating ourselves on the job and after hours.

Last month, I recommended periodically evaluating mature and emerging social media channels to gauge their viability and ensure that you’re aware of all the options. The next step is to implement the tools that best support your personal brand, your business and your clients. Here are several tips that you should consider when assembling your social media lesson plan.

Create a hub
Whether it’s a blogging platform such as WordPress, a blogstream like Posterous, an online community created with Ning, a Facebook page or your Web site, you need a home base where people can find you and link to all of the content that you’ve posted elsewhere.

Connect the dots
Your other social channels, sometimes called outposts, usually focus on a specific type of content such as Twitter updates, Flickr photos and YouTube videos that can stand alone, but become part of your larger footprint when linked to your hub.

Use a social bookmarking tool like Diigo or Delicious to index and promote your most interesting content, while helping others spread theirs. Social bookmarking helps accelerate your inbound marketing — or how your content attracts people to you or your hub.
Manage your outposts

Use a manageable number of outposts to support your communication goals. Be clear which ones you’re committed to by linking these to your hub and keeping them up-to-date. Meanwhile, continue learning by experimenting with other platforms and features. Also, look for tools that automate how you manage your content. Ping.fm can help you post a message to multiple channels simultaneously. HootSuite is a Twitter tool that your team can use to manage multiple accounts, group followers and schedule tweets in advance.

Monitor and measure
Begin with standards like Google Alerts, Google Analytics and Technorati. Become familiar with their basic functions and challenge yourself to study their advanced features.

Remain in the know
Using social media is an ideal way to learn from each other. But there’s a lot of relevant advice available and not enough time to absorb it all. Creating a short list of social media-themed blogs, podcasts and video feeds offers manageable variety that can keep you focused and engaged.
Suggested sources include: the “For Immediate Release” podcast by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson, the YouTube Reporters’ Center and Lee Aase’s Social Media University Global.
Following Twitter hashtags like #pradvice and #PRBC, and participating in Twitter chats like #journchat and #PRStudChat are helpful too.

See entire Article by clicking here

Internship Competition

Deadline: Thursday, December 31, 2009

February 12, 2009
Two Students Receive Daniel J. Edelman/PRSSA Awards

Purpose

The Daniel J. Edelman/PRSSA Award, named for the chairman and founder of Edelman, has been presented annually since 1990 to PRSSA student members who have demonstrated exceptional leadership ability, a commitment to a career in the field and have contributed substantially to PRSSA.

Award

$1,500 cash award ($1,000 upon winning award and an additional $500 upon start date of internship)
3-month paid internship in one of Edelman’s U.S. offices. (To be determined by Edelman and Winner)
Runner-up award of $500 and an opportunity to interview at one of Edelman’s U.S. offices for a full time position
Judging Criteria

Students competing for the Daniel J. Edelman Award must be a PRSSA member and will be judged on their 1) leadership; 2) public relations-related achievements and activities; and 3) recommendations from faculty members and/or industry professionals.

Please attach no more than two letters of recommendation. Entries will not be considered without at least one enclosed with entry. Sealed envelopes are suggested.

Include no more than 10 samples of individual public relations work. Submit this application and supporting materials in a one-inch, three ring binder.

Process

Completed entries must be postmarked by Thursday, December 31, 2009. Entries postmarked after December 31st will not be considered. We recommend UPS or FedEx 2-day economy delivery as Edelman is not responsible for lost or undelivered packages. Send entries to:

Heather Crowley, Edelman
Daniel J. Edelman/PRSSA Award
200 East Randolph Drive, 63rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 240-3000
A panel of judges will evaluate entries. The winner will be notified by Wednesday, February 17, 2010.