Public relations is the professional maintenance of a favorable public image by a company or other organization or a famous person. Political communication is a subfield of mass communication and political science that is concerned with how information spreads and influences politics and policy makers, the news media and citizens. 1. Crisis communication Both political communications and public relations rely heavily on knowledge of crisis communication. In politics and in the private sector mess ups are bound to happen. It is important in both fields to know how to deal with scandals. 2. Shape public perception Public relations deals with creating a favorable public image for a company or organization. Political communication deals with the spread of information and influencing policy. 3. Requires an understanding of people For both of these fields, a general knowledge of people is imperative. How is a professional supposed to shape perception without an understanding of what motivates people? 4. Involves communication and strategy Both political communication and public relations involve being able to plan and execute media strategies and to positively communicate with the public. 5. Combination of print media and digital media Public Relations and Political communications both use a combination of traditional print, like a magazine, and digital media, such as social media. -Katie Goldstein
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![]() Hello all, my name is Samantha Lanham. I am a freshman at LSU majoring in Mass Communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in theatre. I joined ImPRint Communications at the start of the semester and have thoroughly enjoyed my experience so far. I have been involved in theatre for ten years and since learning more about PR, I have noticed a few correlations between the two. You are a part of a cast. In theatre, you are always a part of a cast. You play off of the other characters to enhance your performance. In PR, you are a part of a team. You need to utilize the different people with different specialties in your team to further your project. You audition for your role. In theatre, you must prepare a monologue and perform in front of the director in order to be cast in the show. Your audition is almost as important as your performance. In PR, you have to pitch ideas and concepts to your client. If you aren’t good at pitching, you will never get the chance to show them your performance. You wear a costume. In theatre, depending on who you are playing, you wear a specific costume. The costume reflects who you want the audience to perceive you as. In PR, you dress nice and classy. You want your client to respect you and see you as a professional. You memorize your lines. In theatre, you work day and night memorizing your lines. You want to not be reliant on your script so that you can focus more on your acting. In PR, you need to know about your client and their needs. The more informed you are, the better your final project will be. You’re sad when the show is over In theatre, you work for months on a show and eventually you reach closing night. Tears are shed and hugs are given that night. It’s all over but you’re happy with the production you put on. In PR, you may do one project for a client you really like and when you have to leave them, it can be bitter sweet. You’re proud of your work but sad to leave a good client. Thank you all for reading. I’m excited to one day put my love for PR and my love for theatre together in the professional world. I’m glad I could do that for you today. Samantha Lanham samilanham@yahoo.com
I can’t get through my day without a little caffeine. A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do! 2. Procrastination is a STRUGGLE. College is stressful. Really stressful. When I start working on things early, it makes things so much better. Unfortunately, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. 3. Take care of yourself! It is so important to take care of your body in college. Because of staying up late and being stressed out, your body is TIRED. Getting enough rest, staying hydrated, and managing stress are some keys to staying healthy in college. 4. Do your absolute best. College is a time for learning as much as you possibly can. Work hard and do your best now because it will pay off after graduation. 5. I love public relations! Even in the small amount of time that I’ve learned about this field, I have completely
fallen in love with it! I can’t wait to learn more in my coming semesters. -Ann Marie Thevenot- PRSSA is the kind of organization that you don’t choose, it chooses you. This semester as a Sophomore, I joined PRSSA to see if I wanted to pursue any Public Relations-related careers alongside majoring in Political Communication. After meeting many amazing people through networking and becoming highly invested in our student-run PR firm, ImPRint Communications, I learned of an opportunity to attend the PRSSA 2017 National Conference in Boston, Massachusetts along with 17 of my peers from LSU. I immediately seized the opportunity.
Aside from the endless wonders of Boston, the backbone of the National Conference was having multiple separate sessions each day to choose from featuring multiple guest speakers who hosted them. Among these, the sessions I really grew from ones where I learned about how to better network and pursue public relations disciplines. One of the most eye opening lectures I attended was one regarding creativity in public relations related fields. Through this workshop, I learned about the ways PR careers transcend disciplines. Someone with medical interest or experience could benefit a local hospital by running a successful awareness campaign for them as well as working for a firm and representing a pharmaceutical company as a client. A person interested in music could navigate public relations for record companies and coordinate album releases. Professionals with a penchant for finance could work in the budget and analysis facet of a PR firm or campaign. The variations of ways in which a PR professional is useful were infinite in fields previously thought best left to others. As a political communication major, I had the opportunity to attend the Communication in Politics session hosted by a woman who manages public relations for the current governor of Massachusetts. This facet of PR is riddled with risks and requires passionate and authentic communicators in search of a fast paced environment. One of the main tenets of the job is making sure your client says the right thing in interviews, and dealing with the potential fallout of if your client does not do exactly that. Professionals in this concentration can also focus on less traditional positions in the PR field such as working with policy and issues management. To survive in this high-stakes world you must be capable of listening to others but also of thinking on your feet and using your head. As the guest speaker joked, “Everything that happens in Massachusetts is now my fault”. This job comes with knowing that you now have great personal responsibility to the constituents of an area and greater public uproar if any PR tactics implemented by you fail. A session I attended more out of personal indulgence than practicality relating to what field I wanted to professionally pursue was the PR in fashion session, led by experienced host and trendsetter Sharifa Murdock. Sharifa of the renowned Instagram and Twitter handle @SharifaSays definitely lived up to her online persona by administering sage advice on the kind of grit and determination it takes to shine in the world of fashion PR. Murdock got her start in Brooklyn, New York working at a clothing boutique and rose all the way to organizing and curating her own trade shows all over the world. This aspect of PR intersects with the world of fashion and requires investment in personal style as well as great focus on curating one’s personal brand. Sharifa says, you have to ask for what you want because closed mouths don’t get fed, don’t be afraid to be a pain in the butt that won’t give up on their goals. From the tearful and moving presentation of LSU’s very own Mary Klemenok regarding her orchestration of the father who biked to meet the man who had received his daughter’s heart after her untimely death, to the panel of experienced living PR Legends imparting wisdom and knowledge onto us, the conference encouraged personal growth as well as contemplative thought on the greater and more universal importance of PR. Between afternoons spent walking through Boston Commons down to Faneuil Hall Marketplace and nights dining on clam chowder from a breadbowl, thousands of young professionals were able to exchange business cards and social media handles to expand their connections and become inspired by peers’ success across the country. Personally, I took interest in the stories of how chapters grew their membership through structured events and fun socials yet also undertook a serious time commitment to everything their chapter stood for and participated in. National Conference 2017 made me realize the historical yet inexplicably youthful city of Boston is a beautiful New England hub I could learn to call home and thrive in. Yet more importantly, National Conference finally helped me complete a harrowing mental journey to the realization that Public Relations is the field in which I belong no matter the what the facet, although which concentration is a slight trek ahead that still evades me. The initial rush of Louisiana State University receiving the Star Chapter Award at the opening ceremonies was nothing compared to the pervading peace I experienced as the final goodbye breakfast wrapped up knowing I had uncovered a network or mentors, job connections, and graduate programs designed to help me tap into my potential as a PR professional who felt right at home in this new world of communicating and interacting. The guest speakers repeatedly pushed the importance of networking, persistence, and listening when it came to advancing in this competitive yet fulfilling field. My peers I met and befriended from across the country from other distinguished chapters pushed me to improve myself and continuously strive to seek ways to improve my own credentials and resume in a competitive but ultimately supportive manner. However nothing compares to the motivation and creative energy conference bestowed on me to take back with me to my own chapter in Baton Rouge. Thanks to PRSSANC 2017, I garnered first-hand advice on how to help contribute to making an already passionate group of people an even more distinguished and tenacious chapter of PRSSA, one that strives to prepare young people to feel empowered and experienced as they step into becoming America’s future tastemakers and communication moguls. To anyone pondering attending PRSSANC 2018 in Austin, Texas that has never attended PRSSANC before, if you want to experience astronomical growth as a professional and person in a matter of days... I think I may know of a place that’s exactly what you need. Fair trade is ethical shopping that has a global impact. It is a way for farmers and artisans in third world countries to rise above poverty by having consistent and sustainable work. To be considered fair trade, organizations must have fair working conditions, have a guaranteed minimum price for their worker’s wages, be environmentally sustainable and have a community development aspect. These principles give opportunities to the workers as well as their communities to grow and succeed beyond what is expected. Citizens are becoming more socially and economically aware in their purchases. Because of that, there has been a rise in fair trade companies and products. The Internet has made shopping ethically affordable and easy. Fair Trade USA states that their certified products are available in tens of thousands retail locations and online stores. I was introduced to fair trade when I started interning for a local nonprofit called Hands Producing Hope. They are a fair trade nonprofit organization that works with women in Costa Rica and Rwanda. I, by no means, am a poster child for eco friendly living, but I do think differently about purchases. If I have the option to choose between a long lasting piece of clothing or home décor item with a cause over something that is cheaper and mass produced, I will normally choose the higher priced item. Here are four reasons why everyone should shop fair trade:
Sources: https://www.fairtradecertified.org/frequently-asked-questions#what-is-fair-trade https://www.fairtradecertified.org/why-fair-trade https://www.fairtradecertified.org/why-fair-trade/our-global-model http://www.fairtraderesource.org/downloads/top_10_reasons_to_support_ft.pdf http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/shoppingethically/whybuyethical/whybuyfairtrade.aspx http://www.handsproducinghope.org/ -Peyton Short ![]() The first part of ad critique is very easy as it is just looking for the base information of the ad itself. Firstly, one must find the source of the ad. In this case the source is the UN Women Organization. Secondly, the audience must be considered. The audience is everyone, but the ad will mostly appeal to women – and in this instance, Muslim women since the women displayed has on a hijab. It will also appeal greatly to Feminists since they want the sexes to be treated equally. Next, ask what is the medium? The medium is digital media. Then we need to examine the message the ad is trying to convey. The message is that the constant claims of what women “need to do” are misogynistic and that women should be seen and treated as equals to men. Then the critique becomes more in depth when asked whether the ad is designed to encourage central- or peripheral-route processing? In this case the chosen ad is designed to encourage central-route processing. This is evident due to certain features that the ad has. The ad features a search bar with recommended searches below it which will draw the audience’s attention. The recommended searches are also things that are said to demean women and it makes the audience think about: how can this be ok; why are women treated like this but not men; there should be equal treatment of the sexes; and so on. The ad is designed to speak to people and get them to think about the inequality women face – which can be a contentious topic. Afterwards, look at whether the ad agency thinks that the audience has high or low motivation. In this case the ad agency probably thought that the audience had a high motivation as this is a considerable issue that a vast percentage of the human population deals with. Furthermore, see whether the ad agency thinks that the audience had high or low ability. The ad agency likely thought the general public would not have a high ability to read graphs about inequality but they knew that people would be able to read and some even relate to the statements they used. The last question in ad critique, is whether the person critiquing sees the ad as persuasive. This is a subjective question and will change with each person who sees the ad. Personally, I found the ad to be persuasive because it made me think about the ways that women are treated negatively around the world. The ad also made me think about how other people actually believe these negative thoughts about women and it makes me want to work against this misogyny. I also identify as a Feminist, so the ad will have a stronger appeal to someone like me. -GP- |
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