Who Needs Social Media News Releases?

First of all, what is a Social Media News Release (SMNR)? Let’s just say it’s not your grandfather’s news release at all.

A Social Media News Release (SMNR) is similar in content to a traditional news release, but SMNR’s are Web 2.0 optimized or media enhanced. According to Brian Solis, SMNR’s are stories that are specifically targeted to readers unlike traditional news releases, which are primarily aimed at journalists. SMNR’s still contain these classic elements:

• Headline
• Facts/News Story
• Quotes
• Boiler Plate
• Contact Information

5 Steps to Multimedia Story Telling

This week in PRCA3330 students completed Poynter News University’s module titled Five Steps to Multimedia Storytelling.

To begin with there are 5 steps to multimedia story telling and they include:

1. Choosing a Story
2. Making a Story Board
3. Reporting with Multimedia
4. Editing for the Web
5. Producing the Story

Students learned that when it comes to choosing a story, don’t think in terms of this comes first then this comes second.  Instead segment the story and think of it as this part and that part.

Before you report your story it is smart to create a story board.  A story board will assist in defining the parameters of your story, help you organize and focus your story, determine which medium goes with each element of the story, and help you figure out what resources you need to complete the story.

Featured Student Post: R.I.P. The Newspaper: 2017

So many us now rely on the internet and social media networks for the latest, greatest breaking news and information.  Just what impact is this having on newspapers?  This weeks student featured post highlights the problem that many newspapers are facing with the onset of electronic media.

R.I.P. The Newspaper: 2017 ~ Alicia Decoste

10 Ways PR Professionals Drive Journalists Crazy

Luckily, while working with GSU’s George-Anne I gained some experience about what it is like to work in a newsroom.  Minoring in journalism, I can empathize with most of the items on this list:

1. Not knowing who to contact and where to send the information to. Many journalists have a specific way that they like to be contacted.  It is important for a public relations professional to keep a media contact list detailing who to contact, how to contact them , and even when they are available for contact.  Failing to contact the right person will almost certainly guarantee that your news release will be trashed.
2. Not meeting deadlines. If you promise a journalist a story by a certain time and date make sure you are able to uphold your end of the deal.  Newspapers and magazines layout pages based on story length, number of stories ready for publication, and advertising space purchased.  Don’t make promises that you can’t keep and if you foresee a problem then you should contact the journalist immediately.
3. Providing unsolicited attachments along with your news release. If the journalist does not ask an attachment with your news release then it is a good idea to leave the attachment out of your email.  Many viruses are sent via email attachments and most journalists delete emails with unsolicited attachments without opening them. ->

Podcasts

A few months ago I bought an i-Pod touch and experienced listening to a pod cast for the first time.

The last few months I’ve been working on organizing my massive mp3 and music video library using i-Tunes, and although I’m not quite done I can see the end in sight.

I have been an avid music collector for years and it wasn’t until I was given an assignment on podcasting that I realized I should begin looking into downloading and subscribing to podcasts.

Featured Student Post: GSU Botanical Gardens Rhythm & Brews

This week’s featured student post highlights an event taking place this Friday, November 12, 2010, at Georgia Southern University’s Botanical Gardens.  If you are over 21 and enjoy good food, good wine, good music, and good company then this is a must attend event!

• Alicia Addison~GSU Botanical Gardens Rhythm & Brews

Did you Know??? Photoshop Offers FREE Online Photo Editing Tools

I finished sorting most of my photos over the last week and I’ve been itching to share a few of my favorites, but I still needed to “fix” a few by cropping them.  I was using Paint to crop my pictures because my Photoshop trial expired…that was until I visited Adobe’s site and found out they offer a few photo editing tools FREE online!

I haven’t done much photo editing since my Photoshop trial expired a few months ago and being a college student I didn’t really want to fork over the couple of hundred dollars it would cost me for the Adobe package I really want.

So while looking for alternatives I decided to check and see if a new Adobe trial was available.  While looking on the Photoshop  home page I noticed a section on the site that offers “online tools”.

Featured Student Post-Facebook’s Privacy Scandals

This week’s featured student post deals with Facebook and the sites recent issues regarding user privacy settings.  Most college students have a Facebook account so this post is another must read!

• Natlye Baldwin~Facebook’s Privacy Scandals

Infographics

What is an infographic?  How are they useful?  And how do you create one?

First of all, an infographic is a pictorial or graphical representation of information.  Examples of infographics include: charts, maps, and diagrams.  Infographics are used to aid the comprehension of facts and figures that readers would other wise confuse or be unable to comprehend.

Infographics are very useful because infographics can be used to explain large facts and figures to readers in a way that the reader can visualize thus un-complicating the information being presented.

Student Featured Post – Three Things Every Blog Needs

Another short, sweet, and to the point post by another student blogger offering advice to all bloggers regarding 3 things their blog needs to be a successful endeavor.  I think the tips apply to all bloggers universally.  Great find!

• Three Things Every Blog Needs – Katie Poole