Ethics

Since the beginning of my mass communication education, I have been taught the importance of ethics in the mass media. This past week my PR Campaigns class had a discussion on ethics and how our ethical views will influence what kind of job we look for after graduation. Some of the biggest influences on my ethical views has been my parents and my faith. Growing up, my parents never forced their views on me but allowed me to make my own decisions (and mistakes!) but I watched them and a lot of their values rubbed off on me. I think the role my faith has played in my life has been an even greater influence on my ethical views than my parents. The Bible is my favorite book and I want to live out what it teaches.

After college, I want to find a job that I enjoy doing and preferably makes a tangible difference in the world around them. I want to be successful in my career, but I will not compromise my morals in getting there and would not want to work for a company that does not stick to a code of ethics. I honestly don't care about the money that I can make, and would not take a job with a companies whose product I could not support, such as tobacco. Honesty is very important to me, and I would not want to work for a company who does not stand behind their word.

A lot of these are ideal situations and I know that we do not live in an ideal world, so the chances of me finding a job with a company with a high corporate social responsibility that is making a difference in the world may be slim, but I will still continue to stick to my personal code of ethics.

One For One

Each week my Public Relation Campaigns class blogs about a topic in PR, and this week I have one of my classmates to thank for my inspiration for this blog. Lauren blogged about Corporate Social Responsibility this week and after reading her post I knew exactly what I was going to blog about!

Team LASC (my Campaigns class) knows how much I love TOMS Shoes and I can't believe I have yet to blog about this company! The TOMS Shoes website sums up their mission with this statement "TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what we're all about." For every pair of shoes you buy, they give a pair to a child in need. Talk about corporate social responsibility! Since TOMS was started in 2006, they have given away more than 140,000 pairs of shoes.

TOMS Shoes uses many different media outlets to get their name out and has been featured in several magazines and newspapers such as Vogue, People, Time, and Rolling Stones. When TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie was featured in an AT&T commercial, The New York Times wrote an article on the impact this one 30 second commercial had on the company (check out the article here!) When the commercial premiered during the telecast of The Masters this year, it created a lot of exposure for the company and got people tweeting and commenting on YouTube. The feedback from the 30 second commercial led to AT&T expanding the spot to 60 seconds. TOMS Shoes was also the first real business to be featured in an AT&T commercial showcasing the theme "more bars, more places" as it followed Blake on shoe drops around the world. In the few months after the commercial aired, the TOMS website went from having 9,000 visitors a day to upwards of 90,000 visitors in one day! Woah! TOMS Shoes is on Twitter and has recently added Twitter pages for shoe support and friends of TOMS, which keeps you updated on shoe drops and other events happening with the company. TOMS has also collaborated with several celebrities, such as Dave Matthews and Brandon Boyd, to create limited edition styles.

Check out TOMS and see for yourself how one company is making a difference all around the world.

"Learning Is Not A Spectator Sport..." D. Blocher

When I look back over the past three years I have spent in college, learning about the world of Mass Communications and Public Relations, I have learned so much in the span of just a few short semesters. A few years ago I never would have known what a news release was, how many words should be in a lead, and wether or not to use a sans serif font or just a serif font.

There are many skills that help future PR professionals succeed in this business and this blog post lists several attributes for new PR professionals.

In looking at this list I feel like I need to grow in more areas than I have expertise in!

I am a social media junkie and really enjoy microblogging and social networking. I have come to find that sites such as Twitter and Facebook help get your product or event out to the public in a way that traditional media can't. In today's generation, I think these skills are very valuable and I enjoy finding new ways to apply them to PR. I also enjoy working with design elements and coding in websites, even though I am no where near an expert!

Some skills that I need some more experience in are media relations and proactiveness. I have had experience relating with the media and pitching ideas to the media, but they have always been in a group setting. Media Relations is one of the most important aspects of PR and is something that I want to become an expert in! I am also a procrastinator. In an article I read once, Katie Couric said that procrastination was one of her stregnths and helped her to work under pressure and deadlines. Now I love Katie and lived by this mantra for a while, but I have come to learn that being a procrastinator leaves you pulling very stressful all nighters. Learn to plan ahead and make the most of your free time.

In conclusion, learning is not a spectator sport. I feel that this is very true for PR. The more practice you have and the more experience you have in all areas of PR makes you a more skilled professional. So take advantage of every opportunity you've been given and push yourself to bigger and more challenging things. You never know what you are capable of if you don't try!

Should Of, Could Of, Would Of....

My venture into Mass Communications was not always in public relations. Ever since I was in the fifth grade I have always wanted to be the next Katie Couric. I have always had a love for television and always had a desire to anchor the evening news. Well that all changed after interning with WALB-TV in Albany my senior year of high school. I came to realize that the television business is not as glamorous as it seems!

Luckily I chose I college that had an excellent Mass Communications program which offered several different concentrations. I am not sure how I came to the decision of concentrating in PR, but I am glad that I have! Thinking back over the past few semesters of MSCM craziness, I really have learned so much.

For the things that I wish I would of known before starting...Let's see. I think that I lucked out by knowing exactly what I wanted to major in and sticking with it, and thanks to that I will be graduating on time! If there has been one thing I have learned about PR and Mass Communications it is the importance of networking. I wish I could of started networking even back in high school with the TV station that I interned with. There have been several people that I have met at events that I never asked for their business card or contact info. I have learned that no matter who the contact is, the more the better! Public Relations is something that I feel is ever changing and adapts to the different generations and publics targeted. Always be open minded and don't be afraid if something does not work on the first try. Public Relations encompasses so much and I feel like there is something for everyone in PR. You might be surprised at how much you use it in your daily life!