Hi Everyone :)
So my topic for todays blog is the media release. The night before I started my placement I was so sure the first thing I would be asked to do was write a media release, and being as I haven't needed to write one since first year I was a bit worried! But my worry was not needed as this has not been one of my roles here at Tourism WA. However, I've still had the chance to learn from them as events which are partnering with Tourism WA have sent media releases in to be checked over before being distributed to the press. From this I have learnt small but helpful things that may help me in the future. For example, that you shouldn't embed a picture in the document, rather attach it as a high resolution image for journalists to download. Also, that the style of a media release is not locked solid: Government publications make each sentence it's own paragraph however other organisations prefer to write larger paragraphs. Whilst these may seem significant, to me its teaching me more about the industry and how practices vary in each work place and that you need to be open to adapt each work place and embrace their individual style.
On a different note, I have been busy researching information for journalists and developing fact sheets which will go towards a media kit, mainly for the use of interstate and international journalists. Tourism WA's current campaign is Experience Extraordinary and as such I've been trying to find restaurants, cafe's and things to do in Perth that are unique and extraordinary. I thought I new quite alot about the places and main attractions in Western Australia, but my research has showed me there are so many amazing places in our own backyard. I for one am keen to travel up north and experience more of our huge state. I thought I would use this platform to ask you all as well. Who has traveled many places in Western Australia? Or does it interest you to in the future? Do you think there could be a way as PR officers to encourage young people to travel in Western Australia instead of going for the cheaper option of places like Bali? This is something my placement here has made me consider and I'm still thinking about it!
I hope your all having fun,
Vanessa :)
4 comments:
Hello Vanessa! I'm Stephanie from Singapore and I battled the same difficulties writing my first media release for my PR agency, despite having a background in writing such releases. I suppose I was afraid of producing disappointing work, but hey, we all have to start somewhere. I always stick to writing the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How within the first two paragraphs.
As for travelling to Western Australia, I have been going to perth for an average of once a year for the past 11 years. I would say that my favourite thing to do there is to travel to the outback and experience staying in cabins or cottages situated in the middle of nowhere.
Hi Vanessa ;-)
It seems like you are enjoying your internship at Tourism WA, it must be such a great place to do your internship. Are you enjoying working with tourism?
To me it seems to be so much fun when your everyday is all about traveling and where to travel. I guess the only problem is that it just makes you wanting to go away to somewhere more exciting... But on the other hand - you are so right, I think there absolutely must be so many hidden treasures in WA.
Me, being a full-time tourist here in Perth (haha) often find that I have seen and visited more spots in WA than many people that are from here....I guess that is because it is marketed towards tourists and not that much to Western Australians themselves! So there is a definitive important angle for you to take from the PR point of view... :-) I am sure Western Australians must be interested in knowing about spots around here, since everywhere else is so so far away...
Hope you enjoy the rest of your internship, sweety!
Nina
Hi, I thought I'd post my reply to your comment here as well so I am sure you get it :)
I don't know if I have any words of wisdom, but I can try to tell you about my experience with my interview..:-) I must actually admit the questions were harder than I had expected.
The first interview was alright, and they asked me those typical questions about me, my experiences, strengths, weaknesses etc. But she actually also got into asking me a bit about ideas in terms of campaigns and future strategies, and she gave me a few scenarios and asked me about trends in travelling and facts about countries I've travelled to! She asked what motivates me, what makes me angry, sad, happy... what annoys me... If I am a team worker, a perfectionist etc etc. I could go on forever because the interviews lasted one hour each!
The second interview they asked me to prepare a presentation about trends in the travelling industry and major changes in terms of what a backpacker is and means in five years from now on. I never actually got to show my presentation as our internet connection wouldn't allow the screen sharing thing on skype, so I ended up sending it to her instead and she had a read through later. During this interview they asked challenging questions. They asked me to critique their webpage, their facebook, their twitter and their newsletters. They asked me to mention the best campaigns I know about and then tell them what were the strengths and weaknesses. All these questions are kind of hard when you don't have any time to think about them! She even asked me to do a SWOT on the spot on their organisaiton... But I guess it was mostly about seeing how I thought about it and how I found my answers, not really about answering them correctly!
I am sure you will nail every job interview anyway.. Good luck with everything, and I hope to see you before I am off to the cold again! xx
Hi Vanessa,
I like how you're blogging about your experience of writing a media release,something I didn't get to do at my current internship but did really well at at my last internship.
I know the feeling of actually producing a piece of writing that's actually gonna be read by many. How exciting that feels!
Regards,
Sharmini
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