Who are your audience?

I just finished my fourth week at Baptistcare and it has been a rewarding experience so far. For the past few weeks I've been mainly busy writing for its quarterly magazine Reaching Out.

As a student majoring in Journalism and PR, I was excited to be given the task of writing stories for the magazine. I'm ecstatic that my supervisor has entrusted a big part of the magazine to me. I have written two stories for the Autumn edition to be published in a couple of weeks, and now I'm working on three stories for the Winter edition, one of which is a cover page story. The cover page story is about Baptistcare client George, a single dad who gives his life to caring for his two boys with autism. We went to interview him last week and it was a great experience.

As I was writing these stories, I found myself having a battle in my head. A battle I later on figured was the classic Journalism vs PR duel. Having been trained in journalism to always question PR stories and to only write 'newsworthy' stories, I struggled to write some of the stories. I constantly asked myself "So what? Who will want to know this?" and often the answer in my head was "Who are you kidding, no one wants to know about this!" I was tempted to say to my supervisor we should probably change the stories. 

But then I realised I had forgotten to ask myself a very important question: who are your audience?

All along I subconsciously had it in my head that I was writing for a newspaper, whose audience are the general public. Of course no one would want to know about another Baptistcare employee who just received a diploma! But I forgot that I wasn't writing for the general public. I was writing for a specific public. My audience are Baptistcare's employees, clients (and their families), supporters, sponsors and the local communities who have been reached by Baptistcare. Of course they'd want to know about a Baptistcare staff who just received an award.

I realised what my lecturers said was right. You need to keep your audience in mind when you write. In the bigger picture, it's part of tailoring your PR strategies and tactics to your stakeholders. Reaching Out may seem like 'just a magazine', but in the grand scheme of PR, it is a tool chosen by Baptistcare to keep its stakeholders informed and engaged with what's happening in the organisation. 

That realisation was quite a light bulb moment for me. It has shown me that it is possible to use my journalistic skills in PR without compromising the glorified 'news values'. The news values depend on who your audience are. Identify your audience rightly and you will write newsworthy stories for them. 

"Life is a journey. Enjoy the ride."

Hi everyone! As this is my first blog entry I thought it would be best to introduce myself. My name is Bianca and I am a 4^th year  Public Relations and Professional Writing student at Curtin University in Bentley, Perth.  

 

Now you’re probably wondering why I chose the title above for this post. Well, on my way to my very first day at Professional Public Relations (PPR), nerves running wild and stuck in the usual heinous morning traffic of the Mitchell Freeway, I found myself behind a car with those very words plastered to its rear window.  Now I’m not usually one to subscribe to bumper-sticker words of wisdom but that day I took a leap of faith and I did.

 

This past week at PPR has certainly been a ride to say the least, as from my very first day I was thrown straight into the hustle and bustle of the busy PR consultancy by driving around Perth dropping off Valentines Day cupcakes to the media on behalf of a client.  Instead of spending the whole task stressing about a) completing the drop in a reasonable timeframe and b) making sure each cupcake did not melt in transit – I made the conscious decision to embrace and actually enjoy the opportunity that I was given which thankfully turned out to be a great success. Besides giving me a much needed confidence boost on my first day, I also found the task to be as informative as it was exciting which has since given me a good sense of where the media is located across our city. In my opinion, this knowledge of who’s who and where in the Perth media is invaluable and something which will continue to benefit me throughout the duration of my internship as well as my career.  

 

Back in the office, I spent the rest of the week undertaking a combination of administrational and public relations related activities.  Some of these activities included media monitoring – a task that is done everyday, where local and state papers are scanned and any coverage of clients is documented in what are known as ‘media clippings.’ I was surprised to find that the layout of these media clippings actually resemble the layout which we used in a journaling assignment for PR Media 250. This familiarity was really welcoming and certainly helped take the edge off what was otherwise a new and unfamiliar task.

 

Finally one of my major tasks this week was to conduct phone interviews with successful recipients of a grant given by one of PPR’s clients.  The aim of these interviews is to source as many potential news stories (or leads as they are called) as possible. As I am a student from a professional writing background, I have had very little experience with interviewing throughout my degree apart from a Q&A assignment in PR Media 250.  As you can therefore imagine, I was absolutely terrified at the prospect of putting on my journalist’s cap and digging for a good community-news story! However despite starting off a bit shaky and unsure, I now feel very confident conducting phone interviews and have already managed to uncover some very poignant and potential news stories. Amongst the skills of interviewing and transcribing which I have learnt from this task, another very valuable insight I have taken away with me is the overlap that I can now see exists between the Public Relations and Journalism profession. Though my classes at Uni have touched on this in the past, it is definitely one thing to learn about this overlap theoretically and another to experience it in a real working environment. Needless to say, I have enjoyed the challenge that these interviews have presented and will continue to embrace the opportunity to grow and refine these new skills throughout remainder of my time at PPR.

 

I apologize for the very long entry but as you can see I have had a very busy week and can’t wait to see what my second week holds in store for me!

 

Until next time…

The End of Something Special

Twelve weeks on from the beginning of my final semester at University, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I finished my final week of work experience one week ago, and have been busily putting the final touches on my final report since. This has given me the chance to reflect on my time at Metric Promotions and Pilerats, and what I have learnt over this period.

As a unit, PR301 gives such a great opportunity to learn in a real-life setting, and to grow confidence in your skills as a practitioner. Throughout my time at Metric & Pilerats, I feel that I have had a true life lesson, not only in public relations but in general life and business skills. I have been taught a wide range of skills relating to running an organisation in events and promotion, and even within journalism working up to the launch of a magazine.

Throughout the experience there have definitely been a number of hurdles to overcome, but these have been translated into valuable learning experiences. From the general time management of being a full-time student undertaking work experience and working at my part- time job, to being asked to write in a completely different way to that taught to me at university. It is clear to me now that there is no 'set rules' for public relations. Every student I have spoken to, or who has commented on my blog has noted that the difference between what we are taught, and real life practice is extraordinary. Every organisation is involved in different aspects of public relations, and has different procedures.

One of the disappointments of my placement was the set-back of the launch of Pilerats magazine. External factors out of the organisations control, have resulted in a slight delay of the launch of the magazine which is a shame. I feel as though I could have been involved in a really great project had I been able to assist in the launch. That being said, I have made some fantastic friends (and contacts) within Pilerats, who have offered to keep me involved if I am interested which is an amazing opportunity. Even though I am not planning to go straight into work when I finish university this gives me a chance to polish up my skills on the side if I wish, and is still great experience for my resume.

I look forward to what the future has to offer me in terms of a career in public relations, and I believe that this work experience has given me this chance to solidify my skills as an up-coming practitioner. Finally, I want to thank everyone involved with Metric Promotions and Pilerats Magazine, who welcomed me and taught me. I hope I get the chance to help them out and wish them all the very best in the future.

Anna Randrup
14756245

The Other Side

I’ve had the privilege of working with someone very amazing and inspiring people over the years, who have all given me a wealth of advice and guidance.  As I’ve mentioned in my previous blog posts, I’m doing my internship with National Disability Services.  So I decided that it would be a great idea to interview one of my fellow colleagues and former ABC reporter, Geraldine Mellet.

Geraldine, who has had a very successful and accomplished career thus far, is always full of great ideas and a book of knowledge.  She is currently works on the campaign Every Australian Counts as the State Coordinator for WA.  Having being on both sides of the fence, I wanted to ask her a few questions about her amazing career and if she had any advice for aspiring public relations professionals.

1. Tell me a little bit about your professional background.

I’ve got a bit of a mixed background.  I have a double degree in French and Japanese from the University of WA, then went on to live in Japan for one year.  I came back to Perth and studied Film and Television at Curtin University.  And almost at the end of my final year I got a job with ABC Radio.  

Before that I was working with 6NR (now known as Curtin FM100.1) presenting and producing a breakfast and arts show.  It was a fantastic experience because it allowed me to go out and take control because I essentially had no assistance.  I did have a mentor who was fantastic, but at that age being able to go out and take control was an amazing gift.  I learnt an amazing amount there.

But essential, those community radio stations run on very little money but huge energy from many volunteers.  In those days it was multi-cultural programs and for certain brackets of the day, so every half hour, you would have different ethic programs.  So it was interesting and diverse environment, I got to see lots of different shows, I got to try out lots of different ideas and I got to do it on air.  Which was both terrifying and an absolute privilege because you get the opportunity to learn what goes right and what can go wrong.  

After one year I went on to work at ABC with a pool announcers.  I was constantly putting my hand up for extra work because I was really interested in getting into talk radio.  Eventually I got pick to do the morning show after doing three months of relief work.  This was my biggest and steepest learning curve as I had formal training in radio.  And on average, I would be interview 13 to 15 people in a two and a half to three hours segment.

From there, to fit in with family commitments and so forth, I worked part time on a freelancing basis for ABC and Channel 10.  While freelancing I also conducted media training with people on both sides of the fence over the years.  I train people to mostly front radio and television, with some media strategy involved.  I also sometimes train students.

I also hosted the 7.30 report when it was a state based program which was a great personal highlight.

2. How did you get the job at the ABC?  Did you just apply?

Yes and no.  There was a lot of knocking on doors.  

Before I did that short stint on ABC, I had been knocking on their door for quite some time asking for an audition.  They said ‘no, go away’ to me many many times.  I did eventually get an audition.  I said, ‘look, all I want to do is an audition and be on record.  I don’t expect that you’ve got a job’.  The fellow that auditioned me was very weary of people getting in and he said straight after my audition ‘you know there are no jobs, I have told you that right?’ and I said ‘yes I know’.  

About two weeks later, I got a call.  The person said ‘look I’ve got this situation down in Albany and we need someone to do the afternoon program, do you wanna do it?’.  It was a combination of music and talk radio, I think it was something like two hours.  They had this situation where someone’s relative was ill and someone else was going on holiday, so there was no one else.  So I went down there and I loved it.  I sweated blood the first time I did it but I just took to it like a duck in water.  I was incredible lucky, but I worked and worked to make that work.  Got a taste for it, came back [to Perth] and thought how can I do this full time.  

There were no jobs in Perth but I had been volunteering out at Curtin so I went to them and asked what jobs were available.  And then that breakfast position came up so I applied for it.  It was not what I was at all looking for because (1) I have never gotten up before 7am in the morning before and this was a breakfast show, which was 4.45am start every morning and (2) it was a country arts music program and I knew nothing about country music, I thought I hated it and I thought this was a very weird place for me to start.  

But it turned out to be a real gift because I knew that I knew nothing about it and in order to do that program I was going to have to find something in it that I really liked.  So I found some people in the country music community who took me under their wing and introduced me to not only music but personalities, stories and from there I kept running with it.


3. What is your current role and what you would do in an average day?


So I work for an alliance of disability organisations that come together to make the Every Australian Counts happen and to lobby for the NDIS.  And I am one of a very small team around Australia.  So I’m effectively coordinating for WA.  

The job really doesn't have a actually title or description, but I guess the thing that we have been trying to do is lobby publicly and politically to have the NDIS put on the political agenda, accepted and introduced by the government.  And what that has meant doing is firstly going to people connected with disability and saying ‘we need you in this campaign and we need you to be the voices and faces of this campaign’.  So getting to know the sector and bringing them into the campaign and mobilizing them.  And then it has been a matter of coordinating those people and taking action. 

So my day can span any or all over those things.  And it’s changed over time because the campaign has grown so much.  For instances, we are currently preparing for a national day of action on October 26 called DisabiliTEA.  It’s along the lines of the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea, where we ask people to host some kind of event, whether it be morning tea, afternoon, gin and tonic tea, any type of tea.  But what we are trying to do is get conversations happening about what we are trying to achieve out there and to put some public pressure on.  So in the next few days I will be trying to get people involved, getting their stories, writing them up and I’ll be using them as promotional material.  I will also be talking to local councils about where they can hold a DisabiltTEA and get them involved.  Then on the other side of things, we will also be approaching politicians.

The other thing that I’ve been trying to do is get a line of communication happening between politicians and people with a disability, their families and individuals in the sector.  We were instrumental in organizing a group called WA Parliamentary Friends with Disability Reform and I’m currently talking to them about doing another meeting.  So again, that is all about finding a topic, a place and talking to everyone and trying to find an audience for that.

On a very basic level, it is very lean in terms of personnel and money. So following up with organisations that pledged money is also important.  I also do presentations and coordinator other people to do presentations.  At anytime I might be writing or adapting material.  I’m also constantly looking for opportunities to be promoting. 


4. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got this job and what inspired you to move from journalism to a role that encompasses PR? 


At the time I was freelancing and doing a number of different things when I was approached by somebody I know.  The campaign was being formed and they were looking for people with different skills and my name was mentioned because of my media background.  

The longer story is that in 1988 I co-wrote a book on stroke and disability called “Whose Hand is This” with a nurse who had a stroke.  It was project that I took on, we found funding for it and I went to their house to work because that was the easiest thing.  And I got this up close and personal view of disability.  At the same time my brother go Motor Neuron Disease.  So suddenly I had this big education in disability. 

So I guess from a personal view I had seen it.  It was something that I had always been interested in and had always done stories on.  And I think working on the book was the best thing I had done and I really felt that journalism has a purpose.  And I really liked that.  

When I was approached to do this job, I saw it as pretty much the same.  And that was really the reason why, because I was offered this job.  I couldn’t do it unless I totally believed in what I was doing.  I also want to do things that I feel passionate about.  If I don’t really passionate about it I can’t last.


5. What has been your career highlight for you thus far?


At the ABC, it would be hosting the 7.30 report and being a political interviewer.  Making a documentary in Japan for Channel 10 was also a highlight, as well as making a book.

6.  Is there any professional advice that you can give students that are about to get into the workforce?

Put your hand up and looking out for opportunities.  I was always saying ‘yes, I will’ and taking on extra things.  I did relief work and have done stuff for nothing just to see what it’s like.  It’s good to let people know you are keen to explore different areas and have a go.

Do lots of work experience.

Get a mentor.  I did have a few but at the time I don’t think I was smart enough to realise how important this is.  In my experience, it’s actually really flattering and most people react well.  It’s best if you can contain it and set it up so it’s not a time consuming and specific.  Identify what you want to know and ask them out for a quick coffee.

And lastly, build relationships with journalist.  Remember, most journalist are on deadline so do your research.  Research is the most important part.  You need to know who you want to get to know, so read their articles and see which ones you want to get in contact with.  Write them an email or phone them, suggest stories and make your approach stand out.

Enjoy.

Jess Fuimaono (14557626)

(Sorry this is so long!)

Work experience, WASO and what it's all about.

It is hard to believe that in three weeks time I will have completed my university degree and this therefore brings with it the looming realisation that the ‘real world’ of full-time work awaits.

When thinking about the topic for my final blog post it seems necessary to reflect upon not only my time at the West Australian Symphony Orchestra but also what I have learned from the various internships I have undertaken throughout my course.

Having started at WASO as an intern and eventually coming into my part-time role that I have currently, has made me appreciate hard work and the diverse nature required of their marketing department. With hundreds of concerts per year to organise promotion and ticketing for, alongside the constant planning ahead for the next season saying that time management is a requirement for working in this type of environment is an understatement. Despite this the WASO team are always more than willing to answer questions I have or show me when I have trouble with something (usually this involves the printer which seems to desperately hate me) and they are genuinely lovely people to work alongside.

From working here I have definitely gotten a taste of what goes into the weekly running of the marketing department and concert preparations. A few other opportunities that I think have definitely aided in my understanding of a marketing/PR role have included coordinating the volunteers for WASO’s Symphony in the City event which is an annual free concert with around 20,000 attendees and organising rates incentive prize schemes with the city councils.

I think it goes without saying that the best thing someone studying in the communications field (whether it be public relations, marketing or journalism) can do is volunteer for as much work experience and networking as possible. In my experience I have learned so much from observing how ideas originate, the processes it takes to put these into reality and also what is involved with monitoring press coverage and its results. Seeing how everyone communicates, PR and journalists alike, and the conduct of an office environment is extremely helpful too and certainly makes entering the work force a lot less daunting on a graduate.

Interning is a great deal about attitude too. You can be the most efficient and well spoken and written person but unless you want to be there giving up your time isn’t worth the while of either you or the employer. It can be really intimidating walking into an office as an inexperienced student who doesn’t know anyone but taking the time to smile and talk to people shows your interested (even if you are seriously intimidated sometimes!) and want to be there.*

I have learned that there really is no job too small, sure it can be frustrating when you have to update media lists, searching long and hard for contact details, or are asked to package and mail out 500 letters by hand but they really are important to the company and contribute to its profitability- otherwise these tasks wouldn’t exist.

As my other major is Journalism I have interned across a few media companies in Perth and feel I have an understanding of the relationship between the industry and public relations. Knowing what journalists need from PR professionals, the main of which is prompt and accurate information when requested to meet their strict deadlines, is imperative. In addition to this establishing good relationships with the media is paramount to being successful in PR- a journalist will never forget unsatisfactory behavior made by PR consultants!

If I could go back and do anything from the beginning of my degree over it would have been not to wait until second year to start interning. I think a lot of students hesitate to start volunteering, even for one day events, because they are afraid they don’t know enough yet but I don’t believe this should be the case. I know personally I have learned just as much from being emerged in an organisation as I have from my course.

Being a member of the PRSC has contributed also to my learning and through organising events with PR professionals you really get an appreciation of the fact that Perth is small and everyone really does know pretty much everyone else in the industry. That being said, I look forward to seeing most of you inevitably out there in it!

Vanessa Costanzo. 

*For anyone interested there is a blog called My Interning Life which was started by a La Trobe University media studies student. It is dedicated to getting varying opinions and insights into interning in the media/communications field. It’s nice to get an Australian view, as a lot of similar sites tend to be American or English.

What makes a good PR pro: a degree or a journalism background?

I came across this interesting article via Twitter a few weeks ago. Written by a former journalist who now runs a media relations firm in New York City, the article discusses what skills make a good PR professional. As a Journalism and Public Relations student myself, I found it very relevant.

"I've found that the most successful PR people are those who think and act like reporters." True! Think about it - to be successful in any industry the key is to know your customer base. For PR pro's it's journalists. We need them to write our stories, and get out client's name in the press. (for free!)

In my role as research officer at John Day's office, it is my job to get to know the local media. Especially in a relatively small community like Kalamunda - John's target audience and number one stakeholder group - the local media are the intermediaries between John and the community. So as the PR person in John's office, I organised to meet up with the local journalists from the 5 local papers, just to put a face to my name (and visa versa) so the next time they receive an email or a phone call from me with an idea for a story it's a person speaking to them, not just another pitch. I also found it useful to find out what each journalist was interested in - what kind of stories to they like writing, what do they think is relevant to their publication - that way I know what to send their way, and what not to.

I recommend you read the article. But just in case you're too busy with all of your wonderful placements, here are the key points :)

1. A nose for news will help drive client coverage.
2. Press releases and company/client copy will be more clear, compelling and accurate.

and if you follow these steps..

3. Hit rates for client or company pitches will increase.
4. Media connections will increase and reporter rapport will improve.

It makes sense!

Niki
14296851
Bentley Campus

Brian revised week 3 post *now with social media goodness*

Wow it was tough to get this position, definitely time to get cracking.
 I came into a PR department, which like many, are in a state of alignment and solidification of the PR function. For professionals in the middle of a business flux like this its long days and full meeting schedules. For the student looking in and on its somewhat of a silver lining. There is a constant reaffirming of  business motives and pathways - short, medium and long term goals are writ large in both white boards and in the never-ending trail of internal mail (would the world end without outlook?).

Ok so I didn't post this because I didn't really have a theme for discussion.. So lets talk about social media itself.

First of all let me get it out there - that social media is the most powerful, effective and efficient way of gathering and distributing ideas that this race has ever created.

It beats syndicated mass communicative efforts such as the drive time radio show, the choreographed media event, town hall meetings. It beats Gutenberg’s' press. Social media challenges the hypothesise put forward in many journalism units taught by Curtin. Social media is in both an ideological and pragmatic sense the first free - press platform we’ve ever had. Journalism is not dying, it’s evolving and it is serving the public sphere better than it ever has.

Social media and social tools are inherently congressional in nature. They have been designed and implemented with the enduring principles of the early liberal pioneers (including my main man J.C.R), the evolution of which is in itself an intriguing composite of democratic socialism and neo liberalism. When the aim of dissemination is to share (compared to institutional gate keeping) something happens to the relationship between sender and receiver; that doesn’t naturally occur in the top down relationship that has evolved in western economies since industrialisation. When the aim is to give and not to take – it makes the learning experience easier and more efficient.

Furthermore, social does not mean free ($). Pay-walls, implemented by companies is not elitism and will certainly not ill effect the new social sphere as long as the aim of dissemination is still sharing. If you’re not willing to pay for content it doesn’t make you a cool net libertarian, it makes you cheap. Savvy information based companies will realise this is a call to quality and specialisation (away from minute by minute content updates) delivered to customers in a way that allows the essential ideas or arguments to be on - shared by them in an easy (probably stripped down) manner.

What does this mean for public relations activities? Well that’s up for discussion.

The Little Things

Recently, Alzheimer's Australia published figures predicting the growth of dementia in Australia over the next 40 years. This was a big launch for us and heaps of media releases were sent out.

For the metro media outlets, the contacts list was already in place, but we also wanted to send them out to country towns as well. And so it became my task to find the newspapers in the country towns, tailor the media release for the specific town and send it out.

Ringing up and talking to a journalist or editor asking if they are interested in running a story wasn't that difficult; it was finding out who to call that was hard. Having a contacts guide, even an outdate one, is immensely useful. Not having a guide, or where the guide is lacking, requires intense seaching and can be incredibly tedious. A big paper like The West may have a website, but The Middle-of-Nowhere Times usually doesn’t.


This week, we wanted to send a 'thank you' email to the papers than ran a story. Our boss, Margaret, said it was important to show appreciation for their efforts and to be nice, a sentiment I fully agree with.

This may seem like stating the obvious, but as a journalist I can tell like any person we do appreciate positive feedback. It's the little things in life that are important; small courtesies like this are easily neglected, which is a pity.

Personally, I think the importance of these small gestures is too often overlooked. A (good) journalist is going to be wary if you ply them with free stuff, but a simple genuine please and thank-you can go a long way.

Writing for Public Relations V's Journalism

Hey Everyone. I hope you are all enjoying your placements and for those of you who have finished well done!

I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss one of the troubles I have come across during my public relations placement. As I mentioned in my last blog, I am going my placement at Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, a not-for-profit organisation, who deal with the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife.

I am a humanities student majoring in journalism. I have found this situation to have both a positive and negative effect on media relations and writing for public relations. My journalism units have shown me what makes good news, a good quote sounds like, and how to put together an interesting and newsworthy story. I now feel I have a fairly good idea about what information a journalist needs to produce an interesting and newsworthy story and this has helped me, from a public relations perspective, when writing a media release. I should be able to produce a media release which can be published as is.

However during my placement I have found this to not always be a good thing. After writing my first media release for Kanyana, I found I was including to many quotes and too many hard news facts. With guidance from my supervisor I was able to write something a little more suited to the situation. While juggling the two writing styles is something I will eventually get the hang of, for know I will have to set aside my hard news writing skills and write like a public relations professional. I also understand that each public relations department have a certain way of writing their release and while this is the way Kanyana prefers another organisation may require something a little more hard hitting.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this or if anyone has experienced the same thing as I know there are a few journalism students studying public relations also.

Thanks
Ria