The 70K Mistake

Missouri State University is in hot water this week after their 70,000 dollar mistake. Sadly, Missouri State doesn’t know how to double-check their work and on about 8,500 canvas bags ordered by the university bookstore. The mistake that ended up being so costly was the misspelling of the word “university.”  Instead of reading “Missouri State University,” the bags read, “Missouri State Unveristy.” The media has had a field day with this blunder.

Missouri State needs to clean up their act because the cost of this issue will only hurt the students. The misspelling of one word not only hurts MU’s pride but, also their pockets.

On a side note, MSU issued 6,000 of the defective bags and destroyed 2,500 of the inventory that it still had after realizing the error. At least, the bookstore convinced people to buy the flub.

Missouri States efforts to contain this issue have been minimal. Missouri State issued this statement,” The university cannot recoup the costs of the bags because the original artwork submitted by the university was approved on two separate occasions.”

This statement expresses that everyone should always get their work checked because it could not only cost your place of employment way too much money but, also cost you  your job.

Chp. 5 Research Influences on Public Relations Writing

Research is detrimental in understanding how the public views organizations that a public relations professional is writing about. The six elements define what components a public relations expert should use when looking to research for an organization.

I view the message to the public as the most important element when it comes to research. Public relations reason for writing is to get their message across to affect the public in one way or another.

First, the message must pass the readability test so that everyone is capable of understanding the message.

Second, a writer must measure the recall of the message which can be done informally by listening for buzz about the message. Occasionally, measuring recall can be done formally by survey  or sampling.

Another way to research the message is by conducting a content analysis. Content analysis can be done by measuring the media coverage of the organization or by measuring amount of words used about the messages source.

In my opinion, the measure of message is the most important research element.

Content Analysis Test

Magic Kingdom Secrets

The Magic Kingdom is where the Disney magic is most visible on your drive into Disney World. Not only does it have a lot to live up to (being the first park at Disney World) but, its’ the most recognizable. The castle is built uphill above the rest of the park so that guests can view the most recognizable attraction in the park. The castle towers above the park so that guests can see the wondrous building from miles away. Walt Disney knew he wanted the castle built higher than the rest of the park so that if would be the center focus when guest visit the Magic Kingdom.

Another feature that the man behind the mouse thought of was building tunnels known as utilidors under the park so that cast members (Disney employees) could travel freely throughout the park. You won’t see Buzz Lightyear wondering around in “Fantasyland” because he belongs in the area known as “Tomorrowland.”  The utilidors help to keep the magic alive by keeping all characters in their selected areas separate.

Not only are there behind the scenes details that make Magic Kingdom magical but, also minor details for guests to discover. Hidden Mickeys are located secretly all over magic kingdom. Hidden Mickeys are Mickey heads that are located all over the theme park. Sometimes they can be found in backdrops of rides or even on the carpet in the show, “Mickey’s Phillarmagic.” Disney takes small details and molds it into something amazing!

Finally, my favorite secret of Magic Kingdom is that at night the park has one of the largest firework displays in Florida. Wishes, is the well-known firework extravaganza that occurs around the castle and is narrated by  the Disney character, Jiminy Cricket. Wishes is fun for the whole family and is the perfect way to end the day at Magic Kingdom!

The Magic Kingdom has many secrets and is awaiting your arrival to uncover them all!

 

Online Dating

After watching the show, Catfish, I became very curious about the world of online dating. Personally, I’m old-fashioned and I didn’t believe that a person could develop a deep emotional connection with a person whom they have never met.

Shannon and Derek on their First Date

Catfish, proved me wrong about online love development. On the show, there are several people who have  fallen head over heels for someone they have never met. In the first episode, I watched a young woman named Shannon and a man named Derek who had been communicating online and via cell phone for over ten years almost every day. Now, when you talk to someone for ten years almost every day; feelings are bound to develop just from the comfort of having someone to talk to and listen to you.

Shannon had wrote Nev, the host of Catfish, because she wanted to meet her online friend and see if there was any potential for a relationship because she had grown to love the man behind the computer screen. She also wanted to know if this person who she had fallen for  was the real deal. She took a chance on someone she had never met.

Nev, did the research and took her to meet the man of her dreams. The meeting came as a shock to Derek  and he was very vulnerable in the moment.  He was very insecure with his body and figured that Shannon  would not like him for who he was due to his appearance. However, the she  really showed the audience that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder because she agreed to look past his appearance and love him for who he was.

Chp. 15 Persuasion for Individual Action

Brochure Courtesy of Leinicke Group

Sending out mailers is a great way to reach target audiences. Surprisingly, the text considers writing a letter to be sent thru the mail to the public to be similar to writing a cover letter. The letter should be brief enough to be cut to one page and state a main idea. If a letter is too long then people will only read the first paragraphs and the titles in the letter.

The text also discusses brochures and the importance of making them legible and clear. Brochures must be easy enough for the audience to scan. Brochures are sent out in order to educate and get the reader to contribute, learn, or perform a task. Brochures are also made to be aesthetically pleasing to the audience. In all honesty, no one wants to read a brochure that will put the reader to sleep. Also, when a brochure uses graphics in place of words then readers are able to understand the message faster.

Brochures and mailers are a great way to send informational messages to the public!

Spring Break

Spring Break is approaching fast. I can’t wait to be off from school and work for an entire week. What makes this week off so great is that I will be in Walt Disney World in less than a month. Disney World is my most favorite place to visit!

After my first trip in seventh grade to the magical world of Disney; I was hooked! Disney World is not just a place to ride epic rides like Tower of Terror or Space Mountain. Disney offers shows, character greetings, and five-star customer service to its’ guests.

Outside of the Disney theme parks are the Disney Resorts which have proven to be just as magical as the parks. The resorts offer guests a kid friendly atmosphere with plenty activities for the whole family to partake in. Families can enjoy a variety of different themed pools at every resort. Everyday at each resort there is an event that creates great vacation memories.

Aside from the Disney parks and resorts, there is a shopping center that is Disney themed of course. This magical place, is known as Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is full of restaurants, bars, shows, and shopping. Downtown Disney provides a fast-paced nightlife scene.

Walt Disney World is best place to vacation and I’m counting down the days until I get to visit the happiest place on Earth!

Courtesy of Everything Walt Disney World

Chp. 4 Cultural Influences

Cultural sensitivity is not only a smart decision in regards to a professional career but, also in a public professional’s personal life as well. Being culturally sensitive helps a professional understand their audience. Public relations writer’s goal is to relay their messages to their audience and this all starts with understanding what audience they are writing to.

Public relations experts know that their writing to a global audience and must take all cultures into account. Experts do not want to exclude any audience because this could hurt their reputation or misunderstand their message. Also, it may be difficult to relay messages to different cultures if a person does not have cultural understanding.

An example in the text, was that colors have different meanings in different cultures. In the United States, black means mourning but, somewhere else in the world black could have another meaning.

Knowing the symbolism and meaning of the words that professionals write is a key part of having cultural sensitivity.

Thrift Shop…”I’m Gonna Pop Some Tags?”

“What, what, what, what, what, what!” What  message is Macklemore trying to get across to his audience?  Is he trying to promote thrift shops? Or possibly even Goodwill since it was mentioned by name in the song? Is he trying to start a mutiny against name brand clothing lines? Perhaps, he is even trying to start a new trend by wearing “grandma’s coat!”

Listeners, may never know or understand the message behind this catchy song but, viewers love to watch the video as proven to be true from its’ 80 million views.

Currently, this song can be heard everywhere and is taking the nation by storm. My friend, Mallory Stumpf, who currently attends Saint Louis University said that the song was even a discussion in her ethics class. The class debated whether or not Macklemore, the artist of  Thrift Shop , had an ethical argument. The argument was taken from the quotes,

“They be like, Oh, that Gucci – that’s tight.
I’m like, Yo – that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt.”

“I call that getting tricked by a business,
That shirt’s dough,
And having the same one as six other people in this club is a don’t.”

The argument was men should not buy a pricey shirt  in order to impress girls.  Macklemore supports his argument claiming that  others’ will have the exact same shirt.

The class agreed with Macklemore that spending $50 on a shirt is too expensive and would not assist men in their hunt for a female partner.

Chp. 9 Out of Your Control… or is It?

This chapter discusses “what makes news, newsworthy.” The book discussed other ways to help enhance ways to get messages into the news too.

Public relations professionals can use news to enhance an organizations’ image as well as carry messages that they want their audience to learn more about.  However, almost all stories sent to the media will be edited because of lack of time or space in a news section. This warning should have little effect on the story because even if information is cut the general message will still be released. The media might even gain your trust if you send in worthy news stories which can be beneficial to organizations.

In the chapter discussion, we discussed the seven determinants of what determines if a story is newsworthy. The book encourages students to look at the news and try and figure out which determinants are used for stories in order to get practice at recognizing determinants.

The book explains how to write like a journalist in style and structure.  The text also discusses what types of mediums to use for certain messages and how to prepare your story so that it is media ready.