University of Memphis video minute for the week of April 12, 2013.
A summer internship primer for PR students
Summer will be here before you know it, and it is never too early to start looking for summer internships.
Internships are critical for you to gain the experience you need to land post-graduate employment.
To help you prepare, PR Daily found the 15 best stories about interns and the companies that put them to work.
Read them now or save them for later.
“How to land the PR internship of your dreams”
“20 tips for mastering an internship interview”
“Top 5 tips for PR interns—from an intern”
“Your internship is terrible. Now what?”
Visit the U of M Department of Journalism’s LinkedIn page for information on specific internship opportunities.
The original article appeared on PR Daily on March 26, 2013, and can be viewed here.
Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.
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| — | Steve Jobs |
By Adam Brown
Two jobs, a busy household, a start-up photography business and a degree 10 years in the making.
Those are just a few of the reasons I choose to take my classes online through the University of Memphis.
Aside from living nearly 250 miles from the University’s front door, the convenience of taking classes online has been the biggest attraction to chasing the ever-elusive degree. I started college in the fall of 1999.
After several ill-fated attempts at maintaining full-time enrollment while holding down a job to pay for life’s necessities, I tragically learned that I was not an “in the classroom” type of student.
Not to say that it is impossible to work while in college; I know many people who have done it.
But it was impossible for me. I couldn’t do both. I had too much growing up to do. I was entirely too immature.
It didn’t take long for me to quit what I deemed the lesser of two evils. In other words, college would not pay my rent. I dropped out.
Several years passed and I thought that my life had drifted into the blue collar lifestyle that my parents had grown accustomed to over the years.
It wasn’t until I met my wife that I decided to pick up where I had departed so many years prior.
With my wife’s encouragement, I began searching for a school that would accept my transfer credits and allow me to realize a dream that countless others have realized in the past.
That’s when I found the University of Memphis.
Memphis has a tremendous online journalism degree program.
Having been in the newspaper business before and knowing that not only would I enjoy working in the field but that I was actually good at it, I was hooked.
Now I’m on the downhill portion of my degree-seeking endeavor.
I realize that if it weren’t for such a great online program—one that allowed me to work at my own pace, on my own time—I would have never seen my dream come to fruition.
Though it has been tough, working while making a name for myself in the photography world in the greater Nashville area, I wouldn’t have imagined it under any other circumstances.
Cliché as it may sound, the University of Memphis and its online class opportunities have saved my life.
I will forever be grateful. Go Tigers!
Adam Brown is an online public relations student who lives in Portland, Tenn., with his wife and dog Murphy.
Call for entries: Elinor Kelley Grusin Excellence in Writing Award 2013
The U of M Department of Journalism invites students to submit their best published or unpublished stories for this year’s Elinor Kelley Grusin Excellence in Writing Award.
Entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 10.
Entries from online public relations students should be mailed to: Dr. Tom Hrach, The University of Memphis, 300 Meeman Journalism Building, Memphis, TN, 38152.
Articles must be typed and double-spaced.
They must have been written and submitted for grading or publication in print or online between April 9, 2012, and the deadline.
All articles will be judged on the lead, style, organization, word choice, flow and content. The stories can be news, features, business and sports.
Attached to the front of the submitted article must be a cover sheet with the author’s name, contact information, name of publication or name of class and teacher for which the article was written. Multiple-page submissions should be stapled in the upper left corner.
Only one entry per student will be accepted.
The winner will receive a $100 prize. Second and third place recipients will receive certificates.
Winners will be announced at the Journalism Awards Banquet on April 26.
By Tom Willcox
That is me – at the Canadian TV (CTV) news desk. Cool, eh?
This January, my mom was given two tickets to tour the CTV studios in downtown Vancouver. When she asked if I wanted to go, I was hesitant.
I had been to the CNN headquarters in Atlanta — and I didn’t think anything could top that. However, I agreed to go because I thought it’d be nice to see the Canadian side of things.
I would soon realize that my mom and I didn’t really understand the value of the tickets.
After struggling to find the unmarked doorway on a rainy Vancouver night, we were met at the entrance by our awesome tour guide, Johnny. He took us through the offices and gave us a bit of background on the company. It was interesting, but nothing too exciting.
Next, however, was the newsroom — and man, was it ever cool. As my mom and I followed Johnny like shy preschoolers, we walked by the editing rooms, the graphics room and even the anchors while they casually sat at their desks.
Nobody stared at us despite the fact that, according to Johnny, we were on a very rare tour.
As the five o’clock news started, Johnny grabbed a couple chairs and sat us beside the cameras. We even had to scoot back when the floor manager had to pull out the green screen for the meteorologist.
I felt like a kid in a superhero’s secret lair. I was amazed how everything was done so casually. You would think that every live production is full of nerves and intense focus — but it really isn’t.
The anchors walked to the news desk, without haste, less than two minutes before they went live. The floor manager gave his commands like he had done it a thousand times. In the control room, the staff casually talked and cracked jokes while cutting to different cameras and running news clips.
At one point, something was wrong with the teleprompter, but rather than stressing out, the director let out a quiet curse word and calmly got back on track.
I was giddy when the anchors stopped to talk to us on the way out. Here I was, a journalism major, watching these seasoned broadcasters do their job like it was another day at the office. It was inspiring.
That night had a profound effect on my motivation. Since then, I have joined the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) numerous programs and have built strong relationships within my department because I don’t want to miss out on another opportunity.
I suppose the lesson I took away from that night is to look for inspiration.
Try to catch a glimpse of the world you want to live in. It will remind you of what you’re working for.
Tom Willcox, a native of British Columbia, Canada, is a U of M journalism major who competes for the Tiger track and field team. He occasionally takes online courses to accommodate his training schedule.
Brands join the April Fools’ Day fun
Our every day jokesters are not the only ones having fun this April 1st. Here are a few examples of how some well-known brands are joining in on the April Fools’ Day fun.
The search giant is known for its April Fools’ Day pranks, and this year it unleashed a number of them. Here are two examples:
- YouTube shutting down, selecting a ‘winner.’ Google released this video explaining that YouTube plans to stop accepting videos at midnight and will begin the process of selecting a ‘winner.’
- Google Nose enters beta. The first search engine that enables people to search for scents. “Smelling is believing,” the company proclaimed.
If you want to see even more Google pranks, Business Insider has a list.
Scope
The mouthwash brand announced a new bacon mouthwash. Last Friday, AdAge pegged this promotion as an April Fools’ Day prank. Regardless, the bizarre Bacon Mouthwash is creating a major buzz via social media.
A Facebook page dedicated to the product has nearly 750,000 “likes,” and its Twitter feed has more than 26,500 followers.
Here’s the video Scope shared with its Twitter followers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc_iT1bSrJM&feature=player_embedded
Any good pranks catch your eye today?
The original version of this article appeared on PR Daily. The complete article and list of pranks can be viewed here.
