IParticipate 6

Vogue Magazine and National Geographic are two magazines that differ in content. Both magazines are based on entirely separate topics, that differ in photography, writing, and advertisements. Vogue is a fashion magazine and National Geographic is a common interest. The stories in Vogue typically talk about fashion, the latest trends, and sometimes life experiences. There is usually a cover story for the person on the cover and an interview with Q&A. Advertisements are from expensive designers such as Michael Kors or Prada. The photographs in Vogue are more edited and usually more artistic. For National Geographic, the stories are usually focused on exotic places around the world or some type of unique species. The advertisements for them are usually for things that would attract readers of this magazine. This could be hiking gear, healthy food, or advertisements for some sort of health supplement. The photographs in National Geographic are more nature based and show pictures of animals, mountains, or anything outdoors.

Advertisements in Vogue are similar to its stories' content in the sense that both deal with fashion, clothing, or looking your best. Advertisements in National Geographic somewhat relate to their stories. The advertisements are more focused on "down to earth" things rather than materialistic things. In both magazines, I think majority of the advertisements are placed towards the front of magazine. Before one reaches the actual stories, they have to flip through a series of pages of just ads. Both magazines are well in lined with their content and appear to attract the appropriate age group with their advertisements.

For both magazines, I do not think the advertisements influence the magazine's content. From a reader's perspective, it looks as though they are simply just advertisements. For both of these magazines I think is a balance between editorial content and advertisements. I would say National Geographic does a better job at having that balance, where Vogue seems to have a heavy ad content. In some ways, Vogue appears to be more concerned with attracting business rather than providing good content. National Geographic does a good job at finding a happy medium by featuring a wide variety of stories in each issue as well as ads.

PREP 5

The Backcheck news release was highly offensive and inappropriate. It referred to a serious murder instance in order to further its services. Back check should not have used this case as a way to attract clients. It was offensive because family members of the murder victim were affected by the incident. It would have been much more appropriate and effective if the company were to use a fictional scenario rather than an actual headline. I think the company would have saved itself from media negativity and a bad image if they had chosen to take a different route with the release.

I think Fleishman's handling of the release was excellent. I think they reacted in a timely manner and addressed the issue effectively. The apology was more than appropriate for this situation and in the end saved Backcheck from losing its entire image as a company. I think Fleishman's apology was necessary because they news release was highly offensive. I think a stated apology was the only option. As for Fleishman's image, I think it made them look very respectable as a PR firm. Without the apology, I do not think Backcheck would have survived the incident.

iParticipate 4

WIKY-104.1 FM is a full-service Adult Contemporary music radio station serving the Evansville, Indiana radio market. In the most recent Arbitron ratings report, WIKY is the most listened to radio station in the Evansville metro survey area. It is owned by Duey Wright.

WSTO (96.1 FM, "Hot 96")- is a heritage Top 40 Radio Station that serves the Evansville,Indiana, Owensboro, Kentucky, and Henderson, Kentucky markets.  It is a sister station to WIKY and is owned by Duey Wright. 

WKDQ- WKDQ is a country music formatted radio station in Henderson, Kentucky radio market, broadcasting to Evansville, Indiana. The owner is Townsquare Media. This radio station is the most listened to country station in the tri state area.

These three featured stations attract majority of the markets ratings. Each of these stations features a well rounded variety of songs and shows. Because Evansville is not the biggest, many of stations are not serving the same formats. Evansville features stations that attract majority of listeners. Although Evansville does have more than these three stations, majority of listeners continue to pick these three over others. There doesn't seem to be formats missing, rather they are not as popular as other formats. Some less popular formats featured in Evansville would be classical music, punk rock, and Oldies. Each of these formats are represented but do no receive the same attention as the three listed. 

The three listed stations show there is not much diversity in ownership and station formats. Both Hot 96 and WIKY are owned by the same owner. This may be due to Evansville not being a large city, therefore the market does not require a large range of diverse owners. Evansville may also not have enough listeners to have a diverse group of formats. I don't think there are people in my community who are undeserved by the on air options. I think Evansville does a good job at representing all types of music and programs for all sorts of listeners. It is evident that these less popular formats are still receiving listeners, they may just not have as many as the others. 

Local stations in my community receive a lot of attention for their programs. They are high quality and do a great job at serving the public with music and entertainment. If people didn't agree with that, they wouldn't be on air. I think Evansville radios are a part of the community, and are highly valued by Evansville residents. I don't think newer developments are poor substitutes or offer better alternatives. I think they offer good quality but I do not think they offer the same relationship as local radio does. With local radio, listeners become more familiar with the host simply because they are from the same community. I think as long local radios continue to uphold those relationships with their communities, newer alternatives will not replace them.

PREP 4

Occupy Wall Street was successful in the sense that it caught people's attention. However, I think the protest gained attention for the wrong reasons. Rather than being about the actual issue, media and publicity accused the protest for being a disturbance to the public. Occupy Wall street was unclear in stating what goals they were hoping to achieve and lacked any sort of spokesperson. It appeared the protest was more concerned with publicity than making any sort of change. In my opinion, Occupy Wall Street was the least bit successful.

To improve its approach, I would have created an organized plan in order to make a certain statement. I would not have wanted people to make a huge disturbance to the public. I think this disturbance took away from the actual message they were trying to get across. I would have an assigned spokesperson and a unified message. I also would create a specific route and time frame for when and where the protest would take place. The main problem with this protest was no unified message. In no way did Occupy Wall street change public opinion. If anything, the protest turned away the public rather than grabbing their attention.

PREP 3

From a customer's point of view, the debate over the pink slime seemed reasonable. No one wants to buy a product that could be potentially hazardous. The company should have addressed the name with a more cautious approach. From the company's point of view, I think the name was made into a bigger deal than what it really was. I don't think people should have been so quick to judge the product as being 100% bad. In this situation, the company should not have called it "pink slime." The name speaks for itself in the sense that it sounds pretty disgusting.

Being the public relations person for Beef Products, I would not have let the meat filler be named"pink slime." The name is unattractive, unappealing, and does not provide the company with a good image. "Pink slime" is not a name people could see as having different meanings. At the end of the day, "pink slime" is pink slime. I think the first thing Beef Products should have done was create a name for the filler that wouldn't gross customers out. Second, I would address that the product was safe and provided sanitation for the meat product. Last, I would want Beef Products to almost do a relaunch of their products. This would include removing "pink slime" completely from their products and working to make food that is 100% natural.

iParticipate 3

In today's world, newspapers are being over taken by electronic devices. These devices include iPads, Computers, and Smart Phones. One has the ability to have recent news at their fingertips, which saves time from having to pick up the local newspaper. Newspapers are slowly declining in sales throughout the world. In a world surrounded by media, newspapers are becoming something of the past.

Courier and Press is the local newspaper for my hometown of Evansville, IN. As for its circulation, the Courier and Press is still popular. A large number of Evansville residents continue to receive mail and online subscriptions. Local companies such as restaurants and small businesses provide advertisement for the Courier and Press. This newspaper may continue to thrive because of its location. It being based in a smaller city may allow for more support from locals. Newspapers based in larger cities may not receive as much business due to modernization.

Complaints about my local paper typically pertain to the published material such as articles, pictures, etc. Evansville not being the biggest city can sometimes focus its attention on certain areas. This includes certain high schools or sports teams. Some locals have complained that the paper favors certain schools over others. The positives of the Courier and Press are its content and newsworthiness. The paper does a great job at highlighting accomplishments made by locals and Evansville based events. The Courier and Press has also been noted for being a "one of a kind." Because we are media based, the online version has become quite popular in recent years. Many residents are beginning to switch to strictly online subscriptions due to its easy accessibility.

In my opinion, I believe everyone is equally served. I think the paper does a good job at covering a range of topics that interest all types of people. I do not think there are people who are not well served in the community. I think the paper is good at writing material that everyone can enjoy reading. One good idea from a local resident was to allow more submissions from actual locals. Occasionally the Courier and Press will post articles or stories written by Evansville residents. I think this would attract people who don't read the paper as often. As for the overall news in my community, two ideas of improvement is to include more input from locals and to report news from a less bias point of view. I think local papers sometimes struggle to remain unbiased on certain topics, being local based in a smaller area.

PREP 2

Burson handled this assignment poorly. In the end, he claimed his actions to be a "misguided decision." Burton should have stuck with the basics and discussed the positives Facebook. This could include its large data base of worldwide users or its ability to maintain relationships via the Internet. Instead, Burson took a completely opposite direction by throwing Google under the bus.  Burson only allowed for clients to see what Google was doing wrong, rather than showing what made Facebook a better competitor. In the end, both companies went against the PR firms claiming their media efforts were taken in the wrong direction. Burson was left with bad publicity and negative professional image.

Yes, a public relations client should always be identified. In the end, the firm is doing the job they were hired to do. I do not think Public Relations is a field where one gets to pick and choose as to what they should and shouldn't receive credit for. The goal of Public Relations is to help one maintain a positive image. In this situation, Facebook attempted to sneak around the system by making them look innocent in the whole ordeal. It would not have been fair for Burson to take all the blame.