Student media leaders are named for 2011-2012

Jun-Kai Teoh, a junior print journalism major and sociology minor from Penang Island, Malaysia, will serve as editor in chief of University Chronicle, the student-run newspaper, for the 2011-2012 term. Kai has previously served as the newspaper’s on-line editor and managing editor.

Michael Girling, a junior film studies major and a mass communications minor from Duluth, MN, has been selected as the general manager of UTVS. Michael is currently the executive producer of the show “Back to the Movies.” Chelsea Johnson, a freshman television production major and film studies minor from Bemidji, MN, has been named UTVS’s new station manager for the upcoming school year. Chelsea is the associate producer of Husky Mag, the award winning sports news program on UTVS.

HP wins top honor at 2011 BEA Festival of Media Arts

St. Cloud State University’s UTVS and Husky Productions will receive four awards at the 2011 BEA Festival of Media Arts in Las Vegas, April 9 – 13. The BEA Best of Festival King Foundation Award, in the Student Video Competition, will be presented to Husky Productions for their broadcast of the Colorado College at St. Cloud State University DI men’s hockey game. UTVS’s Husky Magazine will receive the Second Place Award in the Studio Category (multi-camera or live-to-tape).  Husky Production’s Zack Fisch placed second in the Television Sports Anchor Category and UTVS’s Nicholas Lenz & Joel Larsen placed third for their production of “Inside Scoop: SCSU 2010 Men’s Basketball” in the Television Sports Reporting Category.

For information regarding UTVS, Husky Magazine, and Husky Productions please visit www.utvs.com

SYMBOL producer’s interview to air on WJON this Friday, February 11.

Tune in Friday, February 11 to WJON Radio AM 1240 or Charter channel 20 to hear excerpts of Gregory Martin’s interview on his documentary SYMBOL. The excerpt will air during the news summaries, from the top of the hour to five minutes after.

SYMBOL, a documentary about the removal of swastika symbols from St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud will premier statewide in Minnesota, and adjacent states, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12 on the PBS MN Channel. The documentary was three years in production and was produced by St. Cloud State University Professor Gregory Martin, along with St. Cloud State media students and Department of Mass Communications alumni.

SYMBOL documentary to premier statewide

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – SYMBOL, a documentary about the removal of swastika symbols from St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud will premier statewide in Minnesota, and adjacent states, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12 on the PBS MN Channel. The documentary was three years in production and was produced by St. Cloud State Professor Gregory Martin, along with St. Cloud State media students and Department of Mass Communications alumni.

Check local listings for the MN Channel digital service station assignment in your area.

”SYMBOL would not have been possible without great student work, and the support of SCSU mass communications, the Center for Holocaust & Genocide Education, the administration, and the local dioceses and community volunteers,” said Martin.

The MN Channel reaches nearly every household in Minnesota via broadcast and cable services. For details, search MN Channel and TPT, Twin Cities Public Television, or contact Keith Parker at (651) 229-1355.

For more information visit the St. Cloud State website at stcloudstate.edu. or contact Gregory Martin at (320) 308-4196 or gsmartin@stcloudstate.edu.

PRSSA students invade the windy city

Last weekend a group of 13 PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) invaded the windy city (aka Chicago) looking to gain professional guidance from touring three different PR agencies. The students were able to get an inside view of the Wrigley Field baseball stadium while touring with Kevin Saghy the PR marketing specialist for the Chicago Cubs. Kevin tries to keep a positive image of the team even when they are doing bad. He focuses a lot of his time on social media and trying his best to get the fans involved. The main advice he gave for students just about to graduate is to really focus on AP style writing and to also keep your resume down to one page. Kevin also said that for every bullet point you have on your resume make sure to have a verb to make you stand out. The main advice he gave for the interviewing process was to bring leave behind folders; that way it gives the interviewers a chance to look over everything you’ve done on their own time.

Famous Wrigley Field sign before walking into to our first tour with Kevin Saghy

After the first tour the PRSSA students were able to explore the great city of Chicago. One of the first places they visited was Millennium Park, which is one of the most famous parks in the United States.

 

The famous mirrored bean at Millennium Park

 

PRSSA students in front of the bean

The students were also able to check out downtown Chicago nightlife

The next day the students went to visit two large agencies, Ketchum and Edelman. Ketchum and Edelman are rival PR agencies that are both in the same building in downtown Chicago. The tips that Edelman gave out about job searching and resumes were to wait a week after applying to get back to them to let them know you are still interested, let them know you are actively interviewing (might make them reach their decision quicker), don’t just copy and paste cover letters (design them differently for each position you are going for) and when you are sending your resume via email make sure to have your cover letter as the main body so they don’t have to open up two attachments. Edelman offers full time internships (40+ hours) paid for recent grads. Ketchum was the next agency and their atmosphere was a little more relaxed than Edelmans. At Ketchum they recommend doing as much volunteer and outside work as possible to show that you have real world experience. They advised us to to make sure we had writing examples on file and to send them with our resumes to show what we have done. Their biggest advice was to go on as many informational interviews as possible because that was a great way to network and get your name out there. The last great piece of advice they offered was to follow up as much as you can, even if you feel like you are harassing them. They pushed that people in this field get a hundred emails a day and it is really easy for them to forget, so the more you follow up the more they are to remember. Ketchum also offers full time paid internships.

View from the sixty third floor at Edelman

 

St. Cloud State to offer mass comm course at Maple Grove Graduate Center

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Those interested in the politics and economics of international communications and the role of mass media in shaping the emerging global society have an opportunity to further their education.

The St. Cloud State University Department of Mass Communications is offering its first graduate-level course at the Maple Grove Graduate Center, 6401 Sycamore Court N., Maple Grove, off of Bass Lake Road and I-94. Beginning Jan. 10, Seminar in International Mass Communications will be offered from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays, taught by Roya Akhavan.

The course looks at international politics, international affairs and uses a critical and analytical approach with an international dimension of different cultures. The class is relevant to professional enrichment in a broad range of careers.

St. Cloud State offers the only accredited graduate program in mass communications in Minnesota.

The St. Cloud State Department of Mass Communications provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become socially responsible, professionally successful mass media communicators. Mass Communications majors can specialize in advertising, journalism, public relations, or television or radio broadcast.

For more information, contact Roya Akhavan at rakhavan@stcloudstate.edu or (320) 308-4202.

Graduate Student Blog: News Media meets Social Media

Also published on PR Breakfast Club.

Most localized media outlets are baffled by the function of social media in their newsroom. There is a giant “huh?!” cloud hanging over the head of many newsrooms on how to start using social media (SM) in news workflows, use it correctly, and why it benefits a news brand.

“You mean I have to keep talking to my viewers even after my story airs?!”

The audacity, right?

I’ve spent three months in the newsroom of a top 20 market station expanding social media, I’ve narrowed down three tips for getting a media outlet’s SM platform off the ground.

These are not the only options, but have met with success, seeing an increase in followings and brand interaction in the thousands of percent. That interactivity cultivates relationships that translates directly into traffic which drives ad revenue.

Identify a Niche:

Most news outlets fit unique audience niches. There are the storytelling stations, “more news” stations, middle of the road stations, and politically leaning stations just to name a few.

As in broadcast, a news station needs to carve out its own niche in the SM universe, part of which will be an extension of the broadcast niche, the rest will need to go further.

Brainstorm with staff about what is unique at your station, and how it can roll out online.

If social media is Pinnochio, and this blog post is Jiminy Cricket, the defined niche would be a conscience.

See where this poorly structured metaphor is headed?

Let your conscience be your guide.

‘The Robot’ is a Dance, Not a Strategy:

There are a plethora of options available to automate your social media updates. The fast paced, hectic atmosphere of a newsroom make this option appealing. But it is not a strategy, it’s a tactic.

Simply “upchucking” the days headlines out to SM does little more than tell your followers “hey, we’re news,” if you have an ounce of brand identity, they should know this by now.

Unless your tweep has been living under a rock, he/she should be able to tell by your username that you’re a news outlet. The user name needs to be your news brand, and consistent across platforms…if it isn’t, I recommend doing some reading up on building a brand, or firing your web guy. @CALL LETTERS or @MY CITY HERALD should do the trick.

Consider this, the 5,6 and 10 o’clock newscasts don’t merely spit out headlines. They are carefully coordinated 30 minute plans of video, sound, scripts and story placement.

Use the same care in your SM plan. Social media is not just an accessory of a news station anymore. It should be similar to the newscast, accent it, but it should provide unique experiences for the inter-web friendly social media enthusiast.

For some, your twitter feed may be the only contact with your news brand in their day-to-day life. Building the recognition that you are relevant in their feed means that when the big story brews, or you get that big scoop they come back to you and take your content viral. Trust me, this happens frequently.

News Can, and Must, Talk Back

In order to grow and maintain your social media following, you must engage them. Constantly. First on that list, welcome new followers. It may seem tedious but a simple “@handle thanks for the add!” goes a long way in building loyalty. Do you like not being greeted when you walk into a new store or restaurant? Same thought.

Further, there are a multitude of options to… are you ready? Here comes a buzzphrase…

*** monitor your brand ***

on social media.

News, in its nature, is polarizing. In broadcast you look for golden sound-bites, the perfect 10 second sound clip that tells your story. In social media we look for golden follows, adds, likes, comments, and wall posts.

Start enticing these chances by actively engaging your following.

A great kick off to this is to identify a few “talkers” from the day’s news. What stories get people riled up? Post the link with a question on social media and watch you following grow, and your brand interactivity explode.

*note it is also beneficial to find ways to tie tags into the newscast. Send users back online for more on the story with a simple “ for more on head to yoursite.com “ or “join the conversation about ____ on Facebook and Twitter, head to yoursite.com and enter keyword connect”

Photos, videos and audio are great comment inducers as well.

Use social media to tease an exclusive in an upcoming newscast.

Use social media to drive breaking news.

These are just a few ideas, there are many. Brainstorm with staff for more. I find that brainstorming with staff on all three of these tips help them also comprehend how it benefits.

Final Thought:

When these steps are engaged, your newsroom will be in a position for successful social media news-gathering. As you monitor your station brand, you’ll be monitoring your followers and those you follow. You never know what tweep (peep) might give your station the next twip (tip) that leads to the next big story.

Just as product brands are actively engaging in two-way conversation, so too must the newsroom of the future. Social media is a dynamic and seismic shift in the mass communications world, you can adapt and thrive with it, or be left in the dark and out socialized by the competition.

by Ryan Ruud

Twitter.com/ryanruud