BASIC INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

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Copyright Statement

Unless explicitly allowed by the instructor, course materials, class discussions, and examinations are created for and expected to be used by class participants only. The recording and rebroadcasting of such material, by any means, is forbidden.

BASIC INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

Instructor

Bianca Prade is a Senior Vice President in SKDKnickerbocker’s public affairs and strategic communications practice. Her work at SKDK brings strategic communications experience to Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, philanthropic organizations and labor unions seeking advice to manage a crisis, protect a brand or advocate an issue. Bianca’s work has led to several awards, including PR Newswire's 2013 Earnies Awards and PR News' Social Media Icon Awards for 2013. Her body of work has also won Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants in 2011 for best use of social media and Twitter for the “Clean Coal Technology. It Works.” campaign and in 2012 and 2013 for digital advocacy efforts on federal legislation and regulation. In 2011, she was named to PR Week’s “40 Under 40: Ones to Watch” list. She has been working in corporate and online communications for nearly 20 years, most recently as Vice President of Digital Strategy for the American Coalition for Clean Coal

Electricity. Bianca has also held top-level digital strategy positions at competitive companies and digital firms. As senior programming manager at America Online, she managed, developed and launched AOL’s BlackVoices, a community news site for African-Americans. At

NavigationArts, a digital media agency, she created content strategies and managed projects for clients such as Marriott, NASDAQ, Sallie Mae and the State Department. Bianca also spent two years as the vice president of Web strategy and operations for the Newspaper Association of America, where she redefined and integrated the organization’s Web and online product vision.

M.P.S. in Strategic Public Relations

Spring 2016  - Jan. 11 to April 25, 2015 MEDIA RELATIONS IN THE NEW MEDIA WORLD NEW TOOLS, NEW CHALLENGES, NEW THINKING

PSPR 6204 3 credits

Tuesdays 7:10 – 9:40 pm Alexandria Campus

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Getting in Touch

I am available by appointment, please reach out to schedule: Email: [email protected]

Text/Cell: 703.477.6073 Twitter: @biancaprade

Blackboard Site

A Blackboard course site has been set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the site throughout the semester, as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom communications between the instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at https://blackboard.gwu.edu. Support for Blackboard is available at 202-994-4948 or

helpdesk.gwu.edu. Academic Integrity

All members of the university community are expected to exhibit honesty and competence in their academic work. Students have a special responsibility to acquaint themselves with, and make use of, all proper procedures for doing research, writing papers, and taking exams. Members of the community will be presumed to be familiar with the proper academic procedures and will be held responsible for applying them. Deliberate failure to act in

accordance with such procedures will be considered academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is defined as “cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one’s own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” Acts of academic dishonesty are a legal, moral, and intellectual offense against the community and will be prosecuted through the proper university channels. The University Code of Academic Integrity can be found at

http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html. Support for Students with Disabilities

GW’s Disability Support Services (DSS) provides and coordinates accommodations and other services for students with a wide variety of disabilities, as well as those temporarily disabled by injury or illness. Accommodations are available through DSS to facilitate academic access for students with disabilities. Please notify your instructor if you require accommodations. Additional information is available at www.gwu.edu/~dss.

In the Event of an Emergency or Crisis During Class

If we experience some an emergency during class time, we will try to stay at this location until we hear that we can move about safely. If we have to leave here, we will meet at Starbucks in order to account for everyone and to make certain that everyone is safe. Please refer to Campus Advisories for the latest information on the University’s operating status:

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Attendance Policy

Attendance during class is essential part of the course. If you need to miss a class for travel, illness or other reason, please notify the instructor via email prior to class. Arrangements to turn in assignments late must be made in advance.

Course Evaluation

At the end of the semester, students will be given the opportunity to evaluate the course through GW’s online course evaluation system. It is very important that you take the time to

complete an evaluation. Students are also encouraged to provide feedback throughout the

course of the semester by contacting any/all of the following:

Professor Lawrence Parnell  D irector, Strategic Public Relations Pr_{[email protected]}_| 703-29- 4150

Dr. Jack Prostko  Associate D ean

Studies  [email protected] | 202-994-3592

Suzanne Farrand  D irector of Academ ic Adm ini_{stration, GSPM}_{[email protected]}_| 202-994-9309

THE COURSE

Strategic Public Relations Program Objectives

Upon the completion of the Masters in SPR, students will have obtained an enhanced understanding and skills in:

1. Fundamentals of effective, strategic communications;

2. Best practices for writing, media relations and strategic communications planning and  _{implementation;}

3. Leadership in communications on a sound ethical and financial basis; 4. Working with management and staff/vendors to develop and manage the

implementation of  effective com m unications strategies.

Course Description and Overview

This course examines the fundamentals of media relations and basics of social media. Students will learn to evaluate and create messaging and materials to attract the attention of journalists and develop an understanding of social media dynamics that affect news and media relations. These public relations strategies and tactics will help students to achieve organizational or client goals. As such, this course supports the student’s achievement of SPR program goals 1 and 2 (see above list) in particular.

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Course Learning Objectives  

Media Relations in the New Media Worldevaluates the theory, practice and art of media relations and social media and their role in communications strategies. Students will develop a strategic media relations plan aimed at publicizing a product, service, idea or issue of their employer or other organization that uses a variety of traditional and non-traditional publicity tools and techniques guided by sound messages and directed to sensible outcomes.

This course will engage students in discussions about the role of traditional and social media in advancing an organization’s agenda. The course will focus on the principle components of an effective media relations strategy:

1. Develop a newsworthy story idea 2. Research media targets

3. Foster relationships with key journalists and bloggers

4. Develop understanding of social media and content development for media relations 5. Develop presentation skills to communicate ideas effectively with reporters and internal

audiences

6. Create, implement and evaluate a media strategy

After completing this course, you should be able to:

 Apply new knowledge and skills in media relations and social media in a political, governmental, association or corporate setting

 Develop and evaluate media strategies, including digital media, in both proactive and reactive situations

 Write effective news releases and press kit materials (print & digital)

 Evaluate the ethical practices of journalists and communications professionals    Evaluate social media tools and develop content

 Identify strategies for you to become an informed news consumer and more complete communications professional

Course Requirements

Students are expected to complete the week’s readings prior to class, and all assignments are due on date specified. Late assignments (those that are given to the instructor after the date specified) will be docked at least 1⁄2 letter grade. In class exercises must also be completed in the time allotted.

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As the fundamentals of media relations intertwine with social media, brand/issue presence on social media platforms are a key tactic for attracting the attention of journalists and the news cycle. That said, each week we will conduct an in class discussion and analysis of the week’s winners and losers of social media. Research will be conducted using Meltwater, Sysomos and other key tools as indicated by the instructor. This weekly assignment will be conducted in small groups, as designated by the instructor, that we will keep the entire semester for the purposes of this assignment. To get started, please:

1. Use the designated class time that will be allotted during the first class to get in your small group.

2. Review Shorty Award Winners Best Use of Social Media – News Category

3. Take a look at PR Week’s 2015 Winner Case Studies for Inspiration

Actively engaging in class discussions and via social media monitoring and analysis is expected each week. You should draw upon the readings and current events to advance the

conversation. Sharing new information and articles is helpful to further the discussion. Course Tools

We will leverage a number of tools throughout the semester, with the core tools being Sysomos and Meltwater. The SPR program has arranged for students in the program to have access to these services as part of their participation in the program. Students will have limited access to these services using their GW email address for their SPR course related work only.

Meltwater

Build your brand and drive growth by effectively engaging media influencers using the Meltwater News public relations software-as-a-service. Built on the Meltwater online

intelligence platform, Meltwater News public relations software delivers superior global media monitoring and analytics with better targeted media outreach. Meltwater News customers maximize the reach and relevance of earned media coverage, while developing stronger media relations to deliver real business results.

Sysomos

Sysomos social media and analytics solutions deliver the insight you need to develop new strategies, uncover opportunities and make smarter decisions. With Sysomos, you get instant and unlimited access to all social media conversations. The ability to see what's happening, why it's happening, and who's driving the conversations. And the power to uncover meaning in the data—not only from the tone of conversations, but from advanced sentiment analysis by gender, age and location. Through the use of contextual text analytics and sophisticated data-mining technology, the Sysomos social intelligence engine collects data from blogs, Twitter, social networks, message boards, wikis and major news sources. Then Sysomos integrates all of

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that data into one, intuitive user interface that allows you to surface the answers that fuel success.

Evaluation and Grading

Assignment Learning Objective(s) Addressed Due Date Weight

Message Development Develop a newsworthy story idea; develop understanding of social media and content development

Jan. 26 10%

Press Release Develop a newsworthy story idea;

research media targets Feb. 9 10%

Social Media Plan for Press

Release Develop a newsworthy story idea; develop understanding of social media and content development

Feb. 16 10%

Pitch Foster relationships with key

journalists and bloggers; research media targets; develop a

newsworthy story idea

March 1 20%

Individual Presentation Develop presentation skills Ongoing 15%

Paper: Media Plan Create, implement and evaluate

media strategy April 12 25%

Attendance and Participation Ongoing 10%

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Following is the grade scale for all SPR classes:

Grade* Grading Standard

A 94-100 Your work is outstanding and ready for submission in a professional environment. Your material, effort, research, and writing demonstrate superior work.

A- 90-93 Represents solid work with minor errors. Overall, excellent work.

B+ 87-89 Very good. Represents well-written material, research, and presentation, but needs some minor work.

B 83-86 Satisfactory work, but needs reworking and more effort. Note that although not a failing grade, at the graduate level, anything below a “B” is viewed as unacceptable.

B- 80-82 You’ve completed the assignment, but you are not meeting all of the requirements.

C+ 77-79 Needs improvement in content and in effort. Shows some motivation and concern.

C 73-76 Needs reworking, improved effort, and additional research. Shows minimal motivation and concern.

C- 70-72 (lowest grade to

pass) Poor performance. Major errors, too many misspellings, problems with accuracy, etc. F Below 70 Unacceptable performance, or inability to submit the assignment.

*Please note that you may be penalized for late submission of assignment(s). Required Text and Learning Materials

(Available on Amazon.com)

Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional, Deirdre Breakenridge, 2012

Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications, Paul Argenti and Courtney M. Barnes, 2009.

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Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR, Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge, 2009.

Supplemental Text and Learning Materials

Select readings from academic papers and trade press will be posted via Blackboard (Electronic Reserve Section) one week prior to due date. Readings are subject to change.

NOTE: Readings and assignments should be completed on the day of class discussion listed on

the course schedule below. Tentative Course Calendar*

*The instructor reserves the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to

accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.

Date Topic/Learning Objective Assignments & Readings

Jan.

12 Introduction: What is media relations and how has social media influenced it? Which medium sets the agenda? What is media bias? Does print have a future?

Toolset Demos: Sysomos/Quid Case Study

Objectives: 1, 3, 4

Reading: Solis & Breakenridge pp 1-80 Supplemental Reading: “State of the News

Media 2015,” Pew Research Center

http://www.journalism.org/2015/04/29/state-of-the-news-media-2015/

Jan.

19 Media Relations & The Art of Storytelling Toolset Demos: Meltwater Objectives: 1, 2, 3

Reading: Henderson pp 1-72; Argenti & Barnes

pp 1-45; Solis & Breakenridge pp 231-246

Supplemental Reading: Andrew Stanton, The

Clues to a Great Story

http://on.ted.com/Stanton

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Jan.

26 Message Development & Spokesperson Selection Objectives: 1, 3, 5, 6

Assignment: Messaging Development Readings: Argenti & Barnes Fig. 3.1 pp 58;

Henderson 113-125; Breakenridge, Chapter 7 (The Reputation Task Force Member)

Supplemental Reading: “How to Strengthen

Your Brand’s Social Voice”

INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS

Feb. 2 Media Relations Writing: The art of

messaging and building your toolbox – from press releases to corporate blogs; from fact sheets to video. Tactical Plans/Editorial Calendars

Objectives: 1, 3, 5, 6

Reading: Henderson pp 126-208; Argenti &

Barnes pp 75-109; Solis & Breakenridge pp 81- 106

Feb. 9 Press Releases and SEO: Writing a

press release and SEO, what you don’t know can make you invisible

Objectives: 3, 4

Assignment: Press Release

Reading: Argenti & Barnes, pp 195-219 INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS

Feb.

16 Social Media Policy & Practice

Objectives: 4

Assignment: Social media plan for press

release

Reading: Breakenridge, Chapter 10 (The Future

of PR and Social Media), Chapter 1 (PR Practice #1: The PR Policymaker) & The Social Media Strategy Wheel

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Feb.

23 Pitching & Media Training

Building reporter lists, relationship building, blogs and Twitter

Objectives: 1, 2, 3, 6

Guest Speaker – Doug Thornell, Managing Director, SKDK

Supplemental Reading: David Pogue picks his

favorite pitches, PR Daily; Best Practices Pitching Bloggers, InkyBee

Doug Thornell, Research Background

March

1 Visuals Matter: Story-telling through photos, videos and infographics; pitching tips

Assignment: Pitch  

Supplemental Reading: Tips & Tools for

Infographics

March

8 Measurement Matters

Reading: Solis & Breakenridge pp 247-267;

Breakenridge, Intro & Chapter 8 (New Practice #8: The Master of Metrics)

March

15 SPRING BREAK Supplemental Reading: Media Plan Assignment Requirements

March

22 Media Interviews: Techniques & “Murder Board” Preparation

Objectives: 1, 3, 5

Reading: Henderson 73-106 Supplemental Reading: Tough

Questions/Framing an Issue

March

29 Final Assignment Prep: Components of a Media Plan

Adopt a Company Assignments Objectives: 1, 3, 4

Supplemental Reading: Media Plan

Assignment Requirements

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April 5 Guest Lecture or Trip to NYC April 6th_/7th

(Note: The April 5th class may be

canceled once the details of the NYC trip are finalized)

Reading: Breakenridge, Chapter 3 (New

Practice #3: The PR Technology Tester) & Chapter 4 (The COMMS Organizer)

April

12 Crisis Communications: Managing the News Cycle From Explosion to Anniversaries

Objectives: 3, 4, 5, 6

Assignment: Final Paper  Due

Reading: Argenti & Barnes, pp 221-248;

Breakenridge, Chapters 5 & 6 (New Practice #5: The Pre-Crisis Doctor & New Practice #6: The Relationship Analyzer)

April

19 Case Study: Social Media and Crisis Intersection

Objectives: 3, 4 Wrap up

Assignments ‐ General

Papers do not need a cover page. Please include your name, paper title and date at top of first page; 12- point font and 1” margins preferred. Use in-text citations or footnotes to document sources. Citations must include article or book title, author, and page number. Please

remember to spell check documents and proofread for grammar and punctuation. AP Stylebook will be used for all assignments.

Assignments – Description

Assignments will be posted to Black Board by 12 midnight ET on the due date. 1. Message Development (10 points). You will be given the key points for a news

announcement and will, in turn, develop three key messages and supporting facts. 2. Press Release (10 points). You will be given the key points for a press release and will be

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3. Social Media Plan for Press Release (10 points). Via a memo to the instructor, you will develop a social media plan with the goal of bringing more attention and awareness to the press release previously issued. Your grade will be based on explanation of social media practices discussed in the readings and the class.

4. Pitch (20 points). You will prepare and deliver a pitch for a news story to one reporter. The format of your pitch will be in memo form to the instructor and will not be sent to the actual journalist. In addition, you will detail the pitch, justifying why you selected the reporter and media outlet, citing the techniques you will use to sell your pitch and outlining the desired story outcomes and potential challenges of the pitch. The 3-5 page memo should include references to the texts and classroom discussion. Your grade will be based on the use of media relations techniques as covered in class.

5. Individual Presentations (20 points). On the due date, you will deliver a 5-slide, 5-minute PPT presentation showcasing a case study or best practice to illustrate the subject and advance the content shared during lectures and in the readings. This mini “Ted-Talk” like presentation will include at least 4 references to the readings and new sources that you identify. This allows the student to share new insights on the lecture topic and develop critical presentation skills. Topics will be assigned by the instructor.

6. Media Plan (25 points). You will develop a strategic media relations plan aimed at publicizing a product, service, idea or issue of their employer or other organization that uses a variety of traditional and non-traditional publicity tools and techniques guided by sound messages and directed to sensible outcomes. The plan must include all the components covered in class – e.g., goal/objectives, telling your story, ideal media outlets, reporter lists, news strategies/tactics, timeline, analysis/measurement. The target media can be any combination of print, broadcast or social media, but the paper, delivered in memo form to the instructor, must include both traditional media and social media (e.g. bloggers, social media influencers/media elites). Other key elements in determining the grade will be references to texts and discussions, additional research, specific media relations techniques to be used and the completeness of the target media list and social media plans.

7. Class participation (10 points). Participation will be evaluated on weekly attendance, meaningful involvement in discussions and application of the principles from readings, and participation in weekly Twitter question. NOTE: You cannot make up points if you miss class.