Guest post: Crisis communications and public relations by Meghan Murphy

The viral YouTube video of Domino’s employees in 2009, the BP oil spill of 2010, and the more recent Costa Concordia cruise ship accident (shown above with a link to a great article on predicted ramifications from the accident) can each be easily remembered by many, especially by public relations professionals. With crises such as these (and more) occurring every year, it has never been more important for public relations professionals to keep up with innovative tools and trends in the field. Being knowledgeable of new practices and strategies contributes to a better understanding of the field and helps improve the quality of our public relations activities. There are a number of resources professionals can rely on in order to stay up to date with new tools and trends, including MarketingWeek (for example, the article “Brands can’t afford to #fail when it comes to social media crisis comms”).

The area of crisis communications is extremely intriguing to me. Crises can occur at any given time and we (public relations professionals) need to be fully prepared for that moment. In my personal research of the specialization, I have found that there are a plethora of opportunities for crisis communicators to teach companies and organizations about the best practices during a time of crisis. It is more astounding to me that, while some companies or organizations have mastered the art of public relations in times of calm, they fail miserably at communicating with the public during times of chaos.

Graduate students of public relations, such as me, have the unique opportunity to continually expand the knowledge base and skill set that we have already acquired. We also have the chance to apply these skills and knowledge to real life practice. Personally, I intend to learn as much as I possibly can about crisis communications, then move forward and begin applying it in my future career. Check out my blog to track my exploration of the world of crisis communications and public relations.

Guest post: Public relations and new media by Vivian Dennis

Everyone has weighed in on the Costa Concordia disaster since the cruise ship ran aground Jan. 13 off Giglio, Italy. The partially submerged ship is a constant reminder that the accident has claimed 17 lives, with 15 missing and presumed dead.

Earlier this week, National Geographic presented a documentary with passenger, crew, and emergency worker interviews and video taken aboard after the ship struck a reef. Lost in the stories and sound bites is the presence of the ship's operator Costa Cruises and its parent company Carnival Corp.

There has been much criticism of the cruise lines' PR efforts and the low-profile of Carnival CEO Micky Arison to, as some say, distance Carnival from the disaster. Arison has issued statements on Twitter.

“Twitter has granted the media and the public visibility into the personal and professional lives of many executives, athletes and celebrities,” Aaron Kwittken, chief executive of Kwittken & Co. Worldwide, wrote in Forbes. “However, the platform is no surrogate for devoting personal time and attention to address questions that the victims’ families deserve answers to.”

Kwittken is right. Even in the internet era, social media networks are among the tools – not the only tool – to be used in handling such a crisis. Not everyone is plugged in and the personal touch, even if symbolic, can go a long way. It is bad enough to have Costa Concordia mentioned in the same breath as the Titanic, which sank 100 years ago, or as a new standard of failure. But now Carnival's crisis communications brings to mind BP's public relations disaster in the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill.

For more on public relations and media, visit: viviandennis.blogspot.com

Guest post: Entertainment PR by Zoe Hunter

Prior to beginning the New Media course, I had no idea about Google alerts. Once creating my own alerts however, I grew a fond appreciation for yet another successful tool Google has allowed its users to utilize. For the purpose of the class, I set 3 different Google alerts for the 3 different sections one of my name, one of an industry of public relations, and another of a random company of choice. My favorite and the one that demonstrated the need for Google alerts the most were the results yielded by my “Apple, Co.” search. Many articles that seemed critical to the Apple brand were found that discussed the horrible working conditions of the production of Apple products. My favorite article of these results (although very short) was: Apple Products Come At A Cost, which discussed the working conditions of Apple as reported in a monologue by Mike Daisey. Many other results found were pertaining to boycotting Apple products because of these wrongful working condition, etc. These results alone displayed the necessity for public relations practitioners to set up Google alerts for whomever they serve to be able to catch these types of articles and find things that they may deem necessary to respond to - especially articles damaging the reputation of an organization.

With a degree in Public Relations, my personal career goal is to work in music entertainment, therefore maintaining images will be very important as celebrity speculation has, in recent years, been at at an all-time high with the increased usage of celebrity gossip blogs (such as Perez Hilton and Necole Bitchie). Setting Google Alerts for individual celebrities will be beneficial in keeping up with what the media is talking about, and how to combat some of the negative images that may be found.

For more on celebrity news and music entertainment visit zoeshunterPR.blogspot.com.

Guest post: Weight discrimination in the media by Laurie Toth

This past week singer Adele made headlines not only for winning six Grammy awards, but also because of comments by Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld, serving as a guest editor at Metro, was asked about Lana del Rey. In his response he mentioned Adele, saying she was a “little too fat.” Granted he followed that with “she has a beautiful face and divine voice.”

From experience, I cannot count the times people offset negative comments about weight with “you have a beautiful face,” as though that softens the blow. Why should a female recording artist, whose success should be gauged on her music and talent, have to even answer about her weight?

Fortunately it seems like Adele is a confident woman and can shake off the criticism, telling People Magazine, "I've never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I'm very proud of that.”

Apparently due to the backlash from Adele’s fans, Lagerfeld backtracked, claiming he’s a fan and was misquoted. More likely he was worried about the bad press for Chanel, especially after fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone said, “If you love Adele then boycott Chanel.”

Adele is right. More women look like her than the fashion models Chanel has on the runways. The face of beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes, and Adele is gorgeous—just look at the March cover of Vogue.

Well done Adele, for being an example of body confidence for the regular woman. I’ve had enough of a woman’s value being judged on weight, as though that diminishes her success. Adele has a divine voice and is beautiful—period. Her Grammy appearance and six awards attest to that.

For more discussions on weight discrimination in the media, visit my blog.

Guest post: Activism by Jorja Marcil

The Internet and social media have enabled millions to realize and build relationships. People can now easily connect around common interests and causes. Activism organizations have found great benefit from the broad audiences the Internet has made possible. Now, public relations professionals must realize the increasing power of activism organizations. Corporations should not ignore activism voices; instead, public relations professionals must help corporations build relationships with the activist organizations.

I have begun to research the conversations about activism and public relations by utilizing Google Alerts. The initial results have not provided me with many conversations regarding public relations and activism. However, the results have proven that activist voices are everywhere. Many of the results discussed the activist actions regarding Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood. One article described the actions of activists following the funding announcement as a “virtual firestorm.” Examples of activist movement forces prove that public relations professionals should embrace communication with activist groups or their corporations could suffer. Historically, activists have been viewed as enemies of corporations and public relations professionals. Now, publics demand that corporations be socially responsible and act for the benefit of all, requiring public relations professionals to communicate the responsible actions of corporations with activists and other publics. There is no doubt that the relationship between activism and public relations has changed and will continue to change in the years to come. Corporations must embrace this change and the public relations activist.

For more conversations on activism and public relations please interact with me on my blog!

Guest post: Crisis communications by Kyla Miles

When I first entered the public relations graduate program at Quinnipiac I wasn’t sure what type of PR I would like the most. Well, not long ago I realized my passion for crisis communication. So, like most people who find a new passion, I decided to dive right in and search the Internet to see what professionals, bloggers, and everyday people were saying about crisis communication.

To no surprise, the term crisis communication instantly struck Carnival Cruise for its recent Costa Concordia disaster. Through these posts, various crisis communication professionals blogged and reported on how Carnival cruise line was ruining its reputation through its failure to execute appropriate crisis communication, or to respond at all.

Other articles such as “Crisis Communication: Avoid a Public Relations Nightmare with a Little Preparation,” stress the importance of preparing for a crisis before it happens. Using the health care industry as an example, the author emphasized how creating holding statements for various types of crises that could potentially occur in a particular industry is the key to being prepared for crisis.

Likewise, the article “How to Build a Crisis Communication Plan” exemplifies that in today’s society it is easier than ever for customers to voice their concerns and opinions over the Internet and social media. As recent events have shown, several companies could significantly benefit from reading this step-by-step guide on creating and maintaining a crisis communication plan.

Most interesting, the article “Crisis Communication in the Era of Public Relations” offers the most creative approach to explaining the different social media tools by using one of America’

s favorite foods, donuts. In today’s World 2.0 doesn’t it seem like social media and crisis go hand-in-

hand?

To follow my blog on crisis communication in public relations please visit

Kyla Miles’ Public Relations Blog

Guest post: Healthcare public relations by Jordana Carideo

The first assignment in Professor Laskin new media class at Quinnipiac University was to create Google Alerts for a particular sector of public relations which we are interested in and could potentially be focused on through our blog. I chose healthcare public relations for my topic of my blog and to track for the week for my Google Alerts. Throughout the week I only received results for two alerts out of my three alerts for this category; health public relations and healthcare public relations.

Throughout the duration of the week I was surprised of how many non-accurate news alerts I was receiving; out of 40 total alerts for the day, 2 would be accurate. I found it confusing because of the high interest in the specialization of healthcare public relations. After the assignment was completed it was brought to my attention that it is essential to format the Google Alert properly with quotations to receive accurate results. Even though many of the results were not accurate due to the formatting, one positive aspect of these Google Alerts was the blogs that were being mentioned. I believe this sector of the field of public relations is extremely interesting and I am very excited to begin my blog.

Here is a small excerpt from my blog, hope you enjoy it:

“The other night I was sitting watching the new movie 50/50 where I began to think I cannot imagine hearing those words you have cancer. It scares me how many of my family members have been affected by cancer and have lost their battles. Even though they have lost their battles I want to honor them by trying to help others through there cancer journey. I want to use this blog to discuss health care public relations, cancer issues, and products for women and young adults, and most importantly gain relationships.”

What is public relations? Students define public relations. Part 2.

Here is the second group of students from Principles and Theories of Public Relations class answering the question of what public relations is. Here is their definition of public relations.

Can you say: PEE! ARR! Say: PEE! ARR!

What is public relations? Students define public relations. Part 1.

Students in my Principles and Theories of Public Relations class were asked to create a user-friendly explanation of what public relations is. This explanation was to be aimed at a person who has no clue about public relations rather than at an expert or a public relations scholar.

This is what the first group came up with: 

Investor relations for multi-industry conglomerates

I really enjoyed the article, Straddling Market Sectors, by Kate Sidorovich, IRO at eHealth, in the September’s issue of IR Update. When company operates in several different businesses, the typical analyst’s approach of finding comparable companies becomes useless or at least very challenging – Sidorovich talks about her company that is in healthcare and e-commerce. So, some analysts end up comparing them to financial institutions, some to insurance companies, and some to technology companies.

My experience of working for a multinational conglomerate was very similar. We produced submarines, tankers, nuclear reactors, off-shore and on-shore drilling rigs, excavators, motorcycles, variety of steels and other metals, and provided banking services, insurance services, real estate, and so on. Now try to find a comp for that!

And it is impossible to use one conglomerate as a comp for another – the combination of market segments they are in will also be very different!

So, I had analysts from almost any imaginable sector of the economy (plus, the emerging markets!) following us and talking to us – each with their own set of comps based on their industry. That was always a lot of fun to conduct conference calls or other investor meetings.

IR Update’s article concludes with one of the recommendations to “embrace education.” And I 100% agree. It was my job as an Investor Relations Officer to educate our investors and analysts on all our industries, products, market positions, and so on to help see the big picture of where the company is going rather than just one of our businesses.