I am going to be completely candid when I
say that Mohawk College’s Public Relations program has redefined how I view and
engage with the news. Prior to my participation in the program, I kept up with the news on a daily basis. However, since
we are being honest here, I only involved myself with the general details of
hot news topics and left it at that. Conversations in class soon brought me to
the realization that my former news regime was far too basic and would not
allow me to survive in the fast-paced public relations field. One comment that challenged my former news
routine was Tim’s mantra about having to constantly keep up with what is going
on. If you don’t fully keep up, you
get left behind.
News discussions in classes such as Media Relations and Organizational Application have been a real awakening of the necessity to thoroughly keep up with trends, industry news, technology news and communication developments. Technology news is paramount because as Tim has often pointed out, there is already a new form of mainstream social media trending by the end of the end of the program. Living in such an accelerated culture with new versions being released every other day, it is all too easy to fall behind. The scary part of this is that the more we fall behind, the tougher it is to get back on track.
I understand that keeping up on a detailed level beyond main headlines may seem like a no brainer, but for me it has been learning curve. I simply was not going about it properly. One of the main reasons my former news regime was so simple was because I was overwhelmed by the vast amount of information and the many forms it can be received in. Let’s face it; we are living in an information overload age. Although it is overwhelming to stay wholly informed, there are methods and resources to make the process simpler. Fortunately there are key resources that help to filter through all the noise and gather the quality information.
To develop a quality PR news regime, I’ve personally found that organization, variety and routine are the arsenal of ingredients that help me stay to stay current.
Organization: I have really made a conscious effort to use certain RSS feeds, book marking sites and mobile apps. They have helped to navigate the digital news world and keep incoming information as uncluttered as possible.
Routine: Lastly, routine is really what it boils down to for me. I now force myself to integrate more news into daily times of my life so I stay on track. I listen to news talk radio every morning (News Talk 1010 is my favourite) while getting ready and driving. Now I can’t imagine a morning without John Moore or Jerry Agar!
IIn one of the fastest growing industries, staying informed in PR is not optional. Staying curre and on trend will allow you to produce quality work, contribute strong ideas, make sound judgements and foster genuine connections. It may take some effort to stay properly informed and engaged, but I strongly believe that this is one of those little things that will make a big difference. You won’t just be a better conversationalist; you will be an even better PR practitioner for it.
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News discussions in classes such as Media Relations and Organizational Application have been a real awakening of the necessity to thoroughly keep up with trends, industry news, technology news and communication developments. Technology news is paramount because as Tim has often pointed out, there is already a new form of mainstream social media trending by the end of the end of the program. Living in such an accelerated culture with new versions being released every other day, it is all too easy to fall behind. The scary part of this is that the more we fall behind, the tougher it is to get back on track.
I understand that keeping up on a detailed level beyond main headlines may seem like a no brainer, but for me it has been learning curve. I simply was not going about it properly. One of the main reasons my former news regime was so simple was because I was overwhelmed by the vast amount of information and the many forms it can be received in. Let’s face it; we are living in an information overload age. Although it is overwhelming to stay wholly informed, there are methods and resources to make the process simpler. Fortunately there are key resources that help to filter through all the noise and gather the quality information.
To develop a quality PR news regime, I’ve personally found that organization, variety and routine are the arsenal of ingredients that help me stay to stay current.
Organization: I have really made a conscious effort to use certain RSS feeds, book marking sites and mobile apps. They have helped to navigate the digital news world and keep incoming information as uncluttered as possible.
Routine: Lastly, routine is really what it boils down to for me. I now force myself to integrate more news into daily times of my life so I stay on track. I listen to news talk radio every morning (News Talk 1010 is my favourite) while getting ready and driving. Now I can’t imagine a morning without John Moore or Jerry Agar!
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IIn one of the fastest growing industries, staying informed in PR is not optional. Staying curre and on trend will allow you to produce quality work, contribute strong ideas, make sound judgements and foster genuine connections. It may take some effort to stay properly informed and engaged, but I strongly believe that this is one of those little things that will make a big difference. You won’t just be a better conversationalist; you will be an even better PR practitioner for it.
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