Over the duration of the past semester, our class has
been introduced to the wonderful world of public relations. During this time we
have learned about a variety of elements that come together to make up the
public relations profession. Upon completion of my public relations internship, I was able to apply these elements from the classroom into a
real-life setting. Although I could discuss a number of items I applied from
the classroom to my public relations position, I will be focusing solely on my
experience with media relations.
This semester in our media relations class we have
studied a variety of topics such as the role of media relations, ways in which
to find the media, developing a media relations program, media events and much
more. During my time at my internship, I was able to gain valuable real-life
experience dealing with these elements of media relations. To discuss how I
applied my classroom knowledge to my real-life experiences I will focus on
two media relations topics from class and how I used them in my internship.
In our media relations course, we learned about news
coverage analysis and evaluation tactics to use when assessing coverage from a
media source. In this class, we learned that the assessment of media coverage
is significant in public relations to understand whether or not you reached
your objectives. Throughout my internship, I was given the task of evaluating
media coverage each week. Whether it was scouring the web for stories about a
new product we launched or hunting down the social media channels of media who
attended a media event; I was tasked with the challenge of evaluating that media
coverage. Through this real-life experience, I was able to
understand the crucial role that news coverage analysis and evaluation plays in
understanding how a public relations plan performs.
Another topic we learned about in the media relations
class was the use of media events as a strategy in a public relations plan.
Through my internship, I had experience with a variety of media events. One of
my favorites was the launch event for Dimplex’s new fireplace. At this product
launch event, I was in charge of greeting media, assisting with the overall
workings of the event, and providing each media with a thank you bag on their
way out. Through this experience, I was able to put my classroom knowledge to
work and experience how a media event works.
I gained further experience with media events as I recently completed my second large-scale media event with my internship. The media event
was for the Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights and the launch
of their new holiday walking tour “Deck the Falls.” Deck the Falls is a project
I worked on throughout my internship this semester. It is a walking tour that
includes stops at thirteen local venues in Niagara Falls, five of which were
transformed by celebrity designers. In preparation for this event, I assisted
in contacting media and organizing their trips to Niagara Falls to experience
"Deck the Falls" on its launch weekend. During the event and after
the event I assisted with the analysis and evaluation of media coverage.
Overall, through these real-life experiences, I was able
to apply what I learned in the classroom and truly understand the vital role
that media relations plays in public relations.
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