(Troy Oldham) Week 1 post #2

I went to PRNewswire today to look at some news on the PR scheme. I found it interesting that on the front page they had a link to a press release that looked very similar to what we have been writing in one of my other JCOM classes. It was missing a lot of the things that we are strictly kept to doing in that class, but for the most part it was right up our alley. A lot of the press releases on that website were about bailouts with foreclosures and banking. It was interesting that they only had about 15 articles that were posted today. I guess I just figured that they would have a lot more than that. Maybe it’s because it is Sunday. I think that I will continue to follow this website as the semester continues and see what other interesting things I can learn from it.

Draft Press Release 3: Cause Promotion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Preston Parker
Founder/President
160 N. Main Street
Logan, UT, 84321
cachevaia@gmail.com
www.cvaia.com


HOW TO BECOME FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO
Cache Valley Area Investors Association was founded in July 2007
Logan, Utah, Sept. 26—You do not have to work a job that you do not enjoy just to pay the bills.
“People all over the world are using investments to become financially independent,” said Parker. There are areas of investments with lower risks and no money is needed to get started. You can also invest your time and your credit.
There are many people that share this same philosophy that you need to use passive income to get to a point that you can afford to work a job you like, even if the pay is not great.
The Cache Valley Area Investors Association meets at the Cache County Chamber of Commerce every other Thursday at 7 p.m. If you are interested in learning how you can become financially independent and willing to put in the effort then you can join the association. “The meetings offer a non-threatening environment where any question or concern will be discussed, even if it takes until 2 a.m.,” said Parker.





###

Press Release 2 Final

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
123 Healthy Way
Gary, IN, 46401
Tel. 877-765-4321
james@burgerplanet.com
BURGER PLANET ADDS HEALTHY ENTREES TO AN ALREADY ENTICING MENU
Burger Planet also adds renowned weight-loss advisor to the team
Gary, Ind., Sept. 20—Fitness guru, Jayne Petersen, was brought in to help Burger Planet teach people how to eat the foods they enjoy and be healthy at the same time.
"Well, I emphasize a message of moderation. Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages," said Petersen. With the new items on the menu, those that may not have time to exercise often still have lower calorie choices.
Burger Planet is not getting rid of the great food that they have offered for years. Instead, they are tweaking the menu so as to not discourage anyone from eating there. Petersen will also encourage customers to live healthier, more active lifestyles as the new spokesperson for Burger Planet.
"Jayne Petersen and Burger Planet share a commitment toward health. The women Jayne Petersen has helped lose weight eat at Burger Planet,” said Muellenbacher. The items on the menu are not just for women either. Men and women both need help and encouragement to reach an optimal level of health. Burger Planet is committed to helping everyone that comes in achieve that goal.
###
For more information please contact Craig Morris, Director of Public Relations, at 877-765-4322. Craig is also available via email: craig@burgerpanet.com

PRNEWS(Troy Oldham)

I found the funniest article on a blog about PR today. It was basically this guy that has been involved in PR for years and years telling the world how easy it is to do PR. He then goes on to chastize journalists, and I quote: "To journalists . . . don’t be so full of yourselves, stop being so snooty . . .and remember - - it’s a two way street. We can’t put bread on the table without you and you can’t put bread on the table without us! Enough said." Apparently he has some qualms with journalists that he has worked with in the past. The most ironic part of the whole article is in the first paragraph though. "Just to put things in context . . . I have been working in public affairs for close to forty years going back to my Armed Forces Network days after combat in Vietnam. I’ve worked with major corporations and now the federal government and consider myself in the top 20% for sure . . . .professionally." If that is not blowing your own horn, I don't know what is. So to him I say stop being snooty.

While I agree with many that the Public Relations degree should be part of the school of business, I can definitely see why putting it in the journalism department better prepares you as a writer in the field of PR. I have improved drastically in my writing in just the 3 short semesters of the program.

JCOM 2160 Google Articles

Isn't it interesting to find out that internet companies are just as shady as the ones we deal with face to face. Infact, it is apparently easier to be discrete on the internet, which makes sense. I find it hard to beleive that Google will really come upon a rainy day when they need all of those search histories. Luckily for me I do not have anything to hide. I think that most people would agree that they also do not have anything to hide, but that doesn't make it any more comforting to know that they sace all of the searches that have ever been done. Hopefully Yahoo will hook up with all the phone companies and thwart the man at Google. If for nothing else, the fact that cable TV and high-speed internet will be more affordable. I like the sound of that.

Press Release 2 (Draft)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
123 Healthy Way
Gary, IN, 46401
Tel. 877-765-4321
james@burgerplanet.com
BURGER PLANET ADDS HEALTHY ENTREES TO AN ALREADY ENTICING MENU
New items allow people with all kinds of preferences an option to eat what best suits them
Gary, Ind., Sept. 20—Fitness guru, Jayne Petersen, was brought in to help Burger Planet teach people how to eat the foods they enjoy and be healthy at the same time.
"Well, I emphasize a message of moderation. Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages," said Petersen. With the new items on the menu, those that may not have time to exercise as much still have lower calorie choices.
Burger Planet is not getting rid of the great food that they have offered for years, but rather tweaking the menu so as to not eliminate anyone from eating there. Petersen will also help to encourage customers to live healthier, more active lifestyles.
"Jayne Petersen and Burger Planet share a commitment toward health. The women Jayne Petersen have helped lose weight eat at Burger Planet,” said Muellenbacher. The items on the menu are not just for women either. Men and women both need help and encouragement to reach an optimal level of health. Burger Planet is committed to helping everyone that comes in achieve that goal.
###
For more information please contact Craig Morris, Director of Public Relations, at 877-765-4322. Craig is also available via email: craig@burgerpanet.com

PRSSA/PRSA

I recently joined the PRSSA in hopes of meeting people that will someday be beneficial in the future. After joining, I decided that it would be best to know more about what expectations the PRSA has and some of the values that they hold. At first glance I immediately thought of the Boy Scouts of America. They have a lot of the same values, or at least similar ones. It is nice to know that there are people out there in the business world that stick to values. I find those people quite fewer and farther between at this point in my career. I think the thing that I find most important is the emphasis on accountability. If there is no accountability then you could write whatever you wanted without repercussions. This would slowly (or quickly)taint the industry and ruin the reputation of writers in general. I also really like that they promote healthy competition. Isn't that what makes us better? I know in sports that I only got better when I was pushed, either in practice or by playing the best teams. If you do not have to compete, then you are not getting better. If you are not getting better, you are wasting your time.

Email Etiquette

I found it intersting to read those articles and see all of the not so proper things that I have been guilty of doing for a long time. Most of the things that I have always done never crossed my mind that I shouldn't be doing them. I used to cc: people on all of the emails I sent at my job last semester. I just recently started using the bcc: so as to not confuse those that I am sending the actual email to. Other than emails, I don't spend much time on the internet. I do not enoy going into chat rooms or instant messaging people. However, the information in those readings about emails will be very beneficial to me as I go forward in business. I will definitely implement a written email policy when I start my own company. I have always felt that acting and dressing professionally was important to your success but I had never considered how important it was to be professional in the way email correspondence takes place. I will pay a lot more attention to how I use email in the future for personal and professional use.

Final Press Release 1: Announcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2008
Preston Parker
President
ABC Real Estate LLC
123 Creative Way
Logan, Utah 83431
801-555-4567
NEW REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN LOGAN LOOKING FOR INVESTORS
ABC Reality looks to get people into homes with BDEH land trusts.
ABC Realty is looking for investors with good credit and money for down payments to help people get into homes or keep their homes that are in danger of foreclosure.
BDEH land trusts was developed and simplified by Bill Gatten. ABC Realty is only the second company to start using his system. Gatten made this type of trust affordable to people in the middle class who could not have afforded it when the government implemented it in the 20th century. “We have a solution for those people that think they can’t afford to get into a new home,” Parker said.
Investors have a options as far as how they want to invest the money in this process, one of which is to purchase the home. They buy it at fair market value where the resident can’t afford it and can expect a return of 10-20% in two to three years.
The real estate and lending markets have not been in this deep of a recession since the Great Depression. ABC Realty looks to solve this problem and help the country out of this recession.
ABC Realty was started by Preston Parker in January of 2008. They followed suit of another mortgage company in Salt Lake.
More information is available at www.landtrust.net. You may also contact Craig Morris, Head of Public Relations, at 801-419-5401.
###

Draft Press Release 1: Announcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 5, 2008

Preston Parker

President

ABC Real Estate LLC

123 Creative Way

Logan, Utah 83431

801-555-4567

NEW REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN LOGAN LOOKING FOR INVESTORS

ABC Reality looks to get people into homes with BDEH land trusts

ABC Realty is looking for investors with good credit and money for down payments to help people get into homes or keep the homes that are in danger of foreclosure.

BDEH land trusts was developed and simplified by Bill Gatten. ABC Realty is only the second company to start using his system. Gatten made this type of trust affordable to people in the middle class who could not have afforded it when the government implemented it in the 20^th century. “We have a solution for those people that think they can’t afford to get into a new home,” Parker said.

Investors buy the home at fair market value where the resident can’t afford it. The expected return in two to three years is 10-20%.

The real estate and lending markets have not been in this deep of a recession since the Great Depression. ABC Realty looks to solve this problem and help the country out of this recession.

ABC Realty was started by Preston Parker in January of 2008. They were the second company to adopt Gatten's system.

More information is available at www.landtrust.net. Or contact Craig Morris, Head of Public Relations, at 801-419-5401.

Letter To My Cousin

Public relations is not nearly as complicated as it may sound, but do not underestimate the importance of it. There are many different areas that someone with a public relations background may do, but for the most part, they facilitate communication between the organization that they represent and all the publics that the given organization works with. A public may be anyone from those that work within the same organization to customers, and everything in between. They know the ins and outs of the organization and tend to be skilled in explaining it to those not so familiar with it in a way that can be understood. They also work to make things sound catchy and be informative. Professionals in the field of public relations may write press releases or articles and often times be asked to sort things out in person. In today's society, many professionals will also be involved in marketing type things as well.