Any topic related to class is a wide-open blog topic. I think my biggest concern at this point is how to do the interviews I would like to do for my dissertation. I know I want to do interviews in an effort to allow those effected by the phenomenon to make sense of the data for me. In essence, I don’t want to speak for them, I want them to tell me what they think the data means. As a reporter, I want quotes to back up my information. However, I’m having a hard time figuring out exactly how to do the interviews.
For those of you who don’t remember, my dissertation topic is if journalists are affected emotionally by covering day-to-day traumatic events. I began studying trauma through a Victims in the Media course at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. I took the course as part of my emphasis in journalism during my education master’s work. The course was sponsored by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, which is the primary resource for information on the topic. Through my studies I discovered that one of my editors at The Oklahoman, Joe Hight, is extremely involved in the Dart Center and actually helped UCO obtain the grant to teach the class. He has become a wonderful resource for me in my quest for knowledge on the topic.
It was in the same class that I was introduced to the textbook Covering Violence by William Cote and Roger Simpson (2000). The book provides a foundation for thinking about covering violence and how it affects those who are covered and the reporters covering it. Reading the textbook helped me identify three main researchers in the field: William Cote’, Roger Simpson and Frank Ochberg. From continuing to read works by those scholars and cross-referencing their reference pages I have found a variety of scholarly works on the topic. I also have identified a variety of articles in Quill, the Society of Professional Journalists’ magazine, that have been useful in identifying scholars in the field.
My initial methodology is to use the Society of Professional Journalists’ membership list to randomly identify working reporters and editors to whom I can send an electronic survey. I will set up the survey through Survey Monkey. After the information is gathered, I would like to do 10 to 20 depth interviews in an attempt to “make sense” of the data. This is where the questions begin. As I see it, I have two options: (1) Do nationwide interviews via telephone, (2) Do regional interviews so I can travel and actually interview the people in person.
There are several benefits to interviewing respondents via telephone. First, I won’t have to limit the people I interview because of location concerns. I would rather be able to make the interviews truly random by interviewing journalists from all over the country. Second, I won’t have the expense of attempting to travel and interview people. If I decide to keep the interviews regional, I’ll drive to the locations where I perform interviews. This could get expensive, especially with gas prices as they are today. The expense too would limit the number of interviews I’m able to do. Instead of doing 10 or 20, because of expense and location I’d probably be doing more like five at the most.
There is one overwhelming reason to interview the respondents in person – better responses. I think I can build a rapport with the respondents and receive better information if I do the interviews face-to-face. The greatest problem is that I’m reluctant to do that because I don’t want the limit my pool.
I would love to hear your suggestions.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Hmm, Life after Proposal
Taylor Newcomb
I am here to be able to get a great degree that lead's to a cherry job. I feel that my project will lead to that job. I may not be completely sure what my final product will be in the project field but I feel that whatever I end up doing will give me a new understanding of how everything works in public relations. That is what I want most for my life after project: Knowledge. With knowledge, I will be able to enter the field and understand how everything works and connects to each other and how to manipulate it to get the desired results.
I don't want to be "Lucky Jim" and fall backwards into a position. I want to be someone that organizations come after. Yes, I can hear your laughs, but it's not like I want to own the Dallas Cowboys (if you watch the Simpsons, you'll get that). I just want respect and to feel needed in the job world. And to do that, I need to complete a great project.
After the project, it will take some hard work to get through the first few years of trying establish myself, but with that project in the can it would allow give more credence. With an emphasis on Bernays and propaganda, it should allow me a greater step. Even though, Bernays' work is decades old it is still very relevant and can still be incredibly useful now.
The audience I am looking to influence is the public relations field. That field is the one that will give me my job and my future. It would be important for my peers in the field to know what work I have done and how I did it. With this, I will be able to show that I belong so that I can continue on in the career and get a better job after every few years. I am not sure whether I want to work for a public relations firm, a corporate communications department, or a government agency, but I am sure that I need to reach out to those people as an audience in order to impress them and gain a standing in the field.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
For my last post for the thesis project seminar class, I am going to talk about one of my research interests that I have not written about or spoke about all semester. The reason behind this is simply that I am tired of talking about brand image and social cause-related marketing!
So for this blog I am going to focus on alternative advertising methods. In today’s busy world a person can see up to 5,000 advertisements in one day! That is crazy! With that much going on around us how can advertisers expect to reach their target audience without breaking into their “world” (or their audience segment: such as teen, tween, parents, baby boomers, etc…)? The answer is that they can’t or at least not without the help of guerilla marketing which uses “sneaky” (for lack of a better word), creative ways to get the information about the product or brand out there and into the life of the target audience. Guerilla marketing uses interesting and unique campaigns to create a word-of-mouth buzz about the product or brand.
Though I said I wasn’t going to discuss brand image, I lied, because I have to mention it here. When an advertiser or brand breaks into their target audience’s world, the brand become relevant to the consumer and therefore integrates itself into their everyday life. This causes the brands image to form and be validated in the eyes of the consumer. But, let’s go back to alternative advertising methods…
While alternative advertising methods and alternative media fascinate me, I am no techie and may not have complete understanding of all things electronic or internet related. I want to focus this blog post on some of the most interesting alternative advertising methods I have found. Some of these are so artful and eye-catching that even people outside of the target audience have to notice. Now that is effective advertising.
First, I want to talk about sidewalk advertising, which I find to be so interesting. While it may not be the most technologically advanced, it is so artful and intriguing that it catches the interests of many walks of life. It can also be very noticeable because it is not very common yet. Click on this article, it is pretty interesting and presents several alternative advertising methods. Also, this picture is an ad for beverage in Europe somewhere, I believe. I first saw this ad in Jim Avery’s advertising campaigns class.
Second, I want to talk about Facebook and MySpace advertising. This is quite possible the best internet advertising a brand or business marketing to tweens, teens, or young adults could do. I know that I (who never click on internet ads) have even click on a couple of ad on Facebook, because they were relevant to me at the time.
Last, I want to mention mobile advertising, not mobile phone advertising, but actual ads that move. Everyone has seen an ad on the side of a bus or a truck, but how about an entire truck that is an advertisement for something. Like this truck that is advertising for the movie Juno that recently release on DVD.
Well, there are tons more alternative methods but I just wanted to touch on a few that I really believe could work (for awhile until they become normal, then a new alternative will be needed).
So for this blog I am going to focus on alternative advertising methods. In today’s busy world a person can see up to 5,000 advertisements in one day! That is crazy! With that much going on around us how can advertisers expect to reach their target audience without breaking into their “world” (or their audience segment: such as teen, tween, parents, baby boomers, etc…)? The answer is that they can’t or at least not without the help of guerilla marketing which uses “sneaky” (for lack of a better word), creative ways to get the information about the product or brand out there and into the life of the target audience. Guerilla marketing uses interesting and unique campaigns to create a word-of-mouth buzz about the product or brand.
Though I said I wasn’t going to discuss brand image, I lied, because I have to mention it here. When an advertiser or brand breaks into their target audience’s world, the brand become relevant to the consumer and therefore integrates itself into their everyday life. This causes the brands image to form and be validated in the eyes of the consumer. But, let’s go back to alternative advertising methods…
While alternative advertising methods and alternative media fascinate me, I am no techie and may not have complete understanding of all things electronic or internet related. I want to focus this blog post on some of the most interesting alternative advertising methods I have found. Some of these are so artful and eye-catching that even people outside of the target audience have to notice. Now that is effective advertising.
First, I want to talk about sidewalk advertising, which I find to be so interesting. While it may not be the most technologically advanced, it is so artful and intriguing that it catches the interests of many walks of life. It can also be very noticeable because it is not very common yet. Click on this article, it is pretty interesting and presents several alternative advertising methods. Also, this picture is an ad for beverage in Europe somewhere, I believe. I first saw this ad in Jim Avery’s advertising campaigns class.
Second, I want to talk about Facebook and MySpace advertising. This is quite possible the best internet advertising a brand or business marketing to tweens, teens, or young adults could do. I know that I (who never click on internet ads) have even click on a couple of ad on Facebook, because they were relevant to me at the time.
Last, I want to mention mobile advertising, not mobile phone advertising, but actual ads that move. Everyone has seen an ad on the side of a bus or a truck, but how about an entire truck that is an advertisement for something. Like this truck that is advertising for the movie Juno that recently release on DVD.
Well, there are tons more alternative methods but I just wanted to touch on a few that I really believe could work (for awhile until they become normal, then a new alternative will be needed).
Life After Project!
Is there life after the completion of a thesis or project? YES! A much less stressful life awaits! :)
With the completion of my project will also come the end of my school years, so yes for me there is life after completing my project!
As is the nature of any professional project, I hope to successfully disseminate my ideas and the core concepts from my project to a particular client. I am still uncertain of who exactly that client will be, but this will be determined when I get a little closer to time for me to begin my final project. If I go with the project proposal that I have come up with for this class, the client would be Grand River Dam Authority as well as a chosen nonprofit agency.
The audience I really hope to influence would be nonprofit agencies as well as large corporations that wish to be socially responsible and help to financially support a worthy cause. My project proposal proposes that a joint advertising campaign be created, that would involve both a for-profit corporation and a non-profit organization. Not only would the nonprofit benefit because of the financial support, but the corporation would benefit as well, because of the goodwill and positive brand image the partnership would accrue.
The interesting spin that this project has as opposed to other social cause-related marketing campaigns is that it involves the non-profit one hundred percent. Input, approval, and suggestions for the ads of both entities would be needed from the nonprofit as well as the corporation. Also, though this would be an advertising campaign, several public relations techniques and practices would be implemented therefore making it an integrated marketing campaign. In today’s world of advertising, many traditional methods are very near death. That is why it is so important for new and integrated forms of advertising and marketing to be created and put into practice.
Brand image building has emerged as an important way to promote and stabilize your brand. For example, try to think of an advertisement you have recently seen for Starbucks coffee . Except for billboards Starbucks doesn’t really advertise heavily, but they have an amazing brand image that brings in new customers and keeps previous customers returning day after day. Or, take Apple computers for example, while yes they may use traditional advertising to advertise their newest product, their brand image is so strong that they have a consistently growing loyal following. Their brand is so salient that people use it to define themselves. That is what my project sets out to do, maybe at a smaller scale that is not so cult like. J In essence, this project is simply increasing brand awareness while also increase favorable brand image for both the nonprofit agency and the large corporation. So, all of this being said, the best way to share my ideas with a broader audience is to pitch the idea to a client and begin implementing it one client (or client pair) at a time.
With the completion of my project will also come the end of my school years, so yes for me there is life after completing my project!
As is the nature of any professional project, I hope to successfully disseminate my ideas and the core concepts from my project to a particular client. I am still uncertain of who exactly that client will be, but this will be determined when I get a little closer to time for me to begin my final project. If I go with the project proposal that I have come up with for this class, the client would be Grand River Dam Authority as well as a chosen nonprofit agency.
The audience I really hope to influence would be nonprofit agencies as well as large corporations that wish to be socially responsible and help to financially support a worthy cause. My project proposal proposes that a joint advertising campaign be created, that would involve both a for-profit corporation and a non-profit organization. Not only would the nonprofit benefit because of the financial support, but the corporation would benefit as well, because of the goodwill and positive brand image the partnership would accrue.
The interesting spin that this project has as opposed to other social cause-related marketing campaigns is that it involves the non-profit one hundred percent. Input, approval, and suggestions for the ads of both entities would be needed from the nonprofit as well as the corporation. Also, though this would be an advertising campaign, several public relations techniques and practices would be implemented therefore making it an integrated marketing campaign. In today’s world of advertising, many traditional methods are very near death. That is why it is so important for new and integrated forms of advertising and marketing to be created and put into practice.
Brand image building has emerged as an important way to promote and stabilize your brand. For example, try to think of an advertisement you have recently seen for Starbucks coffee . Except for billboards Starbucks doesn’t really advertise heavily, but they have an amazing brand image that brings in new customers and keeps previous customers returning day after day. Or, take Apple computers for example, while yes they may use traditional advertising to advertise their newest product, their brand image is so strong that they have a consistently growing loyal following. Their brand is so salient that people use it to define themselves. That is what my project sets out to do, maybe at a smaller scale that is not so cult like. J In essence, this project is simply increasing brand awareness while also increase favorable brand image for both the nonprofit agency and the large corporation. So, all of this being said, the best way to share my ideas with a broader audience is to pitch the idea to a client and begin implementing it one client (or client pair) at a time.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Life After a Project
Life After a Project--deb wallevand
Is there life after the completion of a project? Finally a somewhat easier question to blog about! My answer is YES. I apologize if that comes off as arrogant, because I am sure there are a lot of people who may be unsure of what the future holds. And that is totally okay.
I guess my feeling is that the project is only the first step for me. As of 10 o'clock Thursday night this 17th of April 2008 I would like to be a sports producer. With this responsibility it will be my goal to level the playing field (haha, no pun intended!) when it comes to the coverage of women's sports on television. I have a slight idea of what's in store for me. It's one thing to observe the problem on TV and read it in journals, but it's completely different when executive producers are telling you 'no' to your face. My project, a 30-minute sports program devoted to women's sports, will have the same attributes men's programs have: good writing, interesting stories, advanced graphics and camera shots.
Obviously though, no matter how good the production is the absence of men's sports and male athletes from the show will be seen as a weakness. I know I can't change all of society's gender-biased attitudes with this one project, but I do believe I can get a least a few people thinking about women's sports differently. I think if we actually see women's sports taken seriously on television then the audience will start to do the same. I know it is going to happen. We've had over a hundred years of men's sports in the U.S. It is established. Women's sports are the new kids on the block. It's going to take some time, but women's sports will be taken seriously if I have any say.
Someday, perhaps when I feel I've given the industry enough of my life, I'll go back to school yet again and pursue a PhD so I can teach those future sports journalists and broadcasters. I've found in my almost 8 months at OU that some undergrads do listen to what you say. It's nice to get them when they're young, before they get into that tired old newsroom routine.
When it comes down to it, I want to influence all audiences.
Is there life after the completion of a project? Finally a somewhat easier question to blog about! My answer is YES. I apologize if that comes off as arrogant, because I am sure there are a lot of people who may be unsure of what the future holds. And that is totally okay.
I guess my feeling is that the project is only the first step for me. As of 10 o'clock Thursday night this 17th of April 2008 I would like to be a sports producer. With this responsibility it will be my goal to level the playing field (haha, no pun intended!) when it comes to the coverage of women's sports on television. I have a slight idea of what's in store for me. It's one thing to observe the problem on TV and read it in journals, but it's completely different when executive producers are telling you 'no' to your face. My project, a 30-minute sports program devoted to women's sports, will have the same attributes men's programs have: good writing, interesting stories, advanced graphics and camera shots.
Obviously though, no matter how good the production is the absence of men's sports and male athletes from the show will be seen as a weakness. I know I can't change all of society's gender-biased attitudes with this one project, but I do believe I can get a least a few people thinking about women's sports differently. I think if we actually see women's sports taken seriously on television then the audience will start to do the same. I know it is going to happen. We've had over a hundred years of men's sports in the U.S. It is established. Women's sports are the new kids on the block. It's going to take some time, but women's sports will be taken seriously if I have any say.
Someday, perhaps when I feel I've given the industry enough of my life, I'll go back to school yet again and pursue a PhD so I can teach those future sports journalists and broadcasters. I've found in my almost 8 months at OU that some undergrads do listen to what you say. It's nice to get them when they're young, before they get into that tired old newsroom routine.
When it comes down to it, I want to influence all audiences.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Jaimie – Expanding the Body of Knowledge
Thus far in my studies, it has been difficult for me to truly understand how to significantly add to the body of knowledge. I have many ideas, but finding one that is fresh and vastly different from studies that I’ve read has become a task for me.
For conducting research in general, I like to start by going to the OU library’s website and searching for books on my general topic. From there, I use the databases to help me find articles and studies on the topic. Here are two on the ones I go to first. This website is directly linked to the library. But the cool thing about it is that it searches multiple databases at one time. It sorts through J-Store and Article First. The second database is Communication and Mass Media Complete.
Expanding the body of knowledge is very important because we can’t sit around and dig in the same holes for something new to emerge. Technology is on our side, and when it progresses, scholarly research must progress also. In fact, expanding the body of knowledge is so important, that mass communication scholars host conferences every year to share the new things they’ve learned. AEJMC is one of the conferences whose purpose is to share research information. I recently submitted a paper to this conference along with two other colleagues.
Two of the pros to expanding the body of knowledge are that if you run out of areas to research, you can attempt to shift your research into a new paradigm. Doing this can give you a fresh perspective for conceiving and carrying out research ideas.
Secondly, technology provides a new area of research for almost all theories. Looking to technological advances for inspiration might be helpful. Here’s an example of how technology is helping the mass communication industry.
A con to expanding the body of knowledge is that you want to have a new idea. This can be hard to come by after reading so many articles with great ideas. You have innovative but also draw from other scholars’ mistakes and shortcomings. Patience is key! But in the end, you will find a new area to explore and share with the world.
For conducting research in general, I like to start by going to the OU library’s website and searching for books on my general topic. From there, I use the databases to help me find articles and studies on the topic. Here are two on the ones I go to first. This website is directly linked to the library. But the cool thing about it is that it searches multiple databases at one time. It sorts through J-Store and Article First. The second database is Communication and Mass Media Complete.
Expanding the body of knowledge is very important because we can’t sit around and dig in the same holes for something new to emerge. Technology is on our side, and when it progresses, scholarly research must progress also. In fact, expanding the body of knowledge is so important, that mass communication scholars host conferences every year to share the new things they’ve learned. AEJMC is one of the conferences whose purpose is to share research information. I recently submitted a paper to this conference along with two other colleagues.
Two of the pros to expanding the body of knowledge are that if you run out of areas to research, you can attempt to shift your research into a new paradigm. Doing this can give you a fresh perspective for conceiving and carrying out research ideas.
Secondly, technology provides a new area of research for almost all theories. Looking to technological advances for inspiration might be helpful. Here’s an example of how technology is helping the mass communication industry.
A con to expanding the body of knowledge is that you want to have a new idea. This can be hard to come by after reading so many articles with great ideas. You have innovative but also draw from other scholars’ mistakes and shortcomings. Patience is key! But in the end, you will find a new area to explore and share with the world.
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