Tag: PR

PR, Press Releases

SouthNEXT: A festival for the collision of art and technology celebrates four years

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 Social Media Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 9, 2018

 

Contact: Stephen Schnall

Email: sschnall@southorange.org

  • SouthNext’18 will take place from Nov. 10 to 11
  • According to Stephen Schnall, the founder and producer of SouthNEXT, tickets are FREE for Seton Hall personnel
  • Wristbands for all other attendees are $20
  • Sponsors: Saint Barnabas Medical Center/RWJBarnabas Health, Seton Hall University, The Township of South Orange Village, South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC), Stop & Shop, South Orange Village Center.

Now in its fourth year, the SouthNEXT Festival will celebrate the current state of art and technology and look ahead to the future, exploring how the two collide. SouthNext will run from Saturday, Nov. 10 to Sunday, Nov. 11. The first day’s events will be held at SOPAC with the second day at Seton Hall University.

According to SouthNEXT’s founder and producer Stephen Schnall, the Festival is taking a different perspective this year as compared to years past. He said Seton Hall and it’s students will play a larger role in the event.

SouthNext (2)
Photo via Facebook/SouthNEXT

“Seton Hall has a much larger role in that the expectation is that half of the venues, performers, and attendees come from the school this year,” he explained.

He went on to say that the closing session “Mindfulness in the Community, What comes NEXT” will feature residents from South Orange and Maplewood, a SHU religion professor and two student representatives from the “Concerned 44.”

He added that tickets are free for all Seton Hall personnel, including students. All attendees have to do is click the “Get  Tickets“ button on the website and pick the SHU option. Other participants will need a $20 wristband for entry.

Schnall said that this year’s themes will include mindfulness, technology, community engagement and inspiration. These ideas, he said, will be apparent in all sessions and activities throughout the weekend. For example, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive mural on Saturday, from 12 to 6 p.m. According to the SouthNEXT website, the mural is comprised of colorful and movable pieces with which people can come together and create what inspires them. The activity will be led by Elina Rosenblum, founder of BlumArts LLC. The website explained Rosenblum’s connection to the artistic community.

“Her curiosity in applying herself to different forms of arts pushes her to experiment, generate tons of ideas and seek creative solutions,” the statement read. “Her desire is to bring beauty and joy to the world by transforming public or homely spaces from dull into delightful with the benefits of color therapy.”

This is just one example of the insightful people and engaging activities attendees will encounter at SouthNext’18!

According to the Festival’s “About” page, SouthNEXT aims to bring the diverse community of South Orange together for the exchange of ideas. One aspect of this is challenging people’s beliefs about what is possible. However, recognizing unity and the “collision” of interests is important to event organizers.

DISCLAIMER: This press release is for a class assignment for my COJR 3422 course at Seton Hall University.

 

 

Change, Journalism, PR

A new way to think about news releases

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According to PR News, the format and delivery of news releases is changing. What was once thought of as a useful tool to  disseminate important updates or a public statement is now much more. The article explains that news releases should be put out often, essentially following any company update and they should be interactive. This includes a multimedia approach with links to related content, audio, video or images.

The new way of looking at news releases coincides with the popularity of the Internet. More and more people consume of the news through this medium. In fact, as of August 2017, the Pew Research Center reported that 43 percent of American adults often get their news online.

news release post photo
Photo via Unsplash/andrewtneel

The multimedia aspect shows the way in which web content broadens the possibilities of news coverage. Take, for example, a New York Times video on the New York transit system. Here, one can see an organization that is perhaps best known for its print content, producing a video that contains text, references to other material, audio and fast-paced editing. If viewers wanted, they could click off and do independent research based on the people and facts referenced. Also, the pacing and some of the stylistic choices would make it appear as though the Times is targeting the younger audience finding its news on the web.

Since the nature of the Internet is such that it is updated constantly with new content, public relations professionals need to keep the flow of new information about a product or brand going at a consistent rate. Otherwise, there is a danger there that the brand has become “old news” and not worth the audience’s attention.

A final important way to engage the audience is by allowing them to engage with the content. Other than links to follow, many readers would likely enjoy being a part of the conversation.  The article, video or press release functions as a diving board. Now, let them jump in and give their opinions. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, either by adding a comments section to the piece or website or providing contact information to whom readers can voice their questions, concerns and thoughts.

News releases are no longer disseminated to the public solely at the discretion of an editor publisher. The web allows for direct access to these important updates. As I have said in many of my past posts, the audience is fast becoming the journalist. That also means an added layer of responsibility to decide what is news.

Blogging, Journalism, PR, Social Media

Twitter: A useful tool or the downfall of journalism and PR?

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Okay, admittedly, the title of this week’s post is a bit dramatic and also implies that there is a clear answer. Ultimately, I land somewhere in the middle.

Twitter has its uses, both for journalism and PR. As Forbes suggests, PR professionals can use the platform for announcements, news releases and contest launches among other tactics. In a 2012 post, the late Steve Buttry laid out 10 reasons why journalists should be on Twitter, all of which seem valid. I particularly identified with his top reason, finding breaking news. As Campus Life Editor for Seton Hall University’s The Setonian, I routinely look for stories on social media. 

However, to put it bluntly, there is a risk of getting caught up in the platform and becoming lazy. Based on experience, I can more easily relate to how this affects journalism as opposed to PR. Most journalists cite Twitter as a key place to look for sources. Many articles even have embedded tweets in them as a means of gauging public response to news.  However, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) many accounts on Twitter are in fact bots and not real people.

Twitter pic
Photo via Unsplash/Marten Bjork

There is a way to check on this. For example, running account name through Botometer can help determine if the account is real or not.  Since bots are usually designed to participate and share in the spread of propagandized information, a journalist who does not verify his or her source could unwittingly be aiding in this goal.

However, if a journalist or PR professional is careful about their source aggregation, Twitter can doubtlessly be a useful tool. Individuals in both professions can find a litany of ways to gain followers and spread their messages and stories. One way to gain followers on Twitter is to add your name to a directory, as per the Forbes article. If  people want information on a certain topic, you can be listed as a go-to source. If the content is engaging enough, you will likely have yourself a new follower. Forbes also mentions the benefit of adding a twitter widget to your blog, like the one on mine. If you regularly keep your Twitter account updated with regard to upcoming posts and news, visitors to the blog will see that and may follow you to keep updated.

Even though, at the outset of this post, I said I landed somewhere in the middle on Twitter being a must or not for journalism and PR, I will conclude by saying that there are far too many benefits to the platform to ignore it completely. Another way to look at the fields I just mentioned is to point out that they both involve communication. Social media, whether it be Twitter; Facebook; Instagram or whatever platform to be introduced in the years to come, has become the way billions across the globe communicate and connect. To ignore this change is to be in the dark when it comes to the media industry.

On that note, for the latest on what is happening with Julie’s Corner be sure to follow me on Twitter at @SHUSocialJulie.  If you’re interested to learn more about what’s happening at Seton Hall, check out the blog I run with a classmate, Campus Rundown! We can be reached at @CampusRundown.

PR, Social Media, Upcoming events

Stacey Bender to visit SHU

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Stacey Bender, CEO of Bender Group Public Relations, will be coming to speak at Seton Hall on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Schwartz Hall Room 105. Those interested in her discussion will witness a PR professional that seems to defy expectations. According to NJBIZ, Bender founded her company in 1995, as a mother to four children all under the age of seven. The article frames her as a woman dedicated to both family and business.

These values are evident down to the very structure of her company. On the company website, the Bender “team”, seemingly all upper management, is comprised of only four people, with Bender included. In addition, Bender’s brother, Barry, serves as the company’s CFO. This is not to say that Bender blindly promotes her family members, necessarily. In his bio on the website, Barry Bender has a notable list of experiences, including his eight years as the director of internal audit for Tropicana. This is the main point at which Bender defies expectation. She seems to maintain a wide range of clients and  a high degree of professionalism while still keeping a relationship with her clients, at least that is how she describes her day-to-day business in the NJBIZ piece. 

apple computer desk laptop
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

However, Bender is not the only one who says her company has a personal touch. A quick search on Glassdoor, a website where current and former employees and interns share their experiences at a company, finds that many people note Bender Group PR’s small staff as a positive feature. Glassdoor lists the company size as no more than 50 employees total. It is likely less. The company also announced in June via Twitter that they welcomed in office dog named Sadie, adding to the personal feel.

One Glassdoor user explained that the staff size presents a challenge to consistently stay on top of the workload but that it, overall, served them well as a first experience in the PR world.

The company’s size begs the question of how such a small firm could attract names like Freshpet and Frank’s Red Hot to be among their clients.  Perhaps these questions and more will be answered at the discussion!

Bender Group PR is located in Montclair, NJ. The PR professionals there specialize in media placement, crisis management and social media among other facets of the PR world.

All are welcome to attend the discussion regardless of year or major. However, PR and journalism students are encouraged to attend.