Skills and Attributes for New Public Relations Professionals

Dave Fleet's blog post 14 Key Skills & Attributes for New Public Relations Professionals was extremely eye opening and incredibly relevant to not only our research class, but also the stage we are in now as PR majors with changes in technology happening faster than ever.
This article really reminded me of the first few chapters in the Solis book, particularly with the emphasis on this current transition between more traditional tools, skills and strategies and the newer methods that have presented themselves recently with the advent of online opportunities.
I appreciate that even though Fleet's focus is on the newer attributes he recommends for PR hopefuls, he still encourages knowledge of and practice with the older methodologies. I feel, no matter how technologically advanced our world becomes, writing will always be one of the most vital skills to have. Just as with writing, communication skills will never stop being important, and being attentive to details will continue to show readers your reliability as a source, as well as the degree of commitment you hold to your work.
I found it very interesting to read over his recommendations for 'newer' PR. I think the most common devices on the internet today (and by most common, I mean what most people are most familiar with) are the online social networking tools such as Facebook and Linkedin. I feel they're so famous because of the mass use they get (specifically Facebook) from not only people in the PR and journalism fields, but also, just the everyday person.
I, too, fall in line with the millions, perhaps even billions, of others around the globe who have Facebook accounts. And my entrance into the Facebook world wasn't inspired by college, classes, PR or even the consideration that Facebook could possibly affect (either negatively or postively) my job outlook in the future. It was influenced by the fact that my friends were doing it, it seemed 'cool' and fun, and I wanted to stay in contact with people after graduating high school.
Now, being able to recognize Facebook as so much more than a fun hobby and cool tool to update my friends on how amazing this episode of The Office is, I've already gained a much better understanding of what it can provide for me in the future.
But beyond Facebook and my recent practice with blogging, I need work--and a lot of it. Fleet mentions the importance of coding with HTML and PHP. He also stresses his belief that knowledge of search engine optimization is key information to have. This opens my eyes to the heavy reality that I need to start learning and using these tools now. And I can't simply test the waters with my feet, but rather dive head first in the deep end, submerging myself in every opportunity I can while I still have the chance. I'm still in college. This is the perfect time. Within a year, I'll be graduated and out in the 'real world' when knowledge of these things will really count and my expertise in them could make or break my prospect of a job offer.

Traditional vs. New Journalism

I've just finished reading the first few chapters of Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakendridge's book Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.

The fourth chapter and its overall theme really stuck out to me. It discusses the recent shift from newspapers and magazines to online media (mentioning the extreme decrease in newspaper sales in the past few years). It then goes on to acknowledge the current quandary and discussion surrounding the topic of traditional versus new journalism. Are those who blog considered journalists, or do they fall into a separate category?

As the book mentions, journalists who graduated even ten years ago, all had the same messages, lessons and information crammed into their brains during their college careers: Tell the truth; Always fact-check; Grammar and spelling are of utter importance; Keep promises with sources; Get at least two independent sources to back up information; and so on. The key message here stresses the integrity and honesty of journalists through their relationships with their sources, audiences, editors, plus their precise and accurate storytelling.

Looking back to my Media Writing I class, I feel like I was I was taught these things, with the course focusing on the use of the AP Stylebook, as well as the accuracy and conciseness of my stories.

However, I feel like my peers and I are in a transition stage, between this 'traditional' perspective and a new up-and-coming view that's emerged from the advent of new technology and online opportunity.

The ethics involving online blogging are straying away from traditional journalism, and in all reality, how could we truly expect them to adhere to something so incredibly different? Like Solis and Breakenridge mention, blogging has become more about discussions—with tools like commenting and the ability to go into a post at any moment and make immediate changes—as opposed to a simple one-way street of providing information, like with newspaper writing. Now others are having a say in bloggers' stories, being able to leave feedback, contribute information and correct mistakes if they're there.

While no formal code of ethics is in place for these 'citizen journalists,' I think it's truly important to maintain the same core values writing for your blog as you would writing a newspaper article.

In the long run, I believe it'll be your loss if you become too carefree in your facts and don't take the time to check accuracy and spelling. Audiences are smart. They'll catch on. Readers won't continue to read blogs muddled with inaccurate information, dishonesty and garbled punctuation and spelling making them difficult to read.

I guess we'll see what the future holds.

First Blog Post

I'm in my strategic communications research class with Ellen right now!