My research on this book was very interesting and at first i had my doubts about the book but at the end of the reading I noticed just how much the media is influenced just by the thought of terrrorism alone. This is my summary of how the book was in my opinion.
The media’s coverage on the acts of terrorism in recent years has been very unethical and at times very unprofessional. In the book titled, "Media, Terrorism, and Theory", it shows the myths that the international television news media have shown. CNN, BBC, NBC and other large media enterprises known around the world have changed the rules of how media shows coverage of war and media. Television journalism has shaped the public perception of the war on terrorism and the rules of how media covers it. I noticed while reading this that the media is very deceptive in showing what really goes on during these terrorism acts, which shows the media that there is not much going on within the war but in fact there is more than what the viewer thinks there is. Assumption is a one word to describe the media’s coverage of the war and its perception of how the war should be shown to the world.
The general assumption around the media world is that news media uses "myths" about the war on terrorism. During the post-Cold War, the general tone was moralistic at best and the responsible behavior of the U.S. troops was constantly at watch. Mainstream media could not put as much information as they desired to let the media know as to what was actually going on during the Cold War but people could tell from the soldiers when they came back to the U.S. that it was rather negative than positive. Not only did the Cold War bring its share of myths but also the coverage on the nuclear threat during the post-Soviet era. The argument that Iraq was in possession of nuclear weapons and skepticism from most television programs kept these threats as real. However, this was not true as Charles Duelfer, in his interim report to the U.S. Congress in October 2004, explained that the Iraqi government destroyed its last weapons of mass destruction more than a decade ago and has not even considered building new ones. However, this myth that is being televised around the world is about the U.S. spreading democracy, freedom, and human rights in the world. The "force of freedom" has shifted to the U.S. foreign policies in recent years with the U.S. and Great Britain together to put this into action. At first many countries thought this was a myth as well but in 2005 President George W. Bush stated the expansion of freedom in all the world, and he used the word "freedom" or "free" no more than twenty-seven times.
Another concept that was discovered is the morality of the media world is being overwhelmed with a growing rate of discontentment, which in turn has declined the credibility of the mass media. More people seemed to be more opinionated against military adventures and a major survey released in January 2005 showed that seven out of nine nations doubted the U.S. sincerity in the war on terror. Nearly as many respondents believe America’s ultimate aim is nothing less than world domination. Television journalism has grown throughout the years and the media on war has been one of its major reasons. At the heart of it are a number of "communicative frames" that have been routinely used in news stories. They are there to demonstrate a number of liberal claims and providing information and social surveillance. Recently it has fall short of its main goal but it is still a major part of journalism in general and exhibits more potential which is always enacted.
It also describes the production of mass media content and how it has conceded to the global corporate environment. Recent years have shown that audiences have focused on receiving the message; therefore, the concept of media today should be about letting the people know about what is going on rather than showing the people "a cloud of smoke." It shows an alternate concept, which is called the critical media consciousness. Critical media consciousness expands the critique to media production and regulation, opening up possible alternative forms of organization, and offers a different perspective to the audience. It cannot guarantee more progressive forms of media but it will bring a democratic approach to the situation.
I thought the book was very valuable and showed a lot of facts and information about how the media showed terrorism as something else to the audience’s point of view. The misconception about the war has been debated for decades, and the media’s part could make a huge difference as how people begin to look at why we should look at terrorism more carefully. I would strongly recommend this for the class because it talks about using frames, uses and gratifications, and its uses in mediated reality.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Analysis on Dr. Shelton
I was fortunate to be in attendance to hear Dr. Shelton at the University of North Alabama and I enjoyed his presentation and his overall knowledge of journalism and what it has became. I did a brief summary on how the presentation went and what I thought about it.
“If we lost our credibility, then we will have nothing.” This was stated from Mr. Shelton during his speaking at our campus of the University of North Alabama. He is a pioneer to several newspaper companies throughout Alabama and the southeast region and has covered topics that range from the Civil Rights movement to the local news that meant the best of the local people. He stated that newspapers will always have credibility because after every article the person knows who wrote it and how he or she feels about it. He described it to how people that write anonymous blogs about certain situations and when you, the people, want to know who wrote it the source is anonymous to the general public.
Newspapers will always be around because of how much local news means to the local people. For example, the south has a deep passion for their respected high school football teams. National papers do not devote their time to that but the local newspaper does and the towns that are covered know it. People say that newspapers are dying out but as Mr. Shelton explained it is like the Internet is steadily declining credibility to news because of its sources of information that are “rumors” and not factual statements. Any ordinary person can now put their opinion online and the media will take it as a potential rather than taking the time to resource it and see if it is true.
“If we lost our credibility, then we will have nothing.” This was stated from Mr. Shelton during his speaking at our campus of the University of North Alabama. He is a pioneer to several newspaper companies throughout Alabama and the southeast region and has covered topics that range from the Civil Rights movement to the local news that meant the best of the local people. He stated that newspapers will always have credibility because after every article the person knows who wrote it and how he or she feels about it. He described it to how people that write anonymous blogs about certain situations and when you, the people, want to know who wrote it the source is anonymous to the general public.
Newspapers will always be around because of how much local news means to the local people. For example, the south has a deep passion for their respected high school football teams. National papers do not devote their time to that but the local newspaper does and the towns that are covered know it. People say that newspapers are dying out but as Mr. Shelton explained it is like the Internet is steadily declining credibility to news because of its sources of information that are “rumors” and not factual statements. Any ordinary person can now put their opinion online and the media will take it as a potential rather than taking the time to resource it and see if it is true.
One-year Image Restoration for UNA
This is my one-year plan for UNA and the city of Florence. In recent developments around the Shoals community, UNA is trying to get the revenue from the Florence Golf & Country Club. I believe that there is a way that this could be resolve and also it could help the university with the relationship of the city of Florence as well.
Cedric Walls
Intro to Public Relations
Spring 2011
4/18/2011
The University of North Alabama Development and Information office has contacted our public relations program here to find a situation with UNA and the city of Florence, the Florence Golf and Country Club to be specific. Within the past year, UNA has offered to purchase the former Florence Golf and Country Club and adding more acres for $1.2 million. People are feeling very strong about this situation because of UNA being a "bad neighbor" to the city of Florence; especially, west Florence because of the fraternity parties and land encroachment. The people do have a point when it comes to having Florence as a family-town but public relations department here at UNA wants to strengthen the tide between the people and the university and work together to get more accomplished. We have proposed a 1-year proposal plan that will promote the advantages of UNA taking over the city property and improving the university’s reputation as a "good neighbor" to the city of Florence.
1st Quarter
RESEARCH
Situation- The city council has basically made their voice known and stated that they oppose the sale of the property to UNA because it is a "bad neighbor" to them. Also, the council wants to know how this will benefit them as well as benefit the University of North Alabama as a whole. In a recent survey in 2008 by economyleague.org, there were several reasons of how colleges help the economy of a city and help with its image as well. Such as:
Tourism sites for people to visit cities and more business for hotels and reservations to have.
More attraction to see the main areas of the town; for example, theatres, parks and recreational areas.
More businesses can begin to form including small businesses
Banks and other financial institutions will be stable in these areas
48% increase in sales and financial improvement throughout any cities with a college (Division I or Division II)
ACTION
OBJECTIVE- To persuade the city council of why UNA should get the property and why it would benefit them.
AUDIENCE- The primary audience in this campaign will be the people of the city council of Florence. The residents of West Florence will also be a focus point as well because the property will be around them as well. Enrollment at UNA is continuously growing by the semester and by the fall 2011 semester there will be 35% increase from the past semester as a whole. Although this plan may not develop until the spring 2012 semester, we need to make sure that the city council of Florence understands as well as the residents of West Florence that this will help the town in a long term scenario.
STRATEGY- 1) Start the 1-year plan to include a presentation to the city council of Florence at the Marriott hotel in Florence, AL with a guest appearance from Jerry Jones, an alumni from the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and NFL owner of the Dallas Cowboys, which he will discuss the advantages of branding and positive investment over a collegiate town. 2) Hire volunteers and students to set up around downtown Florence to bring an atmosphere around the city to support the campaign. 3) Look for other universities to help support such as Alabama, Auburn and etc. to help out with the campaign from their cities. Also ask their PR chapters from their respected universities to help out as well. 4) Bring in letters of endorsement from credible sources and from other businesses in the community as well as recognizable alumni as well. 5) Advertise from VNRs(video news releases) and from different radio stations throughout the Shoals area about the impact this could have.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- In January, we will begin with some research on how the university can be a positive image for the city to have more resources to be over, and which it will help the city financially. By late January to early February, we will go to the University of Alabama and Auburn to talk to their PR chapters about how we can get support from these cities and compare their financial uprising to Florence and give them a clear sense as to how much of an impact this could become. The later part of February will be for advertising and endorsements. We will have several radio show appearances around the Northwest Alabama area to promote our push for this plan and have several endorsements from different venues. The whole month of March is strictly for the arrival of Jerry Jones to appear and speak before the city council of Florence at the Marriott Hotel & Spa Resort on March 26th by which all of the popular names of Florence and the Shoals area will be in attendance.
BUDGET- The total budget for this campaign is $4,500. The majority of the money used during the 1st quarter will be towards the press releases, video news releases and individuals working towards the campaign. Since Jerry Jones is a proud Alumni of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, he was more than welcome to help out with campaign with no charge except for a few expenses.
COMMUNICATION
TACTICS
We will first have a meeting with our PR chapter with the other PR chapters from Alabama and Auburn to see what ideas are brought and see the financial differences, and what we could use to our advantage. During February, we will use our resources from our strong social media background with our websites being Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as the sources for our way to get our point across. Our goal during this time is to make sure that the city council as well as the city of Florence and the Shoals area of how much impact this decision could become and how positive it can be and how it has influenced other cities in the state of Alabama. Also, our goal is to get people buzzing about the arrival of Jerry Jones to come to Florence and speak to the people.
EVALUATION
We will analyze how many advertisements; endorsements, press releases and video news releases, and etc. were presented in the outlets and actually find out how the message affected the people of Florence. This also includes the hits on our websites like Facebook and Twitter.
2nd QUARTER
RESEARCH
SITUATION- We knew that this would send a positive atmosphere towards our campaign for the university. We know we have a limited budget but we will provide more scholarships and better investing of advertising. After our speaker, Jerry Jones, comes to visit the city of Florence, we will evaluate the success and failures from the first event and anticipate for the next event.
ACTION
OBJECTIVE- During the 2nd quarter, we will develop our relationship with the city of Florence with a week-long event that will bring the city together for a better cause. We will try to go into our budget as much as possible but will have endorsements from several companies and the same volunteers from the 1st quarter.
AUDIENCE- The primary audience will continue to be the city council of Florence but more attention will be on the citizens of Florence because we want the events to be about the people and all events are free to the public.
STRATEGY- 1) Have a committee meeting during the month of April to find out who will do what in which event. 2) We will have several events during the 4th week of April that will represent our week-long event including a scavenger hunt and an outdoor event for the public. 3) Contact several bands and talk to UNA students about advertising to the campuses as well as advertising to NW Shoals students as well. 4) After the week-long event we will conduct an event for Mother’s Day that will have a potluck dinner at a local venue. 5) Start a month-long even in June with Papa John’s for a special event on every Tuesday that will give 10% of its sales to the university and the campaign.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- In early April we will have our committee for the week-long event and have our sponsorships valid by the 2nd week of April. The week-long event will take place in the 4th week of April with a different event going on every day. In May, we will have our Mother’s Day event at Christ Chapel on Cloverdale. By June we will have our month long event with Papa John’s and we will receive 10% of its sale for every Tuesday of the month of June.
BUDGET- We will spend at most $7,500 for the 2nd quarter of our campaign event. Most of this will go towards the 4th week of our week-long event with several endorsements that will help out with the cause. The rest of the money will go towards the potluck dinner that is set up for the Mother’s Day event.
COMMUNICATIONS
TACTICS
We will have our committee meetings at the UNA campus in the conference rooms to begin planning for the "Fun in Florence" event. We will sell merchandise and shirts for the event; in which, one of the shirts will say "We Will Always Keep It FLOwing in FLOrence." Three bands from Huntsville and Florence will be a part of the outdoor event that will happen during the last night of the week-long event with a karaoke contest the day before. We will have several door prizes and games for children such as a scavenger hunt for the most eggs found, since Easter day is the 4th Sunday of April, and there will be an appearance from the UNA mascot and President Cale. Our Mother’s Day potluck dinner event will happen during the 2nd to 3rd week of May with a guest speaker from the pastor of Christ Chapel along with several other door prizes from our sponsors and a drawing for a spa treatment for Mother’s Day.
EVALUATION
We will look at how much endorsements we have received from the week-long event in April and the investments we received after our donations from Papa John’s month-long event. We will ask around our committee members after the outdoor event and see what our positive and negative comments were and try to improve from that.
3rd QUARTER
RESEARCH
SITUATION- We have the city of Florence beginning to notice how much of an impact we have with this city but we want to make the city council believe that we can be a "good neighbor" for the city as well as a good image for the university. Our focus will be on the city council and what we can do to change their opinion about us being a "neighbor" to them.
ACTION
OBJECTIVE- To focus more on the city council of Florence but make them become a ally rather than make them oppose the university.
AUDIENCE- The city council of Florence will be our main audience.
STRATEGY- 1) July and August will be a pivotal point for our campaign trail as we began to interview some local leaders of the city of Florence and figure out how the city council is taking our campaign approach. 2) Have a community clean-up day with the surrounding schools around Florence in the month of September with a weekend set up for activities for the public as well as several fundraisers. 3) During October and the middle of November, we will have a few interviews around local radio and news stations to promote the university and what message we are sending to the city council. 4) The end of November will display our whole campaign project to the city council in a schedule meeting with them to ask questions about what we are sending.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- July and August will be our discussion to the local leaders of Florence discussing what they have heard and what we can do to push our claim for more revenue. September will be our community clean-up day with several activities for fundraisers. October and November will be our push to branch out to the public and especially to the city council about why we are pushing for this campaign to be a success.
BUDGET- Since most of our stuff revolves around fundraisers and other events like that, our budget should be at most $4500, which will include food, refreshments and prizes for the scavenger hunt as well as supplies for community clean-up day.
COMMUNICATIONS
TACTICS
The plan of action for July and August will be to gain some research from people that interact with members of the city council on a regular basis. We may have to sit with them over a dinner or set up a day to talk to them, but the purpose is to find as much as possible of what they have said about our efforts. September will be about branching to different local leaders about what the university can do to help out the town; also, sponsors will be a major point in our efforts. October and November is when we will put all of our efforts on the members of the city council by answering their questions during our schedule meeting. Be precise as possible with the answers provided and have a good understanding of what they give back as feedback to our campaign.
EVALUATION
We will determine how successful this was by word-of-mouth. People will talk about our efforts to promote and see that we want to continue to help the city of Florence and how much of an impact UNA is. We will calculate how many hits we have on our websites on Twitter and Facebook; also, we will respond to any feedback we have received by the people that give it on these websites.
4th QUARTER
RESEARCH
SITUATION- We are currently at the end of our one-year campaign and have past our last 3 quarters successfully. Our scheduled meeting with the city council went well and they have supported our campaign with good feedback and a great understanding of what to expect from the university. As the end of the year comes upon us, we will look at the final project that we have and evaluate our campaign project from the first 3 quarters to now.
ACTION
OBJECTIVES- The mission is to bring a final message to the city of Florence that will have a lasting image and make a statement of our campaign.
AUDIENCE- The primary audience will be the city of Florence and targeting the local leaders and the city council members.
STRATEGY- 1) Evaluate the responses from the city council members from the meeting in November. 2) On early December, begin to set up a float that will be part of the Florence Christmas parade. 3) Acquire some volunteers, basically the ones that were used during our "Fun in Florence" event in April. 4) Let students from UNA make a VNR for their support of the campaign from the communications department. 5) Be a part of the Florence Christmas parade with our float being used.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- In early December, we will begin to set up the float that we will use for the parade. During that time we will let students make VNRs about our campaign and let the UNA campus show their support. We will spend the remainder of the year evaluating the campaign.
BUDGET- We will have a budget of $5500 to work with for this event. The majority of the money will be used for salary of the campaign and the remainder will go towards advertising of the Christmas float.
COMMUNICATION
TACTICS
The month of December is an evaluation of how our campaign has done. The volunteers will begin with the float on the 1st week of December and will be done on the 3rd week of December just before the parade. We also want the VNRs that the students will be participating in to be very creative about UNA and how it affects them in their lives while being here in Florence. The VNRs will be selected by three members of our campaign team and will be used during our evaluation presentation.
EVALUATION
The one-year campaign to bring more revenue to the university should be successful. Our overall goal is to bring credibility to the situation between the city council and the University of North Alabama. Also, we want to show the city of Florence that we can be a "good neighbor" to them. The mission of this campaign is to make sure that Florence will always have UNA as something that can help make the city grow and become better together.
Cedric Walls
Intro to Public Relations
Spring 2011
4/18/2011
The University of North Alabama Development and Information office has contacted our public relations program here to find a situation with UNA and the city of Florence, the Florence Golf and Country Club to be specific. Within the past year, UNA has offered to purchase the former Florence Golf and Country Club and adding more acres for $1.2 million. People are feeling very strong about this situation because of UNA being a "bad neighbor" to the city of Florence; especially, west Florence because of the fraternity parties and land encroachment. The people do have a point when it comes to having Florence as a family-town but public relations department here at UNA wants to strengthen the tide between the people and the university and work together to get more accomplished. We have proposed a 1-year proposal plan that will promote the advantages of UNA taking over the city property and improving the university’s reputation as a "good neighbor" to the city of Florence.
1st Quarter
RESEARCH
Situation- The city council has basically made their voice known and stated that they oppose the sale of the property to UNA because it is a "bad neighbor" to them. Also, the council wants to know how this will benefit them as well as benefit the University of North Alabama as a whole. In a recent survey in 2008 by economyleague.org, there were several reasons of how colleges help the economy of a city and help with its image as well. Such as:
Tourism sites for people to visit cities and more business for hotels and reservations to have.
More attraction to see the main areas of the town; for example, theatres, parks and recreational areas.
More businesses can begin to form including small businesses
Banks and other financial institutions will be stable in these areas
48% increase in sales and financial improvement throughout any cities with a college (Division I or Division II)
ACTION
OBJECTIVE- To persuade the city council of why UNA should get the property and why it would benefit them.
AUDIENCE- The primary audience in this campaign will be the people of the city council of Florence. The residents of West Florence will also be a focus point as well because the property will be around them as well. Enrollment at UNA is continuously growing by the semester and by the fall 2011 semester there will be 35% increase from the past semester as a whole. Although this plan may not develop until the spring 2012 semester, we need to make sure that the city council of Florence understands as well as the residents of West Florence that this will help the town in a long term scenario.
STRATEGY- 1) Start the 1-year plan to include a presentation to the city council of Florence at the Marriott hotel in Florence, AL with a guest appearance from Jerry Jones, an alumni from the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and NFL owner of the Dallas Cowboys, which he will discuss the advantages of branding and positive investment over a collegiate town. 2) Hire volunteers and students to set up around downtown Florence to bring an atmosphere around the city to support the campaign. 3) Look for other universities to help support such as Alabama, Auburn and etc. to help out with the campaign from their cities. Also ask their PR chapters from their respected universities to help out as well. 4) Bring in letters of endorsement from credible sources and from other businesses in the community as well as recognizable alumni as well. 5) Advertise from VNRs(video news releases) and from different radio stations throughout the Shoals area about the impact this could have.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- In January, we will begin with some research on how the university can be a positive image for the city to have more resources to be over, and which it will help the city financially. By late January to early February, we will go to the University of Alabama and Auburn to talk to their PR chapters about how we can get support from these cities and compare their financial uprising to Florence and give them a clear sense as to how much of an impact this could become. The later part of February will be for advertising and endorsements. We will have several radio show appearances around the Northwest Alabama area to promote our push for this plan and have several endorsements from different venues. The whole month of March is strictly for the arrival of Jerry Jones to appear and speak before the city council of Florence at the Marriott Hotel & Spa Resort on March 26th by which all of the popular names of Florence and the Shoals area will be in attendance.
BUDGET- The total budget for this campaign is $4,500. The majority of the money used during the 1st quarter will be towards the press releases, video news releases and individuals working towards the campaign. Since Jerry Jones is a proud Alumni of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, he was more than welcome to help out with campaign with no charge except for a few expenses.
COMMUNICATION
TACTICS
We will first have a meeting with our PR chapter with the other PR chapters from Alabama and Auburn to see what ideas are brought and see the financial differences, and what we could use to our advantage. During February, we will use our resources from our strong social media background with our websites being Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as the sources for our way to get our point across. Our goal during this time is to make sure that the city council as well as the city of Florence and the Shoals area of how much impact this decision could become and how positive it can be and how it has influenced other cities in the state of Alabama. Also, our goal is to get people buzzing about the arrival of Jerry Jones to come to Florence and speak to the people.
EVALUATION
We will analyze how many advertisements; endorsements, press releases and video news releases, and etc. were presented in the outlets and actually find out how the message affected the people of Florence. This also includes the hits on our websites like Facebook and Twitter.
2nd QUARTER
RESEARCH
SITUATION- We knew that this would send a positive atmosphere towards our campaign for the university. We know we have a limited budget but we will provide more scholarships and better investing of advertising. After our speaker, Jerry Jones, comes to visit the city of Florence, we will evaluate the success and failures from the first event and anticipate for the next event.
ACTION
OBJECTIVE- During the 2nd quarter, we will develop our relationship with the city of Florence with a week-long event that will bring the city together for a better cause. We will try to go into our budget as much as possible but will have endorsements from several companies and the same volunteers from the 1st quarter.
AUDIENCE- The primary audience will continue to be the city council of Florence but more attention will be on the citizens of Florence because we want the events to be about the people and all events are free to the public.
STRATEGY- 1) Have a committee meeting during the month of April to find out who will do what in which event. 2) We will have several events during the 4th week of April that will represent our week-long event including a scavenger hunt and an outdoor event for the public. 3) Contact several bands and talk to UNA students about advertising to the campuses as well as advertising to NW Shoals students as well. 4) After the week-long event we will conduct an event for Mother’s Day that will have a potluck dinner at a local venue. 5) Start a month-long even in June with Papa John’s for a special event on every Tuesday that will give 10% of its sales to the university and the campaign.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- In early April we will have our committee for the week-long event and have our sponsorships valid by the 2nd week of April. The week-long event will take place in the 4th week of April with a different event going on every day. In May, we will have our Mother’s Day event at Christ Chapel on Cloverdale. By June we will have our month long event with Papa John’s and we will receive 10% of its sale for every Tuesday of the month of June.
BUDGET- We will spend at most $7,500 for the 2nd quarter of our campaign event. Most of this will go towards the 4th week of our week-long event with several endorsements that will help out with the cause. The rest of the money will go towards the potluck dinner that is set up for the Mother’s Day event.
COMMUNICATIONS
TACTICS
We will have our committee meetings at the UNA campus in the conference rooms to begin planning for the "Fun in Florence" event. We will sell merchandise and shirts for the event; in which, one of the shirts will say "We Will Always Keep It FLOwing in FLOrence." Three bands from Huntsville and Florence will be a part of the outdoor event that will happen during the last night of the week-long event with a karaoke contest the day before. We will have several door prizes and games for children such as a scavenger hunt for the most eggs found, since Easter day is the 4th Sunday of April, and there will be an appearance from the UNA mascot and President Cale. Our Mother’s Day potluck dinner event will happen during the 2nd to 3rd week of May with a guest speaker from the pastor of Christ Chapel along with several other door prizes from our sponsors and a drawing for a spa treatment for Mother’s Day.
EVALUATION
We will look at how much endorsements we have received from the week-long event in April and the investments we received after our donations from Papa John’s month-long event. We will ask around our committee members after the outdoor event and see what our positive and negative comments were and try to improve from that.
3rd QUARTER
RESEARCH
SITUATION- We have the city of Florence beginning to notice how much of an impact we have with this city but we want to make the city council believe that we can be a "good neighbor" for the city as well as a good image for the university. Our focus will be on the city council and what we can do to change their opinion about us being a "neighbor" to them.
ACTION
OBJECTIVE- To focus more on the city council of Florence but make them become a ally rather than make them oppose the university.
AUDIENCE- The city council of Florence will be our main audience.
STRATEGY- 1) July and August will be a pivotal point for our campaign trail as we began to interview some local leaders of the city of Florence and figure out how the city council is taking our campaign approach. 2) Have a community clean-up day with the surrounding schools around Florence in the month of September with a weekend set up for activities for the public as well as several fundraisers. 3) During October and the middle of November, we will have a few interviews around local radio and news stations to promote the university and what message we are sending to the city council. 4) The end of November will display our whole campaign project to the city council in a schedule meeting with them to ask questions about what we are sending.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- July and August will be our discussion to the local leaders of Florence discussing what they have heard and what we can do to push our claim for more revenue. September will be our community clean-up day with several activities for fundraisers. October and November will be our push to branch out to the public and especially to the city council about why we are pushing for this campaign to be a success.
BUDGET- Since most of our stuff revolves around fundraisers and other events like that, our budget should be at most $4500, which will include food, refreshments and prizes for the scavenger hunt as well as supplies for community clean-up day.
COMMUNICATIONS
TACTICS
The plan of action for July and August will be to gain some research from people that interact with members of the city council on a regular basis. We may have to sit with them over a dinner or set up a day to talk to them, but the purpose is to find as much as possible of what they have said about our efforts. September will be about branching to different local leaders about what the university can do to help out the town; also, sponsors will be a major point in our efforts. October and November is when we will put all of our efforts on the members of the city council by answering their questions during our schedule meeting. Be precise as possible with the answers provided and have a good understanding of what they give back as feedback to our campaign.
EVALUATION
We will determine how successful this was by word-of-mouth. People will talk about our efforts to promote and see that we want to continue to help the city of Florence and how much of an impact UNA is. We will calculate how many hits we have on our websites on Twitter and Facebook; also, we will respond to any feedback we have received by the people that give it on these websites.
4th QUARTER
RESEARCH
SITUATION- We are currently at the end of our one-year campaign and have past our last 3 quarters successfully. Our scheduled meeting with the city council went well and they have supported our campaign with good feedback and a great understanding of what to expect from the university. As the end of the year comes upon us, we will look at the final project that we have and evaluate our campaign project from the first 3 quarters to now.
ACTION
OBJECTIVES- The mission is to bring a final message to the city of Florence that will have a lasting image and make a statement of our campaign.
AUDIENCE- The primary audience will be the city of Florence and targeting the local leaders and the city council members.
STRATEGY- 1) Evaluate the responses from the city council members from the meeting in November. 2) On early December, begin to set up a float that will be part of the Florence Christmas parade. 3) Acquire some volunteers, basically the ones that were used during our "Fun in Florence" event in April. 4) Let students from UNA make a VNR for their support of the campaign from the communications department. 5) Be a part of the Florence Christmas parade with our float being used.
CALENDAR/TIMETABLE- In early December, we will begin to set up the float that we will use for the parade. During that time we will let students make VNRs about our campaign and let the UNA campus show their support. We will spend the remainder of the year evaluating the campaign.
BUDGET- We will have a budget of $5500 to work with for this event. The majority of the money will be used for salary of the campaign and the remainder will go towards advertising of the Christmas float.
COMMUNICATION
TACTICS
The month of December is an evaluation of how our campaign has done. The volunteers will begin with the float on the 1st week of December and will be done on the 3rd week of December just before the parade. We also want the VNRs that the students will be participating in to be very creative about UNA and how it affects them in their lives while being here in Florence. The VNRs will be selected by three members of our campaign team and will be used during our evaluation presentation.
EVALUATION
The one-year campaign to bring more revenue to the university should be successful. Our overall goal is to bring credibility to the situation between the city council and the University of North Alabama. Also, we want to show the city of Florence that we can be a "good neighbor" to them. The mission of this campaign is to make sure that Florence will always have UNA as something that can help make the city grow and become better together.
Monday, December 7, 2009
AT&T 3g Coverage
AT&T has been known for promoting their efficient 3g coverage. Unfortunately, their coverage is not currently available everywhere. Florence is one of those areas that does not offer 3g coverage. I am not doubting the quality of AT&T as a phone service, but some of their newest commercials and advertisements include statements that are not necessarily true for every location. I am an AT&T user, but lack service in many places (even my apartment). Also, those who have the Iphone can not use every feature without access to a working 3g network. The company previously stated that towers around the area would be updated by February 2009, but now they are saying that it will not be until "first quarter 2010".
The mobile market is one of the most competitive today. All phone companies have had to step up their game to survive the economic recession. AT&T is known for using celebrity endorsements and humorous content to promote their products. They also do not hesitate say slanderous comments about their competitors.
Do you think AT&T's advertisements are misleading to the public? Also, do you think their advertising methods are an effective way to promote their products or do you think they are merely trying to mask some unfortunate truths about their phone service?
The mobile market is one of the most competitive today. All phone companies have had to step up their game to survive the economic recession. AT&T is known for using celebrity endorsements and humorous content to promote their products. They also do not hesitate say slanderous comments about their competitors.
Do you think AT&T's advertisements are misleading to the public? Also, do you think their advertising methods are an effective way to promote their products or do you think they are merely trying to mask some unfortunate truths about their phone service?
New Compurters Feature Face Detection Logins
The latest computers have become so innovative that they now include a new face detection login feature. Instead of typing in a password to log on, when a user turns the computer on it automatically scans their face and immediately logs the user in to their personal settings. The function can be turned on or off depending on the user's preference.
Do you think this new way to personalize your computer is a good development in the right direction for security purposes?
Do you think this new way to personalize your computer is a good development in the right direction for security purposes?
Friday, December 4, 2009
The end of television as your parents knew it?
This is a watershed moment in the history of television. General Electric and Comcast have announced a deal to sell 51% ownership in NBC-Universal to Comcast. GE will retain 49% ownership. All sorts of observations, comments, complaints and allegations are already appearing as to what this sale will mean to future television viewing. I can't identify all levels of impact but here are some observations:
1. Comcast could have a greater ability to influence (restrict) the amount of free online content. Their motive is to collect not just eyeballs that are sold to advertisers, but to generate revenue through subscription services.
2. Cable subscriptions could lead to anywhere, anytime television. A cable subscription could lead to a "mobile" or online license to view content.
3. Content may appear on proprietary websites. Instead of sending programming to Hulu.com or elsewhere, the programming could be warehoused on a Comcast site--available only to Comcast cable subscribers.
4. Ownership diversity shrinks further. Larger scale will be needed across all media industries to compete. As companies get larger, the number of owners will shrink.
5. Over-the-air television will likely operate but the need for the sheer number of free TV stations may shrink--especially if more and more programming migrates to on demand availability.
6. Appointment viewing shrinks; there will be less emphasis on watching a program at a specific time when it can be found at any time through a subscription service. (This trend is likely even without the Comcast/NBC-U deal.)
7. This is a pivotal moment for the Federal Communications Commission as it looks at historic regulatory trends and economic analysis to determine marketplace competition and how it should respond to this business deal.
8. Expect the Justice Department to examine the deal--just as they did the XM/Sirius deal (approved), the DirectTV/Dish merger (not approved) and don't forget about the DOJ breakup of AT&T--a reverse strategy to current media trends.
9. Expect another big deal in the next 18 months.
See these articles in The Washington Post:
http://ComcastNBCU-Friday.notlong.com AND http://WashPost-Friday2.notlong.com
1. Comcast could have a greater ability to influence (restrict) the amount of free online content. Their motive is to collect not just eyeballs that are sold to advertisers, but to generate revenue through subscription services.
2. Cable subscriptions could lead to anywhere, anytime television. A cable subscription could lead to a "mobile" or online license to view content.
3. Content may appear on proprietary websites. Instead of sending programming to Hulu.com or elsewhere, the programming could be warehoused on a Comcast site--available only to Comcast cable subscribers.
4. Ownership diversity shrinks further. Larger scale will be needed across all media industries to compete. As companies get larger, the number of owners will shrink.
5. Over-the-air television will likely operate but the need for the sheer number of free TV stations may shrink--especially if more and more programming migrates to on demand availability.
6. Appointment viewing shrinks; there will be less emphasis on watching a program at a specific time when it can be found at any time through a subscription service. (This trend is likely even without the Comcast/NBC-U deal.)
7. This is a pivotal moment for the Federal Communications Commission as it looks at historic regulatory trends and economic analysis to determine marketplace competition and how it should respond to this business deal.
8. Expect the Justice Department to examine the deal--just as they did the XM/Sirius deal (approved), the DirectTV/Dish merger (not approved) and don't forget about the DOJ breakup of AT&T--a reverse strategy to current media trends.
9. Expect another big deal in the next 18 months.
See these articles in The Washington Post:
http://ComcastNBCU-Friday.notlong.com AND http://WashPost-Friday2.notlong.com
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Death of Discourse!
"I'm an addict. I just get lost in Facebook," Newton said. "My daughter gets so PO'd at me, and really it is kind of pathetic. It's not something I'm particularly proud of. I just get so sucked in."
Newton (that's not her real name; she's embarrassed by her Facebook use and requested anonymity) says she spends about 20 hours a week on the social networking site, half the time for work -- she runs an online business -- and half just for fun. She's tried to cut down on her Facebook use but failed.
"I can go a whole day without Facebook," she said. "But I've never made it through an entire weekend."
Although there are no statistics on "Facebook addiction" -- it isn't an actual medical diagnosis -- therapists say they're seeing more and more people like Newton who've crossed the line from social networking to social dysfunction.
(CNN) -- One day recently, Cynthia Newton's 12-year-old daughter asked her for help with homework, but Newton didn't want to help her, because she was too busy on Facebook. So her daughter went upstairs to her room and sent an e-mail asking her for help, but Newton didn't see the e-mail, because, well, she was too busy on Facebook. "Last Friday, I had three clients in my office with Facebook problems," said Paula Pile, a marriage and family therapist in Greensboro, North Carolina. "It's turned into a compulsion -- a compulsion to dissociate from your real world and go live in the Facebook world." 
Watch more on Facebook addiction »
So how do you know when your Facebook use has turned into a compulsion? You can take Pile's "Facebook Compulsion Inventory" to find out.
Pile and the other therapists interviewed for this article were quick to say that Facebook itself isn't the problem and that the vast majority of its 200 million users probably function just fine.
She says problems arise when users ignore family and work obligations because they find the Facebook world a more enjoyable place to spend time than the real world.
I think that websites like facebook and twitter are a contribution to the death of discourse, among many other things. I personally know a lot of people whose relationships have been ruined because of Facebook, and i also know people who prefer to talk through facebook rather than actual person-to-person communication. Is this an issue with anybody else? How do you think people can realize that this website is another factor with the death of discourse?
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