The Enhancement of the News Release

With the vast innovations of Web 2.0, news releases had to be modified for the new era. As technology emerged, news releases transformed into a good resource for journalists and the general audience. The need to obtain relevant and detailed material from news releases became prominent, and the features need to have a good news release became very important. The readings from the book PR 2.0-New Media, New Tools, New Audiences, believes that there should be changes to the news release in order to be appealing to journalists. The book specifies that news releases should have RSS feeds to link the subject matter to its content and vice versa, "photo libraries with high resolution, MP3 files, video footage for Video-On-Demand (VOD), links to previous coverage on a topic with the ability to use del.icio.us or Digg for social bookmarking, and Technorati" because it is a good site that has an abundance of sources worldwide. All of these prerequisites are good innovations that would not only revitalize the news release but make it appealing to the new age.

I believe that the news release is an important artifact to keep around. The news release has helped journalists come along this far and what better way to incorporate it into the new age than by enhancing it with new Web 2.0 innovations.

Twitter Podcast

Web 2.0 has made massive changes to communication. The internet has brought upon a new age of social media and with it new ways of interaction. Twitter, a social media site has become one of the leading tools used for the average person, journalists, and companies. With social media at its highest, Twitter has become commonly used among the "average joe". The average person uses Twitter for their kids grades, amber alerts, announcements, store promotions to say the least. With Twitter the community is able to obtain information in seconds and be able to spark a conversation.
In addition to the uses of the average person, Twitter is also used by the mass media in particular journalists. Journalists use Twitter for a variety of reasons; they use the social media site to obtain breaking news that is tweeted at the site. Journalists also obtain and perform interviews by tweeting with their interviewees. They also use Twitter as a "quality assurance" site to double check their news. Lastly, journalists use Twitter as a source of promotion site to promote their work and their stories.
Twitter is also used by companies. Businesses today have begun to use social media sites such as Twitter as a form of less expensive advertising, and a way of monitoring their brand. BusinessWeek writer Rachael King believes that companies use Twitter to "bolster their brands". She believes that companies use Twitter to monitor their customer satisfaction. The writer also states that companies also use Twitter as a form "embracing transparency". Rachael explains that companies want to have a transparent image for their employees and customers to admire.

Our group project podcast was a great example to showcase the advantages of Twitter. Our podcast consisted of showcasing the uses of twitter from an average person's, journalists, and companies perspective.Our blog consisted of showcasing the value of Twitter and the importance that this social media tool is to our community. Below is a copy of our shownote's podcast.

Show Notes
Social Media Today
00.14 Juan begins to introduce the show.
00.38 Juan introduces the various topics that will be discussed on the podcast.
00.42 Sara begins to talk about the use of Twitter for journalists.
01.49 Juan transitions topic to Kirby.
01.58 Kirby begins to talk about the advantages of Twitter for the average person.
03.01 Juan transitions topic to Joe.
03.12 Joe begins talking about the advantages of Twitter for business.
04.38 Juan ends the show.
05.13 Podcast ends.

We believe that Twitter is an excellent social media site that has countless opportunities. Twitter has evolved and is now one of the leading social media sites throughout Web 2.0. As time progresses more and more people are becoming familiar with Twitter. The community, journalists, and companies are among the least who use Twitter as a mean of expressing oneself and obtaining valuable information through a click of a button.

Media Outreach

Chapter four of the PR book describes a new way of reaching out to the media. The author describes ways for a Public Relations specialist to connect with the mass media. The book states that for a PR professional to obtain a good relationship with a journalist you must first know as much information of them as you can (Breakenridge 58). Breakenridge states that as a PR consultant, you must first use the internet and research the journalist background and obtain well-rounded information of that person. After you have completed that you must then contact the journalist depending of how they want to be contacted (Breakenridge 60). The book emphasizes for you to give detail and accurate information; the author stresses for you to have concrete information that is liable or else your reputation may end up suffering for that (Breakenridge 60). Journalists also seek reliable information that they can use for their stories. The book emphasizes for PR consultants to information that is beyond the norm (Breakendridge 60). Its also important for PR consultants to give information that can be used to meet deadlines (Breakenridge 60). The book states that with these steps, journalists are more willing to use your help.

I believe that these steps are a good start into a building a relationship with journalists. Having accurate information, and being relevant and persistant will pay off in the end. Obtaining good ties with a journalist can benefit a PR consultant throughout their career.