Jun

15

Thanks for a great semester

June 15, 2010 | | Leave a Comment

TGC is closed for the summer. We’ll get back to blogging in September.

May

29

Learning To Deal With Crisis

May 29, 2010 | | Leave a Comment

The first thing you hear is a scream, then comes crying. In a split second you need to react to what just happened. A child has fallen and is bleeding. You rush to the child to perform the first aid procedures that you were taught but never thought you would need to use.

This is an example of a situation that a summer recreation leader encounters working with children. During the past eight summers, I have worked as a recreation leader for Millbrae, Calif. and encountered many situations that required me to act quickly and aid a child in need.

I believe that the situations I encountered working as a summer recreation leader helped prepare me for a future in public relations and, more importantly, how to deal with crisis situations. Having to act quickly to help a child in need is similar to having to act quickly when something goes wrong for a business. There is no time to be shocked by the situation; a business communicator needs to act quickly to help resolve the situation.

One of the best examples of a company acting quickly to resolve a crisis is Johnson & Johnson in 1982. Several people died from taking Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide. The response from Johnson & Johnson was quick. It pulled all Tylenol off the shelves, issued statements and redesigned Tylenol to prevent tampering with the product again. This type of rapid response is critical when dealing with a crisis situation.

Because of the quick reaction from Johnson & Johnson, Tylenol bounced back from an incident that could have crippled the company. Tylenol bounced back quicker than anyone could have imagined because it acted quickly and put the public’s health before its own bottom line. After studying this situation in many of my public relations classes, I think I would have done the same thing that Johnson & Johnson did.

There are a lot of things a student can learn in school and through internships, but directly dealing with a crisis is the best teacher of all. After dealing with injured children for eight summers, I think I know how I will react in a crisis but hope that day never comes.

- Patrick Dorn

May

16

Adjusting my ambitions

May 16, 2010 | | 1 Comment

Like many creative fields, graphic design is extremely competitive and having a degree in design doesn’t guarantee a job if your talent cannot support it. Fortunately, the field itself is very diverse, and new technologies are helping to create new ventures for graphic designers. What I find challenging is where my skill set and objectives fit in.

In high school I became involved with the yearbook staff and found a passion for graphic design.

When I first enrolled at Chico State, my intentions were to become a publication designer and work for either a yearbook publication company or a magazine. Recently during my experience with Tehama Group Communications, I have found myself interested in corporate identity.

At first, the change in my ambitions scared me, and I began to question all of my work to date. Once I stopped thinking about trying to fit within a pigeonhole, I was able to realize the importance of building a portfolio with a lot of variety. Employers might be looking to hire you for a particular project but also want to see how far your skill set can expand.

I know that it is common sense to continuously develop your skills, but I had always thought of myself as a particular type of a designer. This experience has taught me to always leave my options open. As a designer, it is important for to grow as the field does.

- Katie Scott

May

16

Building bridges with diversity

May 16, 2010 | | 2 Comments

Four years ago, I made one of the best decisions of my life. I chose to attend Chico State to pursue a degree in journalism.

I knew I wanted to attend Chico State from the first moment I stepped on its campus. Aside from the campus being physically beautiful, I felt immediately at home walking the pathways around campus.

I believe Chico’s accepting and supportive community make it such a comfortable place to live and go to school. That’s why I was shocked to learn that Chico State’s Associated Students president, Joseph Igbineweka, was stabbed the morning of April 18 while walking in a Chico neighborhood near the university. The attack was suspected to be racially motivated.

After hearing this news, I was disappointed. How could this happen in Chico? Chico State values diversity and is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff.

I know this because for the past year, I’ve been an account executive on Chico State’s biannual diversity newsletter, Building Bridges. Working on this newsletter with the Office of Diversity has provided me with the opportunity to learn all about Chico State’s diversity programs and efforts to make our campus more inclusive. It’s also opened my eyes to the importance of having a diverse community and respecting all people no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation.

The crime that took place against my peer was nothing short of disgraceful. Crimes like the one committed against Igbineweka are unacceptable and reflect badly on our university.

Luckily, Chico State is a community of accepting and supportive people, despite the actions of one person against Igbineweka. You can see proof of this in the spring 2010 edition of the diversity newsletter, published by Tehama Group Communications.

This edition showcases stories about Chico State’s diversity action plan, the Veteran Education Support Team and a profile on a Chico State graduate student training to compete in the Miss Black USA pageant. Most importantly, it highlights all of the amazing diversity efforts at Chico State.

Seeing the Chico State community support Igbineweka and take a stand against crime in Chico made me proud to be a Chico State student. Working on Building Bridges for the past year and writing about the wonderful events and people promoting diversity on our campus have also made me proud to be a Chico State student. It reiterated for me why I chose to attend Chico State and why I fell in love with this place four years ago.

- Jozlynn Rush

May

14

Learning from ‘Lost’

May 14, 2010 | | Leave a Comment

The Gleek that I am will not allow me to watch “Lost” on Tuesdays; I love Hurley, but I love Mr. Schuester more.

Because my workload has been winding down this week, I have been able to catch up on the Island’s happenings, and it has made me think. Though his intentions are bad, Not-Locke has been a master at image control – at least until he tried to kill everybody.

This has been highly impressive to a budding public relations specialist. While I don’t plan to represent organizations or people like Not-Locke, who I think is the Antichrist, I can take some notes on his very good PR strategies.

1. If you need something, don’t be afraid to ask for it.

Just as Not-Locke asked Sayid to retrieve the package Widmore was hiding, I will need to be confident enough to ask my colleagues when I need something. Whether I need help editing, information on a possible contact or sympathy during a hard day, the ability to ask for help will play a vital role in my success as a PR professional.

2. Plan carefully ahead of time and make contingency plans.

The Man in Black had to plot for years to kill Jacob. If you’re not a “Lost” fan, this is where things get confusing. The Man in Black had to plan a way to persuade someone to kill Jacob and then to find a way for that person to kill himself. This is why The Man in Black, who is the smoke monster and possible Antichrist, had to become Not-Locke. And Not-Locke knew he could not trust the remaining candidates to follow his plan, so he made backup plans that would help him achieve his ultimate goal.

Planning is what makes or breaks you in the PR industry. You cannot count on everything to go right, but you can at least make sure you have everything prepared in case it doesn’t. Throughout this semester, Tehama Group Communications has been faced with different situations that have required backup plans and a lot of running around. I admire my colleagues for their keen abilities to stay calm while they find a replacement, do something over or complete multiple tasks at once in order to keep the client satisfied with the agency. TGC has run very well this semester because of all the consultants’ abilities to reorganize and move on, which is just like the writers for “Lost” did when they moved on to find an ending that could explain at least most of what has happened on the Island.

3. Choose your words carefully.

Not-Locke couldn’t say he needed everyone dead, so he just said he needed everyone. This is often the misunderstood part of PR. When the public finds out that a company has directed their PR people to withhold something, they generally get really angry. But as a PR professional, I will be expected to withhold things from the public until we are ready for them to know. Toyota offers a good example of a company should listen to its PR department. Recently, e-mails have been found that give the impression that Toyota did not want to announce a second recall in a year, but the vice president for environment and public affairs said it was time to “come clean.” Had Toyota planned to go public from the start, the company could have avoided the media frenzy and public panic.

4. Don’t ignore the competition.

Widmore is out there and so is Jacob’s ghost. Not-Locke can’t ignore that. Widmore will continue to work against Not-Locke until control over the Island is finally settled. Coca-Cola Co. always keeps an eye on PepsiCo Inc., and it is Coca-Cola’s PR people that keep track of every move. Knowing who you are up against is part of planning and being prepared for what might happen.

Now if only “Lost” could use some good PR to beat “Glee” in the ratings and “Mad Men” at awards shows.

- Joanna Eisenberg