The Big 3 Auto Companies and Bad PR

This past week in my marketing class we were discussing the Big 3 Auto companies and their plea for a bailout plan and how bad PR could have gotten in the way of congress taking the automakers side. These 3 CEOs were in desperate need of good public relations advice. Instead of showing up on extravagant private jets, the CEOs of the auto companies should have traveled economy class to make of point of the distress their companies are facing. Also when the CEOs spoke in front of congress, they were extremely ill prepared. Before their trip to Washington they should have had their PR advisors and others grilling them on the tough questions, so they would be fully prepared to face the heat. I believe that congress, along with the public eye, would have sympathized more strongly with the automaker CEOs if they would have gotten some great PR advice before their disastrous trip to Washington. 

Coming to the End of Semester

As this semester draws to a close, I began thinking about all that I have accomplished in ADPR 181. I must say, this class has challenged me to stretch all of my Public Relations skills putting together the client portfolio. Overall, I believe this portfolio was a positive experience. I have put together PR pieces that I never have before, and it was a great experience. Working with Our Next Generation has been a rewarding experience, both in the sense of accomplishing this project, but also in the sense that it has opened my eyes to those not as fortunate. Our Next Generation strives to serve the urban youth of Milwaukee through educational programs. Meeting some of the students that attend ONG, along with working with Michelle Schuerman, the marketing director, has been an experience that I greatly enjoyed. Hopefully, the portfolio I have put together reflects the enjoyment I have gotten out of the experience. 

Twitter Response to Mumbai

I thought that the CNN article Tweeting the Terror: How Social Media Reacted to Mumbai showed the importance of social media. This Thanksgiving, my family was asking me about Twitter. Although I am not a Twitter "expert" I answered their questions and explained how Twitter sometimes had breaking news within minutes of it happening. This article proved this to be true because right after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai over 80 "tweets" were being written every five seconds with eye witness accounts of what was going on. This proved to be informative and helpful because contact numbers and hotlines were given to locate family and friends and a list of dead and injured was online right away. Also, there was information on hospitals needing blood donations to help the injured. This goes to show how useful and pertinent social media is in today's society. I feel that in the future more people will be using twitter to gain information on breaking news.