It is eight A.M. A group of journalism students shuffle
hurriedly into class. Some slouch
down in their chairs looking sluggish, like they hadn’t slept a wink the night
before. Some are buzzing on their
morning coffee, busily clicking through various Internet sites.
The room is bare
and sterile-looking with white walls and a shiny, white tile floor. The students take out their notebooks and stare attentively
toward the front of the room. A
tall, unfamiliar character in a blue suit stands up and introduces himself to
the class as “Buddy”.
Howard S. Price
Jr., or “Buddy” as he is commonly referred to, is a graduate of the school of
journalism at The University of South Carolina. Buddy graduated from the j-school with a degree in
advertising/public relations. At
USC he learned a wide range of skills that helped him become a successful
journalist.
“The
classes I took allowed me to get a feel for all types of journalism,” Price
said in an oral presentation to Karen Flower’s Journalism 202 class. “When I graduated I had skills in writing,
public speaking and marketing with a general understanding of the media.”
He
not only gained these skills from what he learned from classes, but also by
networking and getting involved in workshops throughout his college career. During his presentation Price stressed
the importance of networking, because it presents opportunities to meet
individuals working in the journalism field.
Price advised
students to begin networking by getting involved in an association like the
Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).
“Organizations
like these give students a chance to network by meeting alumni who graduated
from the school of journalism,” Price said.
Other than
networking he also advised students to take a Web design course as part of
their curriculum. He says the
media world has changed since he first began working as a journalist, and is
now focused on Web content instead of hard copies.
“We used to rely
on the news media to get information out, but newspapers are struggling,” Price
said. “Now there are fewer
reporters writing for print news and more writing for the Web.”
From a public relations standpoint this
has changed the way PR representatives interact with reporters.
“It has made it
harder to establish relationships with news reporters,” Price said. “They are now looking more at Twitter
than press releases to get information for their stories.”
He says students
should have experience working with Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and Web design,
because information must now be communicated through all of these channels to
reach the public and the media.
During his
presentation Price discussed another skill he believes all PR students should
learn: crisis management. Through
his professional experiences he has learned in a time of crisis it is best to
be prepared, be honest and be brief when dealing with the media.
“It is important
to build trust with the audience you are communicating with,” Price said. “Be accessible and stick to the facts.”
The second alumni
who spoke to Flower’s class was Jen Barclay. In her presentation Barclay said the two most important
skills she learned from the j-school were writing and editing.
These skills
helped her get a job freelancing for several print publications straight out of
college. The experience made her
realize she wanted a more permanent position with a more structured working
environment.
“Writing on my own
time led to many sleepless nights trying to catch up on my work, so I decided
to look for a nine-to-five job,” said Barclay.
She landed a job
working for the Girl Scouts as marketing and fund development director in late
2005. Although she loved working
with the Girl Scouts she left the organization in 2007 to take a job in the
newspaper business.
She was offered
the job by one of her mentors from USC.
He was a professor who taught one of her journalism classes. They had kept in touch after she
graduated and he knew she would be perfect for the job.
Like Buddy Price,
Barclay stressed the importance of networking because of the opportunities it
has opened for her. Because she
kept in touch with her mentor he was familiar with her personality along with
her journalistic skills and when the position opened he knew she would be
perfect for the job.
Barclay also
advised students to take Web design courses and attend workshops that teach
programs like Adobe and Flash. As
the member services coordinator for the South Carolina Press Association she uses
these programs daily when updating the company’s websites.
“I had to learn
most of the software myself by watching tutorials online,” Barclay said.
As a print
journalism major she did not think she would need skills in Web design as well
as knowledge of broadcast journalism.
She regrets not taking any broadcast journalism classes in college
because she works closely with broadcast media now.
“Get to know the
broadcast journalism students,” Barclay said. “If I did I would have a much
better understanding of how broadcast media works.”
Megan Herring, a
2009 graduate of the j-school, was the last to speak to the journalism
class. Herring pursued internships
throughout her college career to help prepare herself for the work force.
During her four
years at USC she worked for Conservation Voters of South Carolina and S & S
Communications where she held multiple leadership positions.
In her
presentation to Flower’s students she stressed the importance of pursuing
multiple internships because individuals with extra work experience stand out
to potential employers.
“If you can’t find
a paid internship, volunteer,” Herring said. “Work for a company for five hours a week and slowly move up
to a paid internship with more hours a week.”
Herring explained
how to prepare to interview for an internship. She advised the students to dress appropriately and come
prepared.
“Always wear a
suit to an interview and bring a portfolio of any work you have done,” Herring
said. “If it is your first
internship bring samples of work from your classes that show your writing
ability.
When interviewing
for her current job, she brought a portfolio of the work she had done for her
prior internships. She used the
same style and type font for each page of her portfolio to make it look neat
and presentable.
“One thing my boss
told me he liked about me when I applied was I branded myself,” Herring
said. “I had a portfolio with my
name and logo on it.”
Based on her
experiences her best advice to current students is they must be aggressive in
order to get what they want. She
says even if they are not the most qualified for the position, if they show the
employer they want it bad enough they will most likely get the job.
The economic
climate has changed significantly since Buddy Price graduated in 1975. The alumni advised students to do
whatever it takes to stand out to an employer because of how competitive the
job market is now.
“In this economy
there is no room to mess around and say ‘I want time off,’ because there is
another person behind you who wants the job and is willing to work for it,”
Herring said.
SIDEBAR
Howard S. Price
Jr. graduated from The University of South Carolina in 1975. He majored in Advertising/Public
Relations. Since graduation Price
has worked for First National Bank of South Carolina in the Master Charge
Marketing Department until 1976.
He then worked for Fort Jackson Federal Credit Union as the Director of
Marketing and Public Relations for eight years. After that Price was the Director of Community Relations for
Richland County School District One until 1995. He now works for School District Five of Lexington and
Richland Counties as the Director of Community Services. He currently handles all marketing,
internal and external communications, employee morale initiatives, media
relations, crisis management and community involvement for the school
district.
Jen Barclay is a
2005 graduate of USC where she studied print journalism and political
science. After graduation Barclay
took a job freelancing for PC
magazine and several SEC sports publications. She then worked for the Girl Scouts as Marketing and Fund
Development Director. Currently
she handles all communications, marketing, fundraising, events and member
services for the South Carolina Press Association. She is also responsible for all seven of the SCPA’s Web
sites and social networking accounts which she updates daily.
Megan Herring graduated
from The University of South Carolina in 2009 with a major in public relations
and a minor in political science. She
held various jobs throughout college, her first being the director’s assistant
for the Carolina Journalism Institute where she helped students with journalism
design, photography and writing assignments. She also worked for Scholastic Press as the Undergraduate
Assistant for the S.C. Scholastic Press Association and Southern Interscholastic
Press Association. During that
time she also worked for Conservation Voters of South Carolina where she was
Assistant to Director of Development and the Governmental Relations
Coordinator. She currently holds
two jobs. She is the Public
Relations Assistant for S & S Communications and the Assistant to Director
of Public Affairs for the South Carolina Budget and Control Board.
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