Journalist: Gatekeepers of the News

Has Online Media Killed The Gatekeepers?

“The gatekeepers of news have lost their keys”

“Bypassing the gatekeepers”

“Gatekeepers have lost their value”

“The gates have been blown away”

“The end of the gatekeeper”

Going off headlines alone, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the field of journalism had all but died out. The headlines paint a pretty bleak picture. The increased freedom of information online has drastically changed the media landscape and, intern, journalism forever… but I seriously doubt that we are heading for an all out extinction!

Politicians have long been trying (and failing) for years to bypass the gatekeepers of the news. But now, luckily for them, the technology has finally caught up! Politicians from both sides have jumped at the opportunity to detour around the journalists to get out the information that they want. No longer are they slaves to have journalists decided to ask and report. Has social media become the ultimate…

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Census: U.S. Poverty Rate Spikes, Nearly 50 Million Americans Affected – Topix

Marketing Trends 2013

Market Potential

Social Media is on the rise and will continue to grow as the main source of communication and time spent for many users.  Social media will continue to become more integrated in our lives.  As example are the uses of 4-square and Google Check-in feature.  As users will want to know where there friends and far-off relatives are while wanting to share their own experiences.  This public voyeurism will continue to rise as we become more mobile.  As interactivity over social media increases, it becomes more important for companies to have a plan for how to handle different comments positive or negative.  Speed is the name of the game as users will see a company solving problems rapidly will be a positive.  Users continue to use social media as a good means of word-of-mouth.

Email as a form of communication is on its way out.  Compare email and…

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In The Courts of Royalty

Gossip is a cancer and it can destroy any organization. A large company can literally suffer millions, if not billions from what seems like as simple a thing as gossip. That dragon of negativity sneaks in like a snake at first. It might start with one negative comment, disguised as passion for one’s work or life. That comment is passed on to someone who can do nothing about the problem. Of course, we all know that misery loves company and before you know it you have a dragon of misconception and misunderstanding seething in the belly of your company, organization, or kingdom.

Don’t you ever think that this dragon has a conscience and won’t sneak it’s ugly head into your upper management. To tell you the truth, that is exactly where he wants to be. If he can capture the few who are at the top he can affect the entire…

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Fire Erupted at Wal-Mart in Bangladesh

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/26/world/asia/bangladesh-fire-mourning/index.html?c=world&page=1

The sad news spread very fast around Dhaka, Bangladesh when a fire erupted in a Wal-Mart factory Saturday night. Over 100 lives were lost in this tragic event and many people were injured.

Considering a PR practitioner position in this situation,it is important to have a strategic plan for possible threats and the resources need for reaction. Anticipating conflict or crisis and developing a set of demands to follow is always a good way to avoid organizational recovery.

Also, organizations should be honest when confronted with conflict or crisis. According to James Grunig and Todd Hunt, “PR practitioner’s are responsible for the management of communication between an organization and it’s public.” We need to make sure that we communicate well in crisis. Provide a constant communication flow of information, be accessible, place your public first and assist to their questions and reactions, monitor news and media coverage are a few suggestion offered by Timothy W. Coombs when responding to a crisis.

I am only a PR practitioner in practice and can only offer limited advice on controlling conflict when manifested. A recent report stated in the article announces that some 6,000 people die every year in fires in Bangladesh. With this being said, planning for fire outbreaks seems essential.

notalltheenglishdrinktea

 

In conflict what is stirred

is fear that we might choose the wrong

and, living, loving, turn to bitterness

through disbelief. The song

is hollow in the whisper heard

by broken shadows, which, fractured, long

for right to cleanse and heal

through scars that ache and scream

conviction.                 

But which is worse?

The sacrifice which lets us know

a sacrifice was made?

(And yet we leave…)

Or,

to live within the world

the sacrifice would save

and, bitter, grieve?

 

12/12/11

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Turning Ourselves Into Digital Products

clairemarianne

A notion struck me the other day that in this day and age there are so many ways to create a chosen representation of yourself. With the use of social media we can easily use a few typical social media techniques to portray ourselves in the light in which we wish to be perceived. A few select status’, a couple of choice check-ins, some funny tweets, and a bunch of photos of you doing something ridiculously fun, can make you look like you’re having the time of your life. Often the perception of value is believed to be just as important as the actual value.

We interact with each other differently. Instead of the old-fashioned method of a first impression through a personal introduction and follow that through with getting to know a person by spending time with them, we now have the opportunity to ‘sell’ ourselves through our social networks…

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Black Friday

Bob Schwartz

The shopping day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday is so named because for retailers, it can mean the difference between loss and profit–being in the black.

Like it or not, the Christmas shopping season is an important contributor to this consumer economy. But the term is an overwhelmingly bleak one, particularly in relation to Christmas. In all other contexts, Black Friday is historically associated with financial crises, weather disasters, fires, military attacks and massacres. Rather than concerning Christmas and the birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus is marked by what is called Good Friday–also known as Black Friday.

And then there is the 1940 horror movie (see above)…

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Tax Relief for Hurricane Sandy Victims…

Wang Solutions

Hurricane Sandy Qualifies as a Disaster: Victims Given Much-Needed Tax Relief

Just because Hurricane Sandy has disappeared from the Doppler radar does not mean its aftermath dropped off the map. Almost a month has passed, but many East Coast residents are still picking through debris on their lawns and others will be homeless for the holidays. The storm really was a disaster in many ways – which is why it has been designated as a “qualified disaster for federal tax purposes.”

That’s actually good news: victims can exclude qualified disaster relief payments received from their employer (or anyone else for that matter) from their taxable income. So any payments used to repair homes or repair/replace the contents not covered by insurance, would not be included in the individual recipient’s gross income. This is also the case with any payments received for uninsured personal, family, living, or funeral expenses…

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