Friday 12 February 2010

Justice at Last?





I am pleased to be writing a follow up post to my previous one regarding US computer hacker, Gary Mckinnon back in November.  Only this time it's on a much happier note. 

Gary McKinnon may stay in Britain after a High Court judge agreed to review a decision by Alan Johnson to extradite him to America to face computer hacking charges.  I was appalled back then in November that our home secretary, Alan Johnson was to allow this breach of human rights, ignoring medical advice that Gary was suicidal.  However after being reviewed by Mr Justice Mitting, it was ruled on Human Rights grounds that the extradition be turned down.

This is brilliant news for Gary, his family, and his many, many supporters.  It shows that Alan Johnson's decision to ignore such vital medical evidence was wrong and to extradite him would breach Britain's 300 year old Bill of Human Rights.  
Now we all must hope that a fair decision will be made by the courts, and for justice to be served.

Thursday 4 February 2010

Valuable Skills.

Having just completed a four week work placement with a PR agency, and with another week to go until my lectures begin at university, and the fact that I sprained my ankle on Saturday night and have been laid up in bed ever since, now is the perfect time for me to reflect on my time working in a PR environment.

Before embarking on an MA in PR in October, I was a complete stranger to this field, other than what I had read on the net, in the papers, seen on the TV etc. It was hard to know what to expect really, would what I had been learning on my course match up to how public relations is really practiced? Well I was pleased to learn that, yes, it was.

So Many times during my work placement I was able to link things that were being practiced back to what I had learnt on my course, like the importance of social media how to use it effectively for each brand, knowing your target audience and refining key messages for different audiences. PR writing, and just how important it is. I was given a few opportunities to write press releases, and copy for brochures or the website. This is probably the area that I would like to improve on most, and I know that I will get better over time, I just need to practice at any opportunity I can. I did find it a struggle if I’m honest, as this is one of my weaker areas and I wasn’t very confident, you also need to know the agency’s style, as each different agency will have their own individual style. It is massively important to know who will be reading the copy you produce too, is it for on-trade, off-trade, intellectuals? I have learnt the importance of tailoring your writing to the specific needs of your target audience.

I would say one of my most valuable learning curves during my work experience was how to manage my time effectively, which is essential in the PR industry. The four weeks that I was there my schedule was always jam-packed, and I was working to very tight deadlines, I quickly learnt that in the world of PR while it is essential to have a schedule, it is almost impossible to stick to it. Tasks run over, things take longer than expected and there are almost certainly tasks that pop up that will take priority over others that you have scheduled in.

I think before my work placement, I thought that time management was one of my strengths, but it soon became clear that this wasn’t the case. I would get stressed and panic when my schedule got out of control and didn’t really know how to cope. By the end of the four weeks, I had done a complete u-turn, I have learmt how to prioritise, to keep calm, not get stressed and set realistic and achievable goals.

This improved skill I now have in time management is already helping me in my day to day life, and especially in my Uni life, and is just one of many new skills I can add to my PR tool-kit. The work I carried out during my work placement was invaluable, and I look forward to the future, to my knowledge and skills in PR developing even more.

Thursday 21 January 2010

The End is Nigh!

Well it’s nearing the end of my third week of work experience here at Publicasity, and what a week it has been! One thing I have learned about PR, is that it is very tiring, maybe it’s because I’m not used to it, (student and all that.) I would have to say this has been my most challenging of weeks so far. My schedule has been extremely full, which obviously is a good thing, but can also be very stressful. Jobs over-run, people need more tasks doing, and before you know it you are completely swamped. It may seem like I’m moaning, but I’m not, I’m just trying to give a realistic view of my experience of PR.


I’m very grateful to Publicasity for giving me this opportunity and letting me get involved in some really exciting stuff. I have been involved in a wide range of activities such as; writing press releases, writing copy for brochures, I have learnt how to do a digital audit for clients, I even had the privilege of attending The London Boatshow, where I met Stacey and Olly! (They were contestants on the X Factor, for those of you less educated.)



Publicasity is such a fantastic place for anyone who is looking to gain the practical skills that are essential in the PR industry. It is a lively, vibrant, energetic company, with a mix of equally vibrant and energetic people, who have been most welcoming.

Monday 11 January 2010

First week? Done!

And so I begin my four week work placement with London based PR agency, Publicasity. I have been looking forward to this for quite some time and hope it brings exciting new adventures.

Publicasity is a fairly large agency that deals with a range of different clients including; corporate, consumer, trade and B2B.

I was looking forward to seeing public relations in practice. As I am a newcomer to the profession, my knowledge is limited to what I had learned previously during my three months study of PR.

During my time here I hope to put into practice some of the skills that I have learnt on the course. I would like to be writing press releases, copy for websites, blogging, and also to be involved in events. While I have studied all the aforementioned on the PR course, I believe it is essential to implement that knowledge into practice, I just hope I get the chance!

On my first day I was assigned a mentor, which is a really good idea, I would say it helped a lot with the nerves and I didn't feel like I was on my own so much. I had already heard a lot about my mentor from my tutor at University as he was a former student there, he deals with the digital aspect of things, which I'm really happy about as we have dealt with this a lot on our course and I believe it is a very important part on PR today.

At the agency everyone sits down together and reads the papers and magazines, looking out for any stories that could affect or are relevant to their clients. This is also a good way to keep abreast of public affairs, which is a vital part of PR.

I was asked to do a press release on my first day, which I was so worried about, I had only really ever done a couple of practice ones on the course. It probably took me five times as long as it would anyone else in the office but I wanted to do a good job and make a good impression. My writing is an area that I do really want to improve, and I hope I get to do many more.

I've been working on some digital jobs with Aaron, trying to build up a client’s digital side of things. Looking for forums on the internet relating to the products they sold, I remember being worried about the ethical side of things, but was pleased to find out that we would be working transparently.

When we did find someone to write to Aaron stressed that it was important that we engage in a conversation with them, which I related back to Grunig’s two-way symmetrical model. It felt good to relate some of this back to the theory I had learnt.

I helped out with some mail-outs, which is one of the more mundane tasks of PR, sending products out to journalists in the hope that they will feature them in their publication, and also mailing out any prizes when a competition has been held.

Scanning is another one of the not so interesting tasks that is required in this job; any editorial and pictures that are found in print are scanned and saved to show to the client.

I was so happy to learn that I would be assisting some members of the team on Friday to the London Boatshow, who is one of their clients. Friday was press day, and I was basically shadowing the team to see how an event like this is run and handled. It was so interesting to watch it all in action, from the organising of the press, the interviews, to seeing the results on the media's websites at the end of the day.

I really appreciate the opportunity I have been given from Publicasity, and hope I can give them something back. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first week here and look forward to what's coming next!