Paine demonstrates necessary, old-school journalism

On Tuesday afternoon, FiveThirtyEight.com writer Neil Paine provided something that a reader needs every once in a while: a well thought-out solution to a well-known problem.

Paine broke down the reasoning behind the collapse of college football’s BCS system and he also explained why the NCAA went to the BCS system in the first place. He then gave a possible solution and proceeded to explain what is wrong with the current ‘committee’ system.

This piece was well-done because it gave the reader what it needed: a full explanation of what is wrong with the college football postseason system and a possible solution. Although it was not an editorial or opinion piece, it served as a foundation for readers to gain an opinion on the issue.

As a journalist, your articles can serve many different purposes. Mostly they will be about newsworthy events or people, but sometimes they are about what the reader wants and needs to know. Here, Paine served that purpose.

This journalistic purpose goes back to what the profession was founded on. Before television and mass communication, newspaper writers would explain events or situations to their readers. Reporters were trusted sources for this kind of access.

By informing the public of an issue and what it means, Paine is performing the most old-school facet of journalism. While most of journalism now has to do with entertainment, this piece served a more informative purpose.

In an era where people rely more and more on abstract internet sources (and not so much journalistic sources), this piece was refreshing to read because it served such an important purpose to the reader. While this kind of writing is not warranted often, it is needed occasionally to not only inform the audience, but also to maintain the credibility of journalists everywhere.

The complication of social media policies

In chapter 13 of David Meerman Scott’s Real Time Marketing & PR, the issue of company social media policies is discussed. This issue is interesting because there are so many factors in play, especially when it comes to something as quick and ever-changing as social media.

With that being said, I believe that I lean more towards the conservative side of the spectrum here. Although I understand the importance of employees being able to communicate with customers, I also believe that there needs to be strict regulations on what employees can say and do on social media.

Here are a few guidelines that I would try to instill upon my company’s employees:

1. No social media during work hours: This will cut down on ‘tweeting-during-the-meeting’ situations and will allow my workers to be more productive. Their notifications will have to wait until they clock out.

2. The “I do not represent” line in bios: My employees will have to say something along the lines of “the views expressed in this account do not express the views of my employer” in their social media bio sections. This will allow my employer’s followers to understand our company’s stance on social media as well.

3. If you’re going to trash the company, talk to us first: I respect the freedom of speech, and therefore I will not constantly control my employees social media activity. However, if they are about to post something that is concerning an issue that they have with my company, they should talk to upper management first. Hopefully, they can resolve the issue before it is taken to social media in the heat of the moment.

Obviously I would have to address more specifics of the policy, including common-sense politeness by employees (which should be required by every company), but the points above were some of the bigger issues that I would address.

The tough part about social media policies is that every company is different; what might not be smart at one company might be alright at another. Every company will have different social media policies, which makes the issue even more complicated.

Jeannie and Public Relations

It’s funny how you can be in a PR class for nine weeks and not think of the public relations sensation that checks you into the cafeteria for every meal.

Jeannie is an ONU employee that swipes student ID cards at the front desk of the McIntosh dining hall. She usually works the breakfast and lunch shifts on weekdays, and is widely-known across campus.

She is the friendliest and most enthusiastic person that I have met here at ONU so far and she is known for brightening students’ days just by the way that she greets them as they enter the cafeteria.

In a class where we discuss the capabilities of technology in the PR world, sometimes I believe that we forget about grassroots PR. Although the university may not realize it, Jeannie is a great source of old school, grassroots PR.

Jeannie’s attitude is contagious and it rubs off on prospective students who visit the campus. She makes a positive impact on potential customers as they walk in the door, using face-to-face interaction.

According to Dr. Jennifer Walton, Chair of Communication Studies at ONU, the university has said that they get more positive feedback about Jeannie from campus visitors than about any other aspect of their campus visit. So, Jeannie has a positive ROI too.

While this sort of interaction is obviously impractical for corporations with thousands of customers, it does link to a deeper PR issue that some big corporations struggle with: personalized engagement.

Maybe instead of giving a generalized, vague response to a reported problem, PR teams from corporations can find a way to make their responses more personal or genuine. Although this may take a bit more time and effort, it will be worth it in the long run.

Even though each business may not have a Jeannie, maybe they can try to emulate her PR greatness.

Apple and customer relationships

In chapter 12 of Real Time Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott, Scott says, “In every industry there is opportunity to do for customers in real time what now takes a long time.”

I believe that this is very applicable to Apple computers and the smartphone industry. Apple is always leading the way in smartphone technologies, and they also know how to reach their customers in real time.

Apple is constantly updating their smartphone models and physically making things quicker for their customers. They are feeding a society that is hungry for faster and faster information.

Apple is also well-versed in Scott’s methods of customer engagement discussed in chapter 10. As an Apple customer, I am constantly receiving emails that are advertising new products and updates. The emails are friendly, simple and easy to read; they also make it easy to get to the Apple online store from the emails, which is just smart marketing.

While other companies that I buy frequently from, such as Subway and Dick’s Sporting Goods, also do well with promotional emails, I feel that Apple is the most consistent and intelligent with theirs.

Not only are Apple’s emails smart from a marketing standpoint, but also from a customer relations standpoint. They help continue the relationship between the customers and Apple with friendly, personal interaction.

Even though I have not signed up for Apple’s SMS text message updates, I still constantly feel in-touch with Apple because of their personal, smart emails. I have not bought an Apple phone in almost two years, but I still feel connected- that is remarkable marketing by Apple.

Becoming a soccer fan

Before I came to Ohio Northern, I knew very little about soccer. It didn’t interest me and I wasn’t friends with very many soccer players. Since then, many things have changed.

By the end of the first week, I had already seen two home soccer games and made friends with Dakota Swisher, a freshman varsity defender. Some things immediately drew me to soccer:

1. Our men’s team is competitive on a national scale, which makes the games fun to watch. It is much easier to become a soccer fan when your team wins the majority of its games.

2. The basketball team plays a lot of FIFA, which is a professional soccer video game (so, naturally, I play now as well). Although video games are hardly similar to the real-life game, FIFA did help me understand the rules to the game.

3. Having seen many ONU games in person, I now have great respect for soccer players as athletes. Soccer players not only need to be in great condition, but they also must be agile and great with their feet. Like any other college athlete, they must possess a very high, unique skill level.

4. Games at ONU are fun to go to because of our new stadium. Kerscher Stadium, complete with a brand new track and turf soccer field, and surrounded by evergreen trees and three daunting windmills, is a great place to watch soccer. We also now have a student section, which allows students to further engage in the game.

5. Most importantly, I have friends on the team. This allows me to gain insight into what the sport is like and what challenges soccer players face. It makes the sport more relatable, which is important to a fellow athlete like myself.

Growing my passion for soccer has been a great experience so far at ONU. It is always well-worth one’s time to find interest in new endeavors, and learning about soccer has helped me broaden my interest in college athletics.

Bob Ryan, of Boston

Recently, I read a Grantland piece by Bryan Curtis about the career and greatness of Boston Globe writer Bob Ryan. Although Curtis’s writing was creative, witty and adequately expressed Ryan’s character, what stood out to me was Bob Ryan himself.

Ryan is known as one of the greatest beat writers of all time, covering the Boston Celtics for nearly two decades before moving on to become a columnist for the Globe. Essentially, Bob Ryan (below) has had the career that I could only dream to have one day.

What made Ryan special was the fact that he was a Boston fan first and a writer second. Most journalists say that they ‘root for the story, not the game.’ Ryan couldn’t have been more different.

Ryan’s writing had a pro-Boston flavor, but it didn’t cross the journalistic boundaries of sensationalism. He covered a sport (professional basketball in the 1970s) that was not well-respected or popular at the time, and he helped turn Bostonians into Celtics fans with his writing.

He wrote with an anecdotal passion and power that people didn’t realize was possible in the covering of everyday basketball games. He also developed great relationships with the Celtics players, which allowed him to better understand the team and therefore better explain things to his readers.

As I read about this, I thought about how my dream job is “to be a beat writer.” I thought about what I want to get out of my potential career as a journalist. And I concluded that Bob Ryan exemplified pretty much everything that I want in a career at this point in my life.

He has been the written voice of one of America’s most popular sports teams in America’s most crazed sports city since he was 22 years old. He is well-respected and recognized, but most importantly, he is faithful; faithful to his city and his publication.

I realize that I might never reach the heights that Bob Ryan has reached, but hey, I can dream. This piece was impactful to me because it made me realize that there are people, like Bob Ryan, who I can look up to in my field.

American Airlines: champions of quick, personal engagement

In reading chapter eight of Real Time Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott, I found Scott’s point about responding quickly to social media mentions interesting. As someone who uses Twitter as a mode of communication, I often want to engage with writers and businesses directly via Twitter. However, sometimes engagement can be hit or miss depending on who is in charge of responding to my remarks.

I believe that what Scott said is completely correct; corporations, no matter how large, should respond to customers as quickly and ‘casually’ as possible. They should try to be ‘human’ in their interaction, and should try to do so promptly. I would imagine that this is hard to do, especially considering the amount of interaction that big corporations face on mediums such as Twitter and other popular social networks.

However, the impact of this quick, human response reaches far beyond the customer that is being responded to. American Airlines knows this well.

I have a friend who once complained to American Airlines about flying difficulties, and American Airlines responded within minutes, presenting gratitude and a solution. My friend was shocked by the airline’s quick, personal response, prompting him to retweet it. He even wrote a follow-up tweet about his shockingly personal experience (another American Airlines customer had a similar situation, which is included in the photo below).

By doing this, all of my friend’s followers (including myself) saw his interaction with American Airlines. He found a solution to his flying difficulties, and American Airlines increased their reputation with my friend and his followers. Therefore, American Airline's social engagement impacted many more people than just my friend.

While it may seem like social engagement is a big challenge for large corporations and businesses, it is worth it because of the PR gains that come with down-to-earth social engagement. American Airlines (and I’m sure many other large companies) are giving themselves an advantage by following these Twitter interaction tactics.

The ‘Trike-a-Thon’ serves a greater purpose

One of the great things about being in the Honors Program is the opportunity to do things like the annual “Trike-a-Thon,” which was held last Thursday morning in the parking lot behind the tennis courts.

Essentially, students from all of the freshman Honors Program classes built a course (filled with bridges, teeter-totters and tunnels) that the children who attend the daycare facility on campus can ride through. The children were all approximately five years old, and most of them were big enough to ride a tricycle. They rode through the course for nearly an hour before losing interest.

Although it was cold, the children were fueled by pure adrenaline and competitive spirit. While it served a simple purpose for the children, I believe that the Trike-a-Thon served a larger purpose for the college students involved.

Not only was this an opportunity for Honors Program students to work on something besides schoolwork, but it was also a time for students to simply relax and smile. It almost felt like a stress-reducing exercise, because seeing the kids having fun made me forget about my classes for a couple of hours.

It also allowed students to see the bigger picture. When we were children, things were simple and easy and we did what made us happy. Students that were involved in the Trike-a-Thon were brought back to those times through these five-year-olds. The event allowed us to realize that we need to reserve time in our lives for happiness and creativity, because it is important.

So, last Thursday morning was cold and happy. It took me back to my roots for a couple of hours and let me smile. It was fun for the kids, but even more important to the students.

Another small-college benefit

I was at the volleyball game tonight, and just as it is done at any other American athletic contest, the National Anthem was sung before the game. The Dean of Students, Adriane Thompson-Bradshaw, gave a stunning rendition of the song. But at that moment, it really hit me that I am now a college athlete.

Every time I hear the National Anthem, my heart starts pounding and I think about what it feels like to be minutes away from tip-off; facing the flag, going over final pre-game notes in my head, ready for battle.

When I faced the American flag tonight, I truly realized that in a couple of months I will be on the same stage, except as a player. Small things like this make you think about the bigger picture. I am now a part of this university, as a student and an athlete.

What also struck me was the fact that our Dean of Students was singing the National Anthem. Thompson-Bradshaw (below) is one of the highest-ranking members of the university, yet she is taking time out of her Tuesday night to sing the National Anthem and watch the volleyball game.

This is the kind of thing that is great about small schools. At a mega-university like Ohio State, a sponsored singer with no affiliation to the school would likely perform this duty. At Ohio Northern, some of our highest-ranking members of the university do things like sing the National Anthem.

In this way, tonight’s game felt much more like a community event. From the start, you felt like you were truly at an Ohio Northern sporting event, because everything from the National Anthem singer to the waterboy was ‘Ohio Northern.’

When I visited smaller, division III schools last fall en route to my college decision, every one of them preached the intangible benefits of going to a small college. Now, I think I am beginning to understand why.

Employee PR responsibilities and 'brand journalism'

Chapter five of Share This deals with many issues regarding how employers and employees should use social media. The author discusses how an employee's personal account should strengthen the reputation of their company, not diminish it.

However, I found this policy concept interesting when applying it to journalists. Take Richard Deitsch for example.

Deitsch is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated who regularly covers the media itself. While one might think that he would just promote Sports Illustrated articles in his tweets, Deitsch does anything but that. He promotes journalism of all kinds, from many different publications.

Deitsch even has a weekly column where he highlights some of the week’s best journalism, with many of the links directing readers to stories that were written by journalists from other publications. He also supports analysts from competing sports media networks, such as ESPN, via Twitter. In the midst of the disappointing Daisha Simmons situation at Alabama, Deitsch has taken to Twitter to pair up with ESPN’s Jay Bilas to rebel against Alabama’s decision.

In this sense, I don’t think that journalists share the same ‘company PR’ responsibilities that employees at other organizations do while using social media. While journalists must still maintain a professional style, I think that they also must follow their ethical duties as journalists.

Because journalists often behold a sense of credibility when it comes to commenting on important, ethical issues (such as the Daisha Simmons situation), I think that they must stand for what’s right, even if that means promoting the opinions of journalists from competing networks.

In conclusion, I think that ethical responsibilities require journalists to sometimes promote other brands on social media, which makes the concept of ‘brand journalism’ seem slightly skewed. Competing brands in journalism don’t seem to operate quite the same as brands in other market sectors do.

Time’s outstanding piracy piece

Today I read a multimedia piece done by Time Magazine’s Adam McCauley concerning the increasing problem of piracy in waters outside southeast Asia. McCauley and Time used multiple types of media to tell the story, and it blended together to make a piece that gave the reader a good understanding of the problem at hand.

McCauley opened up the article by dishing out statistics to catch the reader's attention and to bring a sense of importance to the issue. He discussed the amount of money that pirates in southeast Asian waters make off of their loot (which is mainly oil). He also talked about the high death rate caused by piracy and the recent increase in dangerous activity; in doing this, McCauley captured the reader’s attention immediately.

Once the reader realized the importance of the issue at hand, Time laid on the multimedia flare. Prize-worthy photography and a gripping video package allowed the reader to feel as if they were side-by-side with the pirates themselves.

Another helpful aspect of the piece was the map, created by Time’s Heather Jones, which detailed the ship highways in which oil pirates prey.

McCauley also had an impressive collection of sources to enhance his article. In a piece that highlighted all the reasons why piracy is such a rising, unstoppable issue, McCauley needed to get quotes from those who are trying to stop it- and he did just that.

But I believe that the best part of the article was its organization. As the reader, I knew little to nothing about piracy in southeast Asia before reading the article. By breaking his writing up into sections that outlined different causes for the piracy problem, McCauley made it easy to understand and follow the issue.

Between his solid writing and organization, McCauley and Time produced a great multimedia piece that let the reader learn in multiple ways. Time’s pictures, illustrations, video packages and organized writing made this an effective article.

ONU’s social media shortcoming on homecoming

Having live-tweeted just one event at this year’s homecoming weekend, I understand how difficult it would be for someone to cover every event. Also, I don’t know how many people share operation duties of the ONU Twitter and Facebook accounts. However, I will say this- from a social media perspective, ONU stumbled a bit in their coverage of homecoming weekend.

Homecoming weekend presents an opportunity for Ohio Northern to connect with its alumni. With social media like Facebook and Twitter, ONU can connect with those who can’t make the trip back to campus. And with operational and popular social media accounts (ONU Facebook page has near 7,800 likes, ONU Twitter account has near 4,700 followers), one would think that this venue of connection would be well-utilized on homecoming weekend.

However, this really didn’t happen. Coverage didn’t seem like a priority to ONU, based on the low level of activity on both their Twitter and Facebook accounts this weekend. Let’s start with Twitter.

This weekend, ONU tweeted three times. Twice about homecoming royalty and once about last night’s fireworks. Although all tweets had pictures, this just isn’t enough coverage for a weekend with so many events.

Also, the tweets did not share similar hashtags. Organizing their tweets by using a catch-all hashtag would not only promote homecoming weekend, but also prompt other followers to use the hashtag and engage with the rest of ONU’s Twitter community.

As I said previously, I do not know how many people share the operational duties of ONU’s Twitter account. However, if there is only one person, maybe ONU should think about giving more people tweeting duties. More connection with alumni would have been a nice touch this weekend, and by now there are many alumni with Twitter accounts.

But if there was ever a social media site that would attract alumni, it would be Facebook. And unfortunately for Polar Bear alums, ONU’s Facebook literally gave them nothing this weekend.

The university’s Facebook page was up-to-date with posts from last week’s “Spirit Week,” but still has nothing to show for homecoming weekend. From a ‘social technographic’ standpoint, this is a waste of a weekend. The first (and only) post concerning homecoming weekend came on Monday morning, and this was merely a picture slideshow- nothing that directly promotes the university.

I can only imagine all of those ONU alumni, ages 35-65, sitting at home and refreshing Facebook this weekend, just to find nothing from their alma mater itself. In order for ONU to stay in touch with its alumni in 2014, a central focus needs to be placed on social media; and Facebook would appear to be the social media of alumni.

ONU needs to delegate more people to handle social media duties for future events. Having an up-to-date, engaging social media presence would change the way that the university interacts with alumni and the rest of the ONU community.

Live-tweet coverage of the 2014 ONU Homecoming parade