Monthly Archives: October 2024

On Deadline: Managing Media Relations (6th Ed.)

Reviewer

Kristen Heflin, Kennesaw State University

Authors: Carole M. Howard, Wilma K. Mathews, and J. Suzanne Horsley
Publisher: Waveland Press, Inc., 2021
ISBN-10: 1478646055
ISBN-13: 978-1478646051
Number of pages: 228
https://www.waveland.com/browse.php?t=221&r=a|258

On Deadline: Managing Media Relations is an essential text for public relations students, professionals, teachers, and scholars who are interested in learning how to conduct effective media relations campaigns. It is a comprehensive guide to media relations that covers topics ranging from strategic planning to building relationships with the media to implementing media relations campaigns both in the United States and internationally. It is written in an accessible tone and provides indispensable advice including current best practices, examples, case studies, and interviews with public relations professionals.

Research Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Brand Communication

Reviewer

Melissa A. Goodson, The College of St. Scholastica

Editor: Brandi Watkins
Contributors: Alisa Agozzino; Courtney A. Barclay; Kelly S. Burns; Lisa Harrison; Terri N. Hernandez; Alexa Landsberger; Jenna Lo Castro; Regina Luttrell; Ronda Mariani; Amanda R. Martinez; Kylie Torres; Adrienne A. Wallace; Brandi Watkins and Kearston L. Wesner
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7936-1361-5
Number of pages: 208
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793613615/Research-
Perspectives-on-Social-Media-Influencers-and-Brand-
Communication

Brand Communication is a practical handbook of Social Media Influencer (SMI) research and case studies for brands. This mode of communication’s effectiveness over traditional media forms is powerful and often mysterious. The chapters help the novice
SMI stakeholders understand key definitions, applications, and implications for brands and consumers.

Organizational Web and Social Media Ethics Policies

Editorial Record: Submitted Record June 9, 2023. Accepted August 30, 2023. Published October 2024.

Author

Katie R. Place
Professor
School of Communications
Quinnipiac University
Connecticut, USA
Email: Katie.Place@quinnipiac.edu

ABSTRACT

This great idea for teaching (GIFT) aims to help undergraduate or graduate students review extant social media and web ethics policies and then apply their knowledge to the development of their own ethics policy. This GIFT guides educators through the rationale of the study, the steps of the study, a teaching note regarding the study, and relevant references.

Revolutionizing Campus Communications: The Power of ChatGPT in Public Relations

Editorial Record: Submitted April 20, 2023. Revised July 3, 2023 and October 18, 2023.
Accepted November 28, 2023.

Author

Young Joon Lim
Professor
Department of Communication
University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley
Texas, USA
Email: young.lim@utrgv.edu

ABSTRACT

This study delves into the effects and implications of ChatGPT on American college students, focusing on their familiarity with emerging communication and educational technologies. The research also seeks to provide valuable insights for college administrators concerned about the ethical implications of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in higher education. The study examines students’ perceptions of ChatGPT, how colleges are responding to it, and the steps that should be taken in light of the proliferation of AI-based learning tools. The findings reveal that students are apprehensive about the lack of education regarding AI tools in today’s digital age and expect colleges to stay abreast of rapidly evolving AI technologies. To foster ethical conduct, it is crucial to remind students of the code of ethics that discourages unethical practices such as cheating, plagiarism, and academic dishonesty. Colleges should also establish clear and responsible guidelines for using AI tools. This will encourage students to contemplate the purpose of college education and consider the significant role it plays in their lives.

Making PRSSA Leadership Work for Students: Role Satisfaction, Educational Success, and Career Readiness for the PR Profession

Editorial Record: Submitted May 19, 2023. Revised December 12, 2023. Accepted December 14, 2023.

Authors

Amanda J. Weed
Associate Professor
School of Communication & Media
Kennesaw State University
Georgia, USA
Email: aweed2@kennesaw.edu

Lauren Nye
School of Communication & Media
Kennesaw State University
Georgia, USA

ABSTRACT

Pre-professional student organizations are known to complement undergraduate university studies and propel students into their professional careers. The mission of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is to support students by enhancing education, broadening networks, and launching careers of students in the public relations industry. While PRSSA membership peaked at more than 10,000 members in 2018, membership has declined 41.6%, or more than 4,000 members, to a little more than 6,000 members in 2022. PRSSA student leaders can serve as the “canary in the coal mine” to pinpoint critical challenges in chapter recruitment, engagement, and day-to-day management. This study, through the theoretical lens of Self Determination Theory, aims to measure how PRSSA student leadership satisfies needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness; and explores intrinsic and extrinsic motivations to serve as chapter leaders. From the study findings, the authors propose a PRSSA leadership strategy that integrates extrinsic motivation in the form of a class credit model that better aligns the PRSSA mission to the evolving needs of students.

“Public Relations Isn’t All Rainbows and Butterflies”: Student Experiences in Developing a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Campaign

Editorial Record: Submitted May 27, 2023. Revised November 12, 2023. Accepted
December 14, 2023.

Authors

Stephanie Madden
Associate Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania, USA
Email: szm962@psu.edu

Kate Guastaferro
Assistant Professor
School of Global Public Health
New York University
New York, USA
Email: kate.guastaferro@nyu.edu

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the experiences of one public relations capstone course to understand students’ experiences in developing a child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention campaign. Findings from this research indicated positive changes related to issue salience, efficacy, and knowledge. Furthermore, the sensitive nature of this issue was a motivator for students, although there were concerns about not offending target audiences or triggering survivors. This article provides ways to integrate trauma informed practices into a public relations campaigns course for instructors engaging with stigmatized issues.

Journal of Public Relations Education, Vol. 10, Issue 2

Letter from the Editor

Adrienne A. Wallace
Associate Professor
Grand Valley State University
Editor-in-Chief Journal of Public Relations Education
Email: wallacad@gvsu.edu

The 10-2 issue is all about the student experience. Following the Commission of Public Relations Education (CPRE) issue in 10-1, wherein we examined expectations of a complicated and growing field, we look at not just how students will succeed in the industry but rather their experience and perspective in getting to the finish line of the undergrad experience, using the classroom as a laboratory.

This issue addresses courageous methods with Madden & Guastaferro lending brave insight into the emotional toll that students endure when working with sensitive topics. In fact, their findings show us that students found this topic motivating and meaningful in providing support to victims. I’m grateful for Madden & Guastaferro bringing these issues and advice to light so as to help other PR professors understand how to more effectively integrate trauma-informed practices into campaign courses. We can’t avoid commonly stigmatized issues for the sake of our own comfort in classrooms, we must remain vigilant and maybe even, comfortably uncomfortable in order to improve outcomes related to all matters of communication with all people. I hope you find this article as moving and helpful as I did.

Then, Weed & Nye reveal an additional aspect of student satisfaction using extracurricular activities through PRSSA as a model for maximizing leadership potential and their knowledge, skills, abilities, and traits (KSATs) – building upon the last two CPRE reports. They recommend to maximize these KSATs that PRSSA should be structured within a for-credit curricular design to enhance career preparedness in the student experience. This left me thinking about the potential that exists for high-impact practices and experiential learning crossovers in my own curriculum and asking the question, am I advocating enough for my own PRSSA chapter?

This takes us to the role of technology in this experience discussion, which Lim and Place address in the use of technological tools and responsible use in public relations with our final article and GIFT. In these final pieces, Lim reveals, that college students anticipate professors to incorporate ChatGPT into many course materials rather than prohibiting its use. This study highlights that ChatGPT is a powerful PR tool that can be used by colleges to improve their public relations efforts in a number of ways, from classroom to campus-wide innovation. I appreciated this article and timing as my own university and unit wrestle with policymaking and educational practices surrounding emerging tech in the classroom and campus.

As luck would have it, Place provides us with a solution to the implementation of this looming issue in our classrooms in her award-winning GIFT from the PRSA Educators Academy Summit in 2022. This assignment has miraculously stood the test of tech time and is structured to empower, enable, and embolden students to apply ethical and legal theory in PR to practice by way of a policy writing assignment. Really turning the student into an expert to engage as counsel and “ethical guardians” in the field; furthering a confident student through this classroom experience. Our educators in this issue have effectively transformed wicked problems into practical and professional solutions. I’m so proud of the work we do at JPRE, and I hope our scholars inspire your own practice.

Adrienne A. Wallace
Editor-in-Chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter from the Editor
Adrienne A. Wallace

ARTICLES

“Public Relations Isn’t All Rainbows and Butterflies”: Student Experiences in Developing a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Campaign
Stephanie Madden and Kate Guastaferro

Making PRSSA Leadership Work for Students: Role Satisfaction, Educational Success, and Career Readiness for the PR Profession
Amanda J. Weed and Lauren Nye

Revolutionizing Campus Communications: The Power of ChatGPT in Public Relations
Young Joon Lim

TEACHING BRIEF/GIFT

Organizational Web and Social Media Ethics Policies
Katie R. Place

BOOK REVIEWS

Research Perspectives on Social Media Influencers and Brand Communication
Melissa A. Goodson

On Deadline: Managing Media Relations (6th Ed.)
Kristen Heflin

Read the Full Issue:

A publication of the Public Relations Division of AEJMC
© 2024 AEJMC Public Relations Division

The Journal of Public Relations Education (JPRE) is devoted to the presentation of research and commentary that advance the field of public relations education. JPRE invites submissions in the following three categories:

  • Research Articles
  • Teaching Briefs
  • Book/Software Reviews

Learn more by visiting the About JPRE page and the Authors/Contributors page for submission guidelines. All submissions should follow the guidelines of the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Questions? Contact the Editorial Staff.