EIJ16 Teaching Marathon: Creating a Live Event or How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
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Students from Texas Wesleyan University's Mass Communication department were thrown into a zombie apocalypse on campus and asked to create a crisis communication response and cover the event as if it were a reality. This Spring 2016 event is highlighted in this presentation, giving faculty members tips on how to create your own crisis on campus to give students the opportunity to practice their communication skills in a semi-realistic setting.
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EIJ16 Teaching Marathon: Creating a Live Event or How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
- 1. Crisis! Zombie Apocalypse Exercise for MCO Students by Kay L. Colley Excellence in Journalism Conference 2016
- 2. Purpose depends on the course or courses – Journalism students in MCO 2345 Integrated Media Reporting and MCO 3320 Digital Design and Editing: • To practice real-time journalism; gathering, producing and editing content • To work with public relations practitioners • To work with a team to direct and edit content creation • To keep a community updated on a live event as it unfolds • To ascertain the difference between fact and rumor – Public relations students in MCO 4346 PR Campaigns: • To work with a team to implement a crisis plan in real-time • To work with media to disseminate appropriate and timely information • To practice working with a team to gather information during a crisis • To ascertain the difference between fact and rumor Overview and purpose
- 3. Exercise Expectations News coverage: a website that contains news stories and multimedia elements created by MCO 3320 Digital Design and Editing and MCO 2345 Integrated Media Reporting class members that is updated as the crisis is occurring Crisis communication: a website from the perspective of the institution created by MCO 4346 Public Relations Campaigns and Programs class members and updated as the crisis is occurring
- 4. News Coverage https://fauxrambler.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/rambler-staff-injured-by-zombies/ Student journalists attended press conferences throughout the event and covered the event live. Above is a photo of the final press conference where Zombie Task Force Leader Michael Brown explains how the zombies were contained.
- 5. Crisis Communications https://crisiscommunicationmco4346.wordpress.com/ • Public relations students hosted press conferences throughout the event and kept the campus community updated through social media as well. • Above left is the social media feed; above right the website, and far right is one of the press conferences.
- 6. Debrief from pros Photo left: Marjorie Herrera-Lewis, former reporter, Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Photo above: At the lunch debrief with, far right to left, Bill Lawrence of Lawrence and Associates, Marysol Gonzalez, Univision; Rebecca Aguilar, freelance reporter; and Alice Rios, formerly of KRLD radio. Additional comments from Drenda Witt, formerly of JPS Health, rounded out the pro debriefing.
- 7. Debrief from students • Podcasts from MCO 2345 and MCO 4346 • Individual podcasts were limited to 2 minutes Interview style podcasts were limited to 3 minutes or less • Counted as a daily grade (all or nothing) • Used to assist in planning for Fall 2016
- 8. Grading—2 Grades • All or nothing grade—you did it or you didn’t • Podcast of their analysis of the event • Upside: Fun; entertaining for participants and the pros who assisted • Downside: Lots of preparation to create; something always happens; making sure everyone is adequately prepared prior to event can be challenging (something always happens)
- 9. Tips—see Top 10 list @kaycolley • Start early; very time-consuming to plan • Get your administration on board • Touch base with everyone frequently • Plan classes leading up to the event to get students prepared • Create little “practice” sessions prior to event
- 10. Presentation at: Twitter @kaycolley or at slideshare.net/klcolley
Editor's Notes
- This live simulation exercise took place in Spring 2016 and included Mass Communication students from several classes—reporting, editing and design, and public relations campaigns. Students from the Theatre Arts Department and Criminal Justice majors also provided integral support and staffing, as did all Mass Communication faculty members and two Criminal Justice faculty members. Without them, this event would not have been possible. Also thank you to Michael Koretzky for the idea and the t-shirts.
- While an overriding objective was to practice skills in a fun setting and create a game-like atmosphere, there were also real objectives outlined for this exercise. The fact and rumor aspect really came out in the debriefing session.
- Even students who work for student media often lack the experience of covering a crisis as it is happening or serving as editors and directing coverage of the crisis. This exercise put them in the throes of the confusion and chaos of a crisis to see what they would do.
- Crisis communications is often its own course in graduate public relations programs, so students rarely are exposed to anything other than general information and case studies. This exercise gives them the practical experience that no textbook can provide.
- A group of four journalism professionals and two public relations professionals provided real-time and after-the-fact feedback to students. Their debriefing gave students some valuable feedback that no amount of grading could replace.
- During the exercise several public relations students left. One returned, but all of the public relations students gave scathing reviews of this exercise. The journalism students found the exercise more enjoyable, and seemed to understand some of the inherent goals of practicing crisis coverage in real time.
- Because this was the first time to do this event, I thought a participation grade was the only fair way to grade students. The professionals who visited that day offered invaluable feedback that day, but having them come to the next class period would have also been helpful so they could really assess the websites. A rubric to assess at least the podcast would make this exercise more academic, and possibly increase its value to students.
- A top 10 list of tips is provided as a link at my Twitter @kaycolley. You can find this entire presentation there as well as a link to my slideshare.net account.
- Our next simulation is planned for Oct. 21 so check out Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see what happens.