Discussion What Is NewsAs you watch a local news program or re.docx

Discussion: What Is News?
As you watch a local news program or read a newspaper, you
consume the report of recent events created by professional—
and sometimes amateur—writers, editors, and reporters.
Regardless of their status, these journalists take time to
consider the details of a story and how to present it to you, the
news consumer. These details can have a powerful effect on
how you perceive local, national, and world events. In this
Discussion, you will have an opportunity to become a more
savvy news consumer by choosing a news story, determining
how it was created, and tracking its “newsworthiness” from the
day the story “breaks” through several days afterward.
To prepare for this Discussion:
· Choose a discussion thread based on the topics available this
week.
· Each thread will present a different topic for a news story. For
the topic stated in your chosen thread, you will find a news
story that has the necessary elements for it to be considered
news and determine whether the news story will persist or fade
away.
· Review Chapter 13 in the Course Text, The Dynamics of Mass
Communication: Media in Transition.
· Based on the five elements in the reading, reflect upon what is
considered to be “news” and what is not. How does the
definition of news change?
· Consider the multiple modes of mass communication used to
deliver news stories. How do you consume news? How does
your choice of mode impact how you view local and world
events?
For this Discussion, choose one thread from the choices listed
this week. Each thread is limited to a maximum number of
students based on class size. A thread will close if the limit is
reached. If a thread is closed to new posters, select from the
open threads. You will post both your initial post and your

response post in the same thread.
By Day 3
Thread 1: International Relations
· Post a 1- to 2-paragraph explanation of why you believe that
your chosen international relations news story is or is not
considered “news.” Could this news story be the headline or
lead story for today’s evening news? What aspects of the story’s
message make you believe it would be or wouldn’t be the lead
story for the evening news, and why?
Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading or your
chosen news story and record in your assignment information
about each source, including author, year, page number, and
publication title.
Thread 2: Economics
your chosen economics news story is or is not considered
“news.” Could this news story be the headline or lead story for
today’s evening news? What aspects of the story’s message
make you believe it would be or wouldn’t be the lead story for
the evening news, and why?
publication title.
Thread 3: Entertainment
your chosen entertainment news story is or is not considered

publication title.
Thread 4: The Environment
your chosen environmental news story is or is not considered
publication title.
For all threads:
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.
By Day 5
Respond with 1–2 paragraphs that answer the following
questions:
· You first heard the story 2 days ago; where is the story today?
Has the story changed? Why do you think this story is or is not
still considered newsworthy?
· Were you correct in your guess as to whether your story would
be the headline/lead story for the evening news?
· What impact do you believe the media have on the duration of
the story?
· Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading and
record in your assignment information about each source,
including author, year, page number, and publication title.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to
your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any
insights you have gained as a result of the comments your
colleagues made.
References to use:
Learning Resources
Required Readings

Dominick, J. R. (2012). The dynamics of mass communication:
Media in transition (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
· Chapter 3, “Historical and Cultural Context”
This chapter discusses the development of human
communication and its effects on culture and society.
· Chapter 13, “News Gathering and Reporting”
This chapter focuses on the elements of news gathering and
reporting (e.g., digital news reporting, news and reporting
categories, and media flow).
Federman, M. (2004, July 23). What is the meaning of the
medium is the message? Retrieved September 12, 2016, from
http://individual.utoronto.ca/markfederman/article_mediumisthe
message.htm
This article discusses how the medium extends an individual’s
thoughts and allows him or her to share those thoughts with
others.
Research a news story based on a topic
For the Discussion this week, you will find a news story based
on your choice from a selection of topics listed in the
Discussion.
Required Media
Note: This presentation will help you to understand the
difference between the media, the medium and the message and
how each is used in this class. To understand how to advance
through the presentation, please watch this video first:
http://screencast.com/t/I1bATDZ8
Tucker, D. (2014, June 23). The medium is the message.

Retrieved from
http://prezi.com/8mcox43jsv3i/?utm_campaign=share&utm_med
ium=copy
Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Processes of choosing
the message and the media [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 11 minutes.
In this media piece, Pauline Harris, the owner of the marketing
and public relations firm SPIN (Strategy, Public Relations,
Image, and New Business), explains and gives examples of the
processes that her firm uses when creating messages for their
clients. She also briefly describes how mass communication has
evolved over time based on her experiences and gives advice
about how to stay on the leading edge of the marketing and
public relations field.Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Processes of choosing
the message and the media [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 11 minutes.
In this media piece, Pauline Harris, the owner of the marketing
and public relations firm SPIN (Strategy, Public Relations,
Image, and New Business), explains and gives examples of the
processes that her firm uses when creating messages for their
clients. She also briefly describes how mass communication has
evolved over time based on her experiences and gives advice
about how to stay on the leading edge of the marketing and
public relations field.
Process of Choosing the Message and the Media
Process of Choosing the Message and the Media Program
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
PAULINE HARRIS: My name is Pauline Harris. I own a
marketing and public relations firm here in Baltimore. The name

of the firm is SPIN. And SPIN is an acronym for the services
that we provide. It stands for strategy, PR, image, and new
business development.
We work all within the building industry. So we work with
developers, and architects, interior designers, contractors, and
engineers. When we began to work with a client, we do a
strategic planning session first. And then from that planning
session, it's actually a one-day, if you will, charrette. And we
ask many, many, many questions to understand a lot about the
organization and where they would like to be. And what is that
message? And who is the audience? And how do they want to
get in front of that audience? It's very tailored.
We then come back with a strategic marketing plan for them.
And based on that information, and we back that into a budget
as to where we determine what medium they should use to get
that message out. So that could be anything from television, to
radio, to website, to Facebook and Twitter. We help our clients
determine which medium they should be in front of based on
their audience and how they want to get there. And again, that
also is based on time and effort and budgets as well.
And then, we try to be creative about it. Today, editors are
receiving so much information. When I first began my career, it
was in a very much more slow-pace method.
We would put a binder together of information. I'd pitch a story
to a particular editor. We would include stunning photography
because that's half the battle when you're dealing with print
media. And then, try and craft a message as to why that was
really important to that audience.
And today, it's done so rapidly and it's online. If the same is
true, you then have to just kind of-- one, it's about relationships
with the media. And two, it's about the message. They need to
answer the questions of advertisers for one, but also their
readership as well, and satisfy all of those. So that then, also
backs into a lot of research that's necessary for the individual
that's trying to pitch their story.
And the process that we go through to determine the tone of the

message and how lively we want to be, or how do we want to
attract the editor's attention, is based on the research that we do.
Again, we back that into the audience that we would like to read
this message.
©2013 Laureate Education, Inc. 1
We have one person on my staff that is an amazing researcher.
And she was working with the Baltimore Area Convention
Center here in town and was trying very hard to get Food &
Wine magazine to come to Baltimore to do a story, a pretty
large spread on when you visit Baltimore. And they sort of do
destinations in their publication.
She happened to be doing some research and found that this
editor won a $10,000 dress. And so she emailed her. In the
subject line she said, I know where you can wear that dress.
It took 90 days, but then she finally received a response. At first
she didn't think she was going to get a response, and then did.
And so they did come to Baltimore and did a full spread on it.
Again, it's extremely imperative that you do the research and
understand about the publication and understand about the
editor and what they're looking for in order to attract their
attention.
There's a fine line between pestering an editor and drilling in
the right message that you want to give to them. But again, you
just have to answer their needs. If you can put yourself in that
editor's place all the time or the recipient's place every time you
send something, whether it's a postcard, mailing, or blast email,
and how's that going to be received is really where you'll be
much more successful.
We were hired by a company called Konover Construction.
They're based out of Farmington, Connecticut, and they have an
office here in Columbia, Maryland. They hired us to help them
raise market share. And that was through many outlets. Through
website development, to brochure development, to PR, radio
and television.
They are a construction company, general contractors, and they

build a lot of large retail box construction. So that would be a
Target, Stop Shop & Save, Home Depot, and so forth.
This client came to us because they were awarded five major
retail projects up in Connecticut and they wanted to get as much
mileage and press out of that as possible. And our charge was to
understand, well, why is that newsworthy, and what should they
do? And how should they focus on that?
So we did a lot of research. We found this happened to be in a
summer, in July, when the heat wave was up tremendously and
gas prices were going through the roof. So the question was, are
people coming out to spend money in retail? And are we really
driving the traffic out there? And how do we get them there? So
we did a lot of research to understand, where is retail today?
And we happened to come across some information from Forbes
magazine that stated that retail was up 70%, in fact, during that
summer. So it gave us an
©2013 Laureate Education, Inc.
opportunity to lead the press release off with, "According to
Forbes magazine, retail is up 70%. Therefore, Konover has a
strong foothold in retail construction." And gave us an
opportunity, really, to talk about those five projects that they're
working on, and to dig deeper in that.
It was picked up in print magazines, national trade publications,
local press as well-- newspapers. It was picked up online as
well. And then we took that information and we were proactive
with it as well. We'd then either blast email data out to their
client base or we did postcard mailings to announce the fact that
they were covered in these different publications as well.
Another example that I can share with you is a project that we
did for a restaurant called Founding Farmers. It's in
Washington, DC. It's owned by the North Dakota Farmers Union
and it's the whole concept from farm to table. It's located in the
International Monetary Fund Building, great location in
Washington, DC. And there were a lot of wonderful things and
lots of stories to talk about.

It's the first LEED, L-E-E-D, Platinum Project in the District of
Columbia. Meaning that all the materials that are used in this
restaurant are sustainable materials. They do everything that's
sustainable, from recycling to all the materials that they use, to
the food that they serve. And again, it's the whole concept from
farm to table.
And so they came to us and said, we'd like to get as many
people into this restaurant as possible. So we wanted radio and
we wanted advertising and we wanted special events in there as
well. So we held various media events there as well.
We also used foodie channels and blogs and communicated with
different people to drive traffic in there. We found out that
Bourbon Month is in the month of October and we associated
ourselves with a bourbon distributor so that we could have
various events for the entire month of October and drive traffic
into there as well. We've managed to put the chefs on various
TV and local television networks in order to drive people into
the restaurant as well.
We also found a company that would create a feed bag. And we
put their logo on the front of the feed bag. And we worked with
a chef to put gift cards in there, but also breads and jams and
everything that's served in the restaurant. And then spent a day
and went to every concierge desk in Washington to let the hotel
concierge know that this restaurant is new in town and to drive
traffic in there as well.
That was just the grassroots efforts of trying to get people into
this restaurant. But also, just all of the announcements in local
radio, television, and print media as well.
And another thing we used was Twitter and Facebook and
LinkedIn. We used those online tools, again, in the grassroots
effort to get people out.
We had people talking about, I was at Founding Farmers last
night and I had an incredible meal. Or, I met a ton of friends
there. It was a great place for networking and socializing. And

there was cocktailing that they were introducing. And that just
increased awareness as well. People were blogging about it
constantly.
And there is a fear of that. We had one restaurant critic just
slash the restaurant. She said, if I hear one more from farm-to-
table event again, I think I'm going to scream. But it gave us a
chance to still have people talking about it. And that's not a bad
thing. You still want people coming into the restaurant.
Some of the major changes that I've seen throughout many years
of experience is technology. And of course, online publication
and the world wide web.
When I first began, there were four, almost telephone directory-
type resources. And it lists every publication, every radio
outlet, every media, mass communications resource in, again, if
you can imagine a telephone directory. So in order to put a
campaign together, you had to constantly go through these
telephone directories and identify, how does the editor want to
be approached? What's the contact information? So
immediately, the moment that that was published, it was
obsolete.
Today, it's available online. It's a subscription. What we use,
it's called mediacalendars.com. And again, it's a subscription
and a database. So you may plug in restaurants, or architecture,
or a nonprofit organizations. And it will list out every editorial
calendar and every publication looking for that subject matter.
The advice I would give someone that's starting out in this field
would be to educate yourself as to the medium and the audience
and the editor that you want to be in front of. Learn everything
that you can about that individual. It is still about relationships
and individuals. It's difficult because you're trying, again, to get
out to the mass media. But you need to understand what that
editor needs. You need to understand the audience that they
want to be in front of and that you're not wasting their time.
If you do that, you'll get a reputation for doing that and they
won't respond in any way. So the best advice I can give anyone
that wants to get into this field and be effective is to learn as

much as they possibly can about the audience that they want to
be in front of. And then, craft that message and be creative
about it. And think outside of the box. And that's such a cliche
term, but if you can do that all the time, you'll be pretty
successful at it.

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