Group project PR Spring 16.PDF

Baylor Journalism,
PR & New Media
Graduate Program

2
 About Us · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 4
 About JPR&NM · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 5
 SWOT Analysis · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 6
 Target Audience · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 7
 Goals & Objectives · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 8
 Strategies & Tactics · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 9
 Logistics · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·10

3
 Research Instrument · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 12
 Backgrounder · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 26
 News Releases · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 28
 Q&A with Students · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 36
 Media List · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 38
 Evaluation · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 40
 Recommendations · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 42

4
Lauren Sandersen is a
senior accounting
student at Baylor
University. She aims to
earn a CPA license and
law degree. She hopes to
use her PR skills to better
serve future clients.
Cassandra Rodriguez is
a sophomore public
relations major at
Baylor University. She
hopes to one day work
for Disney or for the
Houston Grand Opera.
Tori J Hasty is a
sophomore public
relations major at
Baylor University. Her
favorite aspect of PR is
helping others build
their personal brands.
Heather Smith is a
sophomore public
relations major at
Baylor University with a
minor in history. After
graduation, she hopes
to work in the political
or public affairs sectors.
Robert Koziol is a junior
public relations and
marketing major at
Baylor University. He
has a passion for sports
and is striving to work
in the sports industry
when he graduates.

5
Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez is the director of Baylor's Journalism Graduate Studies. She works closely with the students to
tailor their degree plans to their interests. Baylor’s Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media offers two
graduate-level programs. The Master of Arts program is geared toward students interested in public relations, new media,
news-editorial and production. The Master of International Journalism is geared toward students interested in careers in
foreign correspondence and international mass communication.
The graduate program has a Facebook page that is typically used for news about graduate and faculty achievements,
Baylor University events and trends in public relations. The page is updated daily to engage and update students, faculty and
potential Baylor bears.
The advertising and public relations goals of the graduate program are to add energy, youth and flavor to its website.
Faculty members want to bring a unique perspective to the table to give potential students a better insight as to what Bay-
lor’s graduate program can offer them. The graduate program wants to improve their presence on their Facebook and Twitter
accounts to reach students.

7
The target audience:
 Any college graduate both nationally and internationally who shows a genuine passion for journalism.
 Baylor alumni who may be interested in pursuing a master’s degree.
How to reach target audience:
 Social media channels like Instagram and Twitter, seeing as these are media commonly used by this target audience.
 The website will be made more interactive and “student friendly.”

8
Goal
The main goal is to attract a high caliber and quality of interested and passionate students to attend Baylor University’s
Journalism, PR and New Media graduate program. Our client, Dr. Moody-Ramirez, wants our team to help improve the gradu-
ate department website in order to make it more interactive, informative and appealing.
Objective
Last semester, there were 35 views on the journalism graduate Web page. Our objective is to increase these views to 50
by the end of the semester.

9
We plan to collaborate with the journalism department faculty, current Baylor University journalism students and
alumni of the program in order to provide information on the graduate program in an engaging manner. The different tactics
our team will employ to help our client include:
Improve Web page
 Add student testimonials gathered from a Q&A.
 Photos of the graduate students as a whole program, studying or working as a teacher’s assistant.
 Provide key statistics about the graduate program gathered from research and a survey in a compelling way.
 Promote the new concentrations that the Journalism Graduate Program has to offer.
 Provide information on activities to do in Waco, Texas.
Social Media
 Ramp up the quality of the department’s social media platforms.
 Suggest creating a Twitter and Instagram account.
 Improve and revise the Facebook account with Hootsuite posts and Baylor related media.
Interviews
 Interview current and former graduate students as well as Dr. Moody and Dr. Stone.
 Interview students to see what the workload is like, the relationships that are built, etc.
 Interview some of the professors to provide more information on the graduate program.

10
February 15
Client Summary
February 24
Media List
Media Kit
March 1
Create Research Instrument
March 2
Lauren will prepare Q&A
March 16
Research Instrument
March 21
Assemble first half of plan book and do final editing
March 28
Finalize plan book
March 30
First half of plan book completed
April 21
Practice and plan group presentation
Discuss final plan book
April 25
Group Presentations Begin
April 27
Final plan book completed

11
It would be most beneficial to target Baylor undergraduate students who are
journalism or marketing majors to complete our survey. We believe this will give us
better input regarding how interested current college students are in graduate school,
and more specifically, the Baylor Journalism, PR, and New Media Graduate Program.
This will include young adults typically ages 18 to 22, both male and female and
coming from various races and ethnicities.
Our plan to administer our research includes reaching out to about 350
journalism students via their Baylor emails. Because all journalism majors at Baylor
University would be able to participate, the survey would be census sampling. The
email would ask the students to kindly fill out the quick survey and would include a
link. We would send out two different emails reminding them of the opportunity.
Example: Student Survey

12
Research Tool
 The research tool used is Survey Planet
 The surveys are enabled for desktop, tablet or mobile devices,
allowing it to be more accessible to students.
 Survey Planet improved data analysis of the results.

26
CONTACT: Tori J Hasty 817-914-5855
February 2016
THE BAYLOR JOURNALISM GRADUATE PROGRAM
Program Backgrounder
The Baylor Journalism Graduate Program was founded by Dr. Loyal Gould in the mid-1970s with Master of International Journalism and
since then, the program has grown and transformed to meet the demands of the changing industry.
The first MIJ graduate was Professor Arnold de Beer, who went on to teach in his native country, South Africa.
In 1994, the Master of Arts was added to the curriculum. During this time, Dr. Lianne Fridricksson served as the graduate director, while
Dr. Michael Bishop served as the department chair.
When Dr. Clark Baker became the department chair in 2009, Journalism, Public Relations and New Media became the new name of the
department.
Today, Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez serves as the program director with Dr. Sara Stone as the department chair. Dr. Moody-Ramirez not only
teaches multiple undergraduate courses, but she also works very closely with the graduate students to build courses specific to their interests.
-more-
Department of Journalism, PR & New Media / One Bear Place #97353 / Waco, TX 76798-7353 / Phone 254-710-3261 / www.baylor.edu/journalism

27
Baylor Graduate Program Backgrounder -- page 2
The graduate program offers two graduate-level programs: Master of Arts and Master of International Journalism. The Master of Arts caters
to students interested in public relations, new media, news-editorial and production. The Master of International Journalism caters to stu-
dents interested in foreign correspondence and international mass communication.
The goal of the graduate program is to foster the development of a new breed of journalists, PR professionals and mass media com-
municators whose work represents a much broader range of perspectives.
Each graduate student is paired with a faculty member in the department allowing the student to serve as his or her teaching assistant
while they are enrolled. The faculty-student relationship is one of the many things that makes this graduate program different than most
schools.
As of June 2016, admission to the graduate program does not require a GRE score. Prospective students are asked to submit a portfo-
lio, writing samples, letters of recommendation and transcripts. For more information visit Baylor's JPRNW Graduate Program and like us on
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bujougrad/ .
###
Department of Journalism, PR & New Media / One Bear Place #97353 / Waco, TX 76798-7353 / Phone 254-710-3261 / www.baylor.edu/
journalism

28
FOR MEDIA RELEASE
CONTACT: Robert Koziol 832-341-0553
February 2016
Baylor at AEJMC Midwinter Conference 2016
NORMAN, Oklahoma, Feb. 29, 2016 – Baylor had a very strong presence at this year’s AEJMC Midwinter Conference held Feb. 26-27 at the Gay-
lord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma.
Sponsored by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the conference provides a platform for presentations and
extended discussions in a relaxed setting that is ideal for graduate students and scholars who want to receive feedback on their work from other
scholars.
“Over the last two years, I have collaborated on six papers with professors after meeting them at the AEJMC Midwinter Conference,” said Mia
Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., an associate professor, Graduate Program Director and American Studies Program Director in the Baylor University De-
partment of Journalism, PR & Media. “It is a wonderful conference that allows participants to share ideas and network with scholars who share
similar research interests.”
This year, three Baylor University graduate students and two professors had papers selected for presentation at the two-day conference. The
acceptance rate for conference abstracts ranges from 40 to 60 percent.
-more-

29
AEJMC Midwinter Conference 2016- page 2
“We had an exceptional group of graduate students submit papers and have them selected for presentation by a panel of peer reviewers,”
said Moody-Ramirez who encourages graduate students and faculty members to present at the conference to interact with other scholars and to
receive feedback on their work.
Moody-Ramirez, David Lin, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Baylor Department of Computer Science, and Kaitlyn Skinner, a journalism grad-
uate student, presented a paper titled, “A critical race analysis of the themes that emerged in tweets following the 2015 biker shootout in Waco,
Texas.”
Moody-Ramirez and Lin were also the co-presenters of “Case study: An examination of YouTube comments following President Barack
Obama’s 2015 rendition of “Amazing Grace,” with Riva Brown, an associate professor at the University of Central Arkansas.
A first-time attendee, Skinner also presented, “One word is all it takes: A case study of celebrity chef Paula Deen,” a paper she co-authored
with Emily Evans. Skinner also presented a solo-authored piece titled, “Snapchat: A content analysis of themes in screenshots.”
Tonya B. Lewis, a recent graduate of the journalism department and assistant director of Media Communications at Baylor University, agreed
that the conference provides a great forum for graduate students and professors to share their work.
“I am looking forward to returning in the future,” said Lewis who presented a paper titled, “The crime that was heard around the world: A
feminist critical discourse analysis of media coverage of the New Delhi gage rape.”
Although unable to attend, Liz Fassih, an American Studies graduate student who won the 2015 Top Paper Abstract with Dr. Moody-Ramirez
from the Commission of the Status of Women, had accepted for presentation a paper titled, “Some names are safer here: Connotations of
“Iranian” and “Persian” in the United States.” Moody-Ramirez also presented a paper co-authored with Fassih and Macarena Hernandez, The Fred
Hartman Distinguished Professor of Journalism, titled, “Spanning the decades: An analysis of Monica Lewinsky’s image restoration strategies dur-
ing a 2015 TED Talks appearance.”
###

30
FOR MEDIA RELEASE
CONTACT: Heather Smith 210-870-7794
February 2016
BAYLOR JOURNALISM GRADUATES ACHIEVING PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS
Former bears put their graduate degrees to good use -
WACO, Texas, Feb. 22, 2016 – In the wake of a new era at Baylor University, the Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media’s
graduate program is leading the way in producing successful professionals. Between its Master of International Journalism and its Master of Arts
program, the department has educated the current director of estate and gift planning for the American Cancer Society, the digital communica-
tions manager for the Houston Rockets and even its own director of graduate studies.
Meredith Millard, who received her master’s degree in international journalism through the Baylor graduate program, serves as director of
estate and gift planning for the American Cancer Society in Denton, Texas. Millard, who graduated from the program in 2014, focused her studies
in International Economics, Development and Communication. During her time as a Baylor graduate student, the program helped develop her
professional skills immensely as she participated in the American Studies Association of Conference and was awarded second place for her study
on sustainable business models. A champion for health, social services and humanitarian relief, Millard directly transferred the skills she devel-
oped from the Baylor graduate school into her professional career, where she continues to thrive.
-more-

31
Baylor Journalism Graduates Achieving Professional Success– Page 2
The former digital communications manager of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Chad Shanks, received his Master of Arts in Journalism
through the Baylor graduate program in 2010. As digital communications manager, Shanks utilized the skills in marketing, strategic planning and
supervision that the Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media provided him with, and thrived in his position for three
years. Shanks has now transferred his Baylor-gained skills toward marketing, currently working as director of marketing for StatMuse, Inc., a web-
site which compiles and shares NBA statistics.
Perhaps the department’s most well-known graduate is its own director of graduate studies, Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez. A true communica-
tions professional, Moody-Ramirez studied in the Master of Arts program at Baylor and earned her master’s degree in journalism in 2001. Today,
not only does Moody-Ramirez serve as Baylor’s journalism graduate program director, but also as director of American studies. Having conducted
research into race and gender portrayal in media, written two books and refereed a plethora of articles, Moody-Ramirez has truly put her gradu-
ate degree from Baylor to incredible use.
“I am a graduate of this program and have been teaching here 15 years,” Moody-Ramirez said. “Faculty members stick around, and that
says a lot about the strength of our program.”
Having educated the Director of Estate and Gift Planning for one of the United States’ top nonprofit organizations, an excellent NBA com-
municator and even its own director, the Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media graduate program continues to prove
to the education world that it is a force to be reckoned with.
###

32
FOR MEDIA RELEASE
CONTACT: Cassandra Rodriguez 832-221-7775
February 2016
Baylor Journalism Grad School Takes New Direction
- Admission changes and diverse coursework-
WACO, Texas, February 24, 2016—As the Baylor Journalism, Public Relations and New Media Graduate program has begun to experience increasing success, a
new approach is being made regarding the application process. Having previously been based off of the student’s GRE score, applicants are now required to
submit a dynamic portfolio demonstrating their range of skills. The number of applicants is expected to increase due to this process, according to Associate Pro-
fessor Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez. “We feel that this better measures the student’s skills,” says Moody-Ramirez.
Once admitted to the program, students are educated in mass communication research, and may choose to take spe-
cialized courses in economics, philosophy, psychology, statistics, management, and many other areas of study to supplement their journalism education.
Providing students with the opportunity to choose from an expansive array of courses allows them to better customize their degree plan to better suit personal
career and professional goals.
-more-

33
Baylor Journalism Grad School Takes New Direction- Page 2
With opportunities such as internships abroad, the Baylor Journalism, Public Relations and New Media Graduate program gives students a hands-on
journalism education.
Degrees offered by the Baylor Journalism, PR and New Media Graduate program include:
Master of Arts in Journalism, Public Relations and New Media
Master of International Journalism
Additional contact: Dr. Mia Moody- Ramirez at 254-710-7247 (mia_Moody@baylor.edu)
###

34
FOR MEDIA RELEASE
CONTACT: Tori J Hasty 817-914-5855
February 2016
Baylor University’s Graduate Program Implements New Admission Requirements and Courses in Journalism
WACO, Texas, Feb. 22, 2016 -- Baylor University's Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media has formed a new set of admission
requirements and courses. The department's goal is to increase the quantity and quality of students who enroll.
“The vision of the Journalism, Public Relations and New Media graduate program is to become a premier journalism graduate program
that is recognized in the industry for the scholarship, leadership and teaching expertise of its faculty, students and graduates,” said Dr. Mia Moody
-Ramirez, the graduate program director.
The JPRNM department offers two graduate-level programs of study, Master of Arts and Master of International Journalism.
-more-

35
Baylor Journalism Grad School Takes New Direction- Page 2
The JPRNM department hopes to add a Master of Arts in Strategic Communications in the near future to aid in recruitment of students to
the program. Not only is adding a new program going to be used as a recruitment tool, the graduate program decided to no longer require a GRE
score. Now, students are only required to submit a portfolio, writing samples, letters of recommendation and transcripts.
The graduate program believes this will allow quality students to be accepted into the program based on their unique portfolios.
The graduate program already added two new concentrations: advertising and critical studies. The department sees these additions as be-
coming highly desirable to prospective students.
Each graduate student is given the opportunity to be paired with a faculty member and serve as his or her teaching assistant. These faculty
members help serve as the graduate’s mentor while they are at Baylor.
For more information visit Baylor's JPRNW Graduate Program and like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bujougrad/ .
###

36
In order to add students perspective to the journalism graduate Web page, we emailed eight current journalism graduate students a short
Q&A about their Baylor experience and their time in the master’s program. We shared the feedback provided from the students, along with the
pictures they provided, with Dr. Moody to add to the journalism graduate Web page. We asked them the following questions:
1. What attracted you to the Baylor journalism program?
2. What are your goals after graduation?
3. What are your goals while in school?
4. Where did you receive your undergraduate degree?
5. What are the most desirable qualities for a graduate degree in journalism?
We compiled what we felt to be the most relatable and moving responses into the graphic on the next page.

37
Kendall McCullough
I would like to go into a career that has
something to do with writing and culture. I
think the more I learn about different fields
and subjects, the more I am prepared to
tackle anything that is culturally relevant.
Elizabeth Spencer
I was attracted to the Baylor Journalism Mas-
ters program because of the amazing profes-
sors. I had the privilege of working with the
many fantastic professors in the department
through my career as a Baylor undergrad stu-
dent, and I wasn't ready to leave them be-
hind just yet!
Sawyer Smith
Baylor offered me the chance to continue
my education at a Christian institution. And
further, the opportunity to tailor my journal-
ism degree to my specific study interests.
Wenjing Shi
The high quality of education, kind profes-
sors and staff, advanced equipment and
beautiful school environment attracted me
to Baylor.
Derek Blaine
Knowledge is the most desirable outcome. I
want to ensure that when I leave, I've got
the best education and set of skills I need for
anything the future might throw at me.

38
Randy Fiedler - Baylor College of Arts and Sciences Director of Marketing and Communications
254-710-3145
Randy_Fiedler@baylor.edu
Randy Fiedler would be a good contact because he represents the Baylor College of Arts and Sciences on a public relations basis managing social
media accounts. He would appreciate receiving our story because it highlights the growth and successes of the Baylor Department of Journalism,
PR and New Media’s Graduate Program.
Terry Goodrich - Baylor’s Marketing and Communications
254-710-1961
Terry_Goodrich@baylor.com
Terry Goodrich is in charge of Baylor’s media relations for the College of Arts and Sciences. She can send out information to traditional media and
trade press about Baylor’s graduate program.
Randy Morrison - Editor in Chief, Baylor Magazine & Director of Alumni Communications
254-710-4366
The mission of The Baylor Magazine is to engage alumni and friends in the advancement of the university. This would be a great outlet to
promote Baylor’s graduate program to alumni who may be interested in the program or know someone who may be.
Maleesa Johnson - Baylor Lariat Editor-in-Chief
Maleesa_Johnson@baylor.edu
The Baylor Lariat communicates news to students and faculty at Baylor University. Maleesa covers news on what is happening in different scho-
lastic departments for the Baylor Lariat. This would be a good outlet to promote the program to current Baylor University students.
John Carroll - KWTX-TV
John.Carroll@kwtx.com
KWTX-TV would be a good contact for our client because it is the local news station in Waco. Whenever something big happens with the program
on Baylor’s campus, our client could receive news coverage for events and accomplishments.

39
Ken Sury - Waco Tribune
Ksury@wacotrib.com
The Tribune is Waco’s dominant newspaper, reaching citizens, faculty and students alike. Ken Sury works as the Tribune’s community editor,
writing stories on Waco and Baylor, and would be a great asset to the graduate program by alerting the community to happenings in the graduate
school.
Julie Vrazel - Public Relations Society of America - Central Texas
254-751-2237
Julie Vrazel is the president of the Central Texas PRSA chapter. Vrazel would be a valuable asset to the graduate program by keeping the chapter
updated on occurrences within the program and connecting future professionals with current professionals.
Ericka Mellon - Houston Chronicle
citydesk@chron.com
The Houston Chronicle would be a great publication to contact for our client because this publication often covers educational news on a universi-
ty level, so our stories may be something they are interested in. Also, Houston is a massive and diverse city and we would reach a very large audi-
ence by having our stories published by them.
Demi Busby - Baylor University’s Public Relations Student Society of America
817-312-4209
Demi_Busby@baylor.edu
Baylor University's chapter of PRSSA would be a good fit for our client because the chapter runs its own blog and could give us a new platform to
relay information to undergraduate students. Since PRSSA is a chartered organization, it will help the graduate program gain national influence.
Megan Willome - Wacoan Magazine
Megan@wacoan.com
Megan Willome, the managing editor at the Wacoan Magazine, is a valuable contact because the Wacoan is a prominent local media outlet. The
Wacoan writes about Baylor University often.

40
Accomplishments
 News Release about the AEJMC Conference posted on the Baylor graduate program website.
 Gathered relatable feedback from current graduate students for the department Web page.
 Administered a survey about the program.
 Created several news releases for use on social media and the Web page.

41
Survey Result Evaluation
 Our target audience uses Instagram more frequently than twitter, and they prefer the social media platform over twitter for researching a
graduate program.
 Most students have moderate knowledge and interest in pursuing a Master’s degree from the Baylor JPR&NM program.
 The three most important factors for students when considering a program were location, price and program track options.
 Students largely felt that the website needed to be “more youthful” and less wordy.
Future Evaluation
At the beginning of the semester, Professor MacVeigh was able to provide information on the number of web Page visits from the
2015 fall semester. In the future, as the program continues to enhance its Web page and social media presence, we suggest that the depart-
ment tracks the number of visits more frequently.

Continue to improve social media presence:
 Update Facebook frequently with faculty and student accomplishments, information about the program and trends in journalism
 Create program specific Instagram account for the graduate school
 Post interactive videos and graphics to draw more attention
 Inform prospective students about Waco
 Send potential applicants to the journalism graduate program Web page by adding a link to relevant posts
Continue to improve the website:
 Change the layout of the website to have a defined identity for the graduate program
 Pair down the wording to get to the point quicker because students prefer to skim
 Personalize the page with pictures of students’ experiences
 Include student and faculty accomplishments
 Prominently display links to social media accounts
 Check number of Web page visits more frequently in order to track and evaluate interest

Group project PR Spring 16.PDF

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (17)

Similar to Group project PR Spring 16.PDF

Similar to Group project PR Spring 16.PDF (20)

Group project PR Spring 16.PDF