COMM 337: Agenda

1. COMM 337: Agenda

2. Public Communication Socialization to PR Media theories Framing Agenda setting Diffusion of innovations Persuasion Media relations New media Speechwriting Writing • Plagiarism • AP Style • Finding the focus

5. COMM 337 – Agenda setting What is agenda setting? Who sets the agenda? How?

6. COMM 337 – Diffusion theory What is diffusion?

7. COMM 337 – Diffusion theory What is diffusion? • Relative advantage • Compatibility • Complexity • Trialability • Observability

8. COMM 337 – Diffusion theory Keurig coffee system Android smart phone Metric system iPad

9. COMM 337: Focus

10. COMM 337 • Finding focus • Sounds easy, but a continuous struggle. • We must know what news is. • We must know our audience. • i.e. quotes; unnamed sources • Lack of focus • Sign of cluttered thinking. • Sign of stenography. • How not to summarize a speech.

11. COMM 337 • Journalists are good at this. • Focus answers the question “So What?” • Or, “Why is this important?” • “What is most unusual or newsworthy?” • Always ask yourself: “What is most interesting about this information?” • Think of your audience.

12. COMM 337 • Focus changes depending on: • Who we represent. • Our audience. • Timeliness of the information. • Among other things …

13. COMM 337 • Four facts • Today the Nobel Prize in economics was announced. • An American University professor, John Smith, won the prize. • He studies the stock market and proposes investors should band together to fire CEOs. • He said last month the Nobel Prize was “worthless” (and now he has won it).

14. COMM 337 • Imagine you are writing the press release for American University. • What is your focus? • Today the Nobel Prize in economics was announced. • An American University professor, John Smith, won the prize. • He studies the stock market and proposes investors should band together to fire CEOs • He said last month the prize was “worthless.”

15. COMM 337 • For the American University press office. • Proximity (It’s American University!) • Timeliness (It happened today!)

16. COMM 337 • For the American University press office. • Proximity (It’s American University!) • Timeliness (It happened today!) An professor at American University was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics today.

17. COMM 337 Rewrite the lead for a press release three months later. An economics professor at American University was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics today.

18. COMM 337 Rewrite the lead for a press release three months later. An economics professor at American University has been awarded the Nobel Prize in economics.

19. COMM 337 • Imagine you are writing the press release for U.S. Chamber of Commerce. • What is your focus? • Today the Nobel Prize in economics was announced. • An American University professor, John Smith, won the prize. • He studies the stock market and proposes investors should band together to fire CEOs • He said last month the prize was “worthless.”

20. COMM 337 • For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. • He studies the stock market and proposes investors should band together to fire CEOs. • Timeliness (It happened today!)

21. COMM 337 • For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. • He studies the stock market and proposes investors should band together to fire CEOs. • Timeliness (It happened today!) A scholar who proposes firing all CEOs was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics today.

22. COMM 337 • For The New York Times. • He said last month the prize was “worthless.” • Timeliness

23. COMM 337 • For The New York Times. • He said last month the prize was “worthless.” • Timeliness A scholar who said last month the Nobel Prize in economics was “worthless” today won the prize.

24. COMM 337 • For an association of economists. The Nobel Prize in economics was given today to an economist whose research urges greater activism in stockholders. • Focusing on the research

25. COMM 337: Publics

26. COMM 337 • What is the focus of the assignment? • Draft a lead. • Consider the press conference. Tell me an audience you might appeal to, and how you would appeal to them.

28. End