Niagara University Public Relations

Spring 2016

Getting hired as an intern at Niagara University is a process like any other place of work. Several times you will have to meet with Michael Freedman before being considered for the position. Mr. Freedman (or as he likes to be called ‘Mike’) was an excellent internship advisor who gave remarkable feedback on every assignment. Also, several times I collaborated with another intern, Andrew Emmons. This internship was more than a mark on my resume.I was truly thankful for individuals like Michael Freedman and Andrew Emmons whom helped me along the way. As an intern, you gain experience and knowledge that you cannot find anywhere else. At the end of my internship, Mike scheduled a meeting with me and Andrew in order to talk about our overall experience. The great thing about Niagara University is that your advisors care about you as well as your work. There is a proper balance between teacher and guide.

For the first week of my internship, Mike asked me to do a news story during the Martin Luther King Jr week celebration. The event I covered was the discussion “Black Lives Matter v. All Lives Matter”. Dr. Paul C Taylor led the talk and several Niagara University students and faculty were in attendance. The conversation lasted over an hour and I recorded it all with my cell phone. News stories take time to write. It is important to interview both keynote speakers and students at an event so that the article does not sound completely bias. Mike was truly pleased with my work ethic and posted the news story to the campus website. Andrew’s photographs that he took for the event can be seen as on the university website as well.

This internship is like a real position at a PR company. Mike will recommend for you to go to some events, however, he will not be there hovering over your shoulder to get something done. Basically, independence is key. Make sure to be vocal. Shyness is no where needed in this profession.

The second week I wrote a story about Family Feud night at Niagara University. This event was definitely more laid back because it was a game show instead of a discussion held by an academic. An entertainment company based in Lockport actually curated the event. Begin to take notes as soon as you arrive. It is important to get curators’ first and last names as well as the individuals who won prizes at game events. Even though this event was fun and more laid back, it is important to note that AP (associated press ) style should always be used. At the end of the night, people want to leave and will find you a nuisance. Make sure that you ask interesting questions.

Weeks 3,4 & 5

The third week, Mike was out of town and there were no interesting stories to be written. It is a good idea to research future events on campus. Make sure they fit in with your schedule. Do not neglect your schoolwork or procrastinate on writing articles for this internship. There will be times when one day will be completely calm and the next filled madness. You must learn how to organize your time well. No one can complete this internship for you.

The Susan B. Anthony writing award ceremony was held during the fourth week of my internship. Freshman Sara Anderson won the award. Her essay focused on the famous character “Jane Eyre”. It was apparent that Anderson worked very hard on her essay and was passionate about Jane Eyre. As I wrote this story, I wanted the reader to feel her passion through my words. Originally her microphone was not loud. I advise anyone who has an internship to sit closer to where the speaker is in the room so you can hear every word.

Everyone at the event were in good spirits as food was served. Dr. Timothy Ireland, dean of the college of arts and sciences, as well as several other faculty complimented Anderson. Do proper research before attending an event in order to dress for the occasion. Remember to record the responses of both faculty and students during award ceremony. Also, please write down the year the student is in, as well as an excerpt of their essay or research. Live-tweeting is a great way to earn publicity for the award ceremony.

It is impressive to your employers when you come up with more fun-loving ideas. Since February was Black History Month, Mike helped me formulate an idea to recap the entire month and not several small articles of each event. Over the course of February, I interviewed numerous people and attended several events in order to create a thorough recap of Black History Month.

Mike served as my editor and sent back any errors bolded in red. He really enjoyed reading the news story and published it to the school website once again. It is important to include a quick summary of all the events that you go to if you are going to write a quick recap. Also, write down the individuals who are responsible for making the event happen. If a professor has a long title, it is best to go to the school’s official website to make sure that what you wrote is correct. My favorite event during black history month was a discussion held with a former member of the Black Panther Party. It was amazing to meet someone who directly was a part of the civil rights group.

Graduate assistant, Isaac De Los Santos, also curated an event that focused on interracial dating. An episode from South Park was screened and the discussion held afterwards was mostly student based. If you have to attend an event that takes place in a large room, my best advice is to not be a distraction towards everyone, and lay low.

Sometimes, there will be events that have a terrible turn out. Around the 5th week of my internship, there was a faculty reception that Mike asked me to attend. The event was quite small with barely anyone in attendance. There was food and it seemed as though faculty engaged in conversation within themselves. Mike gave me permission to leave the event if there was poor attendance, so I did. As a journalist, you will have to make those tough decisions. Every event on campus will not be worth the time covering.

Weeks 6 through 10

Time around the midterm period was a bit more hectic. Much schoolwork was expected from me and I still had work from my internship to do. Mike was an excellent boss who looked for hard work and determination in all of his interns. New ideas are something that he looks for. Most events that you go to, you either may be alone or with another intern. Unfortunately, not everyone will be as forgiving as Mike.

Interns are asked to take media writing before starting. It would be helpful to purchase the newest edition of the AP style guide book. In honor of women’s history month, I was asked to write a press release informing the public about all of the events happening on campus. Press releases are not my strong suit. It is hard for all work to be perfect, that is why being an intern is so humbling. Thankfully, there are great websites that refresh your memory on how to right both press releases and media advisories. Also, it is smart to look up press releases that the school has written and take notes.

One of the first stories for women’s history month focused on Laura Packer, a woman who told the story of abolitionist and suffragist, Sojourner Truth. Packer’ s storytelling took place inside Castellani Art Museum in front of a ready crowd. Before and after the event, I made sure to interview several people including faculty, students and Ms. Packer herself. Since Truth was a historical icon, I made sure to interview Dr. Shannon Risk, a history professor at Niagara University, who gave great detail about Truth and her story.

I also attended a Women in S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) discussion for another class. Any bit of information that could help the university can be sent to Mike. Whatever interviews that are recorded should be kept for future reference. If you decide not to write a full blown news story, Mike can still take the information you have and use them as PR tweets.

Sometimes you will be asked to go to multiple ceremonies or discussions in one week. Keep in mind, that you do not have to go to all of them. However, it is important to make the internship one of your top priorities. Most of the correspondence of the internship took place online.

Periodically, Mike emailed me to ask if I could have a meeting with him to discuss the internship and receive some feedback. It is important to honestly answer all of Mike’s questions. If there are any problems, he is openly willing to help you. Not all of the articles you write will be published to the school’s website. It is important to gain knowledge on how to write proper news stories so that you can be considered a great content creator in the future.

Weeks 10 through 15

Towards the end of the semester things started to become more hectic. Graduation preparations began and several honor society ceremonies started. Also, schoolwork is at a whole new high while several events take place. It is important to communicate with Mike on a weekly basis to make sure that the both of you are on the same page. Make sure that you record each time there are errors on previous news stories. Usually, it’s the same mistakes that are made over again.

The biggest events during my internship were the Fostering Racial and Social Justice Conference as well as the Undergraduate Research conference. I actually presented at the FRSJ conference and even introduced a speaker. Conferences are unlike all the other events. Individuals are usually dressed in business clothes and everyone is on their best behavior. Faculty and students take pride in their hard work and research, so everyone should treat each other with great respect. Usually there is a main coordinator for the conferences. It is important to get an interview with them.

The FRSJ conference took place April 15-16, 2016. Dr. David Reilly and Dr. Michael Durfee were among some of the individuals interviewed. The conference was very long and a two day event. I had the honor of sitting with the keynote speakers during dinner time. There were several panels to attend. There was much time dedicated to this article. After numerous people were interviewed, I had over an hour of pure recordings. This article was a collaboration with Mike and it was published to the school’s website. The entire conference turned out to be a huge success and it was wonderful to be a part of something that made a difference.

I decided to collaborate with Mike once more for the Undergraduate Research Conference. There was less of my input with this article since I could not attend as many panels. Even if you cannot write a full length feature story, there can always be something done. I provided a compilation of quotes and information ready to be used and Mike approved.