Niagara University - Public Relations

Spring 2017

The internship I did was press releases and articles for Niagara University’s Facebook page. Now, looking back, I am very happy I made the decision to do the independent study. Although it was challenging at times, it has been very rewarding.

I started the semester with having a few meetings with my mentor. They helped me start with a schedule of different activities and events that would be taking place throughout the semester. We also made sure I could attend the events around my rehearsal schedule. They pointed out to me that it was important to try and come as close to 150 hours as possible. However, because the spring semester was not as busy as the fall I had to do some brainstorming about different events to write on. This would help keep my readers interested in what I was writing about. This is when I came up with the idea to do the events I was assigned, as well as writing on individual people who had big accomplishments during the spring.

The first article I wrote on was the Niagara University’s Theatre Department. While doing this first article I struggled on how to go about the interview. I used a recorder to record the interview and took lots of notes. However, I found it difficult to type as fast as the people talking in the recording. It was very time consuming and would take more time to type up their answers then it would to write and format the piece correctly.

For the interview process, I noticed it was easier to send the questions to people via email instead of trying to type what I heard from a recording device. This way people could type as much as they would like and I could use as much as I would like. This made the articles run more smoothly and flow from one idea to the next. With emailing people the questions, they felt more comfortable to give longer and more interesting answers. This was beneficial to me because when writing the articles and press releases it was also good to have more information then too little.

Certain skills performed included learning how to properly plan out when to write the articles. A huge part of this internship is timing. Some of the articles I had interviewed on I was not able to write the article. This is because people find things more interesting when it is still “new” news. If new things are already happening after your article, it will not seem as important. I kept this in mind when going to the events or interviewing individuals. I would try and write the articles that same night or the next day while the information was still fresh in my head. This way the article would be submitted in a timely fashion and still be inviting to the viewers.

I learned how to quote people properly. I learned how to properly introduce someone, as well as how to carry on from one idea to the next. The articles got much easier as the semester went on because I was getting used to the tools I needed to use. Especially email. Email was my best friend in this internship. My mentor always was available through email and was very enthusiastic about the articles written. They were very helpful with questions and who I could turn to when I needed help.

The benefits of the independent study involved myself being my own cheerleader. I felt very independent and got into the habit of pushing myself on certain days to only focus on my interviews and typing up the articles. This semester I had only one class on Monday and Wednesdays. The rest of the afternoon I focused only on my independent study. Setting up a scheduled time for myself to write the articles was very helpful.

The drawbacks of this position were probably not being able to attend certain events. For every event I could not attend I had to brainstorm ideas on what to write on. Each week I handed in 1 to 2 articles, which doesn’t sound terrible, but sometimes was a lot to handle. Here is why. For those events, I could not make in person I would email recipients or the head of the organizations for more information. However, some people would take a few days to return their answers which then would have me writing articles very late in the week. I would say be very open to going to the all the events advertised when doing this independent study because it makes your papers so much easier to write. This way you have your own background information and other people’s comments and opinions to support the article.

Going into this independent study I knew I would be challenged with my writing skills. However, with the help of my mentor and other communication students I could develop a better understanding of the papers that needed to be written. I am more positive in my writing skills and can write the papers in a timely fashion.

I do not see myself doing this position as a career. I would rather be a part of the film industry rather than the writing industry. I am also a theatre performance major so the camera can connect back to my Theater studies.

I highly recommend this independent study for anyone who wants to be more involved in the school and doesn’t mind working on their own. You can work around your own schedule and the mentors are always by your side to help answer questions. I was involved in this independent study while being a Spring Semester Senior. As well as being enrolled in seven classes. The independent study is easy if you make a schedule for yourself to follow. Think of it as a class that you still must attend two times a week. In the end, you should acquire 1 to 2 articles a week.