TeenPeople folds

A new development for People has occured. TeenPeople is folding and being combined with People. When logging onto TeenPeople online, you will be automatically directed to the People website.
It has been reviewd that most teen-related stories sell with older audiences. It is a waste to have two separate websites and magazines. They do just as well in sales when being combined. The site had 435,000 unique visitors in March 2006, but a year later, it didn't meet minimum sample size standards needed to reliably project audience size, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
Today, it seems as though the generation above us keeps up on our generation, and younger, just as much as thier own, if not more. Media is media. That's all there is to it. It either sells or it doesn't. A 27-year-old actress can play a teenager in a seriese and it is acceptable. No questions asked. So who are we to separate young and old? They make the same money, they work the same business, they all sit in the same seats at the Grammy's.

Versacci's daughter battles anorexia...do we care?

I was reading an article about how Donatella Versace's 20 year old daughter is battling anorexia. I think it's almost funny how these types of things continue to hit front pages of magazines and take up slots on television news. People in the entertainment business get so much attention from us all. Like Nicole Ricci's always in the news every time she gains or loses a pound.
If you or I had an eating disorder, would we hit the news? Of course not. What are the standards in the media of what is 'news' and what isn't? Where do we draw the line of the business of other people that we insist on sharing and gossiping about?

TV media turning to the web

MTV is owned by the same people as Comedy Central and these two stations are realizing that more and more now youth is turning to the internet to find quick entertainment. Who wants to wait for a TV show to come on at a certain time when they can watch the whole thing without commercials on the internet? ABC is now showing full episodes of all of their sitcoms on abc.com. You can go back up to four weeks and watch the episodes of over 20 shows. MTV's new approach to entertainment is to have the consumers be more involved. Posting sites and clips online, being able to do their own posts and have more of a say what is being put up on these sites. They are even offering the opportunity to make edits to the television shows. The name of the article is MTV Networks embraces Web chaos to regam viewers.
I think it's pretty much self-explanatory. Instead of running away from the wrath that is internet entertainment, why not join the band wagon and jump in on the fun? There really is no choice at this point but to offer your own services because before long your stuff is going to be on YouTube without your permission anyway, just as it happened with MTV. They demanded their shows be taken off of YouTube, but now they are going to be offering their own clips. In the entertainment business, your main goal is to appeal to your specified, or otherwise all, age groups and what else is there to do but put what you have to offer out on the web where people spend endless hours each and every day. Music clips and several other things are even offered on mobile phones, down loadable with just a click of a button, for only $2.49. Basically everyone is creating their own personality to appeal to everyone. This is what we do as writers too sometimes I think. You want your article to make an impact so you're gonna cater to your audience a little and give them what they want. Even if you want to go against the tide and be your own person, eventually you have to give a little because you want to get known and your writing is not going to go far if it isn't catering to a certain group of people.

Largo City Manager fired because of sex-change

Largo City Manager, Steve Stanton, is being commissioned to be fired of his position after working for the city for 15 years. He is undergoing a sex change and members and neighbors aren't happy. He's being judged for who he wants to be but doesn't think that should change who he has been the last 15 years. This will obviously make him more comfortable with who he is, so it might even make him a stronger leader, but city officials are being forced to decide between what is intolerable or what is progress for the city.
He has promised not to sue the city but many instances of confusion and anger have already been stewing in the city of Largo. What was meant to be kept a secret for a period of time to everyone except his wife, medical board and few City Hall officials, leaked out, even before he could talk to his 13 year old son.
This is such a dramatic situation. The ideals of people are going to be presented so strong-headed that I don't even see a real solution coming from this. I think it will cause so much controversey there is no other option but to have him leave his position. Even if there are people who want to continue to support him and see him in office, there will be three times as many who want to see him out because of moral values. Should we allow personal lifestyles to hinder our professional outlook for the well-being of our city? Where do we cross the line on what we allow to represent who we are in the public eye?

Don't shoo the messenger

I think I just read the best informative PR blog that everyone going into PR or any type of broadcast writing and/or journalism should read. This was a blog written, on Blogspot like these, by Brian Solis, a principal of FutureWorks PR. This was his view of PR today. We need to embrase the online options we have available to us and not take them for granted. Solis encourages us to use the technology and tie it in with press releases and more traditional ways of communication to produce good PR representation. Not to mention that good writing is the source of good PR, and sometimes the writing is the part that is the missing link. The main point being that it may not be that there is just bad stuff going on, its the fact that our messengers, the people who are being paid to relay stories and news and information to all of us, are not well-equipped to produce informative news for readers.

The article lends 10 principles to follow:
1. Elevate the message.

2. Inform not persuade.

3. Write with balance.

4. Include traditional and new media.

5. Be informative.

6. Provide resources.

7. Use available tech to open-up dialogue.

8. Listen.

9. Converse.

10. Learn.


I am so drawn to PR and all of the links and kinks that I love reading these articles of people who are in the business, making money, producing good product and making relationships, another key to good PR. Since my goal is to eventually produce a PR firm that can offer marketing, journalism, good representation and much more, I find these tips are so important to learn now, when I'm just learning about all of this, so everything can be taken into consideration when I'm deciding where I want my career and studies to go.

Oscar spokesman steps down

This post is a little unconventional, however I found it really interesting. I read Official spokesman saying goodbye to Oscar an article about 67 year old John Pavlik, official spokesman for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. And after 39 Oscar shows, he's resigning. He started in 1969 as a junior public-relations executive, his only responsiblity was to bring Oscar winners backstage to the press room. Since then he has met virtually every celebrity, organized several events and seen the history of the Oscars in the making.

This is an example of a man who got a job that turned into a career that became a dream come true. I want to go into PR and to see this man go from nothing to something huge and be apart of such a huge part of America's history (even though its still only entertainment, you still know who Oprah is even if you don't like her acting or her talk show) it is such a memorable job and an honorable position to hold. It gives me hope to see someone accomplish so much and climb to the top; I can only hope I strive as much as Pavlik and make it to the top as well.

Journalists making a bad name

CNBC's journalist, Maria Bartiromo, creates a bad name for journalists, letting public relations take ruin a professional approach. An article from MarketWatch explains that this incident of a journalist turning diva has created a laughingstock for the media and CNBC. This scandal showed up on the cover of the Wall Street Journal, bringing out another addition to the story, Todd Thomson, who is allowing Bartiromo to lead on this lavish lifestyle. CNBC is trying to be looked at as the culprit when in reality they have created this for themselves by looking the other way and allowing Bartiromo to create this low name for herself. She's getting special attention and having an inappropriate relationship with Thomson, flying in the CitiGroup airplane, arguing there was nothing wrong with that.

This is just an example about how the media will tell viewers whatever they want to hide the real story behind the screen and the papers. Bartiromo is now getting even more special attention even though she has created turmoil for the station. Now she is even blocking the spot for a new and more professional journalist to take her spot. Instead, she is taking the spotlight even more and allowing this drama to make the headlines. Writers say this is not going to go away anytime soon. This should be a good example to all of us who want to be in the media writing and in broadcast. We need to have high standards and not allow favoritism and materialistic desires get in the way of our career.