My journey through PR

2009-11-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

When reading the guardian online at lunch I came across a piece written by an internationally reknowned blogger by the name of Penelope Trunks. A very interesting and intelligent woman who has caused quite a stir after tweeting that she was in a meeting having a miscarriage. Her piece, defending herself and her right to free speech led me to look at her blog.

Penelope's blog was really quite inspiring, and got me really thinking about the power of a good blooger, is it a born quality? Does it come with practice?
How can I raise my status as a blogger and what is it the world is looking to read about?

Also as blogging has become a massive open forum of debates over the last few years, with the bloggers achieving a 'celebrity' status, do they sometimes take on more than they can chew? As perhaps could be suggested with people such as Penelope, who although appears to have handled everything as efficiently as if she had a personal PR, still have noticed the invasion her blogging/tweeting has in her everyday life..

Do you fellow bloggers feel the pressures of your blogging weighing you down?! haha (other than being aware that sometimes you're not blogging as often as you should!)

No rest for a PR student

2009-10-15T02:37:00.000-07:00

So I am three and a bit months into my year placement at the top provider for health and care.

It has been a turbulant couple of months that have effectively seen me thrown into the deep end of corporate PR. Having been a student for 4 years and having never been in a corporate environment it was most definitely a massive shock to the system. But I have taken it all in my stride and although there have been ups and downs I appear to be picking up pace and getting the hang of this press officer milarky.
When entering into a massive company I was not prepared for the amount of information I was going to have to take in, remember and reuse. I was also not prepared for the strictness on grammer, phrasing and generally writing all over, this is something I am most definitely going to bring up upon my return to university. The PR world is one that relies on writing and although I can write a perfectly good essay it is very apparent that there is more to writing than this.

I am beginning to start thinking on my own two feet and have been considering project opportunities that I could pose for myself, which may I add is quite exciting as there are only so many press releases one can write about open days.

The chance to do a placement year is already clearly invaluable to my future career, as one of my managers put it 'if you can work here, you can work anywhere'. It not only provides experience in the sector but also an insight into the 'real world' which seems so very very far away during your university years. I warn thee it is rather daunting, but really rather worth it.

2009 PR Industry Nightmare?

2009-01-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

Recession - a period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration.

It's 2009 and second year PR students at Leeds Metropolitan are currently looking for a placement to take them through a year in industry.
But it looks like it's going to be a bit more difficult than normal, with companies cutting costs, making redundancies and the Media having a field day over the phrase 'Credit Crunch', there are very few employers who looking to take on more staff, let alone students.

By now I had expected the placement board to be overflowing with placement after placement each offering a PR adventure in wide variety of areas. Alas this is not so.

The words 'limited in scope or duration' could not sum up my current placement hunting better.

Today I was offered a year placement in a highly respected Music and Entertainments PR company, but due to cut backs they could only afford to offer me expenses of £50 a week, which when living in London is impossible.

Panasonic have retracted three placement offers and many more companies I have contacted myself are unable to offer placements for any longer than a month or so, epescially on a wage basis.

Even the Public sector are beginning to feel the pinch of the 'R' word, I am currently carrying out a placement within the communications department of my local council and I've even begun to notice through relevant media the slow but steady decline in jobs.

At times like this would it be better to get experience within the public as opposed to the private, although it is not secure it still stands relatively firm. I had never considered working within the Public sector until my placement here at the council, although it lacks the glitz and the glamour or consumer/commercial PR it is still very varied and interesting.
Since being here I've seen campaigns that had a budget of £50, and resulted in a energy saving push that could power 3292 homes for a year, all from £50.

You don't get budgets like that in consumer PR, working on a shoe string increases initiative and causes one to be far more productive.

Private or Public...or whatever we can get!

My journey through PR: Interviews/placements and all that Jazz

2008-11-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

My journey through PR: Interviews/placements and all that Jazz

Interviews/placements and all that Jazz

2008-11-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

So having scored a placement in the Yeadon based Direct Marketing Response company the Ashley Bolser Agency I am feeling quite content with my interviewing abilities. Having never had a real interview for an official position I was incredibly nervous and chatted myself through the nerves..which I think could have possibly won my interviewers over.

Over the last week I have been feeling very concerned about my employability at the end of my degree due to placement work.
At present (although this changes regularly) I am not intending on doing a year long placement as I would quite like to get out into the working world before the tender age of 24 (which is what I would be if I were to do a placement year).
Everyone seems so proactive and busy, I am fairly busy but find it difficult to fit everything in with having a regular part time job, placement and university work itself.
Does anyone else feel this pressure bearing down on them when sat in guest lectures and tutorials hearing about the various placements, experiences and published writing that others are getting involved in?

Also I was wondering if any PR employers could give me their opinion on the benefits of doing a placement year. Even though by the end of my degree I will have done at least six placements in a variety of places ranging from the voluntary sector to PR agencies and even magazine work.

First time for everything

2008-09-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

A new semester a new blog entry!
Although there is no denying that I could have done one during the summer but it has been an insanely busy period!
This summer consisted of a variety of activities ranging from working on brick lane in a restaurant to serving over 20,000 pies...No I am not kidding!
All in all it was a great experience, as due to contacts I scored a three week work placement in a Soho based PR company going by the name of Mission Media.
Although I didn't come out with any work for my portfolio just being in the environment, contacting the journalists and helping the PR practitioners was fantastic in itself.
But now I am on the hunt for more knowledge...which I think I may have just sorted in the form of a one day a week placement in the offices of the Faversham!
That and more PR placement coming up soon, must dash as am off to first lecture of the year....It's beginning well!

Taxes taxes taxes

2008-03-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else concerned that these days you don't get any change from a pound when buying a loaf of bread?Has anyone noticed that within the space of a year the petrol prices have hit an all time high? Every day I read about different things rising in prices ranging from houses to bottles of milk. There appears to be no halt on these rising prices and its not like when they do stop that they are ever going to drop.
How are people coping, wages aren't rising so how are people managing to afford this financial change? Will this coping lead to an increase in the numbers of people already in debt?
What about us students getting ready to head into the big wide and ever increasingly expensive world? How will we be able to afford houses? Let alone be able to live to a comfortable standard that we are currently working towards??

Any PR students got any thoughts on this...

2008-02-25T02:08:00.000-08:00

All been incredibly busy as of late! I have received confirmation on my placement with House Beautiful for two weeks in March in the PR capital that is London! I also went for an interview with the Leeds based PR company SLB PR and found out the next day that I had the weekly placement!
Hopefully both these placements will give me lots of material for my portfolio! Fingers crossed

Work with CLIC sargent is also moving along nicely as we have been preparing for the launch of CLICs latest initiative Kick For Children With Cancer.
Kick for Children with Cancer now going into it’s fourth year, is a UK wide initiative organised by CLIC Sargent to encourage children and young people across the country to get out onto the pitch this summer and play football in support of children with cancer.

I have recently compiled a press release for the local launch of the fundraiser in the area of Billingham where last year Northfield Sports College raised £4000, the highest amount raised nation wide.

2008-02-12T02:22:00.000-08:00

At the end of last week I recieved an email from the editorial assistant of the well known magazine House Beautiful.
I had recently contacted a friend who worked for the magazine enquiring as to whether there was any possibility of being able to arrange a short term placement.
The woman who contacted me mentioned the possibility of being able to work with the Features team helping them to compile stories and collect material for future stories....

All sounds quite exciting

2008-02-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

So far this week has seen quite a development in my activites involving Public Relations!
Firstly I have managed to obtain a placement within the Leeds based company SLB PR, which is fantastic, and I am visiting the office tomorrow afternoon to finalise any details. Also within my other placement with the charity CLIC Sargent I have been assigned to the role of press officer for their latest national event Kick for Children with Cancer. For the north east region I have based my launch upon the Billingham area (near Middlesborough) due to this being the area where the highest amount of money was raised last year.
I contacted the main paper for the area the Evening Gazette in search of creating some form of Media Partnership enabling the event to be publicised as fully as possible within the local area. Unfortunatley I was greeted with a very harrassed journalist who didn't really pay much attention to what I was trying to tell her and fobbed me off with a number that so far has not been answered.
Luckily my second port of call was far more successful. Instead of using just newspapers to launch the event I also contacted a regional radio station and propsed the idea of the media partnership. This time I was more practised with how to approach the situation, this seemed to make the difference as I managed to convince the radio that arranging a media partnership with CLIC was the best decision they could make all year!

And so they agreed to look through our proposal during the week and get back to us with their final decision......................Fingers crossed WHOOOOOOOOH OOOOOOOO

2008-01-28T09:38:00.000-08:00

First day of lectures today and felt like i'd never been away...good or bad i'm still deciding!

Various things are different this term such as it being shorter thus meaning we have to work just that little bit hard to fit all the work in which isn't so fun. But spring is coming and the nights are getting brighter so this january depression that appears to have settled on the country will hopefully lift.
Although with rising costs and wages remaining the same why should this feeling of despair lift, being able to afford to live is getting more and more difficult by the day. How large families on low incomes manage i have no idea. Its all rather worrying especially as we the public appear to have completely lost control of our country our finances and pretty much everything else that comes with living in this country.

2008-01-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

Roll on 2008, a new year, a new start and bad habits continue to die hard!

Christmas has come and gone quicker than you can say PR and already we are a week into the new year. The ad breaks are crammed with healthy meal ideas, celebrity exercise videos and weight loss companies promoting their products and services.
We as consumers are being bombarded with things that claim to help us lose those excess christmas pounds ready for the spring and summer....

But do we really need all these products to help us achieve our new years resolutions, are companies not just encourging us to look at ourselves in a negative light?????

My journey through PR

2007-11-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

confussed

2007-11-21T06:37:00.001-08:00

I am the top google search for Natalie Torbett's aalllllll oovvveeerrr the google network whoop whoop! Yay. I'm also hopefully going to get a piece published in the next issue of Behind the Spin...how thoroughly exciting!

2007-11-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

After officially arranging my placement with the charity CLIC Sargent, I rapidly found myself being asked to get involved with various fund and awareness rasing events.
In fact here is one in particular that you the readers may be interested in attending or at least spreading the word and showing support....

Carr Manor Y11 Prince’s Trust xl pupils have taken on a project to raise awareness about the Anthony Nolan Trust. The reason for this is to increase numbers on the Bone Marrow Register and promote the work they do for Leukaemia.
Leukaemia affects thousands of people each year and is by far the largest killer of young people out of all the cancers.
The Anthony Nolan Trust are an organisation striving to raise awareness and increase the number of people on the Bone Marrow Donor Register. Without a donor match many young people die from Leukaemia. Finding a match is a lifeline for many young people suffering from Leukaemia. Unfortunately there are not enough people on the Bone Marrow Donor Register, therefore finding a perfect match is a long and difficult task which can involve searching worldwide.
Searching worldwide takes precious time which is something a sufferer does not have. Unfortunately for some it can be too little too late.
The xl pupils are organising an open event for people in the local community and further a field to come to the school to find out more, spread the word, raise money and more importantly increase the number of people currently on the Bone Marrow Donor register.
The event is to take place at Carr Manor High School on Wednesday 12th December 2007, 5.00 – 8.00pm
On the night there will be all the information you need to help you make the important decision to register on the Bone Marrow donor Register and qualified staff from the Anthony Nolan Trust will be there to guide you through the process.
Theoretically anyone could be the match for one of the 7,000 patients currently waiting for a transplant. In fact, you might be the only person in the world with compatible tissue-type for a patient with a life-threatening illness.
Please come and support this event and give someone the gift of life.
For further information please contact:

J.Laxton / K.Westerman at Carr Manor High School Tel: 0113 3368400 or
The Anthony Nolan Trust
Tel: 020 7284 1234 during office hours, Mon - Fri
e-mail: heathgate@anthonynolan.org.uk

2007-11-07T06:50:00.001-08:00

Man alive, there is quite a lot to a portfolio having had a closer look at one of the absolutley amazing ones from last year....think I need to seriously start getting organised!

2007-11-06T03:37:00.001-08:00

This past week I have taken to ensuring my CV is completed and done to the highest of standards.
I have also been keeping myself up to date with what is going on in the rest of the world through a variety of newspapers ranging from the Daily Express to the Guardian. One thing I have become aware of is the lack of world wide issues being on the first few pages of every newspaper i have read. What i mean by this is for example, the constant coverage of the Madeleine pursuit..which to be honest is not that much of a pursuit. In fact the coverage is identical from day to day. Would it not be more beneficial to the campaign to not make it a constant front page feature and only bring it back out when some real developments are actually made. I suggest this from my own personal thoughts and feelings as the constant non event that is the Madeleine Campaign is beginning to bore me. Don't get me wrong I would love nothing more that the little girl to be returned home safe and sound, but in the grand scale of things, she is one little girl.
All over the world little girls are dying from genocides in Africa to floods in Mexico. These aren't documented quite with the coverage as Madeleine, I realise papers publish what sells.....but is this unchanging story really selling? Would other pressing issues sell more?

2007-10-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Over the last week I arranged a permenant placement with CLIC Sargent which I am starting tomorrow afternoon beginning with cold calling to raise interest in a charity event near Margate.

I also had a meeting with my Pace presentation group, in which we discussed our plan of action for our Caffe Italia presentation. I also began drawing up emails and letters to send to possible placements for the summer period as I am very interested in getting involved in the Public relations aspects of festivals.

2007-10-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Why hello my name is Natalie
Having never written a personal blog before I am unsure as what to write so please bear with me.

I am currently entering the fourth week of the first semester and finally the course is beginning to pick up some speed. I am still undecided if the Public Relations sector is the right route for me but I am hoping first year will shed some more light.

I plan to write on here once or twice a week detailing any major events or activities that I have been involved in as well as setting myself targets to achieve by certain dates. Or just for general chit chat boredom.

This week I plan to arrange my permenant one day placement with "Clic Sargent" as well as starting to find ways of getting more involved in the local PR industry.

Oh and read lots of newspapers!