I was glued to my computer screen reading my students’ blog posts last night! I have profiled my favorite posts that they wrote last week.
Fernando Aguirre Robert Iger
Chiquita Chairman and CEO Disney President and CEO
On Consuming PR, Sarah Essary deconstructs the differences between the executive head shots on Disney’s shareholder letter and on Chiquita’s shareholder letter.
As shown above on the right, Robert Iger, Disney’s chairman and CEO, dons a suit with a black tie at what looks like a red carpet event. The picture looks like a paparazzi picture: Iger looks away from the camera, and there are people in the background.
Compare Iger’s photo with the picture of Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita’s chairman and CEO. Aguirre looks directly into the camera and wears a casual dress shirt. His chin and forehead have a little shine, suggesting that this is not a touched up picture. Aguirre’s shareholder letter begins with “fellow shareholders,” which captures the tone of his picture as well.
To Sarah and I, Aguirre’s picture communicates warmth, professionalism, and a focus on his readers. We agree that Iger’s picture looks cold and elite. Let’s hope for a warm picture from Disney next year.
On Pat on the Back, Pat Foulon talks about Sen. Obama’s speech at the University of Oregon. Obama denounced spin, lies and PR. Would it have been difficult for Obama to at least say “bad PR” rather than maligning the entire industry? Did he even consider adapting his stump speech to the university, where PR is taught and where he borrowed our PR students to help with the media registration? And really, how meaningful is it to ask students if they are better off now than they were eight years ago. Let’s see — I guess that would be comparing college with junior high. I also noticed that Obama referred to the “57 states.” He must be exhausted.
On PRception, James Lutes’ raves about Delta Airlines’ blog as part of the Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki project while ranting about the passenger experience on Delta. He raises a good point: How much good does blogging do when your customer experience is unsatisfactory? James comments, “Now if only you could make flying in your planes as pleasant as reading your blog, you’d really be making some profits.”
On Media Disc, Ben Benson discusses a controversy surrounding Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. A touch-up artist gave a tell-all to The New Yorker magazine.
On PRactice PRetty Writing, Stephanie Land commends America’s Next Top Model (*spoiler alert*) for selecting its first plus-size model. Stephanie relates this selection to Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty.
On PR Play, Stephanie McCulley critiques the lack of public relations by Hewlett-Packard regarding rumors about laying off 400 people.
On PRotocol, Liz Harney shares tips for working through writer’s block.
On PR Obsessed, Olga Walsh reconsiders twitter after reading The Bad Pitch Blog.
On Stop the (Word)press, Bryan Saxton directs readers to the Google Friends application, which is a tool for adding social media components to Web sites.
On Public Relations for the Fashion Forward, Ali Grise discusses a spoof of a controversial Vogue cover. Also see here for her discussion of the cover that sparked the controversy.
Also, our very own PR Ninja, Beth Evans, compares public and private sector public relations, based on a talk with our PRSSA adviser, John Mitchell, APR.
On Pet Voice, Jean Kim weighs in on the controversial advertisements against PETA.
On Furry Friends, Stacey Rogers evaluates Johnson & Johnson’s blog as part of the Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki.
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptObama denounced spin, lies and PR. Would it have been difficult for Obama to at least say “bad PR” rather than maligning the entire industry? Did he even consider adapting his stump speech to the university, where PR is taught and where … [...]
Thank you for featuring my latest blog post, Tiffany! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Sarah, I think your insight about shareholder letter pictures is outstanding. I was particularly impressed because I was focusing the lesson on the content of the letters, and you added another dimension to our discussion by pointing out the differences between the pictures. I am so glad that I get to have you in my class!
I am not in your class, but I found this blog through a friend (Bryan Saxton). I’ve been hearing a lot about your class, and I think it’s great to see faculty on campus teaching young relevant and fresh ideas such as Social Media to students.
Thanks for mentioning my blog in your post! I hope to be able to expand upon it and post more meaningful posts that have to do with PR and animals!
Thanks for a great term! Your class has really helped me in my writing!
Thanks for working so hard in my class, Jean! It has been wonderful to work with you and get to know you.
Thank you so much, Sean. Good luck in the Navy, and thank you for serving our country.
Denebola says : I absolutely agree with this !