Posts tagged "public relations"
Learning from a media pro led to a big realization
Today Anne Marie Tiernon and her WTHR crew came up to Ball State to shoot some footage of BSU at the Games, a task that I told our team while recruiting them would take no more than an hour. Two hours of filming later, I’m in awe of the things I learned and just how much potential this project has.
Anne Marie is a force to be reckoned with. She is poised, confident and extremely knowledgeable in her trade. And though I’m not going down the news-reporting path, I found that watching her work and hearing her “tips from the real world” were immensely helpful for anyone who will ever work with the media.
After my star struck phase began to pass, I also realized what an awesome experience I’m
Anne Marie Tiernon from WTHR and I hanging out after the shoot!
getting as a public relations student in this program. I just planned/organized/managed a media shoot for an NBC affiliate. I will work directly with WTHR in London to make sure our partnership is operating smoothly. Anne Marie told me I was very well-organized. WOW. I couldn’t buy this kind of portfolio work.
After my PR-nerd phase wore off, I began thinking, ‘WE ARE A BIG FREAKING DEAL!’ BSU at the Games has become a project of scope I could have never imagined. Honestly, I just wanted to go to London and see King Henry VIII’s castles. I had no idea—as I’m sure no one else could have—the outrageous media attention we would receive or connections we would make. Social media brings me new surprises every day. Like 135 retweets on a post we made about equestrian. I have never seen that many retweets in my life! Athletes taking time out of their busy day to talk to students. And not just Indiana athletes—Olympians from around the nation… the globe even!
I think all of this attention boils down to the bottom line that we are meeting our goal. We wanted to be different. We wanted to provide coverage and spawn relationships that were different. We wanted to share stories of the people, places and culture of the Games—not just the score. Athletes love us, media praises us, other students want to be us. And I believe it’s all because of this mission.
Can’t wait to see what’s in store as we cross the pond!
Kait Buck | Public Relations
@keightbuck
10 features to scope out on bsuatthegames.com
I’ve been spending long days working on the BSU at the Games website (and sometimes punching my computer screen). Here’s some of the features you can look forward to.
1. Behind the Scenes: Weekly Blogs
Good job! One down because you’re reading this post. Each week on Monday/Wednesday, we’ll have a member of our team write a post to tell you what we’re up to. During our trip to London July 23-August 15, we’ll kick it up a notch and blog daily!
2. Stories
The reason we do what we do. Check out our stories section to see our inside perspective of the people, places and events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Don’t like to read? It’s OK, we have graphics and photos too.
3. Multimedia Section
Again, our unique coverage. Only this time you can watch it, hear it, see it.
4. Social Media Links
Get all of our updates in real-time via @bsuatthegames, #BSUOlympics, and facebook.com/bsuatthegames. Follow us on Instagram (bsuatthegames) and YouTube.
5. British Dictionary
Think you know what a hole-in-the-wall is? What about a lorry or a uni? Rubbish! Check out our British Dictionary to find out. It’s spot on!
6. Photo of the Week
Our best photo featured weekly on the homepage. Tell us what you think.
7. Interactive Map
Confused about all of the event venues for London 2012? This will help.
8. Official Video
Hear from our outstanding advisers about the trip, the class and immersive learning at Ball State.
9. Our Team
Meet our FABULOUS team of journalists, designers, photographers, advisers and public-relations students.
10. London 2012 Countdown
We’re counting down the minutes until London 2012 is here! Follow it on our homepage.
Kait Buck | Public Relations Team
@Keightbuck
Let us take you behind the scenes
BSU at the Games is a group of 40 students from Ball State University who will be traveling to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Our class is comprised of students majoring in photography, graphic design, public relations, journalism, telecommunications and sport administration. Read our blog as we spend the next few months preparing for the trip. Be sure to check in daily beginning July 23 so we can give you an inside look into our college minds as we take on the city in search of great media content. As part of the public relations team, I’ve been organizing this blog, helping create media lists, producing website content and developing ideas for our social-media plan. You’ll see my tweets from time to time, and I’ll be sure to have my classmates blogging for you!
I can’t really describe how privileged I feel to be involved with such a prestigious immersive learning project. Last spring, I spent four months studying British culture while living in London. I’m excited to return to a former home and show my classmates around the city!
Double-decker buses, rides on the Underground, brilliant accents and the 2012 Olympic Games—here we come!
Alix Sappington | Public Relations Team
@alixsappington
Behind the Scenes
Life is beautiful
We were set on a mission to find a store full of Team USA gear. After getting sketchy directions to the store by someone that had just gone there and was wearing the apparel, we walked for nearly 30 minutes without a single sighting of the store. We kept on walking, determined to find this [...]
The Olympic flame lit a fire in me, too
I’m not going to sugarcoat it; as I sat on the plane to London two weeks ago, I wanted nothing to do with journalism. I was exhausted, burnt out. I was done. For the past month, I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out what else I could do with my life. Go [...]
- More Behind the Scenes
Graphics
What happened yesterday at London 2012
Check back daily for our recap of Team USA happenings, including events competed in, medals won and Americans watching at home. August 11 recap by Stephanie Meredith: August 8 recap by Sarah Ellis: August 7 recap by Stephanie Meredith: August 6 recap by Emily Theis: August 5 recap by Liz Spangler: August 4 recap [...]
Interactive map of Olympic village
By Annie Gonzalez and Liz Spangler | BSU at the Games Click here to explore an interactive map of the London Olympic Village. Annie Gonzalez and Liz Spangler are senior journalism graphics majors at Ball State University. Follow Annie, Liz and the BSU team at @annie_gonz, @elspangler, @bsuatthegames and www.facebook.com/bsuatthegames.
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Photos
Photo of the day: Closing Ceremony in Victoria Park
Thousands gathered for the live screening of the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony Sunday in Victoria Park, London. Fans watched the performance on huge screens, danced to live music and rode the ferris wheel as London 2012 went out with a bang. View our full gallery from the Closing Ceremony celebration here. Photo by Valerie Carnevale.
Photo Gallery: Closing Ceremony
Thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park Sunday night to watch the closing ceremony. The park hosted the largest free viewing of the event. In addition to three large screens to watch the ceremony, there was a ferris wheel, zip lines, dance performances and live musical acts. Read our story from Victoria Park here. Photos [...]
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Multimedia
Memories of London 2012 from world travelers
By Katelynn Thys | BSU at the Games London Travelers share their opinions on what made London a great place to host the Summer Games. Katelynn Thys is a junior telecommunications and journalism major at Ball State University and features reporter for BSU at the Games. Follow Katelynn and the BSU team at @skyismylimit_kt, @bsuatthegames and www.facebook.com/bsuatthegames.
What was your favorite London 2012 moment?
By Charlotte Dunlap | BSU at the Games Olympic fans waiting in line for the live screening of the Closing Ceremony at Victoria Park, London, share their favorite moments from London 2012.
- More Multimedia
Sports
- Indianapolis native leads, motivates Team USA to gold medal
By Andrew Mishler | BSU at the Games Even as her teammates partied inside their hotel and popped champagne bottles in celebration, U.S. women’ s soccer midfielder Lauren Cheney went to bed at 4:30 Friday morning a sober gold medalist. “I actually don’t drink,” she said. “So no champagne, but a little bit of dancing. [...]
- Rediscovering his Olympic dream: the Jared Frayer story
By Conor Hockett | BSU at the Games In 2008, Jared Frayer decided to give up the sport of wrestling—his Olympic dream was dead. After he finished serving as a training partner for the US Olympic wrestling team in Beijing, Frayer was heading back home to teach and coach high school wrestling in Florida. Helping [...]
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Features
Many sites, from playhouses to train platforms, inspire pilgrimages in the Olympic host city
This package was compiled by writers from BSU at the Games. Pilgrimage (n): “a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion … as to pay homage.”—Dictionary.com The word pilgrimage often inspires images of religious relics and trips to the Holy Land. However, pilgrimages take many forms. [...]
10 ways to enjoy London after the Games are gone
By Jack Meyer | BSU at the Games Although the 2012 Olympics are coming to an end, tourists undoubtedly will still flock to London in great numbers to see all the city has to offer. For the past few weeks, network televisions streams have been flooded with images of London’s most famous landmarks—Tower Bridge, the [...]
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Olympic News
Closing Ceremony draws excitement, end to the Games in Victoria Park
By Emily Thompson | BSU at the Games It would be unlike London to go out without a bang. Although all of this year’s Olympic athletes had put their skills to the test by Sunday night, Victoria Park tried to recreate the energy of the Opening Ceremony. The park had the largest free screening of [...]
- The unsung hero of women’s soccer
By Tyler Poslosky | BSU at the Games Becky Sauerbrunn, an alternate defender for the U.S. women’s soccer team, was about to enter the most important game of her life. With 10 minutes remaining in the gold medal match between the U.S. and Japan, defender Rachel Buehler went down with an injury. In came Sauerbrunn. [...]
- More Olympic News