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MAIJ blog
Name: Portia Location: Cardiff, United Kingdom full profile
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PR in an online world I felt like I was thrown back to my old life and was not in Cardiff studying journalism as I listened to Quentin Langley's lecture on Public Relations. Having some PR/advertising background, I couldn't help but empathize with what he was saying. I am thinking how much Gary hates PR, and how much Matt agrees with me that PR is not the enemy of journalism. And I am stuck in the middle trying to make sense of it all. It could be said that PR is all about presentation. But isn't journalism? Every story has to be presented well. And it's always about writing a good story. About using the right words, painting the right picture. It's also about the look and feel, and how to find that connection with your readers. Sounds like a lot of advertising and PR to me. And mind you, I think PR uses a lot of critical thinking too. But don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the PR industry and the like. It's a lot of talk, a lot of superficial socializing, and a lot of bull sometimes. And I do understand why Gary denounces PR. But really, is it at all that bad? Why can't we all just get along? Part of me is studying journalism just like everyone else, to get more serious perhaps, to try to 'educate the world' in a way that we can. But also, I thought that it would be fun to combine the PR part of my background with journalism. Possible? Yes, maybe. So perhaps even if Quentin Langley didn't do much PR talk on his lecture, I owe this realization to him. I am quite determined to find this uber connection between journalism and PR. Well maybe I could never find it and could die trying. But then if I did, then maybe I could pitch in a new dissertation topic to Gary. _____________________________________________________ Magazine and Website: Friend or Foe? I'm sitting in the lecture hall of Kim Hollamby, head of IPC Media, a few thoughts running across my head: a, some interesting points he's making, but could have been more exciting. b, websites are good, magazines are great, but how come I don't find online magazines that exceptional? c, or don't seem as useful or important (to me anyway) as news websites? d, the way online is revolutionizing the print industry, how much longer will print survive? portia [
10:10 AM ]
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Broadhaven
Since I arrived in the UK, nothing in this country has yet shocked me.
So it was cold, and windy and gray. But that didn't stop all 76 people from all over the world from communing by the seaside, happily strolling along the beach, perhaps getting a little bit sentimental. But then I suppose that apart from shipping us all to Broadhaven to finally come up with that eureka moment for dissertation, this was what Broadhaven was about. Camaraderie. Getting to know the class more (check). Rooming with strangers in awfully colored rooms (check). Having breakfast with the people you haven't talked to before (check). Memorizing their names and faces (oops). But perhaps blame that bit with all that coffee, wine and beer consumed. Now out of Broadhaven and back to civilization, I suddenly get my second shock when I realize that I had quite a charming experience. When I think about Broadhaven now, this is the picture that will always remain in my mind. A little cold, a little gray, a little intoxicated, a little confused, and so many different people stuck in one odd place. And I couldn't help but think, welcome to the world of the MA IJ. portia [
10:02 AM ]
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Blogging and some more ranting...
Thanks to my online journalism course, I am now officially, a blogger. I am sure my friends back home are laughing. Me, the anti-blogger, who refused to admit that blogging is the hottest trend in the internet, now has a B-L-O-G. It shouldn’t be that bad, really. Since I've always considered writing as a way to help put things in perspective. Maybe I just have to get used to putting my thoughts out here for everybody to read. Might feel a little strange, but I am, after all, studying to be a journalist. --------------------------------------------------------------------- So I have no idea what to put in my first blog entry so pardon my unorginality as I talk about (rant about really) what my first month was like in Cardiff: Starting my rant with my mobile phone, which used to pathetically define my life, has stopped beeping and ringing since I got to Cardiff. And then to say that the walls in my student house are peeling, my small room resembles a freezer and I watch TV in a very old fashioned way (where you literally have to hold the antenna for a signal). There are old socks in my closet and my Sunday now consists of cleaning up the fridge, and walking for hours just to get groceries. Gone are the pampered days of sipping coffee at UCC and having oysters for lunch. Instead, I am gulping down instant coffee in my kitchen and eating frozen hamburgers for dinner. Where I used to have a nightlife is now replaced by unfashionably drinking beer at a friends place or in some pub, in jeans that I haven’t washed for three days. It seems that in the last month, the last three years of my life have dissolved and I am back in college. Homework is my main concern, together with trying to make it in time for class. Junk food, which I haven’t craved for in almost three years is becoming my staple food. I am giggling and gossiping like a school girl and buying things like neon pens and floral notebooks. I have spent many times in the past month staring at the ceiling in my room, wondering what I got myself into, how I could do student life all over again. And perhaps it seems that I am horrified about the state that I am in, but thinking again, maybe I am not. Once again, everything seems so easy and simple. I am admittedly incredibly dazed about the simplicity of student life. About how you can survive with just wearing jeans and a tshirt, eating cafeteria food for lunch, and simply making friends out of classmates. My life as it seems has taken a sharp turn. Everyone back home may have to look twice to make sure its me, but strangely, I feel right at home where I am now. Maybe, enjoy this all while I can because in a years time, I will be back in the “real ” world. But then what is the real world really, because right now, this certainly feels like it is. portia [
9:56 AM ]
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