FPRA Breakfast & Brainstorming: Local Image Awards Workshop

You work tirelessly to generate good publicity for your company or organization year-round. Now it's time to stand up and be recognized.

The Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association in Lakeland, Fla. has revived its Local Image Awards, and will host a workshop for interested entrants on Feb. 8.

The workshop is designed for groups seeking information on how to put an entry together and how those entries are judged?

Cindy Rodriguez, Polk County's public information director, will lead the workshop.

The Image Awards is a competition to recognize the outstanding public relations programs in Polk County and to encourage and promote the development of public relations professionalism in the community.

This event is brought to you by the new members of the DP/PC chapter: PRIME Class #4.

Here are the details:

When: Friday, February 8th at 8:30 a.m.

Where: United Way of Central Florida community room (5605 Highway 98 S, Highland City, Fl 33846)

Why: Learn how to put together your entry for the judges and share your own helpful tips.

How: Please RSVP to Katie Gernert at kgernert@bondclinic.com or 863-293-1191 ext. 3555.

To see the official entry packet for the 2008 Local Image Awards visit www.fprapolk.org. The deadline for entry submission is March 3, 2008.

Lakeland Florida PR/Journalism Internships

Over the next several days, I hope to post information on a variety of Polk County and Tampa Bay area internship opportunities for college journalism and public relations students. Please check back frequently, but here are the first few:


State Farm Insurance

Internships are available at agency field offices and Claims and Marketing departments in Winter Haven, Lakeland, Orlando and Tampa. All majors are accepted, but preferred majors include Business, Communications, IT and Criminology.

Length of Internship:
May 19th, 2008 – August 1, 2008

Compensation:
$15.00 per hour

Requirements:
3.2 GPA or above
extracurricular involvement

Please fax resumes to (863) 318-3131 or email Deanna.Hughey.PYD5@statefarm.com

*Successful interns will receive an offer for full-time employment upon graduation.



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Cypress Gardens Adventure Park

Opportunity to gain Public Relations experience in the high energy tourism and theme park industry. Activities to include various media relations, community relations and special event and concert promotion.

Basic computer skills are required. A personal laptop is a plus, but is not necessary. The internship is paid and is available for the summer and fall of 2008.

Alyson Gernert, Public Relations Director
863-324-2111 ext. 1101
863-595-2315 Fax
alyson.gernert@cypressgardens.com
6000 Cypress Gardens Blvd.
Winter Haven, FL 33884
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Lakeland Magazine (A product of The Ledger)

We are seeking a junior or senior magazine journalism student for a 10- to 12-week summer internship. The successful candidate should have completed related coursework and have magazine clips.

The intern primarily would be reporting and writing stories for Lakeland Magazine and East Polk Lifestyles, quarterly magazines published by The Ledger newspaper in Lakeland. He/she also would take part in brainstorming sessions, set up photos and assist with photo shoots, as well as help with proofreading and caption- and headline-writing.

A stipend is available to help offset living expenses.

Please send a resume, cover letter and relevant clips to Sandra Dimsdale, magazine editor, P.O. Box 408, Lakeland, FL 33802.
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Paradise Advertising and Marketing, Inc.

Located in downtown St. Petersburg, Paradise Advertising & Marketing is seeking enthusiastic, self-motivated and detail-oriented interns to assist the fast-paced public relations department with internal and client activities. The interns would gain real-world experience by assisting the PR department, along with various assignments from the other departments (creative, account service, traffic & media). The position is both administrative and hands-on with national and local accounts.

Requirements:Must be an upper-level undergraduate or graduate student working toward a degree in mass communications, public relations, journalism or related field. Candidates must have excellent writing, speaking and organizational skills. Must be proficient in MS Office applications including Excel, PowerPoint and Word, and should be able to demonstrate working knowledge of AP style.

Responsibilities:-Research-Creating and maintaining media databases-Monitoring media coverage and compiling reports-Administrative duties-Preparing, editing and distributing press releases-Assisting with the coordination of media and promotional events.

This is an unpaid internship position requiring approximately 15 hours per week. While interns are not financially compensated, we make every effort to ensure your experiences at Paradise will equip you with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in a full-time PR position.

To Apply:
Please send your cover letter and resume to Missy Hurley, Missy@paradiseadv.com.
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Quest Corporation of America- Click on Careers. This public relations company offers internships in public information, video production and graphic arts.
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Polk County Board of County Commissioners- Communications Division

Student internships are available in the Communications Office. The position will have a variety of duties and responsibilities, including the following: special projects involving working with the media, writing press releases, preparing presentations, contributing articles for the internal newsletter, copy editing, creating/updating databases, preparing for seminars, trades shows, speeches, award entries and special events. The ideal candidate will have the physical, developmental, and mental ability to perform assigned job tasks; a knowledge of AP News Style writing, grammar, punctuation, spelling and basic mathematics; excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to receive and understand directions and work independently with minimal supervision; computer knowledge in word processing, graphic design and presentation software.

The Communications Division prefers a student majoring in Public Relations, Journalism, Communications or Marketing.

The position is full or part-time, Monday-Friday**, at the Neil Combee Administration Building, located in Bartow, Florida. Most often this internship is unpaid, but depending on vacancies, it may be paid as well.

** Occasional (and optional) weekend work may rarely be requested to help cover special events

Interested students may apply by completing an application on the Polk County BoCC website
@ http://www.polk-county.net/

Students also may call Cindy Rodriguez @ (863) 534-6090 with questions relating to the internship.

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Polk County Supervisor of Elections

Description of internship: Public relations, community relations, marketing and political science combination. This position is a customer service opportunity for a person who would like to learn more about promoting a positive image of the electoral process in the community. The individual should like going out in the community and interacting with the public in teaching them about voting, election laws and election procedures. We register voters, demonstrate voting equipment, instruct voters about the importance of voting, encourage people to become involved in having a say in government and promote goodwill between the Elections Office and the public. We serve citizens of all ages, from 5 years of age to senior citizens. We participate in school programs, summer recreation programs, make speeches at civic organizations, march in parades and register voters at local businesses.

Required Skills: strong people skills, must enjoy working with the public, strong customer service background. All supplies and equipment are provided; however person should be able to type, answer telephone and schedule events.

This position could be a paid position for the right candidate.

This is an ongoing internship.

For more information, contact:

Judy M. Walker
Outreach Services Coordinator
Polk County Elections Office
863-534-5888

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More SEO and Other Copywriting Job Opportunities

Here's just a couple of writing employment opportunities I happened across today. I started this post because I thought I'd find more, but alas, this is all I found that I deemed worthy of mention. Happy New Year!

SEO Copywriter- Massachusetts
Executive Editor- Santa Monica

College Journalism Internships Galore!

If you are a college journalism or public relations student, I hope you already check www.journalismjobs.com occasionally, just to see what's out there.

But if you don't, here are more than 100 reasons to begin doing so: Internships.

There are numerous great opportunities listed at this link that include internships in reporting, blogging, editing, publishing, broadcast journalism, marketing and public relations.

Go check it out and if you land one of these awesome internships, comment and let me know. Good luck!

Great Job Opportunities

Merry (day after) Christmas! I was cruising around the 'net this morning and found what appeared to be some interesting and promising job opportunities. Feel free to check them out:

Web Copywriter- St. Petersburg, FL
FREELANCE WRITERS TO COVER NEWS, SPORTS, BUSINESS AND DINING- Tampa
Copywriter - Marketing Position - 20 hours / Week- Wesley Chapel, FL
Freelance education reporter- Seminole County, FL
Full-time Copywriter
Copywriter needed to join growing team- Jacksonville

Writing for Search Engine Optimization

Since starting my business in May 2007, I've found increasing opportunities in writing articles and press releases for Internet Marketing firms that specialize in search engine optimization.

In my experiences, writing for SEO purposes has been just like writing any typical article or press release. The only difference is that the Internet marketing firms identify key words that their clients want associated with their Web sites, and those key words must be included in the writing.

This type of work combines journalism and public relations, and might be great for students who have just graduated from college, writers who are looking to do a bit of freelance writing on the side, or writers looking for a slightly different career.

Here are a few opportunities I've found recently:

SEO Copywriter needed at Top Rank Online Marketing
Copy Writers Needed
Web Content Writer/Press Release Writer
SEO Content Writing Position
SEO Copywriter

FPRA Meeting at Southeastern University

Southeastern University's student chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association hosted the local professional chapter (Dick Pope/Polk County) today and the meeting was wonderful.

I think I'm a bit partial, due to having worked at Southeastern until earlier this year, but I have to say this- one thing Southeastern University's Development Office knows how to do is to put on a function. The staff in the Development Office have done an amazing job of sharing that valuable skill set with the student FPRA chapter. The students were wonderful and President Leah Spellman was on the ball throughout the function.

More than once throughout the meeting, I heard fellow FPRA members talking about how beautiful the campus was, how helpful the staff and students were and how effortlessly the luncheon seemed to flow.

Several of the student chapter's 15 members were pinned today. I hope that they get all they can out of their membership. I am guilty of not using my membership to its fullest extent, so I hope the students won't follow in my footsteps in that regard.

Southeastern Vice President for Development James L. Davis was today's speaker, and he shared some fascinating information on the school's growth in recent years.

Fast Facts

• The school's budget has grown from $14 million to $40 million in the past eight years.
• There were 910 students enrolled when President Mark Rutland came to Southeastern in 1999. Today there are 3,069 students enrolled.
• New academic buildings and a new performing arts center are slated to be built.
• Off-site campuses are being considered in Europe, the Middle East and California.
• Efforts are in place to double the school's $5 million endowment within the next five years.
• Two more master's degree programs and the university's first doctorate degree will be offered in Fall 2008.

Davis spoke about the university's leadership and how they got the school from being within six months of permanently closing its doors to being a thriving Christian university with lots of growth potential.

All in all, the information was great for a public relations crowd, because most people in public relations have dealt with fundraising at some level. Going into the meeting, I worried that it might turn into a shameless plea for money. After all, Davis is tasked with raising large sums of money for the school each year. He bordered on going overboard toward the end, but overall, his message was good. Davis is a great speaker and he's very engaging.

For Journalism/PR Students

Today's meeting drove home once again how important it is, in my opinion, for students to get involved in organizations such as FPRA. These student organizations and their partnerships with the local professional organizations are an amazing way to make contacts within the profession, to open themselves up to valuable internship opportunities and to shadow professionals in the workplace.

I had a delightful conversation with two student chapter members today and we talked at length about internships, getting that first job, etc. They were nervous about it. They asked questions about their resumes. They wondered if their lack of professional experience would make it difficult to land a great internship or that great first job. I hope that by the end of our conversation, I had alleviated some of their fears, because they are in a GREAT position right now. They're in college, they're a member of FPRA and they have a ton of resources at their disposal because of that.

I gave them my business card and told them if they would email me, I would be happy to send them information on some great PR books I've read recently, as well as an idea for a resume when you don't have a lot of professional experience. I hope they take me up on my offer.

I also hope other FPRA members will extend similar offers to the students at both the Southeastern and the Florida Southern College FPRA chapters. We've amassed a great deal of knowledge in our careers, and I think we owe it to the younger generation to share what we can and help make them as successful as they want to become.

It's refreshing to see students so engaged in their education and in their plans after college. I want to do whatever I can to help them.

So for all you journalism/PR students out there: this is my open invitation to you. Ask me your questions. Share your concerns. If I can't provide answers for you, I will attempt to point you in the direction of someone who can.

In the mean time, I've written several blogs lately that might be of help to college journalism/PR students. Here's one on the importance of checking your work when writing and editing . There also are some blogs about a magazine internship, other internships and choosing those internships wisely.

Sloppy Writing or Editing

I'm going to go out on a limb here and point out a couple of irritating bits of writing in the article on Marshal Seymour in Friday's edition of The Ledger. I say "going out on a limb" because I am a writer, and I make mistakes too. But just as I want people to tell me when I've made one (it makes me a better writer) I feel The Ledger reporters and/or editors ought to know when they've written something that bugs me.

And for all of you college journalism/PR students out there, as well as you freelance writers, use this as a wake-up call to pay attention to your writing. Once the paper is printed, you can't unring that bell.

Irritating writing example #1- "A Lakeland businessman who said he met Seymour through the church, Steve Sloan, also testified Thursday..."

That is incredibly awkward, in my opinion. I think it would have been better to write, "Steve Sloan, a Lakeland businessman who said he met Seymour through the church, also testified Thursday..."

Irritating writing example #2- "After court, Canady said of his son-in-law's arrest, 'It's a railroad job in a lot of ways.' He claimed Lakeland police were trying to pressure his wife to divorce Seymour."

Now if you don't see something that's just plain wrong here, go back and reread it. The way that second sentence is written, the writer is saying that Lakeland police were trying to pressure Canady's wife to divorce Seymour. I know the sentence is supposed to mean that Canady said Lakeland police were trying to pressure Seymour's wife to divorce her husband, Marshal Seymour. But that's certainly not the way it was written.

Growing Wealth Magazine Editorial Intern

Good morning, college students!

Here's a possible internship opportunity in the Orlando area.



Dynetech, rated as one of the Best Places to Work by the OBJ seeks an Editorial Intern.

Major functions of position:
The editorial intern program of Growing Wealth is designed to give an overview of the operations of a monthly magazine (circulation: ca. 25,000), with an emphasis on editorial work. The intern will learn the considerations that go into choosing and preparing copy for publication.

The intern will be responsible for:
Participating in fact-checking articles for accuracy.
Proofreading finals.
Assisting in evaluating manuscript submissions.
Assisting with preparing papers for archiving.

Essential Qualifications for this position:
Journalism or English Major, experienced in researching and writing articles.
Highly organized.
Self-starter who is comfortable communicating via e-mail and phone.
Detail-oriented.
Eager to learn about magazine publishing and editing.

If you are interested in applying for this position please fax resume to 407-206-6565 or email to hr@dynetech.com.




Location: Orlando, Florida
Compensation: to be determined
This is an internship job

Internship opportunity

Here's one for all you college journalism students who are considering going into editing. The Orlando Sentinel is offering a sports editing internship during the summer of 2008. This opportunity pays $525/week and applications are due to the Sentinel by Nov. 15.

I would love to hear from you if you decide to apply for this great opportunity.

Best of luck!

Internships for College Students

I highly recommend that you pursue internship opportunities as a college student. The hands-on experience is a great opportunity to apply what you're learning in your course in an environment that still allows you to make mistakes. It's the perfect middle-ground between college and that first job. To that end, here are some internship opportunities to consider:

St. Pete Times Internship (this paper has a reputation for being among the best in the nation)
WESH News Channel 2 Internships
WFLA News Channel 8 Interships
Paid internships at Orlando Sentinel
Ohio Newspaper Internships (click on plus sign beside each paper)
South Carolina Internship (click on the plus sign)


Scholarship Opportunities
FSNE Multi-Media Scholarship

Journalism/PR Students- Choose Your Internship Wisely

This one goes out to all you college students. I had lunch this past week with a Southeastern University journalism major who will graduate with her bachelor's degree this year. She's a real go-getter who seems to know what she wants in the way of a career. Any time we have discussed her path, she's always seemed so willing to listen to the advice of those who have been in the field for a while.

Our conversations make me wonder how many college students truly seek out professionals in their field of study for the purpose of gaining insight on what they should do in college to make their educational experience as meaningful as it can be.

Internships

An internship is the way to go. This particular student landed a great internship with a local magazine.

You can, too. Here are my recommendations for landing an internship that will be a meaningful learning experience:

Determine Your Game Plan

Try to narrow down the field you're most interested in and track down some professionals in that field. Sure they're busy, but let's face it- everyone feels a bit flattered when a novice comes to them for guidance and advice.

Some questions to ask include:

• what skills should I master to make myself marketable after college?
• of those skills, which ones will I get from my courses, and which will I need to learn during an internship?
• what companies would you recommend I approach for internship opportunities?

Don't React Too Quickly

Once you know the types of internships you're going to seek, don't accept the first offer you get, just because you've been offered it. Make sure it's the best fit. You can accomplish this by asking questions during your interview.

For example, if you know you want to write for a newspaper after college, you will need to learn the AP Style Book like the back of your hand. On an internship interview, ask them if they use AP Style. If they don't, you might consider seeking an internship with a publication that does.

Make sure your internship will be a learning experience for you, and not an opportunity for the company to hire an errand girl/boy for little or nothing. A good internship will allow you to get some hands-on experience. If the job description includes an overabundance of making copies, getting coffee, filing records and answering phones, you might want to consider looking elsewhere.

Don't thumb your nose at the unpaid internships. Now is the time to gather the most knowledge and experience. The internship that doesn't pay could be the one that gives you a portfolio full of clips. And those clips are sure to help you land a job after graduation.