"America's Coolest Internships"

I just received some fantastic news this morning about one of my previous internships. Inc., a top business magazine, has profiled “America’s Coolest Internships” and my last internship at Barkley was picked! Barkley is an employee-owned, full-service advertising, marketing, and public relations agency that is based in Kansas City. I was lucky enough to be picked last summer as one of two public relations interns, specifically working on client accounts such as Lee Jeans, Lee National Denim Day, and SONIC Drive-In.

I am actually not at all surprised that this internship program was picked as one of the “coolest” in the country because the company blew away my expectations of what I did last summer. Not only did I work directly with the client teams, but I was able to express my ideas and input my thoughts into meetings, where interns are usually ignored. During the course of the summer, the interns also prepared our own client pitch for Boulevard Brewing Company. What more could a college student ask for to work with an alcoholic beverage client and have work to put into our portfolio that says, “We did this on our own!”

All in all, I am more than proud to have worked at Barkley. Though I am rambling a little bit here, I hope all college students have the chance to say they’ve had the opportunity to experience working or interning at a company who is really trying to help develop your knowledge of the industry you will be entering after college.

If you want to be a part of America’s Coolest Internships, be sure to check out the profiles here.

(The first picture is inside the agency. The second picture is after our pitch to Boulevard Brewing.)

Me and My Migraine.

A downside of being a freelance writer: the erratic schedule. Today I was hit with an avalanche of unexpected work to do and I have the migrane to prove it. As much as I love setting my own schedule, working from home, and participating in a variety of different projects with different news outlets (believe me, it NEVER gets boring), there are times when all I want to do is crawl into bed and hide from my email inbox. (Note: when you are actually frightened to open your Yahoo! account, you know you're overwhelmed.) I usually try to avoid this kind of personal editorialization of my career choice, but I had to get that out of my system.

In unrelated news, Academy Awards ceremony viewership was down 21% this year. How this could happen with Jon Stewart hosting is beyond me. Even I watched, and the only Best Picture nominated movie I had time to see this year was Juno. So many of this year's nominated films were both critically acclaimed and powerhouses in the box office, so it's hard for me to imagine why more people wouldn't have tuned in. Here is some interesting, off-the-beaten-path, Oscar night commentary from my favorite movie review website, Pajiba. I highly recommend checking it out.

What did YOU think of the Oscars??

Check out the media buzz from the 2008 Academy Awards today by clicking here. After you check that out, be sure to leave your comments on who you thought was the best and worst dressed, a spokesperson nightmare, and your favorite moment of the evening!

I Almost Forgot...

Three cheers for the WGA!

Here is a blurb from Wired magazine about the final cost of the strike.

And here is US weekly magazine's list of return dates for several popular t.v. shows.

No Joy in Mudville

Two startling headlines surfaced recently: "New York Times Plans to Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs" and "L.A. Times Will Eliminate '100-150 Positions,' Job Cuts Across Tribune." Even though The New York Times currently has the largest newspaper staff in history, this is a scary revelation for anyone pursuing a traditional newspaper job. Both newspapers' plan for job cuts could signal a trend for large and small newspapers across the country, as more consumers begin to receive their news via websites, blogs, and television programs.

In 2004 I attended a student program at the Los Angeles Times, during which Senior Editorial Recruiter Randy Hagihara broached the issue of a growing web market for news. While I don't remember his exact words, Hagihara argued that there would always be a place for traditional print journalism, but that newspapers needed to become seamlessly integrated with their online counterparts in order to remain financially viable. In 2004, the student tour of the editorial department at the Times revealed an online department with than fewer than six desks in its corner of the building, and no more than four staffers manning the computers at any given time. One can only imagine how this working structure has changed since then to meet consumer demands and to remain competitive in an increasingly saturated news market.

What are your thoughts? Is print journalism on its way out?

Red Carpet Runway

The 80th annual Academy Awards are officially less than a week away. Though the awards show ‘season’ has been cut down quite a bit this year due to the writer’s strike, the Academy Awards are ready to air this Sunday, February 24 Live at 5 PT/8 ET on ABC. Catch up on who is nominated this year at USA Today’s interactive page. The Academy Awards Web site is also very interactive this year with videos, pictures, and games.

Now, my favorite part is the Red Carpet where actors not only get to show off their personal style, but give interviews to the media. Click here to find an article predicting (and also giving away) what designers the stars will be seen wearing this year.

Award show season is not only for actors, but also for fashion designers to glow in the hype of the Red Carpet. Designers have been made, broken, and given a new reputation all from the fashion critics of the Red Carpet. This is a perfect PR time for designers to get their name mentioned by a Hollywood starlet and their latest fashions seen, not only from the Live media at the Red Carpet, but also from all the reprints of the good, the bad, and the ugly in various fashion and celebrity magazines like People, InTouch, UsWeekly, and several more.

The key to good publicity lies in the mention of the designer’s name. This is the celebrity’s responsibility and a potential PR nightmare if he/she forgets or decides not to mention the name of the designer. It also depends on the outfit the celebrity is wearing: If the critics decide they don’t like the dress or tuxedo, then it is a never-ending disaster for both the celebrity and the designer.

The trick? Making a positive impression on the media with the celebrity’s choice of designer! Here are a couple things to look out for during the Red Carpet and Awards show to see if your favorite celebrity is a good spokesperson for the designer they are wearing:

1. Is the celebrity offering interviews to the media?
2. Did the actor mention the name of the designer?
3. Is the style of the outfit/dress flattering to the celebrity?
4. How often did you see him/her during the entire Red Carpet and/or Awards Ceremony?
5. Did you see the celebrity’s outfit in print or television media after the awards show? (Examples: E! News, People, InStyle)
6. Did the fashion critics applaud or dis-like the style the celebrity was wearing?

All of these details are incredibly important for the fashion designer’s publicity before, during, and after the awards show.

Who is your favorite celebrity spokesperson? What do you admire about their interview ability and style choices?

(Photos from Getty Images)

The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign has prominently been in the news this past week. The campaign is pushing for a movement towards awareness of the sad truth that the number one killer in women today is heart disease. I found the campaign intriguing because it is just being launched this year, which makes for an excellent case study on how well the campaign will do in comparison to other causes like the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk and Lee National Denim Day, both fundraisers for breast cancer research and awareness. I was fortunate enough to intern at the agency that handles both accounts, so I was able to see how much work is put into a cause branding project.

So far, the Go Red for Women Campaign has been seen increasing awareness of the project through the creation of National Wear Red Day on February 1 this year. It also partnered with Macy’s to promote National Wear Red day through a Public Service Announcement. The highlight of that day was the “Heart Truth” fashion show during Fashion Week in Bryant Park featuring First Lady, Laura Bush, as the guest speaker. With celebrities like Heidi Klum modeling red dresses from American designers, the fashion show received a lot of great press. What an innovative idea to raise awareness for the target audience of women through a fashion logo (red dress), fashion sponsorship (Macy’s), and an actual fashion show during New York Fashion Week! To me, this sounds like a great start for this campaign. What do you think? Should they have done anything differently?

It will be even more interesting to see what happens the rest of this year. I will keep you ‘in-the-know’. More on cause branding to come soon, too.

(Photo from American Heart Association)

This Just In . . .

According to New York Magazine, the girls of MTV'S hit show, The Hills (Lauren and Whitney) have been spotted at a new job!! The two fashionista’s are reportedly now working for a fashion public relation’s firm called People’s Revolution. Sounds like a perfect fit!

Photo: MTV.com

This is very exciting news for those of us who ponder what it would be like to work/intern at Teen Vogue. How could you give up that job, right? If you want to read more about what it is like to work at Teen Vogue, check out their intern’s blog here. You can read all about who is working there now and what it is like to be a fashion magazine intern.

Photo: MTV.com

In the meantime, be sure to check back soon to hear about my own experience as a fashion public relations intern!

A New Semester Begins

A new semester! I'm thrilled to be back, nerding up the Entertainment blog with political and journalistic commentary, here at Experience.com. As my bio indicates, I am a freelance writer based in Cambridge, MA. I graduated from Scripps College last May and moved out to Massachusetts shortly thereafter. The weather out here is cold and rainy today--which gives me more reason to stick indoors and watch Super Tuesday coverage all night. Hoorah.

In light of this excitement, I'm focusing on Primary Election coverage.

FunnyorDie.com (home of that hilarious Will Ferrell landlord sketch) recently posted this video from the 2008 Porn Awards, in which they interview many notable members of the pornographic industry about their political views. Interestingly enough, it seems most porn stars are democrats. (Note, all people in this video are clothed and there is no profanity used, but the interviews in it do take place at a porn convention and your boss might find this NSFW. View with caution.):

On the more serious side of things, this article from Slate.com intern Alex Joseph is worth a look. Joseph, a senior at Georgetown University, tackles the issue of the youth vote in the democratic race between Clinton and Obama. The article is insightful and offers an interesting perspective from a college-aged Clinton supporter.

Also worth reading is this opinion column from The Weekly Standard associate editor, Matthew Continetti. The article, "Why Conservatives Don't Like John McCain," mentions several republicans who would likely choose Clinton over McCain, if the two came head-to-head in the general election. This piece comes on the heels of Ann Coulter's assertion that she would pick Clinton over McCain as well. To me, this anti-McCain attitude among conservatives seems to be an anecdotal phenomenon, particularly when one considers McCain's rapid revival in recent months as a viable republican candidate after being all but counted out of the race. What do you all think?

I hope you have time today to enjoy some exciting Super Tuesday coverage! This truly is one of the most exciting elections in recent years.

Passion for Fashion

Hi everyone!

I will be your Entertainment blogger for the next few months. So, who am I? Well, I’m a senior at DePaul University in Chicago focusing on Public Relations and Writing. Though I’m going to be talking a lot, I want to hear from YOU! Yes, that’s right, YOU! I love comments because that tells me what you like to hear and what you want to hear more about.

Right now, I am working at a Public Relations agency in Chicago. I work in the Fashion/Hospitality Division which most students think is so glamorous and easy-to-do, but it takes a lot of work both behind the scenes and on the runway (so to speak). As students, we don’t get to see this, so we tend to make judgments about careers based on the media. I’m sure you have all seen Sex and the City in which the infamous Samantha Jones, played by actress Kim Cattrell, is a publicist in New York City.

She is rarely in the office and when her job is brought up, it is mostly done so to invite her friends to the VIP events she is coordinating. We never get to see the hard work that goes into her events or the logistics of pulling off the event that evening. Of course, the show is fictional, so it is easy to make her job look incredibly fabulous and fun.

Have you ever seen the show that aired on MTV in 2005 called PoweR Girls? It followed PR executives at Lizzie Grubman’s New York City PR firm.

I loved this show (while it was still on) because it portrayed the side of entertainment public relations that most students don’t get to see – the planning, the strategic branding, the event coordinating, etc. While working in fashion is a blast, it is tough work, just like any other account/client work in public relations. My favorite blog regarding what’s currently happening in Fashion PR is PR Couture.

The important part: Be sure to find a niche in your career path that you enjoy!!