by Kalil Bushala

It’s not often one gets the opportunity to display their own hard work on national television, but that’s exactly what happened to me in early October. Not only did I get to show my off-road truck that I’ve been building since I was 17 on KTLA news, but I got to see the other side of my major, public relations.

KTLA was at the Pomona Fairgrounds doing a demo for the Off-Road Expo. As a PR practitioner at Long Beach State, I was quickly able to notice that KTLA’s appearance was part of a PR campaign designed to garner media impressions and generate awareness for the expo.

I was given the opportunity to showcase my truck through a company called Dirt Alliance, who were asked to present a couple trucks for the news channel, due to Dirt Alliance’s large social media following.

As a team driver for Dirt Alliance, the CEO reached out to me and asking if I wanted to represent the team by driving my truck at the demo for KTLA. Although my truck was sitting in pieces and wasn’t anywhere near being ready, I told him yes, without hesitation.

With a few late nights ahead of me, my truck would be ready to drive on the dirt track. I knew
this was an opportunity of a lifetime, so I wasn’t going to miss the event. I was working on the truck till 12 a.m. the night before and had to be at the Pomona fairgrounds, where the expo is hosted, at 6 a.m..

During this demo, I learned a lot about TV news and what goes on behind the scenes. Prior to the event, I never really understood how news channels could make events look so perfect. However, after the event, I quickly learned how staged they can be.

News Anchor, Gayle Anderson, a fellow team driver and I drive the dirt track while they filmed us and talked about the Off-Road Expo, giving viewers a taste of what was going to happen if they attended the event.

We did a few practice laps to make sure we were ready to drive on live TV, which was a bit intimidating at first. But once the checkered flag dropped, all nerves went away.

We ended with an interview while I gave the cameraman a walk around the truck, explaining the
different components and what was modified and what were the original parts of the truck.
This once-in-a-lifetime experience made those long nights of getting the truck ready, worth it.

I would have never thought the truck I drove to my high school prom would put me on national television and give me real-life experience in my college studies.

by Helen Sandoval

Public Relations is a career that’s often forgotten about or overlooked. Many people do not know what PR is or forgets the impact it has upon a company, organization or any business in general. Regardless of the company’s success, it won’t have the same impact unless PR guides consumers to their brand using a variety of PR tactics. If done well, clients are given a bigger platform through public recognition, ultimately shaping the image of that brand.

The way public relation works
Public relations is all about giving a good reputation to people, businesses and companies. PR professionals work out of the public’s eye; creating press releases, campaigns, newsletters and studying public opinion to position their brand in a positive way. In PR, the public is the key to a client’s success. Public opinion has the power to help build a brand's image or destroy it. In order to have a deep understanding of the client’s needs, PR professionals must know how to effectively communicate with their target audience and understand their interests. PR professionals must create positive stories about their client while also developing a good relationship with the public. By using creative ideas, PR can grasp a large audience without the expensive cost of most marketing and advertising techniques. This career consumes a lot of time and labor to show the public that their clients are different from all the other businesses. With the help of PR professionals, a brand can become company bigger, better and ultimately more successful.

Building up relationships/opportunities

Having a PR practitioner on your side means more connections along with making your brand well-known. A skilled PR team can attract more investors, potential business partners and generate positive media exposure.

During a crisis

Every business may end up having a crisis. While crises can sometimes be unavoidable, knowledgeable PR practitioners can help rebuild their client's image. There are many kinds of potential PR crises. There are a wide variety of natural and man-made disasters that can ruin the reputation of a successful company. The main goal during a crisis is to reduce the damage by helping the company preserve its brand reputation and credibility. PR practitioners work intensively to help clients rebuild their image during a crisis. They quickly prepare a crisis management plan and work proactively to research and gather information about the situation.

Public relations is necessary for any company, no matter its industry. A career in public relations involves many different and difficult functions and key tasks that can improve the credibility of any brand. In order to succeed, a company must maintain a good image and  recieve the recognition it deserves, and PR plays a key role in this making this happen.

By Luis D. Marquez

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as CSULB students get ready to proudly
represent our school in PRSSA’s 2018 Bateman Case Study Competition. For those of
you who are not familiar with the Bateman Competition, it is PRSSA’s premier national
case study competition for public relations students and gives the competing students
an opportunity to apply their classroom education and internship experiences to create
and implement a full public relations campaign. In other words, it is basically Journalism
471 but with implementation, collegiate competition and a lot more recognition on the
line. Or, as I like to think of it, it’s like the Triwizard competition in Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire but less of having our students’ lives in danger.

The client that our CSULB team will be working hard to create a masterful and
compelling campaign for is the non-profit With Purpose, a youth-lead national charity
dedicated to conquering childhood cancer. With Purpose was created by loving parents
who had to go through something no parent should go through - losing a child to cancer.
Their son, Sam, had two rare diseases, one of which – a fatal brain cancer - took his
life. Because Sam was only 2 years old when he was diagnosed, the doctors told his
parents that Sam was not eligible for any drugs in clinical trials that could have
prolonged his life, improved its quality or even cured his cancer. This did not make
sense to Sam’s parents. They wanted to do more; so they started With Purpose.
With Purpose aims to increase awareness of the astounding lack of research and
funding there is for childhood cancer. They know that with the power of today’s youth,
grassroots activism and a targeted philanthropic mission they can help children that are
currently suffering. Their efforts are creating hope and working towards decreasing the
amount of children suffering by helping to push potential cures through to clinical trials.
With Purpose is a small organization now, but with the help of our CSULB Bateman
team that can truly grow.

Our champions, who have gone through a rigorous interview process, have volunteered
to take on the task of helping With Purpose reach its maximum potential and proving
that CSULB still has what it takes after 22 years of competition. CSULB has placed first,
second, third or honorable mention in 15 out of the last 22 competitions…no pressure.
The first-place team will receive $3,500 and a trophy, second place will receive $2,500
and a plaque, and third place will receive $1,500 and a plaque.
The 2018 PRSSA-LB Bateman Team is comprised of:

● Team Leader Bianca Granado, CSULB senior majoring in journalism with an
emphasis in public relations (anticipated graduation May 2018)

● Creative Director Diana Martinez, CSULB senior majoring in journalism with an
emphasis in public relations (anticipated graduation May 2018)

● Media Relations Manager Kevin Olivares, CSULB senior majoring in journalism with
an emphasis in public relations (anticipated graduation May 2018)

● Head Writer and Content Creator Hetty La, CSULB senior majoring in journalism with
an emphasis in public relations (anticipated graduation May 2018)

● Research Analyst and Assistant Writer Christian Barel, CSULB senior majoring in
journalism with an emphasis in public relations and minoring in marketing (anticipated
graduation May 2018)

“With Purpose is an organization we feel strongly about. We will do everything we can
to help them raise awareness about childhood cancer and get more youth involved in
the cause,” said Team Leader Bianca Granado. “We are excited to follow in the
footsteps of the past CSULB Bateman teams and are determined to win!”

The team will be co-coached by CSULB Journalism and Public Relations (JPR)
Professor Jennifer Newton and Public Relations Professional Allison Miller. Both
Newton and Miller are CSULB JPR alumni who were on the 2001 PRSSA-LB Bateman
Team, placing third in the national competition with their PR plan for Visa.

“We are so excited to help promote With Purpose through this year’s Bateman
Competition. Their mission mirrors our own in that we absolutely believe that with the
right resources, young people can do anything -- even cure cancer!” said Jennifer
Newton, CSULB 2018 Bateman co-coach. “We have a team comprised of bright and
passionate students who are excited to get started and make a difference in the Long
Beach community, on behalf of With Purpose.”

The Bateman Team’s work starts immediately. They will be conducting research and
planning November through February, then teams will implement their ideas February
through March, with final entries due to PRSSA Headquarters in April.
Let us applaud this set of individuals, our CSULB PRSSA-LB Bateman Team, and wish
them the best of luck.

Go Beach!