Download C -CURRENT Feature Story: Alumni Focus In This Issue

C-CURRENT
WINTER 2011
The Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of the School of Communication
In This Issue
Students create PR campaigns
for North Carolina-based
company .................................. 2–3
Please update your
information:
•W
e’d love to know what
you’re up to.
• E ven if you’ve only
had a change in
phone number, email address
or mailing address, please
let us know so we can keep
you informed about the
School of Communication
and what we’re up to.
Email Barbara Bullington at
[email protected] with any
updated information and/or
news (marriage, awards,
volunteerism, job info, etc.) as
well as any article/photo/
content ideas for C-Current.
by Melanie Carviou
The job search frenzy college graduates face is an issue
that has been given a good
deal of attention of late by
the news media. Samantha
Cahill, a 2010 graduate of the
School of Communication, is
showing that finding success in this challenging job
market is possible with the
right tools.
“ECU gave me the handsSamantha Cahill as a student on the set of “The Source.”
on experience I needed to
be competitive in the workforce,” said Cahill.
iting the interviews to generate sound
She recently started working as a
bites or create news packages and uptelevision reporter for WVNS 59 News. loading her stories to the website. She
The opportunity for the West Virginia
also introduces the stories on live telenative is unique because it is the local
vision. Cahill says that she conducts
news station she grew up watching and about three to five interviews per day
the one that inspired her career choice. and that she is “constantly moving.”
Cahill, 22, describes herself as a “one“TV reporting is more than...being in
man band” in her new position, mean- the public eye. It’s finding the juicy part
ing that she is responsible for nearly
of the story, being fair and accurate,
every aspect that goes into the stories
and working under tight deadlines.”
she reports including shooting footage
To find topics of interest for Greenand editing.
brier County, where Cahill is stationed,
A typical day at work for Cahill
she sorts through press releases and
includes participating in the morning
police reports, reads newspapers, and
newsroom conference at the station via surfs the web for national issues that
telephone to discuss story ideas. Cahill may affect her local area.
then calls interviewees to set up times
The busy journalist attributes her sucand locations for a pre-interview and
cess in this demanding position to the
the recorded interview. Next comes ed- broad training that she received from
continued on page 5
photo by Mike Dermody
News Briefs................................ 4
Feature Story: Alumni Focus
PR students challenged to create new marketing strategies
by Brittany Kymer
Photo by Brittany Kymer
introduced into the marketplace
in North America in 1986,
specializing in the sale and
service of compact tractors.
With the drive to maintain
company priorities and keep the
“customer first” while “believing in the power of teamwork,”
KIOTI Tractors has continued
to increase its product line and
popularity for 25 years.
Dr. Jin-Ae Kang tours KIOTI headquarters.
School of Communication students at East Carolina
University competed this semester to construct marketing public relations strategies that will be used by
Daedong USA Inc. — KIOTI Tractor Division.
Public Relations Strategies professor Dr. Jin-Ae Kang
informed students of the semester-long project on
the first day of class. Dr. Kang consulted with KIOTI
Tractors’ human resources department on conducting
a dealer satisfaction survey during the summer prior
to this semester.
“I was really interested in connecting academia with
industry,” said Dr. Kang, “so I brought up the idea to
the class to help both sides. It will be a win-win collaboration for the company and my students as well.”
Eight student groups directly communicated with
KIOTI Tractor’s marketing department, competed
with one another to put together a plan to increase
sales, brand awareness and popularity with targeted
consumers.
Daedong-USA Inc., KIOTI Tractor Division, was first
In a trip to
KIOTI’s Wendell,
N.C., headquarters early in the semester, 12 students,
including two representatives from each group, met
with KIOTI employees and executives to gain knowledge about what the company desires to achieve from
the students’ work.
Ronald Parrish, marketing manager for KIOTI Tractors, expressed his excitement about working together
with the students and collaborating with the university for the first time to gain outside help for the four
marketing employees who currently work there.
“We need a fresh outlook on our marketing
strategies and are enthusiastic to see what you (students) come up with,” said Parrish.
Students did research and evaluation before officially
creating their projects, which took approximately two
months.
continued on page 3
C-CURRENT • WINTER 2011
School of Communication • 2
PR students get creative
with KIOTI Tractors
continued from page 2
Communication students benefit from a
plethora of internship opps in 2011
Photo taken on
set of
Man v. Food by
student intern
Kara Mackay
Photo by Brittany Kymer
Abbey
Way
interned
for
Pittsburgh
Sports
Radio 93.7
The Fan.
Dr. Jin-Ae Kang and PR students
gearing up to work with KIOTI.
At the end of the semester, the KIOTI Marketing team visited ECU campus to see all students’
presentations.
Kang selected the two winning teams out of the
eight student groups. The best-performing team,
which KIOTI representatives felt was very enthusiastic and presented good PR strategies, was
“JACCK PR,” made up of Ashley Adams, Christie
Church, Charles Foust, Korey McDonald, Katie
Yelenic and Jack Ziegler.
“My overall evaluation on this project is that I am
satisfied with student work,” stated Kang. “They
worked very hard and they also saw how their
expertise in PR can contribute to the business in
a real world (setting). I wish to bring this kind of
experience to students in the following semester
as well.”
C-CURRENT • WINTER 2011
Kelsey Brosi
(during her
internship
with E!)
posing with
Joan Rivers
and Joel
McHale.
View more pics of exciting communication internships at
www. flickr.com/schoolofcommunication
School of Communication • 3
photo courtesy of School of Communication
SOC’s master’s degree program celebrates 5-year
anniversary with help from award-winning scholar
During the week of October 24–28, the School of Communication hosted Dr. Gary Kreps as the 2011 SOC visiting
scholar.
Kreps is a University Distinguished Professor and Chair
of the Department of Communication at George Mason
University, where he directs the Center for Health and Risk
Communication. He was founding Chief of the Health
Communication and Informatics Research Branch at the
National Cancer Institute and founding Dean of the School
of Communication at Hofstra University.
His research examines health communication and promotion, multicultural relations, social organization, and
applied research methods. Kreps publishes widely (more
than 350 articles, books, and monographs) concerning
the applications of communication knowledge to address
important social issues. Kreps is also the recipient of many
scholarly honors including the 2010 Distinguished Communicator Award.
Special thanks to:
Fall 2011 COMM 3310
Copy Editing and Design
students for their
contributions to the
content of this newsletter.
In addition to his lecture, Kreps met with
several School of Communication and Department of Health Education and Promotion
classes.
The School of Communication, which celebrated its 5-year anniversary this semester,
offers a master of arts degree in communication with an emphasis in health communication.
The program examines communication issues that exist between and among patients,
providers, and family members; how the
media influences health decision making; the
effects of organizational structures in health
communication; the creation and dissemination of health information; and multiple
influences of culture on health communication.
Graduates integrate communication theory and research
into practice and influence the direction of the field of
health communication.
For more details about our graduate program, visit:
www.ecu.edu/comm. For specific degree/course requirements, visit the School of Communication online graduate
catalog page: www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/grcat/COMM.cfm
Keep an eye out for information about
the Spring 2012 CommCrew reception,
and keep up with other
School of Communication
happenings and events by
joining us on social media.
Here’s how to find us:
LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com (search “Comm Crew”)
Facebook
www.facebook.com (search “CommCrew”)
Twitter: twitter.com/commcrew
C-CURRENT • WINTER 2011
School of Communication • 4
Cahill attributes success to education received through SOC
photo by Mike Dermody
continued from page 1
because of characteristics she had
demonstrated in
his class.
“Her intelligence,
her work ethic,
and her organizational skills are
just amazingly superior,” Dermody
relates.
Dermody was
approached by
ECU’s Associate
Provost, Dr. David
Weismiller, to use
Journalist Samantha Cahill
the links on ECU’s
began gaining on-camera
VSA page to tell
experience before graduating.
the story of the
ECU experience
through video inthe School of Communication at terviews of students and alumni.
The project gave Cahill the opECU. She believes that the factor
portunity to travel to Los Angemaking the SOC distinctive is
les and Washington D.C. As the
its faculty.
producer, Cahill was responsible
“The professors in the School
for a lot of work that is not visof Communication have an
ible when watching the clips,
excellent relationship with their
but Dermody says that “it’s her
students,” said Cahill. “I think
voice that comes through.” they go above and beyond to
Cahill also used the Indepenmake sure their students undent Study program, which
derstand the material and are
allows students to create a class
enjoying the experience.”
built around a hands-on project.
While she was a student, CaWith this project, she produced
hill was selected by Professor
a video for “The Source,” a proMichael Dermody to work as a
gram run by the video producproducer on a project involvtion students. The segment was
ing the Voluntary System of
about women’s health and feaAccountability, a website that
tured an array of professionals
centralizes information about
from ECU and the community.
universities for potential stuAt the graduation recognition
dents. Dermody chose Cahill
C-CURRENT • WINTER 2011
ceremony, Cahill received the
School of Communication’s
Outstanding Graduate Award,
which she refers to as her “most
humbling” experience at ECU.
She then worked as an associate
producer at local news station,
WITN, for four months before
accepting a position as a marketing assistant for the West
Virginia State Fair.
The ECU alumna is enthusiastic in recommending the School
of Communication to prospective students and freshmen, and
urges current students to make
the most out of their time at
ECU.
“There are a lot of learning
opportunities, so it’s important
to research ways to get involved
and be proactive about any
hands-on experiences that are
available.”
To learn more about
Samantha Cahill:
visit her biography at:
www.wvnstv.com/
story/15981029/samantha-cahill
or follow her
news stories on:
www.facebook.com/
#!/pages/Sam-Cahill59News/227313120670025
School of Communication • 5
You can help the
School of Communication
continue to grow by:
joining CommCrew
for friends and alumni of the East Carolina University School of Communication
____________________________________________________
Please make your check payable to the
ECU Foundation and return to:
Dr. Linda Kean, Director School of Communication, 102
Joyner, Mail Stop 524, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
27858-4353
Phone: _____________________________________________
Or, you can donate online at
Name: ______________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________
onestop.ecu.edu/onlinegiving/
E-mail:_______________________________________________
Your membership supports academic
scholarships, student journalism, and
creative media production.
•Chancellors’ Society ($1,000)
• Call me about corporate
sponsorship.
•Other (amount)
_____________________
Ready for more SOC news and
School of Communication
102 Joyner East
Mail Stop 524
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
•Recent Alumni ($25)
•Member ($50)
•Patron ($100)
•Benefactor ($250)
•Director ($500)
Please designate your gift to:
“College of Fine Arts and Communication,”
then “School of Communication,”
and under “Other Area” type “CommCrew.”