Assignment # 10

Noting the top five reasons journalists visit a company Web site (see below), conduct your own usability study of five companies that interest you. On each site, search for basic PR information and note your findings in a new blog entry.
1. Find a PR contact (name and phone number)

2. Check basic facts about the company (name a top executive, and state the address of the company’s headquarters)

3. Check the company’s ‘spin’ on events (what kind of news would most affect/concern the company?)

4. Check financial information (any of the following: the company's yearly earnings/projections/budget etc.)

5. Download images to supplement a story (each company’s description on your blog must be accompanied by a representational image from the Web site)

6. The Web site address

COMPANY 1: Time Warner Inc.
1) PR Contact:
Corporate Communications Mark Harrad (203) 328-0613 Maureen Huff (203) 328-4807

2) Top executive: Richard D. Parsons is the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Time Warner Inc.
Address of company’s headquarters:
Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY10019-8016
212.484.8000

3) company’s spin on events:
Time Warner Cable Inc. to Host Business Update Conference CallFebruary 26, 2007
NEW YORK – Time Warner Cable Inc. will host a conference call for investors on Wednesday, February 28, 2007, beginning at 10:00 am ET, to discuss its business and its outlook for 2007.

4) Financial information:
In 2006 and 2007, Time Warner plans to reduce costs by $1 billion across their businesses. Time Warner Cable anticipates its 2007 full-year Free Cash Flow will be in the range of $800 million to $1 billion.

5)

6) Website: http://www.timewarner.com/corp/

COMPANY 2: Verizon
1) Corporate Strategy, PolicyJim Gerace908-559-7508James.Gerace@VerizonWireless.com
PR contact: Bobbi Henson, 972-718-2225

2) Top Executive: Ivan G. SeidenbergChairman and Chief Executive Officer
Headquarters Address:
Verizon Communications Inc.
1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle

3) news release:
NEW YORK - The standard for consumer and small-business Internet access is going up again with Verizon's introduction Monday (Feb. 26) of an up-to-50 Mbps FiOS Internet service in parts of five counties in the Tampa, Fla., area. This marks the sixth state where Verizon, the company building the nation's most advanced digital all-fiber-optic network, is now providing this unprecedented speed.
PR contact: Bobbi Henson, 972-718-2225

4) For the year 2006, Verizon reported earnings of $6.2 billion.

5)

6) <http://www22.verizon.com/>


COMPANY 3: SONY
1) PR contact: Corporate PR - Public Relations Department
Sony Corporation 03-5448-2200

2) Top Executive: Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer
Headquarters Address: 1-7-1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0075, Japan

3) Spin on Events:
January 5,2007
Sony Corporation announced the introduction of the sub brand name "x.v.Color", and its compliance logo, for products which conform to "xvYCC", the international standard for wide color space within moving images. Going forward Sony will promote "x.v.Color" among the industry as a unified brand name borne by future compliant products.

4) Financial Info.: Consolidated Sales and Operating revenue in the year 2005 were 7,510,600 million yen

5)

6) website: <http://www.sony.net/>

COMPANY 4: APPLE
1) PR contact:
Katie CottonVice President of Worldwide Corporate Communications
katiec@apple.com
Natalie KerrisApple(408) 974-6877mailto:974-6877nat@apple.com

2) Top Executive: Steve Jobs CEO, AppleHeadquarters Address:
Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010

3) Spin on Events:
Cisco and Apple Reach Agreement on iPhone Trademark
SAN JOSE and CUPERTINO, California—February 21, 2007—Cisco and Apple® announced that they have resolved their dispute involving the “iPhone” trademark. Under the agreement, both companies are free to use the “iPhone” trademark on their products throughout the world. Both companies acknowledge the trademark ownership rights that have been granted, and each side will dismiss any pending actions regarding the trademark. In addition, Cisco and Apple will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications. Other terms of the agreement are confidential.

4) Financial Info.: Apple’s financial results for its fiscal 2006 third quarter ended July 1, 2006. The Company posted revenue of $4.37 billion and a net quarterly profit of $472 million, or $.54 per diluted share.

5)

6) website: <http://www.apple.com/investor/ >

COMPANY 5: Nike
1) PR contact: Members of the press with media related inquiries may call (US) 1-212-367-4447. This phone is answered during business hours (EST) and is also checked frequently for messages.

2) Top Executive:
Philip H. Knight, Chairman of the Board of DirectorsMark Parker, President & Chief Executive Officer, NIKE, Inc.Charlie Denson, President, NIKE Brand
Headquarters Address:
Nike World HeadquartersOne Bowerman DriveBeaverton, OR 970053)

3)Spin on Events:
NikeGO Head Start Comes to Charleston, WV to Fight Childhood Obesity Epidemic
One of 12 New Cities For NikeGO Head Start Campaign in 2006-2007
Charleston, WV (13 February, 2007) – Charleston is the latest stop for NikeGO Head Start, a first-of-its-kind initiative to get kids physically active starting at a young age. Nike and the National Head Start Association (NHSA) along with SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) announced today that Charleston is one of 12 new sites where the program will be offered in 2006-2007. The NikeGO Head Start training for Charleston is taking place through the Kanawha County Schools Head Start and will be conducted at the Coonskin Park Clubhouse at Coonskin Drive in Charleston, WV. The training will take place on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 starting at 8:30 a.m.

5)

6) website: http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=0

Assignment # 9

The Enron Scandal
In the year 2001, U.S. history’s biggest bankruptcy led to the demise of former American energy corporate company called Enron based in Houston, Texas. The ironic part is the “Fortune” magazine named Enron ‘America’s Most Innovative Company’ for six consecutive years prior to their downward spiral from 1996 through 2001. Known as one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas, pulp, paper and communications company, Enron claimed to have a revenue of $111 billion in 2000, the year before its bankruptcy. “In just 15 years, Enron grew from nowhere to be America's seventh largest company, employing 21,000 staff in more than 40 countries,” says BBC news.
The irony became not too ironic when Enron was revealed for accounting fraud and the leading accounting firm behind the scandal was Arthur Andersen. Books had been audited Andersen during the collapse of Enron which cost investors over $60 billion dollars according to “TIME” magazine. Before being subpoenaed, workers at the firm illegally destroyed a large, yet unknown amount of documents relating to the Enron company
On January 9, 2002, The United States Department of Justice began a criminal investigation of Enron. After being exposed in corporate fraud, it was found that profits were inflated and debts were not reported in the company’s financial statements. According to “BBC News” The congressional hearing began on January 24, 2002 which gunned for three key players: Andrew Fastow, (Enron’s former chief financial officer) Kenneth Lay (Enron’s former chief executive and chairman since 1986), and David Duncan (Enron’s chief auditor at Andersen). Congressional investigators told “TIME” magazine that David Duncan and other directed workers shredded important documents when it was his job to audit Enron’s accounts.
Before the scandal, Enron shares were considered a blue chip stock and were worth $90.00, but dropped to .30 cents after the scandal was revealed. President Bush was also good friends with Kenneth Lay who donated $2 million dollars to his campaigns. Currently, Enron still exists without any assets as a shell corporation.

Assignment #8

SUMMARY LEADS:
1) CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) -- A passenger jet skidded off a runway and smashed through a fence while landing Sunday in windy and icy conditions at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
à The weather has increasingly become more icy and wind causing accidents to occur.
2) LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British police protection officer responsible for Prince Harry has flown to Iraq to begin making security arrangements for the royal soldier's deployment to Iraq amid fears for his safety, according to British press reports.
à In any instance, war is dangerous, but Prince Harry has extra protection as he goes off to face the dangers in Iraq.
3) PANIPAT, India (CNN) -- Witnesses have described the horrific scenes which followed two explosions on an Indian passenger train early Monday which killed at least 67 people.
à "I saw flames leaping out of the windows," said Vinod Kumar Gupta, the assistant manager in the Dewana station, who pulled the signal ordering the train to stop as it passed through the village shortly after the explosions had occurred.

FEATURE LEADS:
4) NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Chilly temperatures did not deter the revelers who turned out Sunday to watch the parades roll through the city on the last weekend before Mardi Gras.
à No matter how cold the weather got, it did not stop the many who gathered to celebrate Mardi Gras last weekend in New Orleans.
5) NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Police called to a Long Island man's house discovered the mummified remains of the resident, dead for more than a year, sitting in front of a blaring television set.
à Vincenzo Ricardo appeared to have died of natural causes at the age of seventy after police discovered his mummified body sitting in front of a television set for over a year in the Hampton Bays area of New York.
6) (CNN) -- Robert Thompson, head of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, hates the phrase "famous for being famous." You can't be famous for your celebrity, he says; you have to somehow achieve fame in the first place.
à Anna Nicole Smith has been the most covered media story in every news station, she is such a huge celebrity, yet her fame was achieved through marrying an elderly man and becoming a part of lawsuits for his riches after he died, and being a playmate.

Assignment # 7

Interview Practice: Contact one local business owner (can be a part-owner) and answer the following questions in a new blog entry. Some sample questions (think of more on your own):1. Why did you decide to go into business?2. How long has your business existed?3. What is your average customer profile?4. One anectdote/story about your business (i.e. a memorable day, an order mix-up, a memorable customer, etc.).

Sunny San Diego sure has a lot of local bars; but, The Pennant located in south mission beach is one to remember with its everlasting beach-gathering feel and upstairs deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The owner known as Dick bought the joint in 1979 after approaching the former bar owner who was on his knees picking up shattered glass off the floor . Being at the “right place at the right time,” Dick explains how he caught the “frustrated” bar owner on a bad day, offered to buy the place, and--“boom” as he puts it--he gave the old guy a down payment on a Monday morning.
His favorite part about owning his own business besides being his own boss is that he can come to work wearing shorts sand sandals. Aside from the laid back atmosphere of the bar, there is also a grill towards the back that serves different dinners throughout the week. There is a different themed dinner each night: Spaghetti Monday, Taco Tuesday, and meatloaf on Wednesdays; weekend nights serve hamburgers, fries, salads, and chicken tenders.
While the locals love eating the food, a lot of customers come to watch sports games. The beach bar has a television set in every corner and every niche including a projector screen the size of half the wall. Just this past super bowl in 2007, a local news station shot coverage of customers socializing and getting ready to watch the game.
Between the mix of older locals in their 50’s and 60’s watching games on TV and socializing, the weekends attract a young crowd from USD and San Diego State University. Dick likes to play music; of his favorites are “Rock n roll, Old rhythm and blues, country-western, but I hate hip-hop and rap-crap…ever listen to the words? Its so ugly.” Besides not liking rap music, Dick loves everything about his bar from his friends who have been going there for over 30 years to the perfect location less than 100 yards walking distance to the beach.

Assignment #6

Part I -- Identify the shamed journalists in the mugshots above, and describe why each was fired. Hint: they worked for (from left to right) The New Republic, The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post.Part II -- The Mustang Daily even found itself embroiled in a plagiarism scandal last year. What were the details of the incident? (BONUS QUESTION: What ethical dilemma did local media (Mustang Daily, New Times and SLO Tribune) face when reporting this story)?Part III -- Identify the 'character' of each organization or individual listed below. Some questions to answer: What do they do? Who pays them? What is their agenda, if any? Who’s interest are they serving? 1. Corpwatch2. Globalwitness3. Laborstart4. Associated Press5. Reuters6. Electronic Authorization Partnership7. David Romero8. Jack T. O'Conell9. Julie Rodewald10. Deborah Linden\
PART I:
Stephen Glass from The New Republic was fired because of a discovery made by his editor that he fabricated sources in many of his stories. He was first questioned by another reporter who suspiciously looked into his story about a hacker convention. As it turns out, the convention did not exist and the software company he cited was fake. He even went to lengths as to create a bogus website for the fictional software company.
Jayson Blair from The New York Times was fired because he plagiarized material and fabricated quotes and scenes throughout the fours years he worked for the newspaper. He was caught plagiarizing from a fellow reporter whom he worked with at his college newspaper at the University of Maryland.
Jack Kelley from USA Today was fired after evidence proved he had fabricated sources and his credibility was questioned when a story surfaced about a Cuban woman who supposedly died in a boat in an attempt to flee Cuba. The woman whose photo he submitted turned out to be a Cuban hotel worker. She never fled from Cuba and she was perfectly alive and well.
Janet Cooke from the Washington Post was fired when the discovery of her Pulitzer prize-winning story “Jimmy’s World” about an 8 year old heroin addict was fictional. She made up the elaborate story when she tricked her editors into letting the “mother” become an anonymous source. When she won the Pulitzer Prize, discrepancies showed up in her resume and she admitted to having made up the story.
PART II:
In August of 2005, a journalism student named Rebecca Laman was caught plagiarizing in three articles of the Mustang Daily, which include a profile of the Cal Poly men’s barbershop quartet, Men-So Forte; “July Fourth do’s and don’ts” and a movie review of “Fantastic Four.” The chairman of the journalism department, George Ramos was distressed, but handled the situation by making sure the student was punished by the university. Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, the university was not able to comment on the case, but the school’s plagiarism policy at Cal Poly is considered a “serious violation.” Rebecca Lama requested that her name not be printed in the newspaper, but the tribune did anyway.
BONUS: The ethical dilemma the SLO Tribune faced was whether or not they should identify Rebecca Laman as the writer who plagiarized for the Mustang Daily even when she requested not to be named. They decided to print her name because under the basic standards of journalism, she was considered a “newsworthy individual.” The Mustang Daily is a key source of information for Cal Poly students and she wrote dishonorably for the publication. Just because she is a student, she should not receive any less scrutiny for committing an unethical violation.
PART III:
1. Corpwatch is an organization whose mission is to investigate and expose corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud, and corruption around the world. The people who work for Corpwatch want to foster global justice, independent media activism, and democratic control over corporations.
2. Globalwitness is a non-governmental organization that highlights worldwide links between natural resource exploitation conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses. The organization does not have any political affiliation and the income comes from private trusts and foundations.
3. Labourstart is an online news service of the international trade union movement. It has conducted dozens of global online campaigns on behalf of unions, which have lead to companies and governments to release jailed trade unionists and negotiate with unions. 4. The Associated Press is an American news agency owned by newspapers, radio, and TV stations in the United States. The Associated Press Stylebook has become the basic standard for news writing in the United States. 5. Reuters is a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. The main focus of the service is to supply the financial markets with information and trading products, which include market data, currency rates, research, and analytics. 6. Electronic Authorization Partnership develops processes for certifying digital-certificate providers. It was established by the Federal ID Credentialing Committee7. David Romero is the mayor of San Luis Obispo and is paid by the city.
8 Jack T. O'Conell is the state superintendent of public instruction in California.
9. Julie Rodewald is the county clerk recorder for San Luis Obispo. She is paid by the city. 10. Deborah Linden is the police chief of San Luis Obispo and is paid by the city.