On the Job Vocab

After a brief blogging hiatus, I have returned full force as I start my internship and the Portland Senior Experience.  My first week has been exhilarating and I and have done my best to hit the ground running. My team members are superb and, besides being exemplary professionals, are committed to helping me learn, answering my questions, handing me projects, and including me every step of the way. Some of my newly and constantly acquired knowledge includes PR vocabulary that I have found to be very helpful and that I would like to share with you.

Matte Release: An article, written by a PR professional, that is structured like a feature but contains valuable information that would be in a press release. After client approval, the publicist sends the article to publications through a distributor. Publications use the article if there is room or extra space.

Canned Message: A suggested response to a predicted or commonly asked media question.

Unique Selling Proposition (USP): The unique features of a product (or service) that set it apart from the others. The USP is often an integral part of branding and message development.

Request for Proposal (RFP): A document that a company writes to request a project proposal from various PR agencies. The agencies respond with plan proposals, and the company uses these proposals to choose which agency to select for a project or campaign.

I hope this vocab has been interesting and helpful. Professionals, if you have anything to add or any commentary on my definitions, I would be delighted to see it!

The Portland Senior Experience

Image Credit: Inside Oregon Web site

As of last week, I was informed that I am part of the spring 2009 senior experience cohort. I cannot express enough my gratitude and excitement for this opportunity to take workshops and intern with Portland, Ore.’s premier public relations professionals.

The Portland Senior Experience is a program that I highly recommend to journalism students and professionals. It was one of the draws for which I chose to attend the University of Oregon over the University of Southern California. The program involves students taking their last capstone classes of the public relations program and workshops with professionals at the Turnbull Portland Center while working as an intern at a public relations agency in Portland. Many of the classroom and internship activities are integrated to allow students to experience more in-depth learning and create relevant, interesting portfolio pieces.

What I am looking forward to the most is networking with and learning from public relations and journalism professionals in the Portland area. So much of the expertise and knowledge in public relations is shared through storytelling and experience. From internships, conferences and networking events I have gleaned priceless knowledge through countless stories that practitioners have been eager to share.

The next few months will be an exciting process during which I will interview at agencies matched to my interest in consumer public relations, and I will finish my last term at the University of Oregon before heading back home to Portland to embark on my public relations adventure.

Have you participated or will you participate in this or a similar program? Students and professionals, I would love to hear your stories.