Interesting

Public Relations Society of America-PRSA is a community of more than 21,000 public relations and communications professionals across the United States, from recent college graduates to the leaders of the world’s largest multinational firms. Our members represent nearly every practice area and professional and academic setting within the public relations field. In addition, there are more than 10,000 students who are members of PRSA. I would consider joining this organization because it contains the most information and job placement. 

International Public Relations Association-IPRA is run by a Board of Directors elected by the IPRA Council who are in turn elected by our members in the different countries. The Board is chaired by a President again elected by the IPRA Council and operates within a set of Bylaws agreed by the Council.

Society of Professional Journalists- The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect journalism. The organization is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.\

Organization of News Ombudsmen-  The news ombudsman receives and investigates complaints from newspaper readers or listeners or viewers of radio and television stations about accuracy, fairness, balance and good taste in news coverage. He or she recommends appropriate remedies or responses to correct or clarify news reports.

Overseas Press Club -Membership with the Overseas Press Club of America provides access to an elite group of media industry leaders, exclusive events with relevant topics to enhance your job as a journalist, networking opportunities, the monthly newsletter with all the latest industry news about OPC members and hotel discounts and event passes at press clubs.

My opinion on Blogging!

Purpose
The purpose of this blog was to show the class my expertise in blogging. An advantage with blogging is that you don't have to be an expert to be good at blogging. The world blogging has taken a new meaning since taking this class. I knew you could express yourself on the internet but looking up different "blogs" has shown me that there are a wide arrange of opinions that people have on different topics, blogs are meant for people to express themselves in which any way they want to. With my blog I wanted to stay on track with teh course and provide my opinion of data in the assignments assigned.
Blogging is a way for people to vent and get things that they want to get out, blogs are good because you can ask personal questios/advice without giving your identity. Lots of people I know put that reason to good use.  In my opinion blogs are starting to phase out because of Twitter. People can know post things very quickly and from their mobile phones with Twitter. However, blogs are still important to the internet community. No matter what the purpose is people will be blogging for a very long time.
Design
Designing a blog was very important for me because I wanted mine to look very professioal and neat. If your blog is appealing to the eyes it will do nothing but help the viewership of your blog. Having nice colors and readable font is important. A blog no one can see is a blog no one can read. A key is standing out from the crowd.  No one will talk about your blog design or even take note of it if it looks too similar to other blogs.
Many of the blogs in my niche were using popular free WordPress themes, so they looked like other blogs.  
While there are many great free WordPress themes, if you use them, you’ll often find many blogs that look just like yours.  Therefore, you’re not standing out from the crowd and your design doesn’t make a lasting impression.  My design may not win any awards, but one thing I kept hearing in the compliments was the simplicity of the design.  A clean, uncluttered design goes a long way to improving the usability of your blog.
Many blogs have too much going on.  Whether it’s five different ads above the fold or ten widgets on the sidebar, a cluttered design can frustrate and confuse your readers.
Takeaway: If you give your readers too many things to look at, they may miss out on the most important part of your blog, your posts.  Keep your design simple and you’ll highlight your content.
Content
Blog content in my opinion is very opinion because it is the main thing that attracts readers.  In my blog I knew the content was important because no one would really pay attention to my blog if I was off topic. The main content in the blog pertained to our class but I included some background information on myself and how I was enjoying the class.
Audience
Audience in my blog pertained to my classmates and those interested in the topics that we covered. I actually invited a couple to look at my blog and they enjoyed it. An audience can be dictated by many factors such as topics, blog design and if others refer people to your blog for some reason.

The Media Technologies I chose

Broadcast Media (Radio)

This audience consists of those who travel in their cars, people who listen to the radio listen to either talk radio or radio stations that specialize in playing music. This type of media is used to broadcast messages over airways such as public servi e announces or ads that reach the public population that is in the car. Talk radio has evolved where people can get the news and be able to call into certain shows and talk about issues that are played over airways.  Out of the four media technologies I chose this would be the fourth important in my opinion because radio has been around for a very long time, there have been modifications to it there hasn't been enough of an overhaul to make it stand out. 

Newspapers

Some have said that the newspaper is dying. I have heard this statement a lot in the past couple of years. Newspapers have been around essentially forever and they are still for now one of the most primary ways we get our news. With the ever so growing popularity of the internet newspaper companies are starting to tailor to the online community and make more content available online. With newspapers people have something tangible to read in front of them, some of the older generation have not converted to the online popularity of newspapers and still prefer to have an actual paper in front of them. Newspapers are dying everyone knows that, with that said I still think they are important because the older generation is still not ready to turn the page into the online newspaper. I am 24 years old and I still prefer a newspaper over online because I like to have something in my hand and I have grown accustomed to newspapers throughout my life. I rank this as third on my list because newspapers are dying but their not dead yet!

Television 

Another primary source that people use for news, television is one of the most popular medias thats out there. Television especially when first developed established transitioned people from the radio to seeing faces on tv delivering them the news. This media is one of the most remarkable inventions in my opinion because it allowed people at the time to see many things that they were not able to see, I think this is one of the top 5 most important inventions regarding media.  This has been the most important media technology next to computers that has been developed. I took a class about media in the early days and my textbook stated that the television blew everyones minds away because people could see things and places that they've never seen before, this ranks first on my list  of important media technologies because the television brought the world much closer and impacted a lot of lives. 

Online Publications (Social Media)

This recent phenomena has transformed everyones lives from facebook to twitter to flikr social media websites have transformed how we keep in touch with people, even businesses have jumped on the bandwagon and use these sites to promote their companies.  People who use these sites are now able to keep in touch with long lost friends and family without having to clutter email boxes. WIth the evolution of technology I don;'t know what they'll come out with next but media is ever so changing. 

Should College Athletes Be Paid?

I found this article on USA Today about whether or not athletes should be paid in college. I think is an interesting topic because I was once a college athlete and I can see where the author is coming from in this article.






College athletes want cut of action

By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY

From TV rights to its men's basketball tournament, the NCAA averages better than half a billion dollars a year in revenue. That does not include payouts from the 28 football bowls, which exceed $184 million and go to the conferences.

Before the 2003 BCS title football game, then-Ohio State player Maurice Clarett gave the issue of pay for play a national platform.

Given those numbers, why aren't athletes in revenue-generating sports such as men's basketball and college football paid?

Athletes see what's in it for everybody else. They see their jersey numbers on the racks of the campus bookstore, but they don't see any share of the profit. They see their coaches drawing million-dollar salaries and their schools and conferences taking cash from corporate sponsors, but they don't get a whiff of the action.Last year state legislators in Nebraska endorsed a stipend for University of Nebraska football players, and lawmakers in California, Texas and Iowa have considered athlete-welfare measures, although no legislation has gotten off the ground. A former UCLA football player, Ramogi Huma, founded the Collegiate Athletes Coalition to act as an advocate, even aligning with the United Steelworkers of America in 2002.

Before the 2003 national championship football game, then-Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett gave the issue a national platform when he railed against the riches of college athletics while expressing resentment that Ohio State didn't buy him a plane ticket to fly home to attend the funeral of a boyhood friend. (School officials said he could have used the NCAA's Special Assistance Fund but failed to fill out necessary paperwork.)

Still, pay for play is one change that is unlikely to happen. The NCAA remains firmly opposed.

"We have a model for paying players. It's called professional sports," NCAA President Myles Brand says.

Only 40 Division I-A institutions operated in the black in 2001, according to the NCAA. Revenue are rising for those few schools; however, annual operating deficits are growing for most of the rest of the membership (composed of about 1,000 schools). In many cases, those schools with football and basketball programs that do make a profit use that money to underwrite the school's other sports.