Twice a year I do a guest lecture at Rutgers University for a 400-level PR class led by AT&T’s former crisis communications pro, Burke “Bad News” Stinson. It’s a great class, led by one of the best pros in the business. I spend two hours providing a frank, no-BS overview of the profession: what it’s like, what they can expect, what I expect, and what they need to know.
Each semester I’m amazed at the number of students who aren’t yet prepared for the real world of PR — students with no journalism, no PR, no new media backgrounds. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster they get time with Burke before being turned loose on the industry.
So, I’m not entirely shocked to read Bill Sledzick’s piece on Media Bullseye about similar findings at Kent State. While the bulk of his post is focused on the gender gap in PR (for anyone who’s been in the profession for awhile, the existence of this gap isn’t a shocker), the bottom section highlights the challenges the industry faces in preparing tomorrow’s students to be better equipped to succeed as PR pros.
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