Could social media kill the press reporter, just how video killed the radio star? Senior Capstone update 3/21 to 3/25

With the trend of politicians and government official using Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to directly reach out to the public there has been some questioning if the world of the press junket is on its way out the door. Looking into this question and trying to find and answer has been the focus of my research this week.

The Press themselves don’t quite feel that they are threatened. Mainly it all comes down to if the American people understand the information which is given to them through these social and new media outlets. The world of new and social media reaches only to certain demographics. Although these demographics have grown in size immensely mainly due to the expanding need to be media savvy, they still do not reach many groups of people who are regular followers of current events or are not technologically inclined. Because of this there will always be a need for other forms and methods of communication beside those linked to new media.

Secondly the American public take the tweets and status updates of these officials as news but really they are a repackaged press release. Why read a whole page when you can get the important info in less than 160 characters? When it really comes down to it you must look at the source or the tweet or update. Information coming straight from the individual is not an outside look or report. The information that comes from the individual could be skewed and bias in a way to make themselves look better.

The press is still needed to give that outside look in. They are needed to collect all of this information and align it in an unbiased way to show the whole story. These social media outlets allow for transparency into the world of the government. But, what is not fully realized is the fact that this transparency could be more like looking through plastic wrap than a window. It could be slightly distorted. But, playing devil’s advocate, news coverage depending on how you obtain it, newspaper, tv or radio could still be skewed in a direction. You just have to be careful.

So in the end, is Facebook going to kill the Front page?

Not likely.

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Stereotypes, Issues and Votes... Oh My! Senior Capstone Update March 6-11

Every night when I go to bed I look at a personalized bumper sticker that sits above my head board. Future West Virginia Senator : Ashley Hawkins. It is a constant reminder of my goals and ambitions. This week I dove more into the book The Political Consequences of Being a Woman by Kim Fridkin Kahn. My project is dealing with helping run a successful Gubernatorial campaign for a female candidate. Because of this while reading the book, I focused on the overall political situation women face in a Gubernatorial race. In doing my research this week I found out some interesting information about successful statewide political races. And came to the realization that maybe my sticker should say future WV Governor.

Plain and simple the numbers show that it is easier to become a female Governor than a female Senator. But neither of these offices are easy to get elected into as a woman. West Virginia has never had a female Senator or Governor. In the history of this country there has only been 35 female governors ever and 39 female senators. But of the 39 senators 13 were appointed and 7 of those were appointed to fulfill the terms of their deceased husbands. So honestly there have only been 26 elected female senators. This threw me. I mean they are both state elections what would make the difference. What it comes down to is the issues and stereotypes.

There are certain stereotypes about what women are good at and the positive traits they posses. Women are supposed to be warm, understanding, emotional and compassionate. Unfortunately it is very hard to get around these stereotypical beliefs of a women’s character. Even more sadly is all women who are trying to be competitive in the political arena must posses these traits or they will get no where. Lacking these will make you too “ manly” and will make voters uncomfortable voting for you. These trends of “ soft “ traits lend themselves to such issues and platforms as education and healthcare more than say defense and fiscal/economic issues. This is where the split for Governor and Senator arises. A Gubernatorial campaign focuses on the needs of the state on the state level. It will deal extensively on issues such as educational and healthcare. Things women are supposed to be good at. At the Senatorial level the view is a bit more nationwide. You represent your state but the outcome is for the best of the nation. These issues range more to the defense and economic issues. Women are “not” supposed to be good in that arena. There are ways to try and overcome these issues through your campaign but that is another topic for another day.

Overall sadly even in the political world stereotypes are throwing women into the roles they feel they could play best. It’s ironic that we feel as if we have come so far even though we have so much farther to go. This being said I feel as if the Senator sticker will stay. There maybe a Governor one to join it someday. You never know where life will take you.

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Hi Ashley, it’s Natalie... Senior Capstone Update Feb 26- Mar 6

Unexpected it the name of the game this week ladies and gentlemen.

In life you have to jump at the opportunities given to you. Even if that means scraping your plans for the week so you can roll with the punches. Thankfully my senior capstone calendar is electronic or I would have had a bunch of eraser marks by now.

This week I planned on drafting and creating my election plan and launching my Facebook and Twitter accounts. All this changed Monday afternoon when I got a phone call from Natalie Tennant herself asking for my help coordinating a meet and greet in Shepherdstown this coming Saturday. My week now had a new purpose and direct ion, which was not the one I originally expected it to have. So this week I accomplished A LOT! I set up my Facebook page and created an event on it for Natalie. This got the word out very quickly. On campus I talked to the political science honor society about the event and addressed Young Democrats about the event and a future campaign stop. They were very supportive. By the time Saturday came the even was a success with both community and Shepherd people alike attending.

This week has been the most rewarding so far. I was very happy at the event when I saw Shepherd students who are not interested in politics educationally. They had seen my event on facebook and came out to hear Natalie. I had gotten someone to go out of his or her way to hear her and get involved. That to me made all the difference. Secondly I think another great moment this week was when I got a like on my Facebook page from someone who was not a local Shepherd democrat or that I personally knew. It meant that my efforts to reach other West Virginians worked. This week was a big personal win for me.

A Whole New World: Capstone Status Update: Feb 21-25

I have quickly learned that I definitely stepped into a whole new world when I stepped out of my comfort zone and into the world of PR with this project. Although I am enjoying the journey, I am seeing that it will be one filled with bumps along the way. But then again this is what Capstone is. It is an opportunity for us to spread our wings and be helped over those bumps by the guidance of our directors. This past week as one of my goals I set out to launch both my facebook and twitter accounts. I figured that would be easy enough. WRONG! As I sat there getting ready to start I realized that setting up a professional social media page is more planning than I realized. I have to have a complete idea and image before I put the face of my campaign out to the world. I decided to take a little bit of time to pull that together. You only get one first impression.

I have also contacted the vice president of the Young Democrats Chapter on campus. He is all systems go with a campaign drive. All I have to do is refine my proposal for my event and he will push it through to the best of his ability. It’s good to have friends in high places.

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I’m Late.. for a very important Date! Capstone Update: Feb 14-19

Sometimes you have to admit your strengths and sometimes you have to admit your weaknesses. I hate when this time comes around. I had one of these moments today setting up my final production schedule for my project. I love deadlines and I love having someone to answer to. This whole free work thing is really not my cup of tea. I was actually slightly relieved when Monica ( my director) mentioned that she wanted to meet with me a little more regularly than I originally anticipated. I feel as though I need that person there to keep me in line. I can’t help it I like order. I started my project management plan in this great software called Omniplan. And the software was amazing for breaking up tasks and scheduling things out over along period of time. But it was hard to see things on a true daily basis. Although the end result was rather pretty and reliable with more bells and whistles than a music store, it was nut feeling right for me. I felt like it was time for a change . And this change had to be quick considering the final draft was due the next day. I decided to go into goggle calendar and start my calendar there. I knew in Google calendar I could put tasks almost daily. This way I could almost check them off as I was done. Using my knowledge from my Advanced Internet Media course I embedded it into a separate blog. This mainly served the purpose of allowing me the ability to check my schedule at any point from any location. This way I could never be late for a deadline ever. No white rabbit in my future. I felt like this approach although new and questionable would be the best fit for me. And if it does not fit . Well that only leads us to one conclusion. If at first you don’t succeed try… try again.

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How to Promote the Vote?

The majority of my research for my senior capstone is focused on how to not only motivate and get the youth out to vote but how to get them to back a female candidate. . I personally feel that a lot of the youth voters feel they have no impact in the political scene and I am hoping my research will be able to give me some incite into ways in which I can overcome this barrier This becomes even more difficult when the female candidate is running for a position, that has never been help by a woman. West Virginia is one of the 24 states left that have not had top female state leadership. I have not been able to fully research my topic as well as I would have liked by this point because I am still waiting to hear on my interlibrary loans but when they arrive I look forward to reading the following books and articles which I feel will help me better understand the road I have ahead of me. If anyone out there in cyber land has any other ideas on resources please feel free to comment and add to my list.

Brisbin, Richard A. West Virginia Politics and Government. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2008. Print.

Burgess, Diana, Beth Haney, Mark Snyder, John L. Sullivan, and John E. Transue. "Rocking the Vote: Using Personalized Messages to Motivate Voting among Young Adults*." Public Opinion Quarterly 64.1: 29-52. Print.

Franz, Michael M., Paul Freedman, Ken Goldstein, and Travis N. Ridout. "Understanding the Effect of Political Advertising on Voter Turnout: A Response to Krasno and Green." The Journal of Politics 70.01 (2008). Print.

Hill, Ronald P. "An Exploration of Voter Responses to Political Advertisements." Journal of Advertising 18.4 (1989): 14-22. Print.

Kahn, Kim Fridkin. "Gender Differences in Campaign Messages: The Political Advertisements of Men and Women Candidates for U. S. Senate." Political Research Quarterly 46.3 (1993): 481. Print.

Kahn, Kim Fridkin. The Political Consequences of Being a Woman: How Stereotypes Influence the Conduct and Consequences of Political Campaigns. New York: Columbia UP, 1996. Print.

Kaid, Lynda Lee., and Christina Holtz-Bacha. Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2008. Print.

Sweetser Trammell, K. D. "Candidate Campaign Blogs: Directly Reaching Out to the Youth Vote." American Behavioral Scientist 50.9 (2007): 1255-263. Print.

Xenos, Michael, and Kyurim Kyoung. "Rocking the Vote and More: An Experimental Study of the Impact of Youth Political Portals." Journal of Information Technology & Politics 5.2 (2008): 175-89. Print.

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Whole World Can Change In a Click...

So last time on “How The Capstone Turns” Ashley was set with a dilemma. She had figured out two Capstone ideas. One was a blog which she would create from scratch about politics and the media. Something tangible which combined her major and minor . It was something she had slightly been playing with in her head for awhile, but it just didn’t perfectly feel right. Her other choice was one which she would have loved to do but the timing was all wrong. She could combine her knowledge of Politics and Advertising/ Propaganda and create a campaign for a candidate aimed at college students. But, all of the local elections were last semester and creating a fake candidate would be silly. The day of reckoning was coming, she would have to meet with her director soon and give her a proposal idea, but even the night before she felt her hands were tied. What could she do?

The morning of her meeting Ashley clicked to her usual WV State News Website that she reads everyday, and what did she see. Not only was there going to be a special election in the state but The Secretary of State, Natalie Tennant, who Ashley had recently scored a summer internship with, would be running for the seat of Governor. There was her sign. After getting the OK From her Project Director. Ashley happily excited her meeting with a mission, to play her part in this election.

Because of this turn in events I have redirected my research. If I’m going to reach youth voters I need to know how to target and reach them. I am looking up books and websites, which focus on the use on New Media and its uses by candidates. How can I use Social and New Media to my best advantage? This will be the biggest tool for success. I am also researching websites such as Rock The Vote which are aimed at getting young voters out to vote. The usual voter in a primary election is one which is set hard in their political ways and an avid voter. But not many individuals show up to vote. How can I get young voters out to a primary election when the average voter usually throws it by the wayside? These outlets of research I am pursuing will hopefully answer these questions.

Politically Puzzled: Senior Capstone Confusion

Hi. My Name is Ashley Hawkins. I am a communications major and political science minor who half way through her degree decided that instead of reporting on government officials and legal cases, she wanted to be first hand involved with them. I have the promise scholarship from the state of WV which would pay my tuituion if I keep a 3.0 GPA and get out in 4 years. Communications is still a love and passion of mine, so I kept my major for my undergrad but set my sights on Law school for my graduate level education.

Now I know by this point you are probably wondering what in the world this has to do with my senior capstone project. Well it has everything! While others are creating movies, PR Campaigns and Documentaries to show as their best work to employers in the field, I am directing myself a totally different direction. In some ways I feel this frees me from some of the restraints a project could put. If you want to have a career in PR filming a zombie movie for capstone would not be very productive but I also feel it narrows me as well. I would like to accomplish something which I can show in the future to my law professors or even Admissions committees as the link between my major and my minor.

Throughout my four years at shepherd the world of politics and the media have intertwined and overlapped many times over leaving me some opportunities for advancement with my capstone project.

My first idea was to do a Public Relations project marketing a Political Candidate to the college crowd, but unfortunately at this point election season is over. To do this now I would have to completely make up a candidate but I’m not sure how that would go over. If I made it blatantly obvious they were fake (Barbie etc) then maybe it would work. If the special election for Governor of WV is announced and starts within the next week it maybe be an option I can use. But the chances of this happening is slim to none.

My second and more plausible option is to take my enjoyment of the web and the opportunities it posses and create a project along those lines. I would like to create a blog similar to the one that Shelby Hoffman did for her capstone but I would focus it on the interlaying relations between politics and the media or media law. These all rely so much on each other but it is never really stressed in today’s culture. Many Political Scientists refer to the media as the 4th estate as they see it as important as the first three estates which are the recognized branches of government.

I feel the second option is something that I could not only run with but could be beneficial in the future but I’m just not fully sure. I am afraid I am overlooking an option, but I’m not quite sure what it is. Any other ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If nothing else comes up, I am feeling the blog. I mean I do enjoy writing this one : )
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