This syllabus is subject to change without notice. Contact the professor for most recent changes.

17-88-653-01 Management Seminar

Spring 03

MH112

Thursday 6:00 - 8:45 p.m.

Instructor:

Dr. Janet Cherrington – (Dr. “J”) [a] Office: 106b MH Phone/Voice Mail: 507-389-5031

Office Hours: As posted on my office door & web page. http://www.intech.mnsu.edu/cherrington

Text(s) (T1, T2, T3):

(T1)=Media Relations: The Manager’s Role 1999 ICMA Service Report #42546; Vol. 31, No. 12 ; (T2)=Ten Steps to Effective Presentations ICMA #40896, (ICMA),

(T3)=Media Relations Manual ICMA (#40562).

Morris Hall Copy Shop (CS):

“Principles of Communication,” pp.387-393, pp.394-403 in Principles of Business Communication, Ronald E. Dulek and John S. Fielden, (1990), copyrighted photocopy.
Class packet with field project assignments and The Free Press-Mankato “Blue Earth Land Records Debacle,” article excerpts.

Other (O): ICMA public awareness campaign tool kit which ICMA has agreed to supply a number of kits free of charge to students. The first 12 students to enroll in the course will receive these. (URSI majors will receive first preference).

Course Purpose: The purpose of this course is two-fold: to increase public managers’ overall understanding of media relations and to understand how to build public awareness of the value that professional city, town, and county management brings to communities. In particular, the following topic areas will form the basis of the course:

• Historical and Legal Contexts of Government-Media Relations.
  
  
• Media Ethics and the Rise of Civic Journalism.
  
  
• Media Characteristics and Cultivating Relationships with the Media.
  
  
• Media Relations in Local Government: Roles/Responsibilities, Policies/Procedures, Training.
  
  
• Media and Local Government Case Studies.
  
  
• Public Information Campaigns.

This course is designed to help public managers put the media in an appropriate context, emphasizing how employee communication and direct citizen contact must work in order to improve media relationships. The primary focus will be developing a personal approach to building successful media relationships and designing public information campaigns. It will be geared to public and non-profit managers, department heads, elected officials, planners, public information officers or anyone else who regularly interacts (or should interact) with the media. The course will include lectures, readings, in-class case studies, discussions, and media guest speakers.

Course Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to do the following:

• Articulate historical contexts of government-media relations and legal considerations.
• Articulate civic journalism and ethical behavior in media relations.
• Understand and use various forms of media for public awareness.
• Understand the public manager’s roles/responsibilities in media relations.
• Develop written polices and internal procedures for effective media. relations.
• Design a local government public awareness campaign that includes:
  -- a community brochure,
  -- a local government fact sheet
  -- adapt a video public service announcement (psa) clip
  -- a 30-second psa radio audio clip for a local radio station
  -- a color local government advertisement clip.
• Develop a PowerPoint presentation to help residents, elected officials, and area youth gain a better understanding of what local governments do and how public managers play a vital role in those operations.
  
  
• Adapt the above presentation and present it to local high school students during their annual career day to attract them to careers in local government management.