Diploma’s in the bag!

Yesterday I received the best possible birthday and Christmas present ever – news that I passed my CIPR research project with a merit – so I am now the proud owner of the CIPR Diploma in Public Relations. Two merits plus a distinction means I get a merit grade overall. Whoop! I would have been perfectly happy just passing the damn thing, so to get a merit is a super added bonus.

Since I embarked on my first tutorial back in January and until I handed in my research project at the end of October, this diploma has been a huge weight on my shoulders. Those of you who tune into Robyn’s Nest on a regular basis will know how miserable it made me. I am not an academic and my free time is precious, so this was a real struggle.

Anyway, it’s over and done with and more than likely worth it. I have the NCTJ qualifications I achieved 10 years ago – making me a certified hack – and now I have the CIPR qualifications to boot – making me a certified PR bod. Hoorah!

Here’s what I had to do to get there:

• Write two essays (known as the critical reasoning test or CRT). There were five questions to choose from, I think, and I had to write up essays in answer to two of them using 2,500 to 3,000 words for each. I plumped for:

Public relations is most likely to contribute to organisational effectiveness when the senior public relations manager is a member of the dominant coalition – where he or she is able to shape the organisation’s goals and to help determine which external publics are most stategic.” (Grunig, L. Grunig, J. and Dozier, 2006: 34). Write a report to the board of the organisation you work for, explaining why this is so.

And

There is an increasing number of individuals and organisations entering the “blogosphere” where reputations are played with by almost everyone, from anonymous mischief makers to the openly concerned. Your CEO has heard that her name has been mentioned in an anonymous blog and she wants to retaliate. Before you advise her as to what is best to do, write yourself a reflective paper about public relations and the “blogosphere”.

• Next up was the hideous planning assignment, a more practical approach to a PR crisis, using up to 6,000 words. This was the scenario my cohort had to deal with:

You are the Director of Public Relations and Fundraising for a leading charity devoted to research into the causes of heart disease. Approaching the end of a two-year planning period, you are one month away from the launch of a new campaign, entitled ‘Let’s Kill Heart Disease’. The campaign aim is to raise the equivalent of £3 million over the next two years for distribution to the charity’s medical research units throughout your country.

During your regular Monday morning staff update session, one of your junior press officers mentions that a friend of hers who works for a leading cereal manufacturer has mentioned that her company’s new Corporate Social Responsibility initiative is remarkably similar to your campaign. Entitled ‘Stop Heart Disease. Dead’, the company has set a fundraising target equivalent to £1 million over the next 12 months. The funds raised will be distributed among scientists from anywhere in the world submitting successful funding bids that involve research into the heart-health benefits of cereal. The company has significant backing from a range of existing celebrity endorsers, and will be using high-impact TV and billboard advertising to publicise its campaign.

You are due to present to your charity’s board of directors in two days time, where you will be required to provide: 1) A step-by-step plan to manage communication around this issue, providing a clear list of actions in order of priority and a summary of content for any written communication outputs. 2) A proposal to establish an issues management group, to monitor opportunities and threats, build and maintain the charity’s reputation in the longer term. 3) A rationale for each step of your approach.

• And last, but by no means least, was the research project or dissertation. We could choose a topic that interested us and conduct some research, and analyse it, using no more than 6,000 words. The title of my project was:

Beware the blogger? Should the public relations industry pay more attention to community journalism?

Some people were interested to see the results of my research, and I may well publish yet. Watch this space…

Study is over… for now

A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders this week and life can return to normal, yay! Yesterday I sent off my final CIPR Diploma assignment – the research project - and, as long as Royal Mail delivers it today (deadline day), then I’m home dry. I have to pass the damn thing, obviously, but until I get my results in December I won’t have to think about studying, reading academic textbooks or writing challenging assignments.

Now the work is over, I can get on and enjoy myself. I can dip into crime novels at bedtime without feeling guilty that I should have my nose in Tench and Yeomans’ Exploring Public Relations; I can have dinner at a mate’s house without knowing I should be at home studying and I can have lie ins at the weekend instead of pulling myself out of bed at 8am to sit at my laptop for hours. And I can gt my head down and do a full day’s work knowing the only thing waiting for me at home is TV and dinner, not 6,000 words that need writing or 10 books that need reading.

The diploma has been tough, not just because I’m about as academic as a boiled egg, but because fitting in study around work commitments, sport commitments and a social life is seriously tricky. I didn’t do uni first time round, plumping for work experience over a degree, so this study business has been a tad on the foreign side for me. This pain has been shared with my fellow CIPR students though, and I hope we’ll be able to meet up and celebrate the end of this long year, without the threat of another looming assignment.

My research project – about PR, the blogosphere and reputation management was pretty interesting, all be it hard work, and I may well publish it, along with my survey results, if and when I pass. I’ll keep you posted. Obviously, my study journey may not be over yet; if I fail I’ll have to do some tweaking, but at least, for now, I can forget about it.

Public relations and the blogosphere – do my survey!

I’m mid-way through my final CIPR Diploma assignment – the research project – which is based around public relations, reputation management and how the blogosphere fits into all that.

I’ve produced a survey as part of this project and need as many PR bods as possible to fill it out, whether they have experience of the blogosphere or not. If this is you, please fill out THIS SURVEY and help me pass my project. And don’t forget to tell your PR friends!

Thanks.

Good at bullshit?

While I’m plodding on with my final CIPR assignment – the research project – I received the results for my previous assignment this week – the planning one – and was totally dumbfounded.

I was convinced I’d failed it because I really had no idea what I was writing about, and, as the deadline drew nearer I realised I didn’t care and just wanted to shove the damn thing in an envelope, post it off and be done with it.

So, I was stunned into silence when I found out I passed with a distinction. I can draw only two conclusions from this: either I am very good at bullshit (perhaps why I became a journalist?) or the PR bods marking the assignment were high. Madness, total madness.

Anyhoo, it’s time to get cracking on my research project as time is fast running out and I’m starting to panic a wee bit. I booked eight days in Dubai at totally the wrong time and sporting commitments plus a mate’s wedding are seriously cutting into my study time.

Oh well, it’ll get done by the October 24 deadline and I have a real incentive to pass knowing that it’ll be the last assignment before I can put study behind me and get on with living and working on other personal projects of interest – I so wanna write a book.

In two minds…

I’m in two minds about a few things at the moment, which is probably the reason why my brain is fried.

• Netball. While I love playing and love playing in the Premier League, I hate playing GD when my talents lie in the GA position. I’m an attacker, not a defender and am struggling to get my head around that. Apparently I’m going a great job in defence but that doesn’t help much. And with the team captain and head of the netball club currently playing GA I don’t think I’m going to get a look-in. Bugger.
• My CIPR research project. On one hand I’m dreading it because it’s a piece of academic work and I am not in the slightest bit academic. And I have to do it in my spare time. What spare time? And on the other hand I actually find it quite interesting ‘cos it’s about the blogosphere, which is a passion of mine. Plenty of interesting books to read!
• My holiday. I’m off to Dubai in just over three weeks’ time and I can’t wait. Me, four girl mates, permanent sunshine and a whole new city to discover. But I’m also going to be leaving behind a ruck of work (projects that I’m actually excited about working on and want to be part of) and feeling very guilty because the time should be spent on my CIPR assignment. Eek. A glass of gin and cranberry (with lime, of course) should take my mind off it.
• Money. A big part of me thinks I should be saving my pennies, what with this credit crunch business, and being a bit more savvy with my money. But the new winter clothing line has hit the shops and temptation is everywhere. I can’t stop buying new stuff!
• My hair. I’m having it cut and coloured in a couple of weeks, two days before my mate’s wedding, for which I am a bridesmaid. Do I do something daring? Part of me loves having it longer, so I have the option of tying it back etc, but I’m tempted to have a lot chopped off so I look a bit more edgy. I’m defo gonna get rid of the blonde slices though and maybe plump for different shades of brown or even a dash of black. Decisions decisions.
• Physio. To go or not to go? Following my sprain, I’ve been umming and ahhring about whether to go back to see Mr Physio. My ankle’s not back to full strength still and I am way too scared to play netball or volleyball without an indutrial support on it. I tweaked it at netball last night, it was fat and puffy last night, which has served as a timely reminder that I need to get it sorted. I’m petrified of injury at the moment because it will bugger up my sporting routine. I’m working hard on fitness and that will all fly out the window if my ankle goes again. Yes, there’s a cost to see Mr Physio but I could get him to look at my shoulder too (it crunches every time I move it and is pretty painful; down to volleyball I think) and he is pretty easy on the eye. I’ll have to fish out appropriate underwear though.

Brain pain

Ever feel like you’ve got so much going on inside your tiny little mind that it might just explode? Well, that’s the way I’m feeling at the moment.

I’m a creature of habit and survive by meeting deadlines, having regular slots for regular activities and writing numerous “to do” lists. But frantic fever has set in and there is so much to be done.

• Holiday. While this should be a time of relaxation I have to find time to pack, wax and fish out my passport before I jet off to sunnier climes on Tuesday morning. And will I be able to go a week without checking my email? Probably not.
• Moving house. I’ve spent the past week lugging boxes from one place to another (why didn’t I choose a ground floor flat?!) and that’s just the half of it. My current flat replicates a modern-day bomb site as I attempt to pack things into boxes, shift furniture etc. It also means I need to notify various organisations of my soon-to-be change of address and spend hours on hold to BT in an attempt to get my phone line connected. And then there’s the actual big move which happens the day after I get back off hols. Stressed and tired is a bad combination. There’s also new stuff to find out – what day is bin day, which one is my allocated parking space, can my neighbours hear my loud music, is my landlord a nice guy, how long will it be until I get make-up on the bright white carpet?
• Dreaded diploma. Two nasty assignments coming up, both of which will require time and brain power. And I’m distinctly lacking in both. And I’ve just agreed to a PR research project which will no doubt require more of my time. Doh! Am also way behind on my PR reading and reluctant to read Planning and Managing PR Campaigns while sunning myself in Spain. Would much prefer the latest Jonathan Kellerman thriller.
• Netball. Recently got back into it after a year off and loving it. However, I’ve sneakily been training with two teams and the time has come to choose the one I want to play for. Do I choose the team I initially agreed to play for? Their fees are cheaper, they’re a less serious team but they haven’t trained much so I’ve not bonded with them. Or do I choose the other team? Their fees are double but the players are more my age and I’ve bonded with them during summer training. Eek. Dilemma. Need to make a decision soon and feel guilty that I can’t say yes to both.
• Work. Got loads on at the mo and feel my two week holiday is slap bang in the middle of what will be a manic time. Bad timing! I have lots of reading I want to catch up on and just don’t get round to it. I also feel I’ve lost my sense of what’s happening in the news. My last job involved me sitting at my desk every morning with a cup of tea and a copy of the Daily Mail. I don’t like reading news online, it’s not the same as flicking through a tabloid, so the only proper news I get is provided by the Radio 1 bulletins to and from work. Not good. Must get back into newspaper habit as current affairs is a big part of my job and I need to know what’s going on in the world. And that doesn’t mean the latest Big Brother task!
• Money. An overlap in rent and investments in new things for my new flat means I’m going to be skint for a while. Add to that the fact I need money for my holiday next week and I’m quite generous with my spending, it’s going to be a struggle to cut back. Might have to hide my credit and debit cards.

So, with so much going on at the moment I have made some drastic decisions. Cut down on alcohol consumption (apart from holidays and events) and spend more time reading. Get up earlier and read the paper over breakfast instead of my usual shower, dress, dash out the door routine. Focus on work and CIPR assignments as failure will mean doing them again and avoid any kind of dating/interaction with attractive males as this only leads to disappointment and misery. Going out less will also save on money and I do not need to buy any new clothes, shoes or bags until the autumn. Partying less and playing netball more should keep my BMI on the right side of 24 and I’m considering cycling into work. Sounds pretty boring doesn’t it! We’ll see how long it lasts.

The end… or is it?

Yay! I handed in my CIPR essays on Friday so my month of hell is finally over. However, handing over 6,000 words of public relations blurb (probably nonsense in my case) wasn’t as pleasureable an experience as I’d hoped.

A few of us wanted to get rid of our essays on Friday – four days before the official deadline – but we found it a tricky task to formally hand them over. I shalln’t bore you with the details but my whole experience of studying this diploma a has been one of disorganisation.

And considering us diploma students all work in the public relations/communications industry, it’s the communicating part that seems to be falling down. Lack of student cards, wrong information, delayed information, conflicting information, incorrect dates etc.

Working in newspapers was no different. Despite the fact the whole purpose of our jobs was to communicate news, there was very little internal communciation going on. Ironic eh?

Anyway, tis done now. The first part of the diploma assessment is over and as soon as I parted with those 16 sheets of A4 I thought: “Oh my God, my essays are rubbish, I really should have tried harder.” I honestly have no idea if they’re any good or not and I have to wait a good couple of months to find out. But the pain isn’t completely over.

No sooner had I handed in my essays, our tutors launched into a tutorial on the next lot of assessments, a planning one this time. Cripes chaps, give us a break! They seem to assume we’re fully informed about this diploma course, which is not the case. We don’t know what the deadlines are or what these assignments involve. Another communication issue.

Oh well, perhaps this diploma is teaching me more than I realised. Good communication is difficult to achieve!