 This school year, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work as a public relations storyteller at Flash Communications, part of Kent State University’s Communications and Marketing Department. Flash Communications is a team of students who write, interview, brainstorm and edit public relations articles for Kent State Today.
I transferred to Kent State at the start of my sophomore year, eager to network and gain professional experience but unsure where to begin. After speaking with former PRSSA Kent President Macy Rosen, I learned about the Flash Communications position and immediately saw it as the perfect opportunity. At Flash Communications, I’ve had the chance to write numerous articles highlighting the achievements of Kent State students, faculty, staff, and community members. This experience has made me comfortable with interviewing, covering live events and writing in AP Style. One unexpected skill I gained was video editing. I’ve created short videos using Adobe Premiere Rush to complement my articles. Additionally, I’ve become proficient in Microsoft OneDrive and Airtable, tools we use to organize our tasks and keep the office running smoothly. Managing Flash Communications’ Instagram account has also given me valuable experience in social media management. Overall, this position has provided me with a well-rounded experience and a strong portfolio and resume builder for my future career. The work environment at Flash Communications is amazing. I truly enjoy working with my supervisor, Professor Luke Armour, and the rest of the Flash Comm team. The University Communications and Marketing department prioritizes making student workers feel valued, seen and heard, making it a fun place to work every week. As Flash Communications only offers students two semesters on board, my time here is coming to a close. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend students apply for the 2025-2026 academic year. If you’re looking to gain hands-on experience in writing, editing, interviewing and more, be sure to check out Flash Communications!
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Join PRSSA Kent for our final meeting of the year on Tuesday, April 15, at 5:30 p.m. in Franklin 340. We will be hosting Kevin Mitchell: senior talent buyer at Disco Presents, Hannah Mayer: regional marketing coordinator at Live Nation and Kelly Schikowski: communications specialist at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The professionals will share insights on working in music public relations and offer tips to students interested in this industry. This is a great networking opportunity— we hope to see you there! At PRSSA Kent, we’ve noticed that many of our members and event attendees share a deep love and passion for movies. The connections we've seen formed over this simple pastime—between strangers, colleagues and friends—inspired us to introduce our newest recurring column, Reel Recognition.
Each edition of Reel Recognition will spotlight one individual who has shown a dedicated effort to attend events and engage with PRSSA Kent. This is our way of showing appreciation, while also providing a fun opportunity to get to know each other a little better. Meet Jewels Cydrus, a junior public relations major from Springfield, Ohio. Jewels’ favorite movie is Mamma Mia! (2008), the musical rom-com starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. “I love the music and scenery,” Jewels said. For her, movies and music are powerful ways to connect with others. “I enjoy asking people about the music they listen to because most people are really passionate about their favorite songs and artists,” Jewels added. Through entertainment, Jewels has built connections and discovered shared passions, which continue to bring people together. Want to be featured in the next edition of Reel Recognition? Join us at the next PRSSA Kent meeting, and you could be our next spotlight! Maggie Sweeney PRSSA Kent hosted a trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art to hear a presentation from its Chief Marketing Officer, Todd Mesek, and to see the Picasso and Paper exhibit. When I saw this opportunity, I knew it would be the perfect way to spend my 19th birthday. Mesek talked with us for a little over an hour and gave us so much valuable information. Knowing Your Audience One thing that stuck with me was how important it is to understand your audience and what they bring to your organization. At the museum, a loyal base of older art enthusiasts funds the museum and donates pieces from their collections at home. Although these older art enthusiasts are the museum’s primary target audience, other target audience segments with larger populations, like college students, Cleveland residents, tourists or other audiences looking for things to do, must also be considered. Understanding audiences is important to ensure messages resonate with everyone while the museum tries to expand its reach. Another example of the museum leveraging its knowledge of the target audiences involved capitalizing on the community of Clevelanders and their pride for Cleveland. When people mention Cleveland, they mention the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Playhouse Square and sports teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers. The museum knew their target audience, it honed in on this city pride by collaborating with the Cavs on the 2024-2025 Nike City Edition uniforms. We watched the promotional video that brought in a new audience to the museum. Listening to Your Team The most important thing I learned from this experience was to understand the source of team members' concerns. When trying something new at a company, I communicate why you want to make changes and how they will impact the company. In the collaboration with the Cavaliers, some of Meek's coworkers expressed concerns. The video features some of the basketball players dribbling a basketball in the museum. The museum holds many priceless pieces of art that need to be protected and preserved, so showing players bouncing basketballs in the museum could send the message to viewers that this behavior is welcomed at the museum. Some of Mesek’s team thought this would undermine the integrity of the artwork and the museum. To ease his coworkers’ concerns, editing was added to make the basketball magically glow, giving it a Night at the Museum feel. This taught me that if your team members are hesitant, listen to their concerns, go back to the drawing board and figure out a better way to make positive changes. How the Event Helped My Career This event helped me not only get a better understanding of the industry I am going into, but also changed the way I look at audiences. Understanding diverse audiences is key to making sure your messages are well received. Events like these have helped me better understand the concepts I have learned in class by seeing them in action and hearing the perspective of someone working in the field. It was also amazing to see the Picasso exhibit. My favorite piece at the museum was the Portrait of Francoise: May 20, 1946. Seeing the progression of Picasso’s artwork over time was so inspiring, and I can’t wait to see what other exhibits the Cleveland Art Museum will bring. Finally, the event strengthened my connection with the other amazing students in PRSSA Kent. I now have so many fond memories from this trip. Portrait of Francoise: May 20, 1946.  Blake Serrano The United States First Amendment grants citizens five distinct freedoms: press, religion, assembly, speech and petition. However, the recent dismantling of government-funded media, such as the U.S. Agency for Global Media and entities like Voice of America, raises concerns about censorship and restraints against fact-based journalism.
Journalists are facing the impacts of this action, specifically on their reputation. As it’s known, reputation innately matters, and hostility is rapidly growing against those in this profession, with incidents increasing by more than 50% compared to the previous year, according to Voice of America. Supporting transparent, factual communication The move is harmful not only to journalists but also to public relations practitioners. As honest, transparent communicators, we rely on journalists to amplify our key messages through brand storytelling and humanization, affecting crisis communication, public trust and reputation management. For example, communicators working with media outlets during a crisis is a key component of the response phase. Due to recent events, there is a potential for misinformation to spread without credible media oversight. Reduced press coverage also impacts trust between organizations and audiences. Gen Z relies heavily on honesty and is reluctant to interact with unethical companies. A new challenge arises with these laws, as companies will need to maintain transparency and credibility in light of limited media scrutiny. Ultimately, press restrictions may strain relationships between PR practitioners and journalists, causing a domino effect of negative impacts. Earned media coverage significantly helps businesses relay key messages and brand values to audiences, serving as an important element of a communication plan. It also helps with generating buzz around outlets. There may be increased difficulty for companies to secure positive media coverage or correct misinformation. PR practitioners must continue to monitor these current events and practice ethical judgments while navigating through them. Advocating for press freedom Luckily, there are steps we as ethical practitioners can take to ensure transparency in a restricted media landscape. For starters, we can focus on using social media to relay messaging and build trust with audiences. We can also advocate for press freedom as part of corporate social responsibility, fostering trust with journalists and strengthening media relationships. Finally, we can prepare for crises in low-transparency environments by developing contingency plans with limited press involvement and utilizing alternative media to ensure the brand perspective is heard. Press freedom amplifies, humanizes and expands public relations messaging to numerous audiences, increasing overall impact and reach. This critical component of communications must be protected through advocating for press transparency and ethical media practices. Practitioners must maintain trust and credibility in our increasingly restricted media landscape. |
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