Combining Mass & Professional communication

This poster was our final project for mass com class. Abla Berdai (teammate) and I were promoting the communication program at Al Akhawayn University. Since a poster is not enough to persuade you choose Communication studies as your major, here is a 5 minutes speech we have learned to master in our Professional communication class. Using Monroe’s motivated sequence, now we are sure of persuading you!

                                                         The best investment
After graduating, engineer students design and build airplanes; Business students then sell them while communication students clap and applause. Hahahhahh Funny right, but not true. Engineers design airplanes, business students sell them but communication students create the need to build airplanes, sell them and then use them. So basically communication students control the rest of the world.
All your dreams will become reality if you join Al Akhawayn University communication program.
As a communication studies student at AUI, you’ll extend your knowledge and develop the skills required for keeping up with the 21st century’s demanding technologies and way of thinking.
AUI’s Communication program will assist you in comprehending how face-to-face (direct) and media-based communication impact and mold our everyday lives, counting public opinion, politics, social interaction, economic activities, and work.
Communication studies students gain knowledge and become skilled at analyzing oral, written, visual, and electronic messages from all perspectives: critical, social sciences, historical, etc… They also learn to give off such messages and others as a means of functional and artistic expression.
Communication courses present students with important factors in communication such as human, mass, promotional, international communication, video, and print production, as well as public relations. Basically, all these courses crack down on developing and enhancing one’s competencies and skills in the outside world; job market.
What I want you to extract from all of this is that communication is definitely the pillar and foundation to all fields in the job market and elsewhere. It is made for everybody who is willing to taste real success in life. It is the best investment I have made and I want you to do the same!

Dramatization of Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S20kG2MoxI&feature=share

Blackberry crash and PR’s approach to solve the problem

All blackberry users have witnessed a crash in the instant messaging BBM service, e-mails and internet for a period of time of 36 hours. The customer service has failed its customer not only because of the system’s failure but mainly because of the way t hey handled the crisis.  Research in Motion’s (RIM) public relations office did not manage to please their outrageous and angry customers. They have failed applying one of Communication’s basic steps which is sending the message and receiving a feedback. According to the article the customers received a message from one of the company’s twitter account saying:

"Some users in EMEA are experiencing issues. We're investigating, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

This simple and unclear message (EMEA which stands for Europe, Middle East and Africa) did obviously not fulfill the client’s needs. Knowing that Al Akhawayn students are big fans of this product, I have asked some of them if they received any messages from the organization, the students did not confirm receiving any messages. The succeeding update posts were posted late and were as bad as the first one. “It took 36 hours for RIM to give the world any explanation of what had happened” this critique can ruin the image of any successful company; this failure will be used as weakness from competitors and will take advantage of the situation.

Due to the numerous critics, the Blackberry P.R service came up with a new approach to regain their client’s trust, offering to their customers free “premium apps and refunded all damages and bills.  You can find on this website all the premium apps added http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2011/10/17/rim-offers-free-apps-to-apologize-for-that-whole-blackberry-crash-thing/

This method seems to be efficient and has maybe helped satisfy some angry BB users but it will not be forgotten anytime soon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15270955

A totalitarian voice

The government of North Korea controls everything whether its religion, economy, infrastructures, social life and media. North korea is known as the world's worst violator of press freedom by the media rights body Reporters Without Borders (RSF), media are all pre-adjusted and controlled to serve a specific purpose which is spreading propaganda and to protect and encourage the Kim regime. Radio, TV sets, phone, newspaper, internet are under direct state control. The news do not cover any kind of negative information about the country, tragedies, famine, poverty, catastrophes are all hidden and repressed by a flattering and fine quality of news about the leader Kim Jong-Il accomplishments and achievements in order to re-enforce his positive image and to attain praise from his people.

International Journalists and reporters are either banned from reporting the news or are under surveillance in order to not make contact with the locals. Of course the language does not make things easier but there is also this law that prohibits any advertising and use of English language. Just recently a little girl was photographed wearing a shirt which had on “I love Jesus”. This photography had a huge controversy since this society has a very constrained and tight religion freedom; the violators are tortured or sent to concentration camps or forced to labor.

According to the website, Koreans have endured inspections in their homes, where a group called “Group109”. This group is an organization which main goal is to find out and stop illegal media coming from South Korea this includes CDs, DVDs, recorders and other goods. For a long time, bribery has solved this violation issue but since it holds the exhibitions for introducing export goods, trade business and investment environment at home and abroad the rules have been tightened, in order to keep a certain order and status. All violators are severely punished and are made an example of.

"The totalitarian regime in North Korea keeps its people in a state of ignorance through tight control of the media" Reporters Without Borders

The authoritarian and dictatorial regime in North Korea keeps its people blind and ignorant through tight control of the media, this only benefits the Korean matter since the government owns all the means of production therefore pushing the people to consume only local brands as a result controlling the market and erasing competition.

Is the authoritarian regime ruling North Korea harming the country or rather benefiting it? A very debatable question that lies in the hearts of all North Koreans.

The U.S-China co-production

Win/win collaboration

The world has witnessed anenormous progression in the Chinese film industry; its total box office Attained 4.3 billion Yuan (628.9 million U.S. dollars) in 2008, up 25 percent from a year earlier, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). It is considered now as the third biggest film producer throughout the world.

China controls not only the distribution but also controls the number of foreign movies released allowing only 20 foreign movies to play in its theatres per year and since the "U.S. films have seen their box office fall in China over the past six years, and fewer of them could earn 100 million Yuan in box office returns each," according to Han Sanping, chairman of China Film Group Corporation, the Chinese market is very limited to foreign competition due its protectionist measures.

China Film Group (CFG) is China’s biggest conglomerate film company which controls more than half of all domestic film distribution in China. The CFG owns a small firm in which it holds a 12 percent stake, The two firms are in charge of the 20 foreign movie distribution per year  [Source: The Economist July 14, 2011].  These measures reminded me of what we talked about in class about the birth of the MPPC (Motion Picture Patents Company) how only nine companies managed the production, distribution and exhibition of the movies and theaters. Somewhat china is still following this kind of system which decreases the income of all the foreign movies. As a result the us is not making any significant profit from china and has to settle for a co-prodution.

A co-production between china and the U.S will be surely beneficial to the U.S, since co-produced movies are considered in china as domestic movies, therefore there will be no limitation on the number of movies showed. Another way for the U.S to strengthen their international influence and to make profit from the Chinese market is by selling their knowledge, skills, and expertise in both production and marketing fields. Hollywood do not want to miss the opportunity to establish a real partnership with China with their great potential; since China have one of the largest histories in the world which, for instance, can be a great source of ideas and stories for movie scripts.

On the other side, the Chinese will also profit from this collaboration. Production wise, they will learn new technologies, and technics maybe increase their knowledge in special effects, also go more global and compete with the most powerful film industry later on. The Chinese won’t miss a golden opportunity to update their own set of skills and knowledge and to overcome the U.S.

 http://www.mpaa.org/resources/2c18dbf6-d690-4854-8a5f-7c1a6c42dcd8.pdf