PRSSA blog event

For blog event, I participated in a live blogging session. Two weekends ago, the American University Public Relations Student Society of America held it's third annual Regional Activity. Regional Activity is two days full of firm tours, professional development workshops and networking opportunities. This year I helped plan and execute the event with my chapter. Each of the planning committee had workshops to attend and then report back to our main blogger to post on the site. I attended a several workshops in between running around and making sure the food was all set (my responsibility)

The first workshop I attended was presented by a woman who works for the U.S Army public affairs. It was a very very interesting presentation. She was a dynamic speaker, which really helped to mask her propaganda for a while. Then I think a couple of us started cluing in when she showed us a series of yay Army videos. It was interesting to here someone speak to passionately for the Army, especially when usually what we get from more dissident press sources is definitely not as positive. The information that she shared with us was all positive and didn't really mention the current war at all except when relating it to a positive message or event that the Army does for the soldiers. At one point someone asked her a question about the death toll in Iraq and she completely spun it around so that it almost seemed like a positive thing. In the mainstream press, there is fair bit of criticism of the war but it is always disguised through partisan views. I think that the power of dissident press, especially blogging lends itself to the criticisms in a more complete way.