Week Six - PR and Personal Days

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On Tuesday, I was in Las Vegas for a newspaper awards ceremony, so I worked remotely for the WVU Business Incubator. My large assignment this week was to finish work on the press release.

I was able to get ahold of Chris Yura, founder of SustainU, and I got some insight as to what his opinions were on his lecture and what he hopes his audience received from it.

It's very enlightening to talk to a person so full of passion, they could just go on and on about this company they are so proud of. That is Chris. He is very excited about this cause he has devoted himself to, and it really shows.

This is the part I love about my job. Journalism has been and always will be my first love. Nothing makes for a better interview than when a person is so full of life and energy, they make me want to be a part of their cause, too. That takes talent, and their excitement rubs off on me in the form of the press release I write.

While I got a basic draft completed Tuesday, I devoted today to chatting with Chris to get a better perspective. He is a great public speaker, and I got some great quotes to use instead of the canned ones that have already been run through the PR machine.

I really like writing press releases. Not only are they easy because they are completely biased, but they are much more fluffy and feature-y. I'm able to get more creative and think of the people who are reading this. I can get into their mindset and think about what they want to hear - not what they should here. Besides that, they are fun topics. SustainU is basically saving the world, and I'm able to help spread that message.