Disney celebs: role models or no longer kid friendly?

In my journalism class I have to write a research paper on image repair. Because of my future career hopes and dreams, I decided to write about the images of Disney celebs as they transition out of the Disney Channel bubble. Specifically I am looking into Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez! I will also be assessing their use of social media and if they are using it correctly to maintain a healthy image.

Miley Cyrus left Disney Channel in May 2010. Miley is active in her Twitter, however she is known for taking long extensive breaks from twitter. In 2009 she claimed that she would perminantely leave twitter. However she did return to promote her tour and now is officially back on the site. Miley, although she has been gone from Disney the longest, has had the most negative publicity. Pictures surfaced of her smoking out of bong, "kissing" her friend who is a girl, and there have been many MANY racy pictures of her (some taken by photographers, others taken by herself) that have spread over the internet like wildfire. Miley has definitely left the Hannah Montana good girl image behind, but has she left those fans behind as well?

Demi Lovato officially left Disney in April 2011. However, she stopped filming her show in January of 2011 so technically that is when she ended her time at Disney. Demi has had a rocky time this past year. While on tour with the Jonas Brothers for the Camp Rock 2 tour in November, Demi hit one of her backup dancers and decided to check herself into rehab because she just wasn't the same person anymore. Then she came clean to the world and explained that she had been battling eating disorders for years, ever since she was bullied as a child. This led to cutting and other extreme forms of diet. During her time in rehab Demi left her Twitter account and really focused on her rehab. Once she got out she was very open about her experience in rehab and has since become the teen voice for standing up against bullying, eating disorders, and cutting. She is extremely loyal to her fans and has made every effort to be honest with them. Although this is a great tactic, Demi also has some negative images. She has starting dropping the F-bomb on twitter, has started dressing more scandalously, and has surrounded herself with friends such as the Kardashians, that are maybe not the best role models for the audience she herself is a role model for. She also recently revealed that before rehab she partied alot and drank. Demi has had both very negative and very positive images since her departure from Disney.

As for Selena Gomez, she is the most recent star to leave Disney (May 2011), so she has had less time to really make a negative impression. However, every single thing Selena has done in the year since she left Disney, has been positive. Yes she is trying to get a more mature roles and gain a new audience, but she is very aware that she is a role model to young impressionable minds. She has not had any scandals and has handled everything thrown at her with grace and poise. She received many death threats from Bieber fans when her and Justin started dating, but even with being threatened Selena turned it around my saying that she understands. She had a crazy crush on Jesse McCartney when she was young and hated every girlfriend he ever had! So she understands where the Biebs-obsessed girls are coming from. Selena is also very active in her Twitter and keeps it very clean and professional. She also recently started making "Thank You to the Fans" videos for different parts of the world who have supported her. Out of the three teen idols, Selena is the only one who has come away with keeping her younger audience happy and gaining newer older fans as well. Is this because she is genuinely a good person or just because she has been away from Disney the shortest?

Stay tuned to hear more of the research I find as I dive deeper into these 3 celebs post-Disney!

Jay Hicks!

A few days ago, my Media Programming class got the privilege of having
Jay E. Hicks come and speak to us about The Changing Media Language. (I could tell right away that I was going to like this lecture because he started with a picture of Anchorman and talking about how Anchorman was "old media".)

Jay talked about how "new media" is not about technology, it's about connecting people and telling stories. One thing he mentioned was how important writing and story telling is! He said that writing is the biggest strength you can have for any job, but especially a job in the journalism/PR/social media industry.


Jay also showed us some statistics about social media that really surprised me and impressed me at the same time! According to Hicks, on the day of Osama Bin Ladden's death there were 12.4 million tweets per hour! He also mentioned that there are 2 BILLION views on YouTube per day...TWO BILLION!!!! That is just incredible.

Something else Jay spent awhile talking to us about is how to stand out when applying for jobs!! (Always great tips to hear) Here are some of his pointers:

• Have an interactive resume
• Have a "me" blog that acts as your portfolio
• Have a "passion" blog (...done ;)
• Have a twitter list and RSS feed of major players in your job field of interest
• Conduct informal interviews
• Network network network with key industry players
• and last but not least: HAVE A GAME PLAN!

These tips were great to hear, especially from someone who has been so successful in the industry!

All in all it was a great lecture and I am glad we got to meet Jay!

Follow Jay Hicks on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jayfhicks

Campaign goals

Hello all!

Previously I mentioned that I have the privilege of working on a team this semester to do a public relations campaign for the Historic Waco Foundation! I just wanted to share a little more about my incredible team and the goals we are working towards this semester!

First of all, I should mention how absolutely wonderful my team has been! Amy, Sarah, Hunter and Amber have all gone above and beyond every step of the way. This team is so eager to help HWF that assignments are turned out within hours of being assigned. There is not been a single issue that this team has not been able to overcome. With each new assignment and step in this campaign, we  become more and more confident in our team. Without this fantastic team, the HWF campaign could easily fall by the wayside and things could be missed. I am confident that we will reach our goals and probably reach them before they are due!

So you might be wondering, what are our goals? Glad you asked :) We are working to promote HWF through their website, Facebook page, Twitter account, and brochures. Through these mediums we are promoting their events Sunday Skadoo, Kids Summer Camp, Christmas on the Brazos and Open Houses.

Our goal is to get HWF more publicity for their events and a stronger presence in Waco and the Baylor community. As well as to create a larger public awareness of their houses. Recently HWF lost a lot of their funding because they were struggling to attract as much attention to their events and to their museums. Our goal is to turn that around and get them more attention and publicity!

As a member of this incredible team, it is often hard to keep up with the rest of them! They turn things around so fast that I feel like I am not doing as much as the rest of the group! That being said, I am excited to create the videos to promote the historic homes and cannot wait to utilize my skills as they best benefit the team!





Pictures from their last
Sunday Skadoo event!