Assessment 1 – media kit
You are a Deakin University Media Relations Officer. You will prepare a media relations portfolio comprising 7 items:
• Media Release, (350 words approx.)
• 3 Facebook, OR thee Instagram captions and sample images (approx. 100 words). Be wary of copyright when using images. Include images you have created or images that are copyright free.
• Series of 3 tweets
• Media Alert (200 words approx),
• Backgrounder (450 words approx), The backgrounder should focus on the organisation, event, industry and any relevant information about the location. Aim to preempt journalist questions and answer them in this document.
• Pitch letter* (200 - 250 words approx ) and a
• Media list (approx. 150 words). Include 10 media contacts on the list. Include social media details (i.e. Twitter handle).
Your pitch letter* should be addressed to one of your media list contacts. A variety of examples of each of these items can be found on the Cloud site. You should use the knowledge gained from assignment 1 when creating your tweets.
Note: While a degree of creativity is expected in your response due to the fictional nature of the organisation, the media kit should be realistic in the context of the information provided. It is important not to copy and paste from the scenario information. All media kit items should be written in your own words. Where external sources are used, a reference list should be included in your submission. In the reference list, indicate which media kit item each reference was used for.
Assessment No. 1 Media Relations Portfolio – this is a fictional scenario
Deakin University (DU) – will undertake a Campus Bird Count (CBC) across the Burwood, Waurn Ponds and Warrnambool campuses from October 19-25 2020 to coincide with the national Backyard Bird Count .
DUCBC October 19-25 2020
• The event will be officially launched, on Sunday October 18 at 11.00am, by Bindi Irwin at the Burwood campus (Bennettswood Reserve Oval) with video links to Waurn Ponds and Warrnambool campuses.
• Talks by leading Deakin Environmental researchers will take place at each campus at the launch on the site. Themes include “Bird watching for a healthy life” presented by Tom Tulliver from Birding Victoria and “Birdwatching for beginners “ presented by Maggie Glegg of the Gould League,
• Leading Australian environmentalist Professor Tim Flannery will speak on the will speak on “What birdlife does for our life”
• Internationally famous environmentalist Sir David Attenborough has agreed to be patron of the DUCBC and will skype in for the launch.
• The DU Enviro Truck will also be at the launch. Sometimes known as the Budgie Bus it is a purpose built, fully equipped mobile environmental classroom, designed to deliver practical nature classes to communities in metropolitan, regional and remote areas. It aims to give as many people as possible the tools and information they need to be able to understand the environment, so we can ensure healthier and happier communities.
Further Information
You may use the following quotes, facts, suggestions and information if you wish.
“This is a great activity DU has started. Whether you have been birdwatching for decades or never before this a a great opportunity to be part of the biggest birdwatching event in Australia. I am hoping to see many locals come and commence birdwatching on Sunday to join up and be part of the CBC,” Bindi Irwin
“We are proud to be a sponsor of this event and help everyone get a little bit fitter and save the environment – for a day at least!” Gloria Starbuck, manager of Coffee Shack
“Deakin University – a great place to study – but it is more than that –students who come here receive wonderful opportunities in social and sporting activities. Our community programs like the CBC are just another example of DU taking part in the life of our local community. The CBC will be the largest single bird count undertaken in Australia in 2020” Ms Annastacia Jakin, Community Relations Manager, Deakin University
“I normally walk around the campus and don’t appreciate the trees and birdlife – but there’s a whole lot of us who will be coming to CBC to join in on the day – I hope the weather is good” Lee Lin – first year student.
“Well it will be interesting I guess – will also be open so if you get bored counting magpies head over to the Caf for a feed . ” Ellen Quinnally, owner of the University cafeteria.
“It’s a huge disappointment to the Deakin Daleks footy team who have to relocate to another playing field for the day,” Allan La Fontaine, coach Deakin Daleks
- I welcome the role of community based environmental stewardship activities in Britain today. This innovation all depends upon us deepening our understanding of the relationship between flora and fauna, energy, water and economic security, and then creating policies based on these principles. Simply because, if we do not consider the whole picture and take steps with the health of the whole system in mind, not only will we suffer from species loss, we will also see the overall resilience of our environments and, in some instances, our ecological and social systems too, becoming dangerously unstable.- HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
“Join the CBC – do it for yourself , the wildlife and the whole community – do it for Deakin.” Patrick Smash, 3rd year Life and Environmental Science student
“We are particularly excited to gain sightings of the Masked Lapwing, Raven and Red-capped Plover in the coastal regions so we are hoping our Warrnambool crew will assist in this regard. We are of course very hopeful that those endangered species in South-West Victoria, especially the Australian Pratincole and Baillon’s Crake, are sighted by CBC participants giving hope to all. With already a hundred plus individuals signed on to the Campus Bird Count we are hoping that Sunday’s launch by Bindi will swell the numbers among students and those locals who live near the campuses.” Telemachus Nestor, CBC coordinator and senior lecturer in Wildlife and Conservation Biology
“The CBC builds on Deakin’s commitment not just to the community but our leading, cutting edge, frontier breaking, work that our department is currently undertaking. So this nexus is ideal – take the research out of the labs and onto the sportsground.” Nunzio Beneditti, Lecturer in Wildlife and Conservation Biology
You can create, within reason and the capabilities of the organisation, any further information.
Helpful sites for reference – do not copy information:
https://www.gould.org.au/
https://www.birdingvictoria.com.au/
https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/