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Chapter 18 - Student Voices in University Social Media

Emma See & Jeralyn Faris

Synopsis

Sarah is a PR social media student intern at Midwest University, a large institution that prides itself on diversity and inclusion of individuals of all walks of life. She is responsible to update information, post about upcoming events, and share news from the university’s news service. Sarah witnesses the beginnings of a protest on her way to work and struggles with how to respond to the immediate circumstances. She and a co-worker discuss the on-going implications of the directives given by their supervisors during the event. This case explores student intern responsibility and voice in monitoring Midwest’s social media accounts during a potential crisis.

Keywords: Social Media, Ethics, Public Relations, Crisis Communication, Ethics in Social Media Content

Key Takeaways and Take a Stand Form

Key Takeaways

  1. Social media presents a whole host of new considerations when it comes to PR ethics and information sharing, reporting, timing, etc.
  2. Social media PR professionals must balance the need for timeliness in reporting (posting on “instinct”) with accuracy of information, especially in a crisis situation.
  3. Interns oftentimes have limited voice when it comes to decision-making in organizations. This creates special challenges for social media interns because the nature and benefit of the medium is it allows for real-time, speedy posts and responses.
  4. In a university setting student social media interns are in a special situation as employees low on the totem pole with little voice, but who nevertheless have to balance the views of students, faculty, alumni and administration.

Take a Stand Form