Recognizing hard-working PR professionals in most regions do not have enough time to keep up with new developments, CMEx President Bevan Springer asserted the partnership with NYU would "introduce the Caribbean public relations industry to the latest in top notch research to help practitioners promote sustainable tourism development."
He also pointed to the longer term benefits of the program "which provides educational materials we can use in our communities and reference in the future."
Springer worked with NYU's adjunct professor Robert Noltenmeier to design the partnership which will provide educational resources to various public relations practice areas within the hospitality community in the Caribbean.
The program will broadly discuss the current state of the industry, but will focus on three key areas.
The first is a media relations program, overviewing challenges facing public relations practitioners. The program will be led by NYU graduate student Stephanie Dressler, and will cover proactive and reactive media relations strategies from marketing and pitching, to best practices in dealing with media inquiries.
Graduate student Richard Yumang will head the social media conversation which changes rapidly. Yumang will report on the latest brand-building techniques applied through social media strategies, as well as the importance of monitoring social media channels, and determining selective response scenarios.
Rounding out the program, NYU's Patrick Canavan will address the timely topic of crisis communication. The catastrophic earthquake in Haiti and the deadly double disaster wrought by an earthquake tsunami in Japan illustrate how incredibly damaging crises can occur at any time.
Springer contended the management of crisis communication "can alleviate the suffering and aid reconstruction efforts at a time when communication can be chaotic and alarming."
The deadly BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a man-made disaster that will serve as a case study. Canavan will present tools for assessing when it's time to address a crisis. The way a company reacts after a crisis can define them in the future.
The program kick-starts the 10 year anniversary of CMEx, to be held in the Caribbean this fall, with a series of news releases on the importance of public relations practices and follows with substantive presentations.
The materials developed by the team will be available free of charge for Caribbean-based industry professionals.
About NYU PRCC
New York University's master's program in public relations and corporate communication is offered through the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The academically rigorous program, which was named "PR Program of the Year" by PRWeek in 2009 and 2010, stresses a practitioner-oriented curriculum that focuses on mastering skills in research, strategic planning, written and oral communication, social media, measurement, and ethical leadership. Faculty members are noted scholars and world class practitioners who have led communications practices at some of the largest companies and agencies in the world. For more information on the program, visit www.scps.nyu.edu/mspr.
About The Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx)
CMEx's mission is to support and develop the ability of the media, government, the travel and tourism industry and communities to consider the importance of tourism in sustainable development, while lending a hand to the communities involved by sharing relevant expertise, financial and in-kind assistance.
For additional details, visit www.cmexmedia.org.
