Media Kit: Employee Newsletter

Media Kit: News Release

News Release

     

Media Contact 

Ron Knuppel
5045 Benois Road

Roanoke, VA 24018
Phone: 540-772-7700

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 5, 2014

Blue Ridge Self Storage to Expand and Add RV, Boat, and Motorcycle Storage

Facility Changes Will Give Way To New Blue Ridge Location

ROANOKE, VA-May 2, 2014-Blue Ridge Self Storage is taking a huge leap by adding RV, boat, and motorcycle storage areas to the already spacious self-storage facility.

These new units will be open for rental starting May 2014 and will offer 24-hour access. Free truck rental is provided by Blue Ridge to assist customers by offering a convenient and safe moving truck.

The RV, boat, and motorcycle units have been under construction for about 6 months and are ready to open to the public at the beginning of May. In addition, there is already a waiting list for the motorcycle units.

This will bring in an indefinite amount of revenue to the prospering business, and will allow the company to start construction on a new branch location which will be located in Salem, Virginia.

The Salem office will include things like: 24-hour surveillance and security, moving concierge service, and a revolutionary alarm secured units. All of these new changes are being employed because of valuable customer feedback.

Blue Ridge Self Storage has a variety of indoor and outdoor storage sizes in order to tailor the unit to the specific customer’s needs. The new expansion and facility will bring in some much needed revenue for the company.

Ron Knuppel, owner of Blue Ridge Self Storage, is ecstatic to be able to start this journey and create over 50 jobs for the community of Salem, Virginia.

Knuppel comments on this exciting news by stating, “I am pleased to announce that our company will be gaining another location in 2015. The recent development of our RV, boat, and motorcycle storage has given way to some additional income that we have decided to use in order to enlarge our franchise.”

The community is completely on board with this transformation and supports Blue Ridge entirely. It is amazing to see how small businesses can be lifted up in a time of change.

###

Blue Ridge Self Storage has been in business for 17 years in the Roanoke, Virginia area. We are a unique self-storage company that implements Christian values into everything we do. It is our goal to provide excellent customer service, quality storage options, and outstanding security measure for our storage units.

"The New Press Release"

Are Press Releases Becoming a Thing of The Past?

Press releases have evolved because the SEC has allowed news releases to be produced on social media. This means that businesses can use things like Facebook and Twitter to announce important advances in their company. 

The report states that "The SEC issued guidance ni 2008 clarifying that websites can serve as an effective means for disseminating information to investors if they've been are aware that's where to look for it."

Issuing this type of release can go one of two ways. It can benefit companies and their investors, or it could decrease the revenues of many companies due to lack of professionalism. In this society, people are numb to the amount of social media that is thrown at them on a daily basis. 

Many people wonder if this is the "new press release" or just another type. It is true that using social media is not for everyone; however, in order to appeal to their young customers, companies are being forced to learn about this new market trend. 

Social media has the potential to be threatening to a company's image; however, if used the right way, it can actually get the message out quickly and to a multitude of people while still being professional. 

Another controversial topic when it comes to press releases is paid vs. unpaid press releases. This is huge because many professionals are struggling with what is ethical in the field of public relations due to these emerging trends. 

Google has gotten some flack because they claim that the links in a press release do not affect the ranking on their search site; however, there has been evidence that says otherwise.

When Google's Matt Cutts said that, "links in press releases do not pass value," this had several people testing the statement. They found that when a company puts multiple links in their press release it can actually add to their ranking on a search engine. 

This could just be a coincidence or an actual fact, but there is not enough information to prove that Google ranks their searches due to the amount of links in a press release.  

Although these theories may be true, it does not take away from the fact that press releases are an important part of a companies image. They are used in numerous situations and almost always benefit either the investor, customer, or company. 

The SEC's report that allows businesses to broadcast their information over social media is a great thing that will change the amount of ways that a press release can be distributed. 

Video News Release

3 Main Points

Video News Releases are unethical due to the misleading content that they possess.

The reason that VNRs are so successful is because they make audiences believe that they are conducting a formal newscast.

As PR professionals, it is important to remember that we have a responsibility to produce honest material to the public. 

Multimedia News Release

Dr. Oz to Speak at New Life’s Family Day in the Park

First Annual Lynchburg Family Fun Run

LYNCHBURG, Va (February 28, 2014) – New Life Community Hospital is holding a Family Day in the Park that will help to fund the new family health care facility that is said to unveil in Summer 2014.

This community-wide event will take place at Jefferson Park on March 29, 2014 at 1 p.m. Families are in for a treat as they will be hearing from some of the most well-known health professionals in today’s society.

Mehmet Oz, host of the hit television show “Dr. Oz," is set to speak to the Lynchburg public about cooking for the whole family, and will also address the importance of child immunization.

Dr. Oz explains the importance of his seminar topic by saying, “Learning healthy cooking techniques will dramatically change the lifestyle of your family. Educating your children about the health benefits of the food is one of the most crucial life lessons that you can teach them.”

Some of the other seminar speakers include Alan B. Pearson from Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center and Louis Graham, MD from the Timberlake Family Practice. All sessions will be streamed live on the hospital website at www.newlife.org

In addition to having health seminars and free breast cancer screenings, New Life will be holding the first annual Lynchburg Family Fun Run that will benefit the Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center.

New Life Community Hospital CEO, James Korson explains that, “The Family Day in the Park event will be a great time for families to learn about valuable health options and support a great cause.”

All participants are encouraged to use the fundraiser hashtag #LynchburgFamilyDay and to tweet pictures and questions for the speakers.

Media Contact:

Allison Longenecker

New Life Community Hospital

434-519-7793

media@newlife.org

New Life Community Hospital was founded in 1945 on five core values which include: integrity, safety, community vision, quality services, and excellent customer service. Today, New Life has grown into a fully-functional emergency room and burn unit. Our passion is educating the Lynchburg community and providing quality care to our patients.

Public Relations vs. Journalism

Public Relations Rises Above Journalism

The field of journalism has quickly succumbed to the ever-evolving career of public relations. Many businesses are choosing to fill their practice with employees that are educated in dealing with the public.

The Newspaper Association of America reported that newspaper advertising revenue fell from $49 billion in 2000 to $22 billion in 2009. Comparatively, PR agency revenues have jumped from $3.5 billion to $8.75 billion between 1997 and 2007.

Old-fashioned journalism has been watered down and replaced with a fast-paced, dominant career. This factor has been in the background for many years and is now surfacing.

Michael Schudson, author of “Discovering the News,” describes the rise in “publicity agents” and how government leaders were not always on board with the new “middleman.”

Although there was a time that the nation’s leaders distrusted PR professionals, after World War I the idea began to resonate with the public. It was stimulated by the communities demand for real news coverage, and not filtered information.

The differences that have occurred in the career of public relations over the last few years are substantial.

The Internet has become a more direct way to bypass the press and produce content straight to the public. This can be beneficial and also detrimental depending on the situation.

Another interesting part of this puzzle is when self-interested parties produce their own stories and make the public believe it is a reported story. Local television stations are running paid content that are considered hidden public relations agendas.

Although this strategy is not considered ethical, it is escalating to new levels in present media.

Front groups is a form of hiding the PR agenda, and it deals with when a person or organization supports a certain product or candidate and does not reveal that they are being paid by the company.

The Chamber of Commerce is an organization that deals with front groups and uses them in order to fund their efforts.

The health-insurance trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans contributed $86.2 million to the Chamber to fight the Obama health-care plan, and that is something that is to proved in either company documentations. 

Drew Armstrong, a reporter for Bloomberg, researched this exact topic and explained, "They said this was one of the most sophisticated operations..." 

Front groups and other forms of public relation scams are diminishing the public's view of PR professionals in today's society. 

Allison Longenecker: Goals

My goal for my future career is to work at a hospital and be a public relations manager. That would definitely be the pinnacle of success for me. I am also interested in going to nursing school to be a Licensed Practical Nurse after college. I want to live outside of Boston and hopefully do some freelancing work as well. All of these are just dreams and ideas, but I hope to accomplish most of them in my lifetime. I love to work with people and teams, so I feel like this is the career path for me. Advertising and public relations is something that I am passionate about, as well as graphic design. I hope to be able to take some more designing classes in the future.

I love designing art, typography, and graphic projects. Indesign is one of my favorite programs, and I would love to learn more about it in the future.

Another goal of mine after starting a family is to open up an ad agency. This way I can freelance and also work from home, if I ever decide to have children. I believe that the classes I am taking at Liberty have definitely prepared me for my future career. I am excited to start working after college and I am graduating in less then a year.

In general, my goals are high but I know that by using Liberty University as a platform, I can succeed. The professors and peers at the school bring an amazing educational energy and I am so grateful to be a part of this student body.