UM Students Win First Place in Crisis Communication

Public relations team brings home top award from the Southeastern Journalism On-Site Competition

From the Ole Miss News Desk

A team of University of Mississippi public relations students brought home the top prize in a Southeastern student competition that required working on-site. Pictured, left to right, are the students’ PR teacher, Robin Street, lecturer in journalism and public relations, and team members Jane Lloyd Brown, Frances Allison and Alyssa Randolph. Photo By Ann-Marie Herod

A team of three University of Mississippi public relations students from the Meek School of Journalism and New Media won first place in an on-site competition Feb. 22 at the Southeastern Journalism Conference.

During the competition at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., seniors Frances Allison of Birmingham, Ala., Jane Lloyd Brown of Baton Rouge, La., and Alyssa Randolph of Knoxville, Tenn., were supplied details of a hypothetical hostage situation. They had just 90 minutes to develop a crisis communications plan for the scenario.“When we walked in, we were a little intimidated and nervous, but by the time we finished, we felt very confident in the plan we created,” Brown said.

Robin Street, UM lecturer in journalism who specializes in teaching PR, selected the students for the competition.

“I told them that they were the PR student ‘dream team,’” Street said. “They have repeatedly proven in class how bright and talented they are. I was confident the judges would discover that as well.”

The PR students were the only Ole Miss team to win a first place in the on-site competition, but other journalism students also placed. Second place for copy editing went to Austin Miller, a senior from Grayson, Ga. Third places in page design, news writing and editorial writing went, respectively, to Emily Roland, a senior from Meridian; Adam Ganucheau, a junior from Hazelhurst; and Phillip McCausland, a senior from Carlisle, Pa., all members of the Daily Mississippian staff.

The Southeast Journalism Conference has 45 member universities from eight states. About 300 students from 24 schools participated in the conference.

In addition to the on-site competitions, students could also enter previous work for judging in The Best of the South awards. In those awards, UM students won more than any other college and nabbed four first-place honors. More information about those winners can be found at http://meek.olemiss.edu/.

For more information, visit the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. For more information on the public relations program, contact Robin Street.