Public relations group to host workshop for greek organizations

The IU Public Relations Student Society of America has partnered with public relations firm Hirons and Company to host “Expecting the Unexpected: How to Deal with the Media and Press,” a media training workshop today for the greek community.\n“The goal of this presentation is to show fraternities and sororities how to promote positive messages, how to handle crises if they occur and how to communicate better with the media in general,” said Danielle Dravet, a Hirons and Company communications management intern and IU \ngraduate student.\nBecause media attention is often focused on the negative aspects of greek life, such as drinking and hazing, PRSSA sees it as important for greek chapters to improve their skills and relationship with the media in order to generate positive stereotypes, Dravet said.\nThe event will be broken up into three parts: Hirons and Company Chief Operating Officer Jim Parham will deliver the keynote speech, and then the group will be divided into two workshops.\nThe first workshop will focus on how to create positive images and media contacts, and the second will focus on crisis communications and how to handle the press during and after a crisis.\n“We want to break it down piece by piece so that they can understand the process of public relations and how it relates to their organization,” \nDravet said.\nEvent participants will receive a media kit that includes tools they can use throughout the year, such as news release templates, lists of media contacts and communications plans, said PRSSA President Alicia Glick. The media kit is an item that can be passed down to future public \nrelations chairs.\nThe recent removal of fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi from campus marked the tragic end to a great experience and was a prime example of how greek chapters need to improve their public relations skills, Parham said.\n“I thought the University did a really great job of explaining their rationale (for removing AEPi),” Parham said. “But when I saw the television accounts, it really concerned me that the students had very little organization and all they were saying was, ‘Well, it’s \nnot true.’” \nThe skills greek chapters will learn at this event will help them in crisis situations such as the one AEPi faced and will also help them with reputation management and positive image building, Parham said. It is important for the greek community to present themselves in a good light, whether it’s good news or \nbad news.\n“There is a lot of opportunity to describe the kinds of things that fraternities and sororities are doing in the town and their philanthropic efforts,” Parham said. “They should be responsible for their actions, and we want to help them facilitate \nthe positive.”