Dionte Berry
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
To give her students experience in blog writing and content creation, Associate Public Relations Professor Marcie Hinton created the multimedia blog “Postcards from the Brink.”
The public relations program in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications emphasizes expansive career paths for students in the field. The program’s public relations content creation class focuses on highlighting visitor destinations in Murray. The blog promotes what Murray has to offer to those not from the area.
Hinton teaches students abroad, usually about travel writing.
“I decided that we could put together a website and use social media and create content and promote content, as well as work with local tourist destinations in Western Kentucky,” Hinton said.
“Postcards from the Brink” is divided into three sections.
“On the Verge” is a micro-influencer blog focusing on Western Kentucky tourism.
“Precipice” highlights students’ study abroad travels.
Lastly, “Battered Luggage” is a personal blog from Hinton regarding her travels.
The class partnered with the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau, which works with local businesses to promote tourism. Hinton said partnering with a professional public relations entity is also giving students important experience and insight as to how tourism relations work.
Hinton’s students contributed blogs to “On the Verge” with pieces focusing on the shopping scene in downtown Murray, the history of Murray State athletics, tourism in Land Between the Lakes and far more.
“The blogs are from the students’ perspectives,” Hinton said. “But even the students in the class often say they don’t get off campus very much, they don’t know what to do when their parents come or even where to go to relax when they are stressed out after midterms.”
One of the students lending their perspective is junior public relations major Echo Falwell. Falwell has lived in Murray all of her life, so she knows of a lot of the hidden treasures Murray has to offer.
“For my posts, I have just pulled from what I already know about Murray,” Falwell said. “I didn’t necessarily have to really research things around here, just because I’ve been here for around 20 years, but despite that, there are still a lot of cool things to do around here.”
The class has also allowed freedom for students to explore their interests while sharing them with prospective visitors.
“Some of my classmates posted about stuff they’ve been interested in,” Falwell said. “One of the students really wanted to go to LBL because he likes being out there, and he was like, ‘I’d like to go cover that and kind of dig deeper and figure out all things you can do, because there’s … so much stuff you can do.’”
Along with being in the content creation course, Falwell works at the Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau. Within her position, Falwell helps communication efforts between the class and the Bureau.
Falwell said the partnership between the class and the Bureau has shown her the role public relations and journalism can play in the tourism industry.
Having such a big focus on Murray, Falwell said she is happy to be able to highlight aspects of her hometown.
“Murray may not be a travel destination, but it’s a great weekend getaway and is great for people wanting to raise kids,” Falwell said. “Murray just provides a very homey atmosphere, and being able to tell people about it is really fun.”
The student blog posts from “Postcards from the Brink” can be seen at www.postcardsfromthebrink.com and on their social media, which is linked on the website.
