All Study guides through March 25, 2025 posted at ARCHIVES.
Current Events: March 25, 2025
Security breach: War blunder: serious threat (cartels, gangs, enemies) US intelligence officials on national security threats. And our top security team used … Signal to share info!!! https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/25/signal-cybersecurity-trump-war-planning-00246881
Here is the leak reported:
Hegseth:
BIO: Jeffrey Goldberg is the editor in chief of The Atlantic and the moderator of Washington Week With The Atlantic. He joined The Atlantic in 2007 as a national correspondent and in 2016 was named the magazine’s 15th editor in chief. During his editorship, The Atlantic won a Pulitzer Prize. Goldberg served as the Middle East correspondent, and then the Washington correspondent, for The New Yorker magazine. In addition, he wrote 15 cover stories for The New York Times Magazine.
Disclosure: my research was used in an Atlantic article: 2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/01/predictable-fallout-hazing/580336/
Know these names (important for current events):
National security advisor Mike Waltz, 51: Michael Waltz is an American politician, businessman, author, and former Army Special Forces officer. He is the current U.S. national security advisor, serving under President Donald Trump.
Peter (pete) Hegseth, 44, is an American former Army National Guard officer and television commentator who has served as the Trump administration’s secretary of defense since 2025.
WHAT IS SHIELD LAW? (important):
https://www.quillmag.com/2021/04/08/understanding-shield-law/
9 a.m. today Alaska time: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/25/us/trump-hegseth-war-plans-leak-signal
Question for discussion: What are ways the Trump administration can address the damage over war info by text and public perception of poor national security? How will foreign governments present this security breach to their citizens?
- President Trump defends Waltz. (But it also puts blame on him and off Hegseth).
- President Trump downplays the importance of leaked materials. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-stands-national-security-adviser-leaked-military-plans-saying-mi-rcna197944
- The elephant in the room: the former charges about (former) President keeping classified documents when he left the White House.
Former President Candidate: Hilary Clinton emails.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5211422-hillary-clinton-war-plans-signal/
Waltz “has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump tells NBC News
From CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo
President Donald Trump on Tuesday told NBC News that he still has confidence in national security adviser Mike Waltz.
“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump said during a phone interview with NBC’s Garrett Haake.
When asked if he was frustrated that The Atlantic story has gotten so much attention, Trump said no, calling it “the only glitch in two months, and turned out not to be a serious one,” Haake wrote on X.
Trump’s comments to NBC are his first significant response since The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he was accidentally included in a Signal group chat where discussions about military strikes in Yemen took place.
Trump, in the NBC interview, claimed said it was a staffer who added Jeffrey Goldberg to the Signal group chat, even though Goldberg has said that Waltz added him.
Lesson Plan: March 25, 2025
Public relations as a possible career for UAF students
A student media intern typically assists with various tasks related to creating, managing, and promoting content across different media platforms, such as social media, websites, and newsletters, under the guidance of experienced staff.
University current single source for internships of all kinds: https://alaska.joinhandshake.com/
Example: Fairbanks.
UAF: https://careers.alaska.edu/jobs/search?query=student
Communications and Marketing Intern
- Commitment to Excellence – Identifies what needs to be done and takes action to achieve a standard of excellence beyond job expectations
- Teamwork – Resourceful team player that builds, strengthens, and maintains collaborative relationships with others inside or outside the organization
- Administrative Skills – Performs a variety of responsible and confidential office, clerical, and professional administrative duties
- 11 more items(s)
Responsibilities
- JOB SUMMARY: Under the supervision of the Communications Manager, the Communications and Marketing Intern will assist in carrying out the department’s mission: 1) conduct effective marketing and communications to educate public about Doyon and its role in the statewide and national community, 2) inform Doyon shareholders about corporate operations, activities, and goals, and 3) inform employees about corporate operations and goals
Public relations (PR) jobs involve managing an organization’s or client’s public image and building relationships with the media and the public, with roles ranging from entry-level positions to leadership roles like director of communications.
Question for discussion: Public Relations and our community.
Let’s take a local hot-button issue. Air quality in Fairbanks.
How is that an issue that the state and local officials need toN address? For what reasons?
Basic facts: A 2022 study. https://engineering.jhu.edu/magazine/2022/05/poor-air-quality-in-fairbanks/
Public Relations: Nonprofit health groups: https://www.lung.org/media/press-releases/fairbanks-ranks-as
Our community leaders: In Fairbanks, the City of Fairbanks Mayor is David Pruhs, while the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) Mayor is Grier Hopkins.
The FNSB has a dedicated Air Quality Office, and Fairbanks faces air quality challenges, particularly during winter months, due to temperature inversions and wood smoke. VIDEO.
Newspaper editor’s job: Cut to facts without spin. The deadline was Dec. 31, 2024 from the state for Fairbanks residents to remove outdated solid fuel-burning devices such as wood stoves or hydronic heaters that no longer meet Environmental Protection Agency certification measures. What are possible ways to tell success or failure of state’s deadline orders?
How is the PR machine of the local real estate businesses addressing new legislation? https://mustreadalaska.com/cheryl-markwood-homeowners-required-to-obtain-energy-ratings-before-listing-homes-for-sale-its-government-overreach-that-must-be-stopped/
News coverage: How will the public respond during public comments the next 3.5 weeks? https://fm.kuac.org/2025-03-24/feds-open-second-round-of-public-comment-for-fairbanks-air-quality-plan
Classic PR story in Alaska:
The Exxon Valdez environmental oil spill catastrophe: The Exxon Valdez oil spill, which occurred on March 24, 1989, involved the tanker Exxon Valdez running aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil, causing widespread environmental damage and economic harm.
Know the word fiasco. Human error /and how did reforms occur to minimize the chances of this happening again? https://www.history.com/videos?watch=exxon-valdez-oil-spill
Exxon: a PR disaster. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/21/business/exxon-s-public-relations-problem.html
“Saturday Night Live” featured a satiric commercial for the “Exxon School of Supertanker Steering” with the phone number 1-800-OIL SPILL.
In the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, the captain, Joseph Hazelwood, became a target of satire, with jokes and songs about his drinking habits and the disaster circulating widely, particularly in Alaska.
Spoof, 1989: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOUc8fqdgAg
Was Captain Hazelwood made a scapegoat?
A jury acquitted Captain Hazelwood (1946-2022) of a felony charge of operating a vessel while intoxicated but convicted him on a misdemeanor charge of negligently discharging oil, resulting in a $50,000 fine and 1,000 hours of community service. The Coast Guard suspended his license for some nine months. He never returned to the seas. His explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCBwg0eSPVY
Today: corporations have “just in case” media campaigns ready to roll out.
And “people-oriented” videos out regularly and often: Your response to this video?
Stories to keep in mind: Firing of federal workers in Alaska.
Fired federal workers in Alaska speak out about chaos of losing jobs, housing, research and more
March 25 and March 26 Study Guide, Chapter 11 (PR) in Baran Textbook, Reading Highlights: Short-answer Quiz on March 25. Pages 254-261 for Thursday. Note: The lesson on public relations will be over two classes this week.
PP 254 and 256. How did Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) create a paradigm shift to lower the number of drunk driving deaths and to serve as a model of inspiration for other “do-good” activists in all areas? MADD’s efforts to combat drunk driving represent a significant paradigm shift in societal attitudes and practices, moving from a culture that tolerated drunk driving to one that actively condemns it.
In 1989, a famous comedian said this about drunk driving:
Today, Tiffany Haddish had to salvage her career after second DUI arrest and had to change public perceptions. Tiffany Haddish addresses “spiraling” as per social media.
P. 254: Note the irony. PR professionals have to combat the public perception that they are flacks and spin artists. See PRRSA
Definitions: flack and spin
P. 255 How did Saudi Arabia try to improve its global image after two PR disasters?
P. 255. Be aware of groups using intentional deception behind legitimate sounding titles–like “Energy Citizens.”
P. 255 What is mercenary science?
P. 256 MADD and SADD. What have been the positive results of their public campaigns against drunk driving?
257. What is a pseudo event? Give one or two examples in textbook.
p. 258. Know who the muckrakers were. The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions. This was the same era as Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle.
Ida Tarbell, a prominent muckraker, is best known for her investigative work exposing the Standard Oil Company, which led to its breakup in 1911, a landmark event in antitrust history.
P. 259. Because of the Great Depression and public resentment of government, President FDR was one of the most aggressive presidents to employ PR methods to influence public opinion. The Four Freedoms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNDwyj4u1w
P. 260. Protection for the public against corporate deception. The lobbying Act
P. 261. Top paragraph very important. Administrations hired top journalists to use their knowledge and methods to influence the public. Journalists transitioning to public relations (PR) leverage their storytelling, research, and writing skills, but shift from reporting to crafting narratives that support an organization’s goals, while understanding the media landscape. Great example of a line from JFK speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac8VXhjTAWQ
Stop here.
March 25 to April 29: 10-minute presentations to class to be assigned by date.
When will I present my work?
Schedule: 7-10 minute Presentations, any format (alphabetically by last name)
March 25: Lilyana and Diego
March 27: Jonah and Matthias
April 1: Autumn and Evelyn
April 3: Peyton and Salina
April 8: Trevor and Isabella
April 10: Shem and Asher
April 15: Ambrosia and Ava
March 18: Internet Lecture
Optional extra credit: Attend one performance of the UAF play Strike!Links to an external site. Performances will be at the UAF Lee H. Salisbury Theatre, March 21-30, 2025. Then write a 350-700-word theater reviewLinks to an external site. that discusses the play’s theme and message. In the review, address how do working class people learn to unite and to fight for their rights on their own without relying on a single leader to unite them. Discuss the failures of workers and management to communicate. The play was written during the Great Depression 96 years ago, but we see similar strikes by workers taking place today. Counts for two quiz grades averaged in with your other quizzes. Due April 3, 2025 by class time.