Some years ago, frustrated by the lack of a mechanism to assess prospective PR agency candidates, I developed a questionnaire on media and PR trends that served as a non-scientific barometer for hiring. It was not intended as a measure of whether a candidate will ultimately succeed in the job, but rather one that speaks to his or her currency and experience.
Here is the latest iteration. Have fun with it. I will post the answers in a few weeks.
Q1) What’s the difference between TicToc and Tik Tok?
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Q2) How many digital subscribers does The New York Times currently have?
____ 100,000 – 999,000
____ 1,000,000 – 1,999,000
____ 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
____>3,000,000
Q3) Match the following journalists with where they work (insert number):
1. Ben Smith _______The New Yorker
2. Katy Tur _______CNN
3. Ronan Farrow _______The New York Times
4. Brian Stelter _______NBC News
5. Jane Mayer _______Fox Business News
6. Andrew Ross Sorkin _______Buzzfeed News
7. Robin Roberts _______The Wall Street Journal
8. Maria Bartiromo _______ABC News
9. John Carreyrou _______CNBC
10. Margaret Sullivan _______Washington Post
Q4) Complete this sentence: Cheddar is the first ________________________________________________
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Q5) What do the following acronyms stand for?
OTT __________________________________________
D2C__________________________________________
MAU_________________________________________
AI ___________________________________________
AR __________________________________________
VR __________________________________________
VPN _________________________________________
DMA ________________________________________
DM _________________________________________
VOD _________________________________________
SEO _________________________________________
DSP _________________________________________
PPV _________________________________________
PRSA ________________________________________
AWS ________________________________________
Q6) In which cities can one catch the following stations?
WBZ-TV __________________
WBBM-TV _________________
KUSA-TV __________________
KGO-TV ______________________
WFAA-TV ______________________
KOMO-TV _____________________
WPLG-TV ______________________
KDKA-TV ______________________
Q8) What is ROKU and why all the buzz?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Q9) What does it mean to be “ratioed” on Twitter?
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Q10) True or False?
____Amazon is an advertising company
____Amazon is a retailer
____Amazon is a cloud service company
____Amazon owns the Washington Post
____Jeff Bezos is happily married
____Amazon owns Costco
Q11) Rank the following by the number of their Twitter followers (from highest to lowest):
____Katy Perry
____Barack Obama
____Kim Kardashian
____Donald Trump
____Lady Gaga
Q12) On a typical weekday, CNBC’s TV ratings are closest to:
___ 150,000 viewers
___ 500,000 viewers
___ 1.5 million viewers
___ 4 million viewers
Q13) The publications of Condé Nast have certainly experienced challenges from their heyday – with several folding altogether. What did the company just announce to try to ensure their sustenance?
____________________________________________________________________________
Q14) When offering a journalist the opportunity to report a story on an embargoed basis, what shouldn’t you do? Check all that apply.
___ Include the news release and other supporting assets in your initial contact with the reporter.
___ Provide the names of the other reporters/outlets receiving the offer to report the embargoed story.
___ Ask the reporter to sign an NDA to ensure that he/she does not break the embargo.
___ Request that the reporter publish the story on a specific date and time.
___ Ask the reporter to share his/her story with you before it posts to ensure accuracy.
Q15) Who owns TIME Magazine?
____Meredith Corp.
____WarnerMedia
____Salesforce
____Marc & Lynne Benioff
Q16) What is NBC News Signal?
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Q17) What distinction do Jake Paul, Pewdie Pie and Logan Paul share?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Q18) In 2018, we witnessed the rise of “micro” and “nano” influencers? What are they and why can they be more cost-effective for brands seeking consumer engagement?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Q19) What factors pose the greatest threat to production of quality journalism in 2019? (Rank 1-5 with 5 posing the greatest threat.)
____ The rise of fake news.
____ Shorter shelf lives of important news stories.
____ The downsizing of news rooms for financial reasons.
____ An increase in the number of media owners with political or social agendas.
____ The rise of social media as the primary source of (often dubious) news.
____ The ease with which malleable consumers share unverified “news”
Q20) What do Buzzfeed, Vice News, Huffington Post and Yahoo News have in common?
________________________________________________________________________
Q21) Can Snapchat survive in the age of Instagram Stories and Facebook Live?
____Yes
____No
Q22) What is the difference between public affairs and public relations?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q23) In the face of adversity, many executives and politicians are choosing to “double down” as opposed to offering heartfelt apologies. Is this a viable strategy? Why/Why not?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Q24) Which corporate executive suffered the greatest loss in reputation in 2018? Rank 1-5 with 1 being the biggest loser.
____ Elon Musk
____ John “Papa John” Schnatter
____ Mark Zuckerberg
____ Sheryl Sandberg
____ Carlos Ghosn
____ Les Moonves
Q25) True or False:
_____For every journalist on staff at a U.S. news organization, there are an estimated six (6) PR professionals
Q26) Bonus question: How is “Fyre” a parable for our day and age? (See photo above.)
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thanks for sharing such useful information