The Role of Geography, Demographics, Bandwidth Speed and Internet Availability in Rural West Virginia Communities: A Multiple Case Study of the 2012 Cards of Hope Fundraiser

Today, social media has become a popular public relations tool in the promotion of campaigns and fundraisers. While this new addition may be a key tool in the promotion of certain fundraisers and campaigns, this study was designed to focus on what public relations methods successfully promote events, campaigns and fundraisers in rural areas, such as those in West Virginia. The objective of this master's thesis is to support the notion that press releases are still the foundation of public relations methods not only in West Virginia, but in rural communities throughout the United States. In order to support this notion, data was collected and analyzed on the effect of four variables in the promotion of the 2012 Cards of Hope fundraiser. The findings of this study suggest that in rural areas, it is important to analyze the targeted audience and use traditional public relations methods to successfully promote a fundraiser.

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Reed College of Media

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Diehm, Rebecca

Contributors dc:contributor

• Steve Urbanski
• Phil Caskey
• Kelley Crowley
• Elizabeth Oppe

• Journalism
• Communication

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/441

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1444