Tehama Group Communications is an organization within the department of journalism that offers hands-on education to public relations students by providing communications services to interested businesses. Tehama Group Communications is divided into three divisions:

• TGC, a student-managed public relations agency

• On-site public relations consultants

• Communications research and planning

The department of journalism requires students to have an internship prior to graduation. PR students chose to do this internship either through the TGC agency or as an on-site consultant. Prior to the internship experience, students must work in the communications research and planning division.

TGC, the public relations agency

TGC, established in fall 1990, is one of the oldest student-managed public relations agencies in the nation. Agency staff provide clients with high quality services including the development of communications plans, media materials and publications. These services are provided for a fee, which is used to improve the agency learning opportunities.

Students interested in working for TGC must go through a competitive application process. A maximum of 15 students are selected each semester to serve as managers or account executives. These students make many of the key decisions in how the agency operates and is managed. The competitive nature of TGC ensures a collection of highly energetic and creative individuals who are dedicated to serve their clients’ needs.

There are several key benefits for students who take the TGC route:

• First, students work in small teams to meet their clients’ needs. This group setting provides for strong peer relations that often extend far beyond the agency. Many TGC alumni stay in contact and network with one another years after they’ve left Chico State.
• Second, the agency is structured to mix returning staff with new staff. Students who served in the agency the previous semester typically become managers and mentors for students who are new to the agency experience. Students develop new skill sets in managing others, as well as learning the tricks of the trade from those with more experience.
• Third, the agency environment provides hands-on relationships with paying clients. Before they leave college, students learn to manage their accounts, take responsibility for the actions of their team, and produce professional products that are used by their clients.

Each semester, eight to 10 clients are selected. These clients range from Chico State academic and campus departments to family-owned businesses, and statewide nonprofits to for-profits with national reach. The projects developed by TGC include the development of organizational brochures to comprehensive communications plans, and just about everything in between.

For more information about the agency, please click here.

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On-site Consultants

Students interested in working in-house for a specific organization are called on-site consultants. These students work for an organization, often at its office, for a minimum of eight hours per week throughout the spring or fall semester. On-site consultants can provide organizations with a wide variety of public relations services, including:

• Media relations writing, research and pitching
• Publication development such as newsletters and brochures
• Strategic communications planning
• Communications research and evaluation
• Special event planning and implementation

While the TGC agency experience provides a group environment, the on-site consultant experience is an individual opportunity. The consultant typically works one-on-one with a supervisor who provides guidance and assigns tasks. On-site consultants learn how to self-sufficiently fulfill their supervisor’s communication needs while growing creatively, strategically and responsibly. Through their placement they gain experience in building client relations, on-the-job problem solving, multitasking and strategic planning. They also learn how to integrate themselves into an existing business, which can help the transition into the workplace.  

There are more than 20 local organizations participating in our on-site consultant program. Some of our partners include:

• The Chico Mall
• The Downtown Chico Business Association
• American Cancer Society
• American Red Cross
• Chico Performances
• Chico State Athletics

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The Communications Research and Planning Division

The third division in Tehama Group Communications provides students with hands-on practice in conducting public relations research and developing strategic communications plans. Through a course titled Public Relations Strategy, students adopt one or two organizations each semester and develop comprehensive communications plans that typically include:

• A situation analysis
• Primary research based on surveys with important target publics
• Communication strategies and tactics
• An implementation timeline
• Line item budget
• Evaluation plan

This time-intensive project is one of the most demanding in our curriculum and is required of all students before they move to the agency or on-site internships. In six weeks, the students build an actual campaign. Students are divided into small teams to form mini public relations agencies. Each student has a specific job title and function to fulfill within the team. Working as a team to solve the client’s communication needs encourages students to employ all of their creative and tactical skills developed through our program.

Students in this division have created a range of campaigns, including:

• Male mentoring campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butte County
• Public awareness campaign for the Chico Air Museum
• Fundraising special event campaign for the Blue Room Theatre Company
• Centennial celebration campaign for Bidwell Park

Organizations participating in this program get the dedicated services of about 30 public relations students each semester. The students reach approximately 700 members of the organization’s target audience through surveys and design the communication plan around the primary research results. It costs the organizations nothing but their time to participate in this division. Organizations selected for this program typically apply four to six months in advance. No more than two organizations are selected each semester. 

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For More Information

Students and organizations interested in learning more about Tehama Group Communications should contact Debra Johnson, professional-in-residence, dejohnson@csuchico.edu, phone: 530-898-4690.