Final Comment

I posted my final comment on Luke Boulton's blog site. I thought his examples of poor research were excellent. http://cmns1290lukeboulton.blogspot.com/

Chapter 6 "Research and Evaluation"

Key Points

• Research is an important element in public relations campaign planning and evaluation. There are three phases of research, input, output and outcomes. Practitioners should use a wide range of methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, when planning for events.
  
• Research must be ongoing throughout a project and techniques will vary as the project goes on. Research can help give a better idea about many things in campaigns such as budgeting.
• Most PR research focuses on the environment in which the organisation operates. This includes its key publics, stakeholders, strengths and weaknesses of competitors etc. This will give a better picture of what is to be expected of their campaign. Daily work for practitioners is based on 'current situation.'
  
• A clearly defined set of objectives should help in determining what is an appropriate amount of research to undertake. This will help avoid spending unnecessary time and resources on non-essential research.
• Input determines what goes into a project, output is the actual elements produced in the program (flyers etc) and outcomes are the results of this.
• Practitioners should obtain a thorough understanding of the situation before they begin a project. Research into a company's recent projects and successes could help with this.
• Input Research: The first step for practitioners is identifying the goals and objectives of the company and ensuring the campaign plans match this. A SWOT analysis should be undertaken. The second step is gathering all relevant existing information on the situation. The third step is understanding the needs of key target publics and planning in a way that caters for these groups. A few questions to ask are; who are the publics? What are their characteristics? Where do we find them? How important are they? How active or involved are the publics? Hierarchy of importance? Then practitioners can embark on research using various methodologies depending on the situation.
  
• Output research: Research in this phase can consider the delivery of the messages and constantly evaluate this in order to continue to improve as the campaign continues. Output evaluation considers the channels of communication and whether the methods chosen were appropriate for the case.
• Outcome research: Indicates the level of success or failure of the strategy and determines how effective planning and communication were while suggesting improvements. This information can be used in the input phase in the next cycle. Evaluation criteria must be prescribed before this can be achieved.
• There are numerous methodologies available to practitioners when researching. These include formal and non-formal as well as qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research is objective and opinion based, whereas quantitative research results in quantifiable data such as graphs, numbers, tables and empirical statistical evidence.
  
• Some useful research techniques include: Surveys, mail, telephone interviews, face to face contact, internet, questionnaires and focus groups. In all methodologies, practitioners should avoid constructing closed ended questions which force respondents into a particular answer.
• Other research methodologies include ethnographic studies (participant observation), case studies, statistical analysis, media monitoring, content analysis, communication audits and many other secondary and primary research methods.
• Ethics: The PRIA's code of ethics provides a framework for research. The research practitioners do should be conscious of; coercion, dishonesty, hurtful manner and manipulation of data.
  
• Research is an essential part of any campaign. It allows considerations for budgeting and all stages of the project, input, output and outcomes.
  

Chapter 7 "Strategy, Planning and Scheduling" and Chapter 8 "Tactics"

Key points from Chapter 7

The Key points from chapter 7:

• The stages of strategic processes in public relations are:


• Creation of organisational visions and mission statements
• Creation of public relations vision and mission statements
• Establishment of performance indicators
• Budgeting
• Writing a strategic public relations plan
• Scheduling of public relations plan activities


• Organisational strategy: Strategy simply refers to a series of planned activities designed and integrated to achieve a stated organisational goal. In order to achieve public relations goals, strategies must be implemented and followed through.


• Public Relations Strategy: The first move is to become influential internally in the organisation and become part of the decision making process rather than just disseminating other people's plans. The companies strategies must be able to be understood by the public or it will not work.


• Well performing public relations offices are valued highly by companies.


• Strategically managed public relations has a significant role in developing strong corporate reputations for companies which translates into a strong presence in the marketplace.


• When planning a public relations strategy, a practitioner must take into account factors such as; what business they are in, internal and external perceptions of company, aims and values of the company among a range of others.

• A company's mission statement outlines a desirable future for the company. Once the statement has been created, practitioners should seek to follow the company's aims as much as possible. The mission statement outlines the company's intentions, function and future plan.
  

• Key performance indicators: Measures used to indicate progress towards achieving the mission. Quantitative measures, production etc, that inform CEO's and executives of the company's progression.

• Strategic Planning: The ten point communication plan:

1. Executive summary
2. The Communication process
3. Background
4. Situation Analysis
5. Main message statement
6. Stakeholders
7. Messages for key stakeholders
8. Implementation
9. Budget
10. Monitoring and Evaluation

• When considering a strategic communication plan, one must be conscious of the principles of effective communication; being open and honest; being two way and responsive; being timely; being clear and consistent and being comprehensive.

• The Zawawi-Johnston strategic public relations plan:
  

1. Executive summary
2. Vision and Mission
3. Background and situational analysis
4. Define strategy
5. Define publics
6. Define main message
7. Select tactics and communication methods
8. Implementation and scheduling
9. Monitoring and evaluation
10. Budget

• Budgeting: A plan for co-ordinating resources and expenses over a period of time by assigning costs to goals and objectives for specific activities (McElreath 1997). Companies operate under financial budgets and operating budgets - services they will use costs and quantities.
  

• Scheduling involves use of lists, flowcharts, calenders etc in order to set times to complete specific goals.
  

Planning, scheduling and strategy are key factors in planning a successful public relations campaign. They help practitioners achieve goals and objectives on time, to budget and effectively.

Key Points Chapter 8 - "Tactics"

• There is a difference between 'tactics' and 'strategy'. Strategy is the overarching plan that helps in achieving goals. Tactics relate to the specific implementations to reach the overarching goal. Both are interrelated and necessary in planning a campaign.
• Tactics include: publicity, newsletters, direct mail, advertising, corporate publications, functions, speaking opportunities, internet sites, information kits, media relations, brochures, competitions, videos, lobbying, meetings etc. I think that a diverse range of tactics should be utilised in order to appeal to a broader public.
• Tactics can be either controlled or uncontrolled. Controlled tactics are those practitioners can keep under control whereas uncontrolled tactics can be altered or blocked. For example press releases are manipulated by journalists and often obscure the main points. For this reason, practitioners should use both controlled and uncontrolled tactics as both have benefits. Uncontrolled tactics can have great impact, but they are unreliable.
  
• A good mix of delivery tactics would employ: mail, faxes, news distribution, email, CD roms, couriers,videos, video-conferences, personal delivery, websites etc.
• New technologies such as the internet provide infinite benefits in delivery. Using marketing to attract people to the area of interest can then lead them to other areas of your website and companies broader activities. PDF files are a good option as they cannot be altered.
• PR tactics are limited only by the practitioners imagination. Some of the most useful tactics include:
• a/ Research-Background information and forming and evaluating campaigns.
• b/ Media Relations-Seeking media coverage can be beneficial, or negative if handled incorrectly.
  
• c/ Printed Materials (brochures, flyers etc). These printed materials must go through design and production processes to enhance their impact.
• d/ Annual Reports: Highlight challenges and successes experienced by organisations. This allows publics to see an overview of the companies year. PR practitioners have roles in shaping the annual release.
• e/ Newsletters: Used to build long term rapport with target publics.
• f/ Direct Mail: Target a specific demographic or public. PR practitioners should use advertising techniques to draw publics in. Clever headlines, good leads and exciting layouts can increase the effectiveness of direct mail.
• Other tactics include: videos, cds, dvds, photos, speeches, presentations, third party endorsements, events, community meetings, advertising, community service announcements and sponsorship.

Tactics are an important part of PR planning, but they are redundant if handled incorrectly. They cannot guarantee success in a campaign. The results rely on the individual skills of the practitioner in choosing the best tactics, budgeting well and using creative skills to enhance impact. Practitioners must cater for target audiences and ensure that their tactics always relate directly to the underlying strategy.

Who did I comment???

This week i commented on Elanor Hayes' blogspot. I thought her grasp of the underlying concepts in the reading was exceptional. http://cmns1290ellenorhayes.blogspot.com/

Week 9 readings: "Sponsorship and Event Management"

Key Points

• The chapter discusses the benefits of sponsorship as being an expensive but worthwhile tactic if handled correctly. It also explores event management, which can also make or break a campaign depending on how it is handled.
• PR people set up events for the purpose of being noticed, especially by media. Public relations events are deemed by Boorstin 'psuedo events', different to real news as they are manufactured, are not spontaneous, created for the purpose of being reported on and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
• Sponsorship is the purchase of specific rights and benefits associated with an event, organisation or individual. Sponsors become involved in order to get their product noticed, as well as enhance product image through a relationship with the event.
  
• Philanthropic sponsorship: Community based goodwill donations.
• Corporate sponsorship: Sponsorship not normally linked to sponsoring company's general business. Product placement creates a positive image by association with an event such as a world cup, or tennis grand slam.
• Marketing sponsorship: Most common form of sponsorship, offers cash and goods for tangible, revenue oriented results. Used to promote goods or services to a targeted market. Companies basically use this to gain revenue through increased sales.
• When writing a sponsorship proposal, practitioners should ask themselves if this will improve image, increase sales, entertain, generate publicity, reach a target audience, receive support from spectators and consider any conflict between sponsors.
  
• Practitioners must also consider the benefits for sponsors, such as VIP seating and free merchandise, as well as signage space and media coverage.
  
• Structure of a proposal should be: cover letter with outline of proposal, one page backgrounder, one to two pages of sponsor benefits, one to two pages of pictures etc of past events and a request for an amount of money.
• Ambush marketing is when people associate their product with an event they have no affiliation with. This is negative for sponsorship and should be negated by practitioners to ensure effective sponsorship. They must know who the real sponsors are, use integrated marketing such as television advertising in events, set up sponsor meetings so they can discuss how to approach event. If practitioners catch an ambush marketer they may be able to pursue legal action, as the ambusher may have broken trade practice laws.
• Event management: Successful events can reap enormous benefits for companies. They are characterised by full commitment on the part of the organisation, having committees and sub-committees and having a strong event theme and image.
• Public relations strategy should be considered in event planning.
• The goal of an event is to attract attention to the organisation and their objectives. The best way to achieve this is through media coverage. Therefore practitioners must make events newsworthy and give them the 'gee whiz' factor. Some tactics to involve media are issuing press releases, media functions within the event, distributing an event handbook to the media and making event tickets available to the media.
• Product Demonstration: Events can be an ideal forum to launch a product or idea with a demonstration. This provides opportunities for third party endorsements.
• Corporate/client entertainment: The purpose of this type of event is to create a favourable impression by entertaining key clients and opening up business opportunities. There is usually another agenda behind this, often involving use of their product in the event.
• Revenue generation: Events with the sole purpose of making money.
  
• Creating events has 4 major aspects: Feasibility, planning, execution and evaluation. This means that the event must be realistic, it must be evaluated in terms of budget, time etc. It must be scheduled, organised (sponsors, marketing, officials, security, catering etc) and prepared by practitioners and staff. The event should be executed as closely to the plan as possible, allowing time for last minute touch ups. The event should then be evaluated through a debriefing meeting, event assessment, business activity assessment, budget assessment and risk management assessment.

Sponsorship and proper event management are essential tactics for a modern practitioner. They must be handled properly in order to create a positive outcome for both company and investors, while generating publicity and creating positive image for the company.

Who did I comment???

Today i commented on Lucy Hutton's blog site, she was very thorough.

Week 8 Readings

Key points from Kurt Wise

This article uses the focus group methodology to discuss the importance of writing for entry level practitioners, as well as focussing on the skills required in writing for different publics. The article emphasizes the need for excellent writing skills in public relations, a theme supported by most similar articles; 93.5% of practitioners rate writing skills as of absolute importance in the field and that this was sought after by most employers. (Turk cited by Napoli, Taylor and Powers 1999:369) The study found that the writing skills of most entry level practitioners were poor. Writing for different publics through different media is also discussed. Writing for the web was considered to be a different type of writing than that employed in press releases and news stories. “It needs to be shorter, more concise, more conversational, more enticing ... as opposed to when you're writing a press release and you have more space" (Wise 2005:37-45). Writing ability is also discussed; "Good writers can change their writing style for the audience. Outstanding writers can shift gears" (Wise 2005:37-45) Versatility is essential. Agency writing is outlined as needing to be of a higher quality than non-profit public relations writing. The article highlights some key points about public relations writing for various publics and the need for writing skills, making it an essential document for new practitioners.

Key points from "How to... 10 steps to Press Release Perfection"

• Make sure that what you present is of genuine worth. Consider audience, current trends, relevance, timeliness etc.
• Make sure that your press release cannot be confused with advertising.
• Consider style and formatting for your target audience. Draw parallels between the intended audience and the way the press release is written.
• Keep your press release concise and to the point. Try not to surpass two pages. Anything longer is likely to be ignored.
• Take care in choosing a heading which is relevant and creates impact. It must deliver some expectation of what is to come. It should summise the argument.
• Use quotes carefully but innovatively. Use them in the right context in the right places. Don't try to misplace quotes in other contexts.
• Consider the needs of journalists when writing the media release. Try to cater for their needs and write in a news style to minimize their work load. Kipling's six strong serving men (who, what, where, when, how and why) as well as the inverted pyramid should be adhered to.
• Check and double check everything you have written for relevance and accuracy. Ensure that all facts, quotes etc are accurate.

I was unable to locate a copy of the Sallot and Johnson article but understand that it contains journalists' assessment of the quality of the public relations practitioners' framing information in their subsidies for news media analysis. It also discusses the best ways to contact journalists' by public relations professionals from formers point of view are presented.

Blog Comment

Today i left a comment on Nicole Spear's blogsite. I found her points to be very clear, concise and effective in pointing out the key issues. http://cmns1290nicolespear.blogspot.com/

Chapter 10 "Media Relations"

Key Points

• Media relations is a term often grouped with publicity. This is a large part of media relations but in modern PR it covers a much broader range of responsibilities. These include managing various publics, sponsorships and media crowds.
• The media is a massive industry in contemporary society, meaning that media relations has had to evolve with the times and accommodate for media monopolies held by moguls such as Murdoch and Packer.
• All media outlets should be considered in terms of their target audience. Not every media outlet is part of mainstream media. Small ethnic radio stations need to target certain publics.
• Public relations and media share a two way relationship. Each gives the other vital information. A large part of PR is staying afloat of the news and what's happening in the media.
• Newsworthiness is ascribed by seven major categories; impact, timeliness, currency, conflict, proximity, prominence and bizarreness. Human interest also comes into consideration as does sex, drugs and animals.
• When practicing media relations, a practitioner should be aware of the needs and constraints of the various media outlets they are catering for. They should be aware of deadlines that must be met by radio stations, magazines, newspapers etc to ensure that everyone is getting the news at a convenient time to go to print. This will also promote good relationships between PR people and media people. Practitioners should familiarize themselves with the personnel of the newsroom to ensure the right people get the information and to create relationships with these people.
  
• The media cannot be viewed as a homogenous mass. Each media type has specific requirements which PR people should try to cater for. For example magazines require photographs and text, television needs film to enhance stories effect. Practitioners should also be aware of the publications target audience to ensure they are giving the right material to the right outlets.
  
• The media release is an important tool for getting your information out to the right people. One should try to adhere to a news style of writing so as minimal editing has to be done. That is using inverted pyramid style of writing and employing Kipling's six strong serving men, who, what, where, when, how and why. The lead is extremely important. 20-25 words containing the crux of the story.
  
• Practitioners should be able to manipulate various means such as blogs, fact sheets, backgrounders (narrative, background account of events), feature articles etc. They should also have a media kit containing the above and other tools.
• Media conferences are used to disseminate information to a wide media demographic, giving all media access to the same story at once and allows journalists to ask follow up questions. There are various situations when a media conference is likely to be held such as when a product must be recalled, in a crisis or when a prominent person will soon be visiting the area. A conference should be held at a convenient time for journalists, around 10am is usually good as is earlier in the week. Considering who to invite is important to ensure the information reaches the right publics.
  

Other Sources

• The key points about public speaking and group presentations were that it need only be intimidating if you let it by being unprepared and that teamwork is integral in succeeding. You should draw from your strengths in order to work well as a team.
  
• The goal in presenting is to get across a clear message without convoluting it.
• Presenting is similar to PR in that target audiences must be addressed. One must consider how best to reach this audience in a meaningful way.
• Teamwork requires an even amount of work from everyone. The workload and stressload must be shared and individuals must combine their abilities for the sake of the team.
  

Today I left a comment on Luke Boulton's blog site about his week 6 readings.
http://cmns1290lukeboulton.blogspot.com/

Chapter 4 and Chapter 5

Key points Chapter 4

• Practitioners must be aware of the law and be proactive in creating and implementing strategies that adhere to ethical codes and law.
• Issues of negligence, defamation, liability, statutory obligations, must be considered. A practitioner should have a general understanding of the law umbrella.
• Practitioners should have a good working relationship with their legal advisers in order to create campaigns with minimal risk in the 'legal environment.'
• Practitioners must be aware of legal risks in the fields of; protecting reputations, protection creative ideas, practitioners' duty of care, legal risk management and technology and future legal directions.
• Reputations are exceedingly important for companies. Defamation results in tarnishing these reputations unlawfully. Defamation arises when semiotics and codes give rise to a negative portrayal of a company. To prove this it must be shown that a third party has viewed the material, they were identified in the publication and that it was defamatory.
• Defamation can arise unintentionally, for example if only one of a pair of researchers on a topic is credited and not the other. Ensuring up to date, accurate information is the best way to avoid this.
• Defenses against defamation include truth, fair comment and privilege.
• Trade Practices Act 1974: This document imposed onerous obligations on corporations and the people who communicate corporations messages. Practitioners should be aware of this document and ensure they do not practice in opposition to it.
• Public relations practitioners should make sure that they vet all press releases and promo material for breach of copyright. Practitioners should also be cautious when publishing online and abide by the Copyright Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000.
• Contracts define the relationship between parties and are used in all facets of PR. When changing contracts practitioners should seek legal advice.
• Legal advisers are an essential component of public relations. They are required to make certain that no breaches of law are occurring and assist in ethical and legal practice.

Key Points Chapter 5

• The nature of contemporary business has prompted a new code to judge the profession of PR, ethics.
• Ethics have become an issue due to corporate practice and the varying levels of education, expertise and functions of people within PR which has led to inconsistency.
  
• Practitioners have a responsibility to practice ethically as their work has the ability to persuade or effect others.
• Ethics refers to the personal values that underpin the behaviour and moral choices made by an individual in response to a certain situation. It is about doing the right thing.
• Practitioners need to be concerned with their own personal ethics, as well as the company's ethics. Seib and Fitzpatrick (1995) talk about the 5 duties of public relations as being to oneself, client, employer, profession and society. These areas should be considered when faced with an ethical dilemna.
• The "Potter box" can be used to analyse ethical dilemnas, separating ethics into four categories; situation, values, principles, loyalties.
  
• We can define ethics as 'doing the right thing,' or more specifically, "an action or practice is right if it leads to the greatest possible balance of good consequences or to the least possible balance of bad consequences."
• Role of ethics in PR: important in practice. Empirical evidence shows ethical practice leads to greater managerial prospects. PR Practitioners, in terms of ethics, are often cast into the role of counsellor or advocate in order to achieve desirable goals.
• Practitioners also play the role of corporate monitor, meaning they must interpret and guide an organisation's goals in order to meet the expectations of the publics they serve. In this capacity they must show corporate conscience in making ethical decisions for corporations and their publics.
• Most ethical challenges in PR stem from social responsibility issues or relationship issues with a client or employer, news media, stakeholders or colleagues. Ethical dilemnas arise when practitioners are forced to make decisions in the fields of interpersonal relationships, corporate relationships and responsibilities and responsibility to stakeholders.
  
• The ethical frameworks practitioners should abide by are the PRIA (Public Relations Institute of Australia), the MEAA (Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance), PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) and the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators), all of which focus on ethical principles in communication and public relations.
• Codes of conducts are documents which outline the expectations of behaviour of employees and suppliers. They generally provide philosophical company statements and behavioural expectations.
• The pursuit of ethical practice is a step towards cementing PR as a profession. The modern climate requires practitioners to fill a number of decision making and managerial roles in which they must practice ethics for a wider public rather than mere self interest.
  

Today i left a post on Ellenor Hayes' blog site. Despite her being unwell, i think she made some good points and outlined the key questions the text forced on the reader.

Chapter 7 "Strategy, Planning and Scheduling"

The Key points from chapter 7 are:

• The stages of strategic processes in public relations are:


• Creation of organisational visions and mission statements
• Creation of public relations vision and mission statements
• Establishment of performance indicators
• Budgeting
• Writing a strategic public relations plan
• Scheduling of public relations plan activities


• Organisational strategy: Strategy simply refers to a series of planned activities designed and integrated to achieve a stated organisational goal. In order to achieve public relations goals, strategies must be implemented and followed through.


• Public Relations Strategy: The first move is to become influential internally in the organisation and become part of the decision making process rather than just disseminating other people's plans. The companies strategies must be able to be understood by the public or it will not work.


• Well performing public relations offices are valued highly by companies.


• Strategically managed public relations has a significant role in developing strong corporate reputations for companies which translates into a strong presence in the marketplace.


• When planning a public relations strategy, a practitioner must take into account factors such as; what business they are in, internal and external perceptions of company, aims and values of the company among a range of others.

• A company's mission statement outlines a desirable future for the company. Once the statement has been created, practitioners should seek to follow the company's aims as much as possible. The mission statement outlines the company's intentions, function and future plan.
  

• Key performance indicators: Measures used to indicate progress towards achieving the mission. Quantitative measures, production etc, that inform CEO's and executives of the company's progression.

• Strategic Planning: The ten point communication plan:

1. Executive summary
2. The Communication process
3. Background
4. Situation Analysis
5. Main message statement
6. Stakeholders
7. Messages for key stakeholders
8. Implementation
9. Budget
10. Monitoring and Evaluation

• When considering a strategic communication plan, one must be conscious of the principles of effective communication; being open and honest; being two way and responsive; being timely; being clear and consistent and being comprehensive.

• The Zawawi-Johnston strategic public relations plan:
  

1. Executive summary
2. Vision and Mission
3. Background and situational analysis
4. Define strategy
5. Define publics
6. Define main message
7. Select tactics and communication methods
8. Implementation and scheduling
9. Monitoring and evaluation
10. Budget

• Budgeting: A plan for co-ordinating resources and expenses over a period of time by assigning costs to goals and objectives for specific activities (McElreath 1997). Companies operate under financial budgets and operating budgets - services they will use costs and quantities.
  

• Scheduling involves use of lists, flowcharts, calenders etc in order to set times to complete specific goals.
  

Week 4 reading Chapter 11 "Public Relations Theory and Practice"

I was unable to get a hold of the suggested readings so i used the textbook instead.

Key points from the reading:

• Trust, honesty and community are becoming increasingly important in public relations. Two of the most highly valued areas of public relations today are internal public relations and community relations.
• Having positive internal public relations keeps employees happy and maintains a positive image for the company. If employees feel negatively about the company reputation can be damaged.
• Employers must genuinely care for their employees and community stakeholders. Studies have shown that companies that engage in the 2 way symmetric model, caring about active publics interests and employees practice excellent public relations.
• Internal publics are comprised of employees and association members.
• Employers must be honest with employees to prevent the spread of rumour and to promote trust. This prevents the likelihood of disillusioned workers.
• Good ways of communicating with employees include face to face, newsletters, noticeboards, memos, awards, events, intrenets and interpersonal communication.
• Community relations is important in PR and encompasses consultation, scanning the environment (to gain knowledge of what stakeholders are thinking and feeling), Filling the gaps (knowledge gaps to ensure nasty rumours don't emerge), collaboration with community groups and negotiation.
• A company must ensure it has a social conscience and genuine care for communities in order for long term profitability.

I left a comment on Breanna Chillingworth's blog entry for week 4. Insightful human.

Chapter 3 "Theoretical Approaches"

There are a vast number of theoretical approaches to public relations. On account of the fact that Public Relations is not easily or readily defined, theoretical approaches allow for a greater understanding of the way public relations and practitioners function.

• Agenda Setting: Agenda setting refers to the news media setting the agenda in terms of what issues are up for debate and covered by the news. Agenda setting does not tell an audience what to think, but it sets the agenda for what is open for discussion and what is exposed to be thought about. Public relations practitioners can use agenda setting to create positive publicity for their company or cover up issues in crisis control.
• General systems theory: Systems theory proposes that organizations can be viewed as either open or closed systems. A company that communicates with the various sections within its own closed system, ignoring any exogenous input is said to be a closed system. A company that communicates within and outside of itself, listening to the opinions of publics, stakeholders etc as well as incorporating its own ideas and opinions is said to be an open system. An open system is beneficial for companies as they are able to accommodate for the concerns of the related publics and can implement measures to ensure everyones needs are met.
• Semiotics: Semiotics is the study of signs within culture. A sign is comprised of two elements, the form or signifier, and the way the sign is decoded by a receiver (connotation or signified.) A sign has different connotations for different people. The signified is the conceptual framework that people relate to the sign in question. Semiotics can be used in public relations to create a positive image for a company's product. Wrapping something in gold indicates top quality and wealth, relating washing powder to a happy healthy family also creates positive connotations for a consumer. Public relations practitioners can manipulate signs to create a positive image for a companies product.
• Habermas, critical theory and the notion of the public sphere: Criticizes the way people are influenced to think by their surrounding capitalist culture. Concerned with the way the public sphere communicates differently due to the swamping of media by big business and powerful institutions. Public relations practitioners should try to ensure that the public sphere is able to make up its own mind free from media swamping.
• Grunig's models: The best known of public relations theory is Grunig and Hunt's 4 models (1984).
  
• Model 1: Press Agentry - activities of those who do anything to gain publicity.
• Model 2: Public Information - More sophisticated, one way flow of information from companies.
• Model 3: Two way asymmetric - Two way public relations work which is biased to propagating the companies views ignoring messages from publics.
• Model 4: Two way symmetric - Ideal model where public's views are given the same credence as the companies in decision making.

These are some of the most relevant public relations theoretical approaches. Grunig and Hunt's four models are the most widely recognised models of public relations practice.

NB: I was unable to access the other reading due to a bad link.

Week 1 Readings - "Public Relations theory and practice"

Key points:

• Public relations is an extremely broad term and is not easily defined due to its varying nature. Don Barnes defined public relations functions as; to advise management on policy and its effect on public relations, to channel and co-ordinate within an organisation the activities that affect public relations, to provide the mechanics for explaining an organisation and its policies to its various publics through communications media, to ascertain and explain to management what various publics think about the organisation.
• In 1984, Grunig and Hunt defined PR as the 'management of communication between an organisation and its publics.'
• Another definition is 'the ethical and strategic management of communication and relationships in order to build and develop coalitions and policy, identify and manage social issues and create and direct messages to achieve sound outcomes within a socially responsible framework. This definition was introduced to account for the advent of new and cheap ways of communicating.
• There are two primary PR functions. The technician and the problem solver. The technicians provide services such as producing brochures etc while the problem solvers consult with company and clients to form policy and make decisions. Senior practitioners usually fill problem solver roles.
• PR practitioners are engaged in communicating, publicity, promotions, press agentry, issues management, crisis management, fundraising, various external relations and much more.
• Practitioners must be aware of their publics, stakeholders, markets and audiences.
• Public relations has a long and involved history which has brought the profession to what it is today. Changes over time such as the Education Act, (1872) making literacy compulsory meaning that newspapers and written communications had a greater audience, have contributed to the growth of PR in Australia.
• Despite the changes in the means of communication in public relations, the general role of the practitioner has barely changed. The various areas of specialisation within public relations has risen as a result of the growth in innovation and technology enhancing the ability to communicate.