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.