Course Syllabus PREL 300, 03 Cr.

Public Relations Concepts and Principles Lebanese International University Department of Communication Arts Course Title: PREL 300. 03 Cr. Public Relations Concepts and Principles Class Schedule: Monday: 9:30-12:00 Office Hours: By Appointment, Facebook group is created for continuous discussion Lecturer: Abir Chaaban Course Description: This is an introductory course in public relations concepts and principles, by the end of this course the student would have developed knowledge on the concepts of target audience, image, identity, public opinion, critical thinking and media analysis in addition to the basic principles of public relations. Prerequisites: COMM 200: COMM 255: Introduction to Communication Studies Theories of Mass Media

Text: LEtang, Jacquie Chapter 1 in Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique ( London, LA: SAGE 2008). Internet Sources: International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication http://amecorg.com/ International Public Relations Association http://www.ipra.org/ Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management http://www.globalalliancepr.org/ Society for New Communication Research http://www.sncr.org/ UNDP Communications http://www.undp.org/comtoolkit/why-communicate/why-core-conceptswhat.shtml United Nations Meetings and Press Coverage http://www.un.org/en/unpress/index.asp Evaluation: Effort: Exercises, Class discussions and Analysis Midterm Presentation

25% 20% 20%

Final exam 35 % Effort: Exercises, Class discussions and Analysis: This mark is divided over coming to class prepared, doing exercises and analysis assigned by instructor. Midterm and Final: Exams will test the student on key knowledge studied during classes, it is based primarily on the assigned text. Presentation: Instructor will provide the class with a detailed description of the presentation; presentation is due during the last week of classes.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES The following applies for the course policies and procedures. 1. Attendance at each class is mandatory at LIU 2. Excessive absences can reduce a students grade or deny credit for the course. 3. Plagiarism will immediately grant an F grade. 4. Late assignments will be penalized by reducing 5 marks from the potential mark for only one day of delay. Assignments that are more than one day late will not be graded. 5. Students are not allowed in class if more than 5 minutes late. Repeated tardiness will result in denial of entry to class after 10 minutes. A pattern of consistent tardiness (more than two times and/or more than 10 minutes) will result in a reduction of the final grade by 10 percent for each incident beyond two. 6. No excuses are accepted for failure to come to class. Excuses as being busy doing other classes assignments are not acceptable. 7. Only official and valid permissions consistent with LIU procedures are accepted for failure to come to class. Class Schedule PREL 300 Public Relations Principles and Concepts Week Week 1, 2 Topic Course Overview Defining the Discipline and the Practice Public Affairs and the Public Sphere Public Opinion and Persuasion Reading/Assignment LEtang, Jacquie Chapter 1 in Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique ( London, LA: SAGE 2008). Chapter 5, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique Chapter 10, Public Relations Strategies and Tactics Key Concepts: Assignment TBA Public, Public Opinion, Public Relations, Public

Sphere, Propaganda, Political Marketing, Political Communication, Private Sphere, Stakeholder, Lobbying Strategic PR, System of Knowledge

Week 3,4

Critical Thinking and Interdisciplinary Perspectives Key Thinkers and Thought in Public Relations

Chapter 2, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique Chapter 11, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique

Key Concepts: Assumptions, Critical Theory, Critical Thinking, Paradigm Dominant Paradigm, Functionalism, Reflexivity, Metatheory, Positivism, Post-positivism, Post Modern, Rhetoric, Theory of Communicative Action, Sociology of the Media

Week 5

The Evolution of Public Relations Public Relations Departments and Firms

Chapter 2,4, Public Relations Strategies and Tactics

Key Concepts: Press Agency,

Publicity, Counselling, Week 6 Week 7 New Technologies in Public Relations, Facebook, blogs, twitter etc Reputation, image and impression management Chapter 12, Public Relations Strategies and Tactics

Chapter 3, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique

Key Concepts: Reputation, Image Identity, Image, Impression Management

Week 8,9 Media Perspectives: Critique, Effects and Evaluation.

Mid Term during Week Eight Chapter 6, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 6(1), 134. 1 Media content analysis: Its uses; benefits and best practice methodology Jim Macnamara University of Technology Sydney How to Measure Social Media Relations: The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Sameby Katie Delahaye Paine CEO, KDPaine & Partners, LLC Member, Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation Journal of Communication ISSN 0021-9916, Thoughts on Agenda Setting, Framing, and Priming by David H. Weaver School of Journalism, University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN 47405 Assignment: TBA

Key Concepts: Content Analysis, Agenda Setting, Dominant Paradigm, Propaganda, Media Sociology, Media Framing

Week 10

Risk, Issues and Ethics Ethics and Professionalism Public Relations and the Law Key Concepts: Defamation, Libel, Slander, Privacy, Business Ethics, Corporate Governance, Corporate Responsibility, Corporate Punishment, Criminal Liability, Issues Management, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Systems Theory

Chapter 4, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique Chapter 13, Public Relations Strategies and Tactics Assignment: Exercise 52 Due

Week 11

Public Relations and Management

Chapter 8, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique

Key Concepts Administrative Management, Bureaucratic Management, Communications Management, Discourse, Discourse Analysis, Excellence Theory, Organizational Change Week 12 Organizational Communication: Understanding and Researching Organizations Key Concepts Chapter 9, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique

Week 13

Communication Audit, Corporate Social Responsibility, Organizational Symbolism, Organizational Development, Organizational Culture, Paradigm, Organizational Communication, Public Awareness, Crisis Communication, Risk Communication Chapter 10, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice Public Relations and Promotional Culture in and Critique Everyday Life Key Concepts

Week 14

Public Relations in a Globalized World Key Concepts

Chapter 11, Public Relations, Concepts, Practice and Critique

Week 15

Presentations