PR ?

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History

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What is this thing called public relations?

The term public relations is often confusing because it is frequently used

inaccurately.

According to many self-called PR practitioners as well as to managers publicity ,

like public

relations and corporate advertising, consists of promotional program elements that

may be of great benefit to the marketing. Continuing, they recommend that the
use of public relations in the promotion mix is a very good idea taking into
consideration that:
public relation is a cheap mean of communication, because mostly is coming free through

publicity, and it is perceived by consumers as a more credible source than other media of
promotion such as advertising.

1)

Public relations is a unique management

function

Public relations practitioners need to be part of the

total organization, in surveying the environment and in
helping to define the mission, goals, and objectives of
the organization.
Public relations departments help organizations maintaining

mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance,

and cooperation with their public(s);

 The

first step of strategic management of public relations is to - make

a list of the people who are linked to or have a stake in the
organization
after thoroughly researching their public(s) ranking them according their impact on

the organization or the extent to which the organization believes it should

moderate its consequences on them;

plan ongoing communication programs with the most important public(s). The

communication activities between organization and public(s), need to be based on

the principle of symmetrical communication.

As

a result communications, understanding, acceptance, and

cooperation with their public(s).

Public relations serves not only the organization but most important the
public(s) interest(s)
Public relations practitioners must constantly communicate with many different

publics, each having each own special needs and requiring different types of
communications.
Public relations practitioners role is to identify with critical publics with whom

the organization must communicate on a frequent and direct basis.

Under the quittance of public relations, organizations learn of how to get more

sensitive to the self interests, desires, and concerns of each public.

They understand that self interest groups today are themselves more complex

and with more power than ever before.

WHAT IS PUBLIC OPINION?

Is a collective expression of opinion of many individuals bound into a group by
common aims, aspirations, needs, and ideals
People who are interested or have a vested self interest in an issue
Self-interest is one of the common denominator, the other is
The Event: Opinion is highly sensitive to events that have an impact on the
public at large or a particular segment of the public
By an large, PO does not anticipate events. It only reacts to them
Unless people are aware of an issue, they are not likely to be concerned or have
an opinion
Events of unusual magnitude are likely to swing PO temporarily from one
extreme to the other.

WHAT IS AN OPINION LEADER?

Highly interested in the subject or issue, better informed on the issue
than the average person, avid consumers of mass media, early
adopters of new ideas, able to get other people to act.
Formal : elected officials
Informal
: those having clout with peers because some special characteristics

Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Publicity
For Propaganda purpose , one way communication
complete truth is not essential, Source Receiver as
com. model, the initiative is always strongly in the hands
of the source/sender. The means are usually straight
forward advertising or other promotional activities
Public Information
For dissemination of information purpose, one way
communication but truth is important, source receiver as
communication model, it is one way communication
w/out usually the purpose of persuasion. little research
usually readability and readership, is used for
Government- nonprofit associations, businesses

Two way Asymmetric

For Scientific persuasion purposes, two way imbalanced
effects communication, source receiver source.com.
Model, research is formative with evaluation of attitudes,
typical use in competitive business and agencies
Two Way Symmetric
For mutual understanding purposes, two way balanced
effects, symmetrical mod., formative with evaluation of
understanding, typical used in regulated business and
agencies

Need for a common ground

Feedback

The role of the senses

Source message encoding channel

message decoding receiver
Noise and Feedback

Inform
Persuade
Motivate
Mutual understanding

Questions to Focus Materials Produced

- Is it appropriate?
- Is it meaningful?
- Is it memorable?
- Is it understandable?
- Is it believable?
Determine objectives
Based on the Awareness Interest Desire Action model
Informational
motivational

 Creative Agency
PR Agency
Digital Agency
Activation Agency
Ad Agency
Outdoor Agency

The term 'Creative Agency' appears to have founditsroutes in the

creative department; a division of the traditional advertising
agency responsible for copywriting and art direction. The principle
activities of a Creative Agency are to come up with new creative
ideas and concepts sometimes across all media to effectively
transmit messages to customers.
Public relations(PR) is the practice of managing the spread of
information between an individual or an organization (such as a
business, governmentagency, or a nonprofit organization) and
the public.
Adigital agencyis a business that delivers services for the
creative and technical development of internet based products
Anadvertising agencyorad agencyoradvert agencyis a
service basedbusinessdedicated to creating, planning, and
handlingadvertising(and sometimes other forms ofpromotion) for
its clients.

Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Communicator: Source
Credibility
The

principal characteristic of the Communicator

affecting his or her persuasiveness is his or her
credibility. Credibility itself is made up of a variety of
factors.
Trustworthiness:
Is this person honest?
Can I believe what he's

telling me? If Bill Clinton has

had an affair and not told his wife, then how do I know
he won't lie to me as well?

Expertise: Does this person know what he's talking

about? Hence the tendency of politicians to spout
statistics at the slightest provocation and the tendency of
computer consultants to use computer jargon to people
they know don't understand it.

The perceived expertise of the source is likely to be more

persuasive if the audience have no particular commitment
to the subject under discussion. If people have some
knowledge of the subject, then they probably have some
arguments or counterarguments already prepared. If not,
then they'll probably use some general rule of thumb, like
'This bloke's paid to teach Communication Studies, so I
suppose he knows what he's talking about.' (!)

Attractiveness: We know from our studies that

physical attractiveness often works in a person's
favour. Judges give attractive people lighter
sentences, college lecturers give them better
marks and so on. Presidential and Prime Ministerial
candidates have themselves remodelled by image
consultants. One presidential hopeful is even
rumoured to have had plastic surgery.

Attractiveness is not only a matter of physical

attractiveness, though. Other factors such as
similarity and familiarity are important:
'Is he my sort of person?',
'I've never heard of her before.'
'Does he look like my sort of person?'
'He sounds like a complete idiot' and so on.

Power: Under the heading of 'power' Hovland and his

colleagues considered the amount of control the Communicator
has over Receivers. Clearly, this will have some persuasive
effect. If Hitler's Brownshirts are likely to beat you up if you don't
do what they tell you, then there's a good chance they'll do what
they tell you. Further Education colleges up and down the
country are introducing major changes to their employees'
working conditions. Very many employees consider these
entirely unreasonable, but, since the college managers have the
power to deny them a pay increase ever again unless they sign
the new contracts, many employees sign up.
Forcing people to do what you want may bring about
compliance, but does not guarantee internalisation. In other
words, people comply with your demands, but they retain the
values they had before and continue to see your behaviour as
wrong and therefore comply grudgingly or attempt to subvert
your demands or even revolt.

- Two step flow

Source message-channel
message - receiver

- Multi-step model
source message channel
Opinion Leader message
receiver.

Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Message
Is
To

it important to argue your case?

any rational person, it may seem self-evident that the
best way to persuade someone of your point of view is to
present them with a reasoned argument. In fact, it seems
quite clear that much depends on the audience. If people
are unable, or unwilling, to pay close attention to your
message and evaluate it, then there is no point in
developing a thoughtful, reasoned argument; in such a
case its better to try to use, say, classical conditioning (see
the section on conditioned reflex) as a means of
persuasion. It does seem to help if you give a reason in
support of your views, but research suggests that it doesn't
necessarily have to be a particularly good reason.

Type of Appeal
Fear
An appeal to fear is often thought of as being an effective
persuasive device. Of course, it can be if you're actually
threatening the Receiver, but that's not what is meant here.
What is meant here is that the message appeals to fear, perhaps
showing the Receiver what will happen to her if she persists in
her current behaviour. In advertising, direct appeals to fear of
this sort are strictly limited by the ASA, though they do tend to
be tolerated more in public information advertising, e.g. an AIDS
campaign.
You might expect that an appeal based on fear has to be hardhitting to be effective. However, a study conducted by Janis and
Feschbach in 1954 suggests that a minimal appeal is likely to be
more effective. They used three different versions of a lecture on
dental hygiene. The strong appeal provoked the most tension in
the audience, but the greatest change in behaviour n conformity
with the message was produced by the minimal appeal to fear.

Vocabulary
If we are persuaded by an 'expert' communicator, then the
chances are that some technical jargon will increase the
apparent expertise. The ability to use certain kinds of
vocabulary is also associated with the 'elaborated code'
identified by Bernstein and valorised by the education
system, so that may also contribute to the apparent
expertise of the communicator.
Accent
You'll be aware no doubt of the relationship in Britain
between accent and social class, an RP accent being
suggestive of status and a high terminal level of education.
The use of accent has to be balanced against source
attractiveness (see the section on the Communicator),
avoiding , for example, the possibility of being seen by
certain audiences as a 'toff'.

Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Humour
It's not at all clear whether it works or not. British
advertisers achieved an international reputation for their
humour, but research studies show contradictory results.

Speed
You might think, as I would, that the communicator should
decrease speed in order to be persuasive, especially if
dealing with a complex topic. However, the research
shows that an increase in speed is likely to be more
persuasive - anything up to 50% faster, in fact! This
probably connects with the notion of 'expertise'. If a
communicator can speak fast about a complex issue, then
they must know what they're talking about. It also has the
advantage of shutting other people out, denying them the
opportunity to interrupt before you've finished what you
have to say.

Selection
I would have thought, as with speed above, that you would
increase your apparent expertise by packing in as many
arguments as possible. In fact, it seems that you're more
likely to be persuasive if you limit yourself to the most
important and strongest arguments only.

From the point of view of cognitive response theory, though,

this does make sense. If you present your weaker arguments,
you give the receiver the opportunity to formulate negative
cognitive responses. By giving your audience, say, six weak
arguments and two strong ones, you give them the
opportunity to form six negative responses and only two
positive ones. Remember that it is not the arguments
themselves which are normally later recalled by receivers, but
their own reactions to those arguments (i.e. their cognitive
responses), so you would be best advised to limit yourself to
the two strong arguments.

Ordering
If you can't avoid giving the bad news, then, according to
research, it's best to give the good news first.
This may be connected with the general perception that 'first
impressions count'. However, it's not entirely clear that they do.
In an experiment conducted by Tomorrow's World on March 25
1995, viewers were shown a man being interviewed for an
ambulance driver's job. In fact, without the viewers' knowledge,
two different versions of the interview were shown in the east and
west of the country. In the east, the interviewee began by giving
the 'good news', namely that he had been in the army medical
corps where he had learnt various skills and ended with the bad
news, namely that, since leaving the army he had never held
down a job for long. In the west exactly the same information was
given, but with the 'bad news' first. In the east 45% of viewers
would have given him the job; in the west 54% would have given
him the job. This strongly suggests that first impressions do not
count for much and that it's best to end with the 'good news'.

For and against

Whether or not you should include arguments for and against your
case depends very much on your audience. If you know that they
already agree with you, a one-sided argument is quite acceptable. If
they are opposed to your point of view, then a one-sided message will
actually be less effective, being dismissed as biased. Even if your
audience don't know much about the subject, but do know that there
are counterarguments (even if they don't know what they are) will
lead them to reject your views as biased. Hovland's investigations
into mass propaganda used to change soldiers' attitudes also
suggests that the intelligence of the receivers is an important factor,
a two-sided argument tending to be more persuasive with the more
intelligent audience.
It is possible to inoculate audiences against certain views. If you
present them with a weakened version of the arguments against your
case, then they are likely to be resistant to stronger versions of those
arguments that they may come across later. Again, this seems to be
explained by cognitive response theory, since, by giving them a
weakened version, you allow them to formulate negative cognitive
responses.

Conclusion drawing
Hovland's research results are unclear here. Hovland tends to
assume that you should draw the conclusions for your audience
where complex issues are involved. He also seems to believe
that it depends on your assessment of the audience's
intelligence.
Timing
The time delay between your presentation of your case and the
audience's having to reach a decision on it is of some
importance.
The first side has the advantage when the second side
immediately follows and there is a delay before the receivers
reach a decision.
The second side has the advantage if the receivers are to reach
a decision immediately after presentation of the two cases, if
there is a gap between presentation of the first and second
sides.

Repetition
Research (following up Zajon's findings in the 60s) has
shown again and again that repeated exposure to a
stimulus will increase subjects' liking for that stimulus. It
doesn't seem to matter whether the stimulus is one
which would normally be judged positively or negatively,
nor even whether subjects are aware that they are more
familiar with the stimulus than they are with others. The
research seems to suggest that this is more likely to be
the case with complex, rather than simple, stimuli.
So it does seem that, say, a political party with plenty of
money for the campaign has a better chance, simply
because it stands more chance of using the media to
increase exposure to its messages and its candidates.

Mass Medium

There is no very clear evidence as to which medium is likely

to be the most effective. Lenin and Goebbels both
considered film to be the most powerful propaganda
medium. TV today has much the same reputation and radio
was considered in its early days to be particularly powerful.
TV and film may be considered especially powerful because
they incorporate both sound and vision, but there is some
evidence that that may in fact reduce effectiveness. TV is
often also considered especially powerful because it is a
mass medium, delivering the same message to around 20
million people at a time for the major soaps. However, that
may work to its disadvantage when compared with, say,
newspapers and periodicals which have highly differentiated
markets, allowing much more precise targeting.

Selective exposure
The Labour Party spin doctors know that Conservative Party
voters will switch off when the Labour election broadcast is on
and vice-versa. We will tend actively to seek out those
messages which support the view we already have and avoid
those which may challenge it. This applies not only to the
mass media, but also to interpersonal communication. For
example, it is well known that those with a positive self-image
will tend to remember positive comments made about them,
and those with a negative self-image will tend to remember
the negative ones. (See also the sections on Selective
Attention and Cognitive Consistency).
Selective attention
We maybe can't avoid being exposed to messages we don't
like, but there is plenty of evidence that in such a case we
won't pay much attention to them

Selective interpretation
Even if we are exposed and do attend to messages which
conflict with our views, the chances are that we will
interpret them in such a way that they do fit what we
already believe. However good the Labour Party's
arguments might be, the chances are that the
Conservative voter will dismiss them as a load of
nonsense.
An excellent example of this is provided by Kendall and
Woolf's analysis of reactions to anti-racist cartoons. The
cartoons featured Mr Biggott whose absurdly racist ideas
were intended to discredit bigotry. In fact 31% failed to
recognise that Mr Biggott was racially prejudiced or that
the cartoons were intended to be anti-racist (Kendall &
Wolff (1949) in Curran (1990)).

Interpersonal communication
Visual channel
Physical attractiveness of the
Communicator is certainly important
and there are other factors we can be
fairly certain of.
The following seem to undermine the
persuasiveness of a message:
narrow pupil dilation
a closed and symmetrical posture
self-touching ('self-grooming')
very high and very low levels of eye
contact

Intra-personal factors
By definition, intra-personal factors such as the receiver's
attitude to the subject matter and the extent of her personal
involvement may well be largely unknown to the communicator.
Sherif and Hovland attempted to summarize the effect of these
two factors by saying that the person's position on an attitude
scale provides her with an anchor from which she evaluates
other positions on the attitude scale and that evaluation will be
the firmer and more difficult to shift the greater the degree of
ego-involvement. They concluded that if the positions of the
communicator and of the receiver are so far apart that the
communicator's position falls within the receiver's latitude of
rejection, then the only way that the communicator can have an
effect is by adopting a step-by-step approach, starting from
messages which fall within the receiver's latitude of acceptance
and gradually working outward from there.

Age
Age is an important variable. People reach maximum persuasability
around the age of nine. Hence the Hitler Youth, East Germany's
Young Pioneers and, for that matter, the Cubs and Brownies.
Sex
Sex appears to be of some limited significance, women apparently
being more easily persuadable than men. However, this research
was conducted a long time ago when women saw themselves and
their rle differently, so this may well have changed.
Personality
Personality variables such as self-esteem, anxiety and depression
have an influence on persuadability. Janis's research suggests that
people with low self-esteem are likely to be relatively easily
persuaded - which may partly explain the success of Hitler's
propaganda and the success of right-wing parties today in another
era of mass unemployment. See especially the section on the
authoritarian personality.

Group norms
The norms of a group apparently serve to protect members from outside
influence. The more important group members consider their
membership of the group to be, the less likely they are to be persuaded
by messages which undermine the group norms.
Beliefs ('self-schemata')
The pattern of the receiver's beliefs will in part determine whether the
message is given serious attention in the first place. (For further
information, see the sections on Selective attention, Consistency theory
and Attitudes.)
The persuasive impact of a message can be increased if it is anchored
in the system of beliefs and values of the receiver.
This seems to be evident in the close parallels between Nazi symbolism
and ceremony on the one hand and Christian rituals on the other. The
swastika replaced the cross on Christmas trees and in public squares
and on fountains at Christmas time just as the Christian cross had been
before. Hitler was also careful to ensure that his rhetoric echoed the
values of the 'old guard'. In a not dissimilar way, Mrs Thatcher, whose
programme was entirely revolutionary in its impact, was careful to refer
back to Churchill, the British Empire, Victorian values and family values.

What is propaganda?
It is the deliberate and systematic attempt to
shape perceptions, manipulate cognition, and
direct behavior to achieve a response that
furthers the desired intend of the propagandist.
Techniques
- Plain folks
- Testimonial
- Card-stacking
- Transfer
- Glittering generalities
- Name-calling

Code of ethics to be used by PR practitioners:

Do not use false evidence
Do not use specious reasoning
Do not falsely represent yourself
Do not use irrelevant appeals as diversions
Do not make false links to favorable values,
motives, or goals
Do not conceal your purpose or interest
Do not cover up consequences
Do not use baseless emotional appeals
Do not oversimplify complex situations
Do not feign certainty
Do not advocate what you don't believe yourself

Matching audience and media

Print for detail and contemplation
Television for emotional impact
Radio for flexibility and specific targets
Online media for customized information of

target audience, usually used as a

supplement method of reaching a generally
well educated, relatively affluent audience
interested in new ideas and fresh
approaches.

 Building

Media relationship

Media are busy

Editors are proud of independence
Trust is earned and easily destroyed
Informing media and public is important work
Assume stories judged on merits as seen by the editors
Continue serving after story idea is accepted. You cannot

control the tone of the story but you can influence it by

providing favorable angles and additional information.

Put the public first

Take responsibility
Be honest
Never say No comment
Designate a single spokesperson
Set up a central information center
Provide a constant flow of information
Be familiar with media needs and deadlines
Be accessible
Monitor news coverage and telephone
inquiries
Communicate with key publics

Attack the accuser

Denial
Excuse
Justification
Ingratiation
Corrective action
Full apology

Because planning is such an important part of public relations, it is

useful to understand the different requirements of an event, a
campaign, and a program.
An event is a one-shot occurrence. It happens in one time frame-an
hour, a day, or perhaps as long as a week-and it serves one prime
purpose with one or more selected publics.
A campaign has at least one thing in common with an event: a
specific beginning and ending point. But because those two points
are separated by weeks or even months, and because several
different events will be part of the process, we call it a campaign.
A program is like a campaign in that it consists of several events.
But it differs from a campaign in that it has no pre-set and point.
A program is put in place because of an anticipated need for
continued dissemination of information.
The program is reviewed periodically to determine whether its
objectives are being met. All or parts of it will be continued as long
as there is a need for more communication with target publics.

Once goals and objectives are in place, they can be drawn upon to
plan campaigns and programs.
Research on the problem or opportunity
Action that includes evaluation and planning
Communication of the message from organization to publics, and
Evaluation of the effects of those messages
Grunigs Behavioral Molecule further broke the management steps
into:
detecting a problem
constructing a possible solution
defining alternatives
selecting the best course of action
confirming the choice by pre-testing
behaving by enacting a program, and then returning to the process
of
detecting whether the program met the desired objectives.

Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Research can be extensive and expensive (primary), or if the situation

warrants, it can involve simply poring over existing information
already gathered for another purpose and analyzing the relevance
the data have for the current public relations situation (secondary).
Different Types of Research
Surveys often are performed by opinion measurement specialists,
although though increasingly people with college training in public
relations are able to prepare, administer, and analyze the data from
their own questionnaires.
Samples of target audiences must be scientific and random if the
results are to be valid.
Questionnaires must be constructed carefully to rule out bias and
to assure the validity of each item, which involves pre-testing. If
done properly, the survey may take weeks to design, test,
administer, and analyze-often at considerable expense.
Fortunately, new software packages designed for the personal
computer make it possible for the researcher to glean a wealth of
data, including interesting correlations between various responses
on the survey.

Focus group interviews are a marketing research technique that has

been successful adopted by the needs of public relations
practitioners. They do not yield the strictly quantitative data that can
be gotten from a survey.
They have the advantage of being open-ended and permitting
members of target groups to speak in their own term of
understanding, provide their own emphasis, and response to the
views expressed by other members of the same group.
The focus group interview requires trained moderators and
equipments for recording the session. Audio and/or video tapes have
to be put in transcript form, and then the transcript must be
summarized and analyzed.
Sometimes focus group interviews are used as the basis for
designing the questionnaires used in survey research, creating a
valuable linkage between the two devices and enriching the value of
both.
The Final Stage of Research is the Analysis of the Collected
Information
Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Identifying your key publics-those groups that are more likely to

seek and process information and to behave in a way
consequences on your organization- is a fundamental aim of the
process we call public relations management.
Once target audiences have been selected, it is important to
decide what message each group needs to receive from your
organization. Rarely does an information campaign give
precisely the same message to each of its publics.
Thats because careful analysis shows that each public has a
different stake in the organization.
A campaign that wants to promote Greek made products
it can be spelled out in three different audiences
Audience Message
Retailers
A made is Greece label is a valuable selling tool
Manufacturers
Producing at home is a good business
Consumers Made in Greece means quality
Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Although there are a variety of tools available to accomplish employeeemployer communications, three basic principles prevail as guidelines for the
practitioner.
1. Employees must be told first. Employees should be the first to be told
information affecting them and their jobs; they should be told directly by the
employer. The relationship is adversely affected when employees learn from
outside sources about matters that affect them. Two-way trust is jeopardized.
2. Tell the bad news along with the good. All too often, organizations
exploit internal news channels to report only "good" news, usually
complimentary to the employer. That practice wears thin. The tools and the
messages lose credibility. Motives become suspect. Employees 1ook to other
sources, such as unions, for a more balanced, objective perspective.
Revealing good and bad news, openly and candidly, builds trust, common
purpose, and productivity.
3. Ensure timeliness. Information important to employees has the same
obsolescence as news of other kinds. Getting it out fast and accurately builds
dialogue and trust. Delay opens the door to sources with half-truths,
distortions, and bias unfavourable to the employer. Delay is the cause of
most rumours, and, once started, rumours are difficult to dislodge.
4. Employees must be informed on subjects they consider
important. ears of studying employees' views of communication within
their organizations reveals specific items they want to know about-often
quite different from what house editors or managements think they want to
know about (or ought to be told).

Use the media that employees trust.

1. Immediate supervisor
2. Small group meetings
3. p executives
4. Large group meetings
5. Employee handbook or other booklets
6. Orientation program
7. Regular local employee publication 8. Bulletin boards
9. Annual report to employees
10. Regular general employee publication
11. Upward communication programs
12. Audiovisual programs
13. union
14. Mass media
15. Grapevine (Word of Mouth)

Public relations work on a basic nature is involved in at least these areas

of an organization's community relationships:
1. Planning and conducting open houses, or tours.
2. Planning and helping to implement special events such as ground
breaking or dedication of new facilities, change in location, anniversaries,
reunions, conventions or exhibitions.
3. Preparing publications for distributions to resident groups.
4. Representing the organization in all sorts of volunteer activities,
including fund drives.
5. Preparing advertising or position papers aimed at residents or local
government.
6. Counselling management on contributions of employees as volunteer
workers or board members; arranging for use of facilities and equipment
by community groups.
7. Functioning as the organization's intermediary with local
governmental, civic, educational, and ad hoc groups concerned with
reform, social problems, and celebrations.
8. Issuing news of interest to the community and providing to officials of
the organizations with information on the status of community relations.
9. Managing the contributions function-giving donations if a corporation,
raising funds for a not-for-profit organization.

Media relations does indeed make up the core of most public

relation programs- in part because of the historical development
of public relations as an attempt to control and influence media
coverage of organizations.
Although the media are critical to public relations, many
practitioners become so preoccupied with media coverage that
they forget why relationships with the mass media are important.
Many practitioners consider the media to be the public for their
organization and believe that media coverage automatically
means that they have reached and influences a large audience
This is far away from the truth.
Media relations occupies a central position in public relations
because the media serves as a gatekeeper who control the
information that flows the publics in a social system. Media
workers really arent publics in the sense that they are affected
by organizational consequences that do not affect other people.
But, in another sense, journalists are publics. They seek and
process information just like other people, then pass on that
information to their readers and viewers. The communication
behavior of journalists, therefore, sets limits on the information
available for other publics to seek and process.

The key word to remember about media relations is

relationship-a positive, ongoing, long-term relationship with
the media.
Many practitioners have bad relationships with the media, in
large part because they are guided by the press a gentry or
public information models of public relations.

An Area of Conflict
Journalists feel overwhelmed by mass of press agents and
publicists- flacks, as they call PR people- who dump
unwanted press releases on their desk and push self-serving
stories that have little new value.
Public relations practitioners, on the other hand, feel that they
are at the mercy of reporters and editors who are biased
against their organization, who would rather expose then
explain, and who know little about the complexities of their
organization.

Never repeat the negative. If a reporter asks a negatively

phrased question and you repeat the negative words, then you
should know that the negative words, the negative impression
will survive along after the facts. Positive responses are best.
Use transition techniques to give a straight answer to the
questions and move the conversation in the direction you
desire. Bridge to positive points.
Speak in a conversational ton. Avoid jargon, and provide
examples or anecdotes to illustrate your points.
In television or radio interviews, frame responses in quick bites.
Do not provide a lengthy background in order to reach a
conclusion.
Remain calm, courteous, and cooperative regardless of where
the reporter is headed.

Press Agentry Abuses.

Most of the abuses of the press that spoil PRs relationship with the
press stem from the press agent / publicity model.
Threads to withhold advertising if editors do not use an item, or
a promise to buy advertising if they do use it.
Calling an executive of a newspaper or broadcast station to
pressure his/her reporters
Sending reams of news releases with little news value to an
extensive massive mailing list of media that have no use of them
(very common practice for showing to superiors or clients that
we are constantly busy)
Taking the attitude that the more releases sent, the greater the
chance that they will be used, in the belief that editors use them
randomly when they have space to fill.
Catering to TV at the expense of print media, in press
conferences
Sending multiple copies to different departments of the same
organization
Failing to understand how news media work (deadlines, news
values, and beats)

Public Information Abuses

Usually the specialist following this model of PR are working as
journalist in residence
Two of the most common errors of this model are:
The jargon error: often they write in a coded language mostly
because their work must be cleared by superiors
The Parkinsons law error: this is the production of press releases
to fill the time available. Although there is no need for articles,
because of free time the specialist write many articles without
news value
Two Way Press Relations
Both the practitioners of two way asymmetric and two way
symmetric models of PR approach their task more
systematically, they make fewer errors that alienate them from
journalists, and they do more research and planning.
There are some conflicts, however, that still result from the
asymmetric model because media relations specialists usually
try to control coverage of their organization and to limit it to
organizational PR objectives.

major component of corporate public affairs is government

relations. This activity is so important that many companies,
particularly in highly regulated industries, have separate
departments of government relations.
The reason is simple. The actions of governmental bodies at the
local, and federal level have a major impact on how a business
operates.
Government relations specialists have a number of functions: They
gather information, disseminate management's views, cooperate
with government on projects of mutual benefit, and motivate
employees to participate in the political process.
As the eyes and ears of a business or industry, practitioners spend
much time gathering and processing information. They monitor the
activities of many legislative bodies and regulatory agencies to keep
track of issues coming up for debate and possible vote.
Such intelligence gathering enables a corporation or an industry to
plan ahead and, if necessary, adjust policies or provide information
that may influence the nature of government decision-making.

Lobbying is closely aligned with governmental relations or public

affairs, and the distinction between the two often blurs. This is
because most campaigns to influence impending legislation hae
multiple levels.
One leel is informing and convincing the public about the correctness

of the organization's view point, which the public affairs specialist

does.

Lobbying, on the other hand, is a more specific activity. Webster's

New World Dictionry defines a lobbyist as "a person . . . who
tries to influence the voting on legislation or the decisions of
government administrators:' In other words, a lobbyist directs his
or her energies to the defeat, passage, or amendment of
proposed legislation and regulatory agency policies.
good example of how the two functions work in tandem is how
Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm, responded when it was
accused of massive negligence in covering up the financial
problems of Enron, the energy company, just before it went
bankrupt.

Here are several ethical guidelines for people working in political

public relations formulated by the Public Relations Society of America
(PRSA):
1. It is the responsibility of professionals practicing political public
relations to be conversant with the various local, state, and federal
statutes governing such activities and to adhere to them strictly. This
includes laws and regulations governing lobbying, political
contributions, disc1osure, e1ections, libel, slander, and the like.
2. Members shall represent clients or employers in good faith, and
while partisan advocacy on behalf of a candidate or public issue is
expected, members shall act in accord with the public interest and
adhere to truth and accuracy and to generally accepted standards of
good taste.
3. Members shall not issue descriptive material or any advertising or
pub1icity information or participate in the preparation or use thereof
which is not signed by responsible persons or is false, misleading, or
unlabeled as to its source, and are obligated to use care to avoid
dissemination of any such material.

4. in avoiding practices which might tend to

corrupt the processes of government, members
shall not make undisclosed gifts of cash or
other valuables which are designed to influence
specific decisions of voters, legislators, or
public officials.
5. Members shall not, through the use of
information known to be fa1se or misleading,
conveyed direct1y or through a third party,
intentionally injure the pub1ic reputation of an
opposing candidate.

 "Who are the three most important publics?"

The answer is "Customers, customers, and

customers." If you don't succeed in attracting and

then building continuing relationships with them,
you'11 be out of business and nothing else will matter.

During the rise of marketing as a cure-all in the

mid-1980s, this view frequently prevailed in
corporations. Hospitals, universities, public
agencies, and even churches adopted
marketing as a response to the increasing
competition for people's interest and dollars.

Technically, both marketing and public relations support the

sles function. "Nothing happens until a sale is made," says an
old bromide. The difference is that marketing is totally
engrossed in selling, whereas public relations is more holistic. It
supports sales to customers, but also is concerned with
relationships with all other stakeholders of the organization.
Originally, public relations supported sales almost exclusively
through media publicity, promotional events, and consumer
information programs. The objective was to make people:
1. Aware of the product or serice in the first place.
2. Knowledgeable about the benefits and advantages of the
particular product or serice.
3. Constantly reminded and reinforced in favourable feelings
toward the product or serice.

Ten Effective Public Relations Tactics

You are likely familiar with brochures, flyers and web

sites. Below are some other effective public relations
tactics with which you may be less familiar. Which ones
will benefit you depends upon several factors -- your
objectives, the size, type and location of your
organization, the characteristics of your customers or
audience, and your budget.
Publicity and Media Relations

Media relations includes a variety of methods to contact

and give information to the media: news releases, press
kits, media advisories, news conferences, press tours, and
personal letters or phone calls to editors and reporters.
Special Events
Events draw attention to your organization or bring people
to your place of business. Open houses, fund-raisers,
trade shows, awards ceremonies, contests, stunts,
receptions, speeches by V.I.Ps., are examples of special
events.

 Newsletters

Publications typically four to 12 pages in length, although some

are longer, with short articles intended to keep your customers,
clients, members, investors, or donors up-to-date on what your
organization and its people are doing. It may also contain advice
or other information of particular interest to your audience.
News Sheets and Action Alerts
One or two page sheets communicating urgent or recent
information. The intent is to motivate the reader to take a specific
action, such as write a letter to a public official, make a donation,
or change a purchasing habit.
Tip Sheets
One or two-sided sheets containing advice, instructions, or other
information of particular use to your customers or clients. The
objective is to show off your expertise. These sheets are usually
formatted as bulleted or numbered lists.
Letters to the Editor and Op Ed Pieces
Promote your expertise by writing a letter to the editor or an Op
Ed piece responding to items in the news.

 Speakers Bureau

Arrange to have individuals in your organization speak at

meetings of professional and trade associations, service
clubs, civic organizations, and community groups
Sponsorships
If you don't want to organize a special event, sponsor one
somebody else is organizing. Or sponsor a local sports team,
musical group, or community theatre. Make sure your
sponsorship will be acknowledged on advertising, programs,
uniforms, posters, or other promotional materials.
Charitable Contributions
Even though a donation has to be very large to make the
news, a consistent commitment to giving back to your
community by supporting local charities will do much to
enhance your image. Be sure you give to charities that
acknowledge donations in their newsletter, annual report,
wall plaques, or other promotional materials.
Thank You Notes and Letters
Directly thanking customers for their business, and donors for
their contribution, will encourage repeat business.