This week I am commenting on Em's Blog- week 7

Week 7

I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were:

• Media Relations can range from dealing with a few select contacts on a regular basis or to managing hundreds of media personnel at a national event.
• Dealing with the media is an integral part of much PR activity. The media is a powerful tool used by PR practitioners.
• Media Monopolies- 'Big Three'- In Australian media ownership- Fairfax, Murdoch and Packer. Fairfax has dominant shareholding in the Australian Associated Press (AAP), the news service that supplies stories to the media.
• Media reliance on info from PR outlets is increasing. Reliance on syndicated work, press agencies and news subsidies- material generated by organisations and channeled through PR practitioners. Becoming easier for PRs to gain access to the media due to lack of staff and funding for investigative journalism.
  
• PR has become one of the most important external influences on journalism as it is now practised- (Marshall and Kingsbury 1996, 127).
• Media monitoring is a type of feedback process for PR but it is this type of research that keeps them up to date with issues, events, changes, trends, legislation, debates and public opinion.
• 'Clippings Files' (from organisations such as Media Monitoring)- provide a useful record of the media coverage of organisations, events or issues (relating to them) and can be important for PR research when planning a campaign.
• News values should also be used by PR practitioners when weiting media releases. Impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, prominence, currency, human interest and the unusual (Conley 2002, 42). Also sex, money, disaster, drugs and animals (Granato, 1991: 34).
• It is important to know the dead lines of the news rooms. Also that radio is most effective as it has immediacy, flexibility and the ability to be 'rip-and-read' news.
• PR practitioners must know the newsroom hierarchy. The Editor is the most important then the chief-of-staff and then the Rounds people (who are an integral part of most news outlets). Rounds include politics, courts, health etc.
  
• You should get to know journalists by name, foster a positive working relationship, know the needs of the medium your using (providing pics, VRNs).
• The best known communication tool for PR is the media release/ press release/ news release. For these, write in news style as previously covered.
  
• Media kits- made up of fact sheets(easy reference guides which list key attributes of an organisation or event), Backgrounders (background/ historical info to an event/organisation), Feature Articles (less formal than news stories), Profiles or 'blog' and other items such as business cards.
• The online readings were about how to prepare an oral presentation and speaking as part of a group. They were very helpful. Students should follow these!!!!
  

The readings made me think about Public Relations in that it incorporates both technical aspects, in writing media releases and compiling media kits as well as advising senior staff of an organisation working with the media. I have learnt that media relations calls on the key attributes of writing, organisation and planning, as well as keen interpersonal skills and good knowledge of news.

This week I am commenting on Hayden's Blog- Week 6

Week 6

I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were:

• To ensure the quality of PR outcomes, practitioners need to take an active role in developing strategies to minimise the legal risks associated with the functions and roles they perform.
• PR areas- Communication, advisory/counselling and business/management.
• Practitioners need to be aware of the tort of negligence (duty of care to clients & the general public), the tort of defamation (outlaws unjustified publications which have a tenancy to harm an individual's reputation), contempt law (contracts), international property law (trademarks, copyright, confidential info). Simply Common and Statute Law.
• PR decisions must be made in context of the 'legal environment.'
• PR relies on good reputations, positive images and strong relationships. These matters must be factored into the cost of any legal action. Practitioners need to develop good working relations with their legal advisers. May need to 'negotiate' appropriate responses to legal problems.
• PR practitioners help to protect an organisation's reputation which is one of the most important parts of their jobs.
  
• When organising campaigns and lobbying for support for a campaign, care should be taken to verify claims to ensure they are not misleading and deceptive. They must abide by The Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).
• Any practitioner engaged in litigation public relations has a duty to be aware of the legal status of any case and give advice following these laws.
  
• Contract law plays a pivotal role in PR. Contracts define the relationship between parties and are used in all facets of PRs from employment of staff to the supply of materials to fulfil a campaign.
  
• Ethics refers to the personal values which underpin the behaviour and moral choices made by the individual in response to a specific situation. They are standards of integrity. Business ethics is about prioritising moral values for an organisation and ensuring its behaviours are aligned with those values.
• PR practitioners need to be concerned with their own personal and professional ethics as well as with the institutional ethics of the company for which they work.
  
• 'fathers' of PR- Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays- tried to legitimise PR practice.
  
• Advocacy- is the act of publicly representing an individual, organisation or idea with the object of persuading targeted audiences to look favourably upon, or to accept the POV of the individual, organisation or the idea. Lead to debate about ethics.
• Corporate monitor- means they need to interpret and guide organisation's policies, programs and actions to match public expectations.
  
• Corporate conscience- to serve as the moral keeper for both its communications and actions. Control the flow of good and bad news. Encourage truth-telling.
• Ethical dilemma levels- interpersonal, organisational and stakeholder.
• The basic ethical framework that practitioners need to follow is to observe their professional association's code and the code of conduct of their workplace.
• PRIA- The Public Relations Institute of Australia. Governed by a 15 point Code of Ethics.
• MEAA- The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance. Journalists Code of Ethics.
• PRSA- The Public Relations Society of America. Universal values for ethical behaviour.
  
• Codes of conduct- for organisation's to guide the behaviour of their employees and suppliers.
  

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that there is such complexity and diversity in the public relations legal environment. I now realise how important it is the have/give good legal advice from a public relations perspective. I think that organisation's should move towards developing a legal strategy to achieve the best practice in potential problem areas. The reading stated that 'best-practice' public relations serves the public interest by developing mutual understanding between organisation's and publics. I agree with this statement and believe public interests should always come first.
I also thought more about the need to have codes of ethics for individual organisation's and also the need to follow national and international ethics codes.

I'm commenting on Abbey's Blog for week 3

I'm commenting on Katherine's blog from week 4

I'm commenting on Rhanna's Blog week 5

Week 5

I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were:

• A typical public relations program includes: Set objectives (why produce it? Who will receive it?), Plan and budget (what will it cost?), Implement program (materials, distribution) and Evaluation (measure, check progress).
• The stages of the strategic process in PR are: creation of organisational vision and mission statements; creation of public relations visions and mission statements; establishment of performance indicators; budgeting; writing of a strategic PR plan and scheduling of PR plan activities.
• Definition of strategy (pg. 170. PR Theory and Practice)- 'strategy is a pattern or plan that integrates an organisation's major goals, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole.'
• A PR strategy is a process by which the leadership of an organisation deliberately manages its communications pro actively so that they are open, candid and primarily focused on the market place. (D'Aprix 1996.5)
• Strategic communication thinking recognises the cause and effect relationship between our communication activities and the achievement of the organisation's mission. It means that communication programs support successful completion of the organisation's strategic activity in a measurable way. (potter 1998:3)
• An organisation's corporate image needs to be established and target audiences need to be defined!
• Methods of research need to be assessed and selected carefully for a specific purpose. These include telephone interviewing, structured personal interviewing, group discussions, client surveys, audits and panels, omibus and media.
  
• Corporate culture, ideology, values and beliefs, systems and business processes, influence the PR's strategic planning in social, economic and political contexts.
  
• The PR role within a management structure is to influence the behavior of people in relation to each other, through two-way communication.
  
• Strategically managed public relations has a significant role in developing a strong corporate reputation for the organisation, which translates into a stronger presence in the market place.
• The vision statement describes the future state of the organisation at a selected time. Once this is developed, the organisation will compare its present position and its ultimate destination. The mission statement is formulated to help close the gap between the unsatisfactory present and the more perfect future. It is the 'road-map' that describes how the organisation will move to reach its vision. These are associated with a set of corporate values.
• Key Performance Indicators are used by organisation's as measurable indicators of their progress towards achieving their mission (eg. measuring revenue). Both quantitative and qualitative evaluation techniques are used.
• Potter's '10 Step strategic communication plan.' : 1) Executive summary (Include situation that lead to plan, research, goals and objectives, tactics, time frame and evaluation plan.)
  
• The communication process (vision and mission) 2) Background (learn about your publics as well) 3)Situation analysis, 4) Main message statement, 5)Stakeholders, 6) messages for key stakeholders, 7) Implementation, 8) Budget and 9) Monitoring and evaluation.
• 'A budget is a plan for coordinating resources and expenses over a period of time by assigning costs (estimates or actual) to goals and objectives for specific activities.' -(McElreath 1997:158). Budgets are a major concern for PR and should be assessed before starting the campaign.
  
• Once a comprehensive strategy plan has been written, problems and opportunities defined, goals and objectives set, messages, methods and timing determined and the budget established, the plan needs to be implemented through scheduling.
  
• Making lists allows the practitioner to pull the PR process apart and look at it systematically. Lists allow the cataloging of every step of the PR process, keeping order and providing organisation and follow-up. Basic checklists should be prepared.
  
• Flowcharts- for more complex activities so that the practitioner can see at a glance what elements of an activity need to be given priority over others.
• Calenders and Gantt charts(placing things in chronological order of things to do)- help to establish time lines and deadlines.
  

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that I didn't realise how important it was to have a public relations strategy program. It creates organisation and helps with success. Through strategy process, you can reduce the likeliness of making a mistake. The strategic and systematic design of public relations plans is vital to the effective identification, implementation and management of the public relations goals and objectives that complement and support organisational goals and objectives. From the effective framework of a strategic PR plan, budgets can be firmly established, tactics selected and implementation monitored and evaluated against clearly set and relevant public relations goals and objectives.

Week 4

I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were:

• Media Release- one page briefing sent by PR people to journalists to alert them to potential stories.
• Clutter- the many advertisements and messages that your ad will potentially sit among.
• Cut through- to make your message rise above others so that people are able to recall what you want conveyed.
• The type of lifestyles, hours of work, different positions and activities people in this industry undertake- Career FAQS Public Relations book.
• Free ink- editorial coverage in the media generated by PR activities.
• News-savvy- being across current affairs and how the external environment can impact on your PR work.
• Backgrounder- a written article or fact sheet that provides journalists with the background to a current story.
• Internal and community relations should be the first and second priority respectively in PR practice to maintain productivity. Ethical practise is also high on the agenda. Total relationship management model identifies employee relations and community relations as the first two vital steps in achieving positive relations with key stakeholders.
• Organisation-‘a system of coordinated activities of a group of people working cooperatively toward a common goal under authority and leadership.’ (Goldhaber 1990:38).
• Internal Publics- two main groups: an organisation’s employees (Chairman of the board, mailroom), and an association’s members (PRIA, pay joining fee). In this industry it is important to work as a team.
• Channels of communication for employee goodwill- newsletters, noticeboards, memos, awards, events, intranets and face-to-face.
• Community Relations- maintain standards of ethics, personalise the corporate image to extend their relationships beyond the boundaries of their offices and companies need to listen to the community and take their ideas on board.
• Approaches to community relations- consultation, issue management (research on stakeholders), filling in the gaps, audience participation (meetings), negotiation, acknowledging the concerns of the other side.
  
  The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that it is so important to have good relations between an organisation and all of their employees. It is very easy for an organisation to lose a good reputation due to the unhappiness of one person working in the PR industry. I have also thought about how important it is to choose a career path in PR in something that you believe in so you can fully commit yourself. If you are going to be representing a company you should be passionate about it and genuine.
  

Week 3

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were:

• Theoretical approaches to PR- Different due to varied assumptions. Need to understand all to be clear on which PR practitioners are genuine.
• Agenda setting theory- The way news is selected. News media influence what audiences think about. Prominent news stories then seem more important. PR people can be seen as trying to set an agenda by getting prominent, positive attention in the news for their clients. This theory is about the social construction of news which provides important understandings about the role and power of the media in society.
• General systems theory-originated in 1930s, considers that organisations can be viewed as operating within either 'closed' (sealed off from all external influences) or 'open' (must interact with the world around to be successful view) systems. PR deal with both, inside an organisation and with people and groups outside. The open system provides two-way communication and assist in the flow of information. PR role in an organisation is seen as 'boundary-spanning' role.
• Semiotics-study of signs (images, designs, words or sounds) that represent something. C.S Peirce and co argued that these representations are constantly manipulated by advertisers, and other media producers to create particular understandings of who we are and how the world works. This is what PR people do. Important to consider semiotics in different contexts and to acknowledge the importance of ethics.
• Habermas, critical thinking, 'public sphere'- A movement which criticises the way citizens are influenced to think by their surrounding capitalist culture. Negative towards PR work and focuses on the importance of ethics.
• Grunig's models-1.Press agency (describes the activities of people who would do anything to get attention for their organisation), 2.public information (public relations becoming more sophisticated, one-way info on behalf of organisation), 3.Two-way asymmetric (two-way PR work which is biased and defends the organisation's view) and 4. Two-way symmetric (ideal model for PR, importance on respecting the publics' view, equal to the organisations view).
• Rhetorical theory- Heath. Two-way process. Through statements people test each other's views of reality, value and choices relevant in the media. Allows PR workers to take new perspectives.
• Situational theory- the theory suggests that the situation in which people find themselves, influences whether or not they will protest or try to get their opinions heard.
• Social learning and social exchange theory's- suggest that people modify their attitudes and behaviour to fit in with the attitudes and actions of others. Also through interaction we exchange knowledge.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that PR work needs an open system of communication to work. The many theories above also need to be understood in order to avoid the negative aspects involved with PR work. Ethics must be of importance and a two-way communication process should always be used.

Week 2 Blog (late sorry)

Hey this is my first time blogging. I've been in Bali and I have missed the last few weeks. I'm going to catch up so wish me luck....

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were:

• Modern practitioners of PR work is areas as diverse as media relations, sponsorship, crisis/issues management, financial relations, marketing and community relations. There are many different titles used to describe jobs in this field such as Public Affairs Executive and Media Liaison Director.
  
• PR definitions, purposes and functions- maintaining and organisation's relations with its various publics, to advise management on policy and its effect on public, provide mechanics for explaining an organisation and its policies to the public through the media for example and also the definitions for public relations activities. Send messages out over the internet, film/tv and paper news releases. Write speeches and develop presentations, handle media inquiries and more.
  
• That public relations is different to sales and marketing as it doesn't necessarily focus on profits, press releases are printed for free and is uncontrolled as such. The different areas of practice and the skills that each area employs have developed as Australian businesses, society and media have grown. The modern skills for PR include vocational skills, relationship skills, professional skills, understanding technology, industry knowledge.
• The history of PR- The principles of PR were introduced to Australia by Sir Asher Joel and Eric White in 1950s. Knowledge of PR began in 1959 and was very similar to US. World War II influenced development in communication and PR. A short time later the Public Relations Institute of Australia was founded.
  
• PR aim- to achieve news coverage in the quality press, the publication important to business interests.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that I didn't realise how many job opportunities there are- Public affairs, marketing, internal communications, media advising, technology and new media, celebrity management, community relations, fundrasing, government and more. I also got thinking about agency, in-house, working overseas and have narrowed down which direction I would most like to take if I decide to work in PR.