Monday, August 27, 2007
Is time really going this fast?
Week 7
This week I have only focused on chapter 10 of Public Relations Theory and Practice as I could not find the other readings and several people I asked also had no clue as to where to find them. So it was plenty of textbook analysis for me.
The reading this week broadened my understandings of the relationship PR practitioners have with all forms of media. It is important in the PR world to have strong and positive connections with the media. Page 263 states how “the practitioner will use the media in their role of issues manager, monitoring trends, government policy and legislation, debates and opinion”. Basically I saw this to enhance the idea that the media influences public relations in a number of ways.
Another key point I noticed was the listing of the ‘eight news values’; impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, prominence, currency, human interest and the unusual. Several of these were familiar as they were mentioned in last semester’s course Introduction to Professional Writing. By allocating one or more of these values to a story or event helps to determine whether it may or may not be news worthy.
I found the sections on Deadlines and Newsroom Hierarchy really interesting. It was a fascinating thing to learn about that was different to PR work all the time, even though it was still relevant. In other terms, it was like learning two things at the same time. I thought this was a really positive thing for anyone who is interested at working in a newsroom of some sort.
The explanations of the different ‘items’ in ‘Media Kits’ helped further my understanding of the different kinds of writings required in PR. There are several ways to write information, and each item may be more suitable for a different situation.
The section on Media Conferences was rather familiar. It seemed to be a lot of facts that I had already accumulated knowledge of (yes once again some in business studies in year 12!) But it was handy again to freshen up my understanding.
Only brief this week (despite the long list of required readings). All in all this weeks reading was fairly interesting and once again I walked away feeling more knowledgeable and that my brain had just been introduced to some more interesting and important facts about public relations. I must admit, this subject is proving to be more and more appealing every week.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Half Way Already!
Firstly I must start off by saying I’ve been rather sick the past week and so my absorption of information has not been the greatest. I know it’s not a fabulous excuse but bear with me; I’ve had very little strength and concentration levels. Blast winter!
No business studies references this week. The readings stood on their own in the PR world.
I thought the fist half of Chapter Four wasn’t very helpful or informative at all. It just seemed to focus on the laws and legal rights of publications. It felt like a textbook for Law, not Public Relations. However I did learn what defamation means! And also the three tests for defamation, the defences against defamation, and whether or not a person can or cannot be defamed. The section on copyright was just like having my common knowledge reinforced. Previous subjects such as Foundations of Media Productions touched on copyright and no matter what you are dealing with, the laws are generally the same. You cannot take information from anywhere else unless you have permission to do so. Similar to the copyright point was the section on contracts. It just all seemed to be information that I’d heard before.
I agree with the point made on page 105 of chapter five; “Today’s technology has further reduced the ability of practitioners to communicate truthfully with integrity, as PowerPoint slides and media news bites have reduced communications to bullet points, distilling complex issues into simple propositions”. The ideas and issues are put forward into measly little 4 word points, rather than full, informative sentences.
Chapter Five was much more interesting about the roles and frameworks of ethics in public relations. This is an issue I believe that needs to be reinforced over again; whether or not you may be hurting someone with what you are saying or writing. I particularly liked the reference of the “role of the corporate conscience” – how a job of the PR practitioner is to be the conscience of the organisation and serve as the moral keeper for both its communications and actions, and also to encourage truth telling.
The readings also taught me of all the different ethical dilemmas that arise on different levels being interpersonal, organisational and stakeholders. PR practitioners are put in very compromising positions when it comes to ethics, as they are the decision makers and peace makers in this particular issue.
I do believe my heavy headness has contributed to the flakiness of this week’s blog and for that I apologise. Tune in next week for a bit more intellectual and educational waffle :-)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Week 5 (yeah already I know!)
The readings this week helped me to understand the strategies that need to be taken when implementing a PR assignment. As I mentioned last week, I am reminded strongly again by my year 12 business studies, with the discussing of a Situational Analysis, Executive Summary and Target Audiences. Both the textbook and article touched on these topics, along with the processes that need to be followed when applying PR.
I honestly think that the background knowledge of business studies, hence the subjects being discussed, helps in my understanding of PR and the small pieces that are included in this profession. I won’t spend my time comparing the two, but I just think it is an important point to be noted. Whether anyone else agrees is not really important. It is important that this helps in my understanding and learning.
The textbook reading, “Strategy, Planning and Scheduling”, broadened my knowledge of what steps need to be taken in order to successfully function a public relations process. I linked this with a chef and team cooking an important banquet. Firstly, the banquet must be planned and strategically organised down to the last detail: cost of items, budget, time, strengths, and weaknesses. All these issues must be taken into account with the entire team before cooking the big function. This is exactly like PR. Each tiny detail must be planned and scrutinised before taking action in order for a successful campaign. This reading highlighted this importance, focusing on details such as strategic planning, budgeting, scheduling, vision and mission statements, lists and flowcharts. It was interesting to see how flowcharts can be used not only in the business corporation world. By planning everything out on a calendar or chart helps PR practitioners to see where they are standing, where they are heading, and what they need to be doing. The example of the Gantt chart in the reading on page 187 was a really good preview. All these things fall obviously under the title of planning and scheduling.
Much of the rest I thought was pretty self explanatory. The journal reading, “A Typical Public Relations Program”, touched on planning ideas such as target audiences and methods of research. Once again with my business studies background I knew that to market an item, the correct target audience must be established and hence to define these, different research methods must be taken. I know understand that this is the case in PR. When marketing a business, function or product, the correct methods must be followed in order to reach the desired market. This all links with the campaigns of a PR program of what communicational process must be used in order to reach the audiences required and objectives made.
I never knew a budget was such a huge part of PR. Obviously I knew it must slot in there somewhere, but I never knew how influential and critical money was in this profession. A set amount must be recognised in order for a successful campaign, with no over spending or drastic expenditures. The statement of “there is just no point in spending money unless you have a reasonable chance of achieving your objective and, more importantly, unless the benefit to be gained from reaching that objective is worth more that the cost of getting there” sums it up pretty well I think.
So far, each week I have learnt something new and important about PR and that it is a lot more intense than I thought. There’s much more to it than I first realised and am looking forward to furthering my discovering and understanding.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Week 4
The readings this week, in particular 'Insider Info', made me think more about PR practices in that the interviews gave a clear and firsthand view of experiencing the PR world. The diary layouts of "My Week" helped me understand so much more of what is expected in this field of work. I thought this was an excellent way of drafting the different tasks of personnel in this line of work. It was interesting seeing the similarities and differences between different positions, whether you may be an Executive Director of a Hospital Foundation, a Media and Communications Manager, or a PR Consultant.
The chapter ‘Internal and Community Relations’ first reminded me of Year 12 Business Studies with the first section talking about “employee goodwill” and “management organisational structures”. I believe my background knowledge of these subjects helped in the understanding of the tools of communication and relationships in PR. The quote by Mackay (1993:288) is an excellent expression of how working in such a professional and demanding line of work must not change the way human beings interact and communicate. This is one point I gathered from the community relations. Again, the mention of “negotiation” emphasises the fact that strong internal relations within a company raises output and helps strengthen an organisation. All lengths must be taken to ensure a successfully communicating and functioning establishment.