Week 7
I think the important points to remember from this week's readings were that when publicising a campaign or event or a client it is integral to have a consistent relationship with media outlets. As Johnston states in this weeks reading,
“At any level, dealing with the media is an integral part of much public relations activity, and its impact should never be under-estimated.” (p260)
Because if a public relations practitioner under-estimates the power of the media they may ultimately destroy what they set out to achieve by disregarding important outlets for publicity. In Australia the media is condensed into three media monopolies, Fairfax, Murdoch and Packer. Thus when considering promoting nationally, influential media contacts in these three monopolies will drastically enhance your opportunities for reaching a wider audience and thus aid in your promotion. Though, in the current technological climate it has become more and more frequent that public relation practitioners are looking to reach niche audiences, and thus target the promotion at a certain demographic.
When sending out information to media outlets it is important to present the material in a manner that will make it easy for the journalist to include it in their publication. Thus when sending media releases and media kits public relation practitioners must be considerate of the type of publication and what will grab the journalists’ attention. For example, sending a printed media release to a television station with no attached pictures or video will significantly diminish the chances of being aired because the television is a visual medium and basic text is not interesting enough in most cases.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that these days the options for presenting information and promoting a campaign or event are endless, hence finding the right way to reach your audience is hence becoming an important public relations skill.
Also they made me think about how public relations practice is very much about the management of relationships and the maintenance that is involved with keeping a consistent relationship with important media journalists and publications. After all, the good reputation of a public relations practitioner is hard to rebuild after it has been tainted by betrayal.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Week 6
Week 6
I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that when representing a client or company it is important to be well informed about the legal processes and laws. This should either be through consultation with lawyers or through a thorough knowledge of legal documents. Somewhat like all media officers, public relation practitioners have to be considerate of what they say and do. I found that this weeks readings have concisely summarised what second year students will learn in the second year course media law and ethics, but is directed more so at public relations.
Chapter 4 in Johnston and Zawawi (2004) deals with defamation law and how even the slightest reference to a person or company in bad light may ultimately taint a professional or personal reputation. Other aspects of the law which may also affect public relations practice are property laws and contract laws.
In Johnston & Zawawi (2004), Clark, Cho and Hoyle (2000, 240) state that knowledge of intellectual property law has become “a prerequisite for anyone doing business in what has become known as the information age”. Whereas, Johnston and Zawawi (2004) also stress the validity of contract laws in the public relations sector due to the large clientele and growing state of the market.
Chapter 5, highlights the importance of ethical practice in the public relations industry and how taking the ethical and moral high ground can benefit your company and your career. In the changing technological climate it is hard to find truth within the loads of information which we are bombarded with every day. This chapter stresses that public relations practitioners need to balance being able to provide a positive view of a company or client, with their wider social responsibility of providing its publics with truthful information.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they offered us as students the legal background of what we have to be considerate of when we go out into the workforce. They outline that there is legal and ethical implications for improper practice and that the ramifications for disregarding these laws are detrimental to your career and for your client. These laws also try and dispel the common perception that as pr people we are ‘spin doctors’, by demonstrating what we as practitioners legally and ethically are bound to.
I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that when representing a client or company it is important to be well informed about the legal processes and laws. This should either be through consultation with lawyers or through a thorough knowledge of legal documents. Somewhat like all media officers, public relation practitioners have to be considerate of what they say and do. I found that this weeks readings have concisely summarised what second year students will learn in the second year course media law and ethics, but is directed more so at public relations.
Chapter 4 in Johnston and Zawawi (2004) deals with defamation law and how even the slightest reference to a person or company in bad light may ultimately taint a professional or personal reputation. Other aspects of the law which may also affect public relations practice are property laws and contract laws.
In Johnston & Zawawi (2004), Clark, Cho and Hoyle (2000, 240) state that knowledge of intellectual property law has become “a prerequisite for anyone doing business in what has become known as the information age”. Whereas, Johnston and Zawawi (2004) also stress the validity of contract laws in the public relations sector due to the large clientele and growing state of the market.
Chapter 5, highlights the importance of ethical practice in the public relations industry and how taking the ethical and moral high ground can benefit your company and your career. In the changing technological climate it is hard to find truth within the loads of information which we are bombarded with every day. This chapter stresses that public relations practitioners need to balance being able to provide a positive view of a company or client, with their wider social responsibility of providing its publics with truthful information.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they offered us as students the legal background of what we have to be considerate of when we go out into the workforce. They outline that there is legal and ethical implications for improper practice and that the ramifications for disregarding these laws are detrimental to your career and for your client. These laws also try and dispel the common perception that as pr people we are ‘spin doctors’, by demonstrating what we as practitioners legally and ethically are bound to.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Week 5
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were that in similarity to a business plan, the purpose of a public relations plan is to bring direction and strategy to a company or particular event or campaign. It is also important to note that a public relations plan does not finish at the end of an event or completion of a company objective, but that there is a considerable amount of evaluation and monitoring that needs to be undertaken after in order to ascertain its level of success.
In both the Johnston & Zawawi reading and the Tymson and Lazar reading it is evident that the formulation of a strategic plan for any task in public relations could dramatically assist in the smooth running and successfulness of a company directive. Though it is inherently important to have the dominant coalition of the company on-board on all decisions made in regards to public relations as Allert and Zawawi state that, “you are only likely to be as good as a public relations practitioner as your CEO will allow you to be” (Johnston & Zawawi, 2004, 171). Hence, maintaining a good relationship with the senior managerial staff of your company or clientele is integral to the successful procedure of a public relations plan.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they set out strategically how to put together a public relations plan in a simple format which will be easy for us as students to implement into our own public relations work. The readings made it clear that though there are little differences in the formulation of a public relations plan most follow a chronological progression of;
determining the objectives,
defining the publics and targets,
formulating tactics and strategies,
implementation of tactics and strategies,
and finally monitoring and evaluation.
These steps then can be formally arranged into a hard copy public relations plan which covers all aspects of the plan in greater detail and under specific headings.
In both the Johnston & Zawawi reading and the Tymson and Lazar reading it is evident that the formulation of a strategic plan for any task in public relations could dramatically assist in the smooth running and successfulness of a company directive. Though it is inherently important to have the dominant coalition of the company on-board on all decisions made in regards to public relations as Allert and Zawawi state that, “you are only likely to be as good as a public relations practitioner as your CEO will allow you to be” (Johnston & Zawawi, 2004, 171). Hence, maintaining a good relationship with the senior managerial staff of your company or clientele is integral to the successful procedure of a public relations plan.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they set out strategically how to put together a public relations plan in a simple format which will be easy for us as students to implement into our own public relations work. The readings made it clear that though there are little differences in the formulation of a public relations plan most follow a chronological progression of;
determining the objectives,
defining the publics and targets,
formulating tactics and strategies,
implementation of tactics and strategies,
and finally monitoring and evaluation.
These steps then can be formally arranged into a hard copy public relations plan which covers all aspects of the plan in greater detail and under specific headings.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Week 4
I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that in order to have a successful and profitable business it is important to monitor how well the internal communications of a company is ensuing that they meet their overall objectives. Within this it is important to understand that not all employees like to be contacted about different information in the same way, but that a varied approach to internal communication has been seen to perform better in performance and communication audits. Since public relations practice is relatively new it is difficult to ascertain which is the best way to deal with internal communication and this is evident through vastly different research findings on the area.
In ‘Insider info’, in the Melanie James reading, it was interesting to see how many professionals stated in the “Can you tell us something about your working environment?” that team work and close internal communications were integral to the successful running of the company. Thus it is important for both the happiness of employees and the functionality of the company to have fluid and productive two way internal communication strategies that deal with day-to-day information processing.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they outlined ways in which internal communication with employees can be improved and implemented into the workplace. The readings also inferred that if there isn’t a communications consultant working in-house it may be important to employ one from a consultancy in order to analyse and implement strategies that may improve internal communications and promote a better working place.
In ‘Insider info’, in the Melanie James reading, it was interesting to see how many professionals stated in the “Can you tell us something about your working environment?” that team work and close internal communications were integral to the successful running of the company. Thus it is important for both the happiness of employees and the functionality of the company to have fluid and productive two way internal communication strategies that deal with day-to-day information processing.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they outlined ways in which internal communication with employees can be improved and implemented into the workplace. The readings also inferred that if there isn’t a communications consultant working in-house it may be important to employ one from a consultancy in order to analyse and implement strategies that may improve internal communications and promote a better working place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)