Chapter 10 Johnston and Zawawi, Drew, S. (2001) Oral Presentations, Van Emden, J. and Becker, L. (2004) Speaking as part of a group.
I think the important points to remember from this week’s readings are that:
The Australian media is owned by only a few large corporations (i.e. News Corp, Fairfax, PBL) so make sure you stay onside with these guys!
One study showed that 30% of 2500 newspaper articles tracked were wholly or partially based on press releases. Of these 20% were used verbatim or only had minor changes made, showing how effective good writing skills and an understanding of writing for the media can be. (Macnamara, in Choice 1998:29)
Media relations are two way. Practitioners not only give information to the media, but they also take it, using the media to stay up-to-date with current events, opinions and trends.
Elements that make a story newsworthy are: Impact, conflict, timeliness, proximity, prominence, currency, human interest, the unusual. (Conley 2002:42)
Other elements include: sex, disaster, money, drugs, animals (Granato 1991:34), the
‘underdog’ and ideals of a ‘fair go’.
The readings made me think differently about PR practice/theory in the way that practitioners need to have an understanding of the media to make it work in their favour.
Being able to write media releases which incorporate news values and are written in the inverted-pyramid style have a much greater chance of being used by the media than releases that a journalist has to completely re-work.
It is also important to understand the hierarchy of the newsroom and only contact those relevant to your story. I.e. The finance section editor if it concerns a story to appear in the financial section of the paper.
When supplying material to each medium, each medium’s needs need to be considered i.e. television news needs VISION!
When writing for media also remember the intended audience. The media are only interested in stories that readers would be interested in.
The two readings concerning oral and group presentations gave good insight into how to approach presentations and how to engage with audiences which will hopefully be useful in two weeks!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
This week I will be commenting on
Deborah Wise: http://deborahwisecmns1290.blogspot.com
and Ngaio Stobbs: http://cmns1290ngaiostobbs.blogspot.com
Deborah Wise: http://deborahwisecmns1290.blogspot.com
and Ngaio Stobbs: http://cmns1290ngaiostobbs.blogspot.com
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Week 8 Reading
Sallot, M. and Johnson, A. (2006) To contact... or not? Investigating journalists' assessments of public relations subsidies and contact preferences.
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were that public relations practitioners need to be aware of how to write for the media if they wish to build good media relations and get published.
In the study, journalists complained that:
-Practitioners lacked news sense and values such as accuracy, timeliness and style ie pyramid form.
-Practitioners lacked a local angle when writing subsidies.
-The information offered was overtly and overly self-serving.
-Practitioners lacked ethics, withholding truth and trying to win coverage through sending out freebies.
The article also mentioned that the majority of journalists preferred to be contacted by email, then phone, but that preferences also differed from journalist to journalist.
The readings made me think more about PR theory/practice in that knowledge of journalistic standards and writing styles can be beneficial for both parties. Not only will it encourage practitioners a more likely chance of receiving coverage, but it will enable journalists to use the information and have greater respect for the practitioner.
Practitioners who frame their subsidies with benefits to society- or at least, to targeted gatekeepers’ audiences may be more successful by making journalists feel good about publishing the info.
Therefore, for optimal media relations, practitioners need to look at their framing skills, writing skills and keep in mind that a local angle is essential.
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were that public relations practitioners need to be aware of how to write for the media if they wish to build good media relations and get published.
In the study, journalists complained that:
-Practitioners lacked news sense and values such as accuracy, timeliness and style ie pyramid form.
-Practitioners lacked a local angle when writing subsidies.
-The information offered was overtly and overly self-serving.
-Practitioners lacked ethics, withholding truth and trying to win coverage through sending out freebies.
The article also mentioned that the majority of journalists preferred to be contacted by email, then phone, but that preferences also differed from journalist to journalist.
The readings made me think more about PR theory/practice in that knowledge of journalistic standards and writing styles can be beneficial for both parties. Not only will it encourage practitioners a more likely chance of receiving coverage, but it will enable journalists to use the information and have greater respect for the practitioner.
Practitioners who frame their subsidies with benefits to society- or at least, to targeted gatekeepers’ audiences may be more successful by making journalists feel good about publishing the info.
Therefore, for optimal media relations, practitioners need to look at their framing skills, writing skills and keep in mind that a local angle is essential.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Week 6
This week I will be commenting on:
Lauren Hall: http://cmns1290laurenhall.blogspot.com/
Madeline Briggs: http://cmns1290madelinebriggs.blogspot.com/
and Thomas Pryszcz: http://cmns1290thomaspryszcz.blogspot.com/
Lauren Hall: http://cmns1290laurenhall.blogspot.com/
Madeline Briggs: http://cmns1290madelinebriggs.blogspot.com/
and Thomas Pryszcz: http://cmns1290thomaspryszcz.blogspot.com/
Week 6 Chapters 4 and 5 Johnston and Zawawi
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were on some of the main legal considerations in Public Relations practice and how they can be best minimised.
Defamation aims to protect a person’s reputation; however rights of the individual must be balanced against public interest in terms of freedom and speech.
To bring an action in defamation a person must show that:
- the material was published
- they were identified in the publication
- the publication was defamatory
The three tests for defamation are:
- that the publication exposed the plaintiff to hatred, contempt or ridicule
- it lowered the plaintiff in the eyes of right-thinking members of the community
- it caused the plaintiff to be shunned or avoided, without moral blame
Defamation can take place unintentionally but one way to minimise the threat is to make positive rather than negative statements, and to also keep in mind that a person cannot be defamed unless they are identified.
Fair comment should not be prohibited provided that the comment is a comment and not an assertion of fact.
To maximise protection, PR practitioners should try to state the facts first and then draw conclusions from those facts.
Before embarking on any litigation one should assess:
-Will a legal win equate to a PR win?
-Have reputations been damaged?
-Will legal action expose you or your client to further disclosure?
-What are the likely costs of the litigation, taking into account any adverse publicity? (Todd 1997)
Copyright prevents people from unfairly exploiting others’ original work. Copyright cannot exist in ideas, but only in how ideas are expressed. E.g. a PR/advertising campaign only becomes copyright when that campaign is expressed with a specific slogan or logo etc.
There is no wording in the Copyright Act 1968 however, which reserves copyright to someone in particular, which is something a practitioner will have to clarify when negotiating contracts with clients in the creation of slogans, logos and other elements of campaigns.
To minimise breaches always acknowledge copyright, check the licence conditions of copyright material and do not copy designs, logos or graphics.
Contracts define the relationship between parties and are used in all facets of PR. The essential ingredients of a contract are: the offer, acceptance of that offer and considerations.
The readings made me think more about PR theory/practice in the way that ethics play such a large role in PR decision making.
Values considered to be essential to ethical life are honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, fidelity, fairness, caring for others, respect for others, responsible citizenship and the pursuit of excellence and accountability (Josephson Institute 2003).
I found it interesting to see that Johnston and Zawawi listed the five duties of PR professionals in the order of: oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and society.
Two points which particularly made me think about ethics in new ways were:
“When in doubt, ask ‘What if everyone did this deed?’” – Immanuel Kant, German philosopher.
“Turnbull posits that the most successful organisations in the next decades will be those which build trust by aspiring to authenticity and practicing transparency (2003:1). He says these concepts are rapidly becoming more important as societies react against past excesses and future uncertainties.” (Johnston and Zawawi 2004)
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Week 5 Reading
Ch. 7 Johnston and Zawawi Strategy, Planning and Scheduling.
Ch. 4 Tymson, Lazar and Lazar A Typical Public Relations Program
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were about the need for the implementation specific strategies for any communication process to be successful.
Johnston and Zawawi spoke about the need for specific objectives to be set, with action plans being developed and coordinated with these objectives in mind. It is only through the setting of objectives that communications campaigns can work towards tangible goals, and thus allow for the level of success of the campaign to be measured.
When creating PR strategies, steps that need to be taken include:
-Defining the organisation’s desired goals and outcomes
-Analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the situation
-Defining publics
-Defining the main message
-Selecting the tactics and communications methods to be used
- Planning the implementation and scheduling
- Defining the budget
- Monitoring and evaluating the plan
The readings made me think more about PR theory/practice in that a large part of it is anchored in strategy and logistics.
The second reading revealed how vast PR strategies can be and how the publics, intended messages and outcomes need to be clearly defined in order to determine the best forms of methodology/ media to use.
For example: A target public of a small rural community could be successfully dealt with through face to face contact and the distribution of printed material. If the target public was nation wide however, national press coverage and paid publicity would be more effective.
The importance of sticking to a budget was also clearly highlighted several times in both readings and surprised me when it was suggested that if the expenditure was to outweigh the impact, sometimes it more practical to do nothing at all.
Ch. 4 Tymson, Lazar and Lazar A Typical Public Relations Program
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were about the need for the implementation specific strategies for any communication process to be successful.
Johnston and Zawawi spoke about the need for specific objectives to be set, with action plans being developed and coordinated with these objectives in mind. It is only through the setting of objectives that communications campaigns can work towards tangible goals, and thus allow for the level of success of the campaign to be measured.
When creating PR strategies, steps that need to be taken include:
-Defining the organisation’s desired goals and outcomes
-Analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the situation
-Defining publics
-Defining the main message
-Selecting the tactics and communications methods to be used
- Planning the implementation and scheduling
- Defining the budget
- Monitoring and evaluating the plan
The readings made me think more about PR theory/practice in that a large part of it is anchored in strategy and logistics.
The second reading revealed how vast PR strategies can be and how the publics, intended messages and outcomes need to be clearly defined in order to determine the best forms of methodology/ media to use.
For example: A target public of a small rural community could be successfully dealt with through face to face contact and the distribution of printed material. If the target public was nation wide however, national press coverage and paid publicity would be more effective.
The importance of sticking to a budget was also clearly highlighted several times in both readings and surprised me when it was suggested that if the expenditure was to outweigh the impact, sometimes it more practical to do nothing at all.
Just found out we're meant to be doing this so here's a catch up:
Week 2- Commented on Alex Davis http://cmns1290alexdavis.blogspot.com
Week 3- I can't remember :(
Week 4- Commented on Annika Duurland http://cmns1290annikaduurland.blogspot.com
Week 2- Commented on Alex Davis http://cmns1290alexdavis.blogspot.com
Week 3- I can't remember :(
Week 4- Commented on Annika Duurland http://cmns1290annikaduurland.blogspot.com
Friday, August 3, 2007
Week 4 Reading
I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were about the differing roles and duties that fall under PR. Although the people profiled were in different positions working for varying organisations, many of the key tasks they performed stayed the same.
Tasks such as writing media releases, contacting journalists, arranging media coverage, organising events, and working on marketing strategy and promotion were all mentioned multiple times.
Desirable personal traits such as being able to work fast, under pressure, to a deadline, to a budget and staff restrictions were brought up. The importance of networking and the ability to think outside the box were also highlighted.
The readings made me think more about PR theory/ practice in that the people profiled enjoyed their jobs and recommended only working in something you believe in. Working takes up such a large percentage of your life that if you are going to put all the time and effort that is required into a PR role, you need to want to be there.
The second reading also made me think about the importance of internal communication in the success of any organisation. Just as with any team, goals are easier to achieve if everyone is striving towards the same ones, and it is only through clear communication and a feeling of mutual support that such goals are achieved.
Tasks such as writing media releases, contacting journalists, arranging media coverage, organising events, and working on marketing strategy and promotion were all mentioned multiple times.
Desirable personal traits such as being able to work fast, under pressure, to a deadline, to a budget and staff restrictions were brought up. The importance of networking and the ability to think outside the box were also highlighted.
The readings made me think more about PR theory/ practice in that the people profiled enjoyed their jobs and recommended only working in something you believe in. Working takes up such a large percentage of your life that if you are going to put all the time and effort that is required into a PR role, you need to want to be there.
The second reading also made me think about the importance of internal communication in the success of any organisation. Just as with any team, goals are easier to achieve if everyone is striving towards the same ones, and it is only through clear communication and a feeling of mutual support that such goals are achieved.
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