Commenting week 11

This week I will be commenting on Monique and Brianna's blog.

Week 11

This weeks reading is chapter 6, 'Research and evaluation' from the course text book 'Public Relations - Theory and Practice', by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. This is the final reading for this course this year which is exciting. This reading is critical to the understanding of the importance of evaluation and research in a pr campaign, a factor that I think is extremely important to not only measuring the effectiveness of a campaign but also a useful tool to recognise effective implementation of tactics in the future. The points that I found most interesting and important from the reading include:

• Before a campaign, research provides "...input into the planning of a communication program." Research during the development and implementation stages of a strategy contributes to more effective outputs." At the end of a campaign research provides information about the outcomes of the entire campaign effort.


• The researcher has a choice of different methodologies of research, including making the choice between taking a qualitatice or quantitative approach. From these choices, the researcher must then make a choice from the many research techniques that are offered.


• Research needs to be ongoing throughout a campaign to be effective, establishing the program and progress and evaluating the success of campaign tactics.


• "In most cases, public relations research focuses on understanding the environment in within which the organisation operates." This includes the public, competitors and stakeholders. In other words the PR practitioner needs to do some research into the "current situation" of the organisation in relation to it's target audience.


• The challenges of an organisations decision to implement a research tactic into their PR campaign includes money, access to human resources and time. Although research can be potentially beneficial in the long run, in short term research can be seen as too timely and take too much of the campaign budget.


• "Conceptualising public relations as a process that, once set in motion, is ongoing is extremely important for the public relations professional." This point again emphasises the importance of implementing a research plan and maintaining it throughout the campaign, otherwise the success rates of the research will be diminished.


• "Inputs determine what does into the project of program, outputs are the actual elements of the program or campaign, and outcomes are the result of those outputs on the target public or audience." Research is needed to find out what the inputs, outputs and outcomes are for a pr campaign, thus research is needed to measure the success of the program.


• Input research allows practitioners to identify what problems and opportunities exist for an organisation, how the public view an organisation and what tactics would be most useful to create an effective pr program. "Input research thus informs strategy and research." This level of research involves finding information about the organisation, their situation and the target audience.


• "Output research gather information on the appropriateness of the message and activity content, and the quality of message and activity presentations." The information found through output research allows a pr practitioner to modify a plan or message during the implementation phase so that it will heighten a campaigns success rate.


• "Outcome research not only indicates the level of success or failure of the strategy but can also demonstrate how effective planning and communication have been." Results from this research can aid the input phase of a following campaign program as practitioners can identify what tactics were effective and what were not.


• There are a wide range of methods used to condct effective research. Neccessary information can be gathered through both "...formal and informal research, using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Additionally, the practitioner may make use of primary research, which is original research conducted by or for an organisation; or secondary research, which utilises others' findings or material."


• Personally, I found the definition of research provided by Broom and Dozier in the text, to be more useful to my understanding. They define research as "...'the controlled, objective and systematic gathering of information for the purposes of describing and understanding' (1990:4)."


• Leedy recognises that "...formal research is characterised by scientific procedures, methodologies and analysis....goals must be set for what is expected of the research." In contrast "Informal research has no agreed rules and procedures, and is cheaer and more immediate than formal research...It is....less reliable."


• Qualitative and quantitative research are components of formal research. The text states that "Qualitative research is descriptive and informative, with the emphasis on the analysis and synthesis of information." Quantitative research is used to "...verify situations that the organisation may already be aware of, but is without any information to substantiate these beliefs, thoughts, feelings or opinions." Types of qualitative and quantitative research techniques include in-depth interviews, focus groups, ethnographic studies, case studies, analysis of existing data, organisational culture study, feedback analysis, media monitoring, content analysis, benchmark research, statistical analysis, enviornmental monitoring, communication audits, corporate communication archives, testimonials, expert reviews, internet monitoring, measurement of online prescence, advertising value equivalents and secondary information sources (each outlined in the course text book).


• The research techniques enable practitioners to gather opinion and understanding from the public. Techniques can include surveys (there are a number of different types, including "omnibus surveys" and "pilot questionnaires"), mail, telephone, face-to-face and the internet, each providing different advantages and disadvantages as tactics for researching public opinion towards a company and it's situation. Surveys are the most frequently used technique and they require alot of thought towards design and question structure (for example, whether to incluse closed or open-ended questions).


• As outlined in the PRIA's Code of Ethics, a practitioner must be "...conscious of coercion, dishonesty, hurtful manner and manipulation of data to meet any other ends than the stated objectives or hypothesis." As we have already learnt from the course so far, the outline for the PRIA Code of Ethics is very important to successful, legal and honest pr practice. I think that it is crucial for all practitioners to come to know the legislation outlined within this code in relation to their campaigns.


• There are a number of "private and public organisations in Australia" that provide information that may assist the reaserch of a certain group in relevance to pr campaign. Such sources include the Australian Bureau of Statistics, including their website which I have personally often used for assignments and have found to be beneficial and effective.


• The textbook effectively concludes the use of research in pr campaigns through the comment "The style of research adopted by an organisation depends upon the system under which it operates, its environment and the requirments of the program being undertaken....". Therefore it is important that practitioners recognise and create a research model that is solely for the effectiveness of one specific campaign, learning from their mistakes in the input, output and outcomes so to develop a more appropriate mixture of tactics for the next campaign.

This reading has made me think more about public relations in connection to evaluation and research. It is now apparent that research is an extremely important tactic for successful communications and without it we would not develop our skills and move foward in our ability to appropriate campaign tactics. I was suprised that informal research should be a component of this research as I thought it would not be dependable enough to be used in a campaign. I find that evaluation is perhaps one of the most important components of a campaign, because as I have empahsised, it allows a practitioner to move foward in their work through recognising mistakes and successful tactics, thus assisting them in the future.

Well that's the last blog for this course, thanks for reading everyone!

Alyssa

Week 10

This weeks readings are chapters 7 'Strategy, planning and scheduling' and 8 'Tactics' from the course text 'Public Relations - Theory and Practice' by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. I think these chapters were really important to the development of an understanding of the practice of public relations. The important points from chapter seven include:

• Strategy is "...a series of planned activities designed and intergrated to achieve a stated organisational goal."


• A public relations strategy is defined as a "...process by which the leadership of an organisation deliberately manages its communications proactively so that they are open, candid and primarily focused on the marketplace and the customer as the first cause." Public relations campaigns are proactive.


• The first tactic is internal, pr practitioners first need to educate their management and CEO about the value of strategic public relations. This will involve becoming directly involved with communication with top management or being part of the governing board. The priority of the operation is to communicate to the public.


• A survey conducted by Professor James Grunig found that in "...a typical public relations department provided an average 185 per cent return on investment to the organisation. The return was even higher - about 300 per cent on investment - when the chief executive officer (CEO) supported a well-performing public relations department." I feel that this is evidence enough that through careful strategic planning for a campaign, investing in a public relations practitioner can really help an organisations development and profit generation.


• The PR practitioner needs to be informed about the mission, values, direction and objectives of an organisation prior to creating the campaign.


• The vision statement (describing the "...future state of the organisation at a selected time." It is ideally developed through group participation.) and the mission statement (this assists in closing the gap between the "...unsatisfactory present and the more perfect future." It outlines the broad steps that are suggested that will lead to the creation of the vision)


• Key Performance indicators (KPI's) or key result areas (KRA's) act as measurable indicators of the progress of an organisation towards the goal outlined in their vision statement. They measure the most important performance results, for example profit. These may not be all that useful to public relations because alot of public relations work is not measurable. They can be used to measure the most quantifiable areas of public relations, for example the number of media releases sent out.


• The 'ten-step strategic communication plan' created by Lester Potter provides the following tep steps for strategic planning; "1/executive summary, 2/the communication process, 3/background, 4/situational analysis, 5/main message statement, 6/stakeholders, 7/messages for key stakeholders, 8/implementation, 9/budget, 10/monitoring and evaluating.


• Budgeting is essential in a pr plan. As stated in the text, McElreath describes bugeting as "...a plan for coordinating resources and expenses over a period of time by assigning costs...to goals and objectives for specific activities." Financial budgeting estimates expenditure and income. Operating budgets estimate the "...costs of the goods and services that the organisation will use for specific purposes..."


• Pr consultancies make money through providing adivse and expertise to their clients. Consultancies are defined as income centers, focusing on profit and income.


• In-house public relations departments are defined as expense centers because they don't need to achieve revenue directly.


• Scheduling is important to the production of a plan. This helps to ensure that the outline of the budget is followed, the tactics for the campaign are implemented in the correct order and at the correct time during the campaign.


• Using lists in a campaign assist in the ordering and motion of the campaigns success. They allow pracititoners to keep ontop of the movement of the plan and helps them avoid letting things slip through the cracks.

I've just noticed that we did this reading earlier on this year so I have already commented about the idea of strategic planning prior to this blog on another post. Yay, I've done it twice now. Atleast it should be well drilled into my skull. Well moving on to a chapter I haven't yet looked at, well atleast I hope I haven't; chapter 8 'tactics'. The points I found to be most important from this chapter included:

• Succesful pr campaigns don't neccessarily involve a broad number of tactic types.


• Tactics are broken up into two groups; controlled (pr practitioner has control over the tactics and the process, eg message creation) and uncontrolled (tactics that can altered or even blocked, eg media relations). It is likely and helpful to choose a variety of controlled and uncontrolled tactics.
• Methods of giving information to a recipient include mail, faxes, news distribution agencies, email, CD-ROMs, couriers, videos, video-conferencing, personal delivery and websites. I think each form of delivery are really inspirational to developing an appropriate method of giving out information to the public and even the media. Although each resource has both negative and positive sides to it, they all provide a positive movement to the motion of a campaign.
• I agree with the text when it states that the internet should be used as a communicative tool to propel the tools already used. I think it is vital to have other forms that will lead to the knowledge of such resources on the internet. For example, a television add may communicate the website that provides further information to propel the organisation. I thought it was good that the text considered both the negative and positive sides to the availability of the internet as a resource. I think that freedom of information on the net would mean that it would be difficult for pr practitioners to accredit their information.
• Research is an important tool/tactic for success.
• The text explores the difficulties of using media relations as a pr tactic. These include the difficulties of having a story that is newsworthy for the organisation, being able to deal with negative responses, the risk that the news message may not always assist the organisation the pr practitioner is working for and some media forms don't offer the space to cover a story completely (for example the radio and the television news).
• Until this chapter I did not realise how important every aspect of adveritising on paper is, including paper size, colours, paper stocks and binding. This suprised me, although it is obvious that particular formatting is important to the development of paper information. I thought it based simply around graphic design, text format and colours.
• As the text states, "Annual reports record the highlights and challenges experiences by an organisation, including financial details, for the financial year." These are required by all public organisations. The annual report can be deemed a critical communication vehicle as it presents the success and development of the organisation. It has become common to post the annual report on the company website as a form of a communication tool.
• Newsleters are an "...ongoing communication, usually aimed at building long-term rapport with a target audience." It facilitates two-way communication through opinion opportunities and competitions. A vertical newsletter is provided throughout an organisation, aimed at all levels of staff. Horizontal newsletters are based towards a readership from a narrow interest group.
• direct mail "...is directed at a specific target audience and demographic group...". I found it interesting that the text stated that "...a campaign will generate a 2-5 per cent response". A piece of direct meal needs to grab the attention of the reader, provide a compelling introductory sentence, ensuring clear information, repeating the offer, compelling action and ensuring easy access to the guarantee/offer. This form of communication has lost ground to the internet.
• Consistency is a key concept in campaign tactics. Each tactic needs to fit together and link like a family. Even those tactics that are different, need to fit into the ultimate scheme and running of the campaign. For example, for documents concerned with the campaign; similar layouts, colour schemes, type font and size, dot point styles, layout, graphics, grammar and icons/graphic design features should be the same to maintain consistency and communicate successfully.
• Branding should be connected to the public relations campaign, similar integrity and positioning should be used for the communicative sources used. The text describes a brand as "...a company wants to be perceived, as communicated through a range of public and internal activities such as its slogan, logo, communication style, company behaviour, culture, products or service pricing." The campaign must be consistent with the image that is intended by the company brand.
• Videos, DVDs and CD-ROMs are used in situations where visuals will give the message more of an impact or where the message involves movement or a "multi-dimensional approach".
• I definetly disagree with the concept that the text explores about photography being the tactic that "'doesn't lie"'. Images are altered to look better, brighter, improve the contrasts, saturation and even cut and move items within the picture. I don't think that photography is any more a reliable objective source as television is. Despite this. photographs can be extremely useful to pr campaigns. The importance of finding a successful and skilled photographer is imense in measuring the success of a campaign. The practitioner needs to deal with copyright laws and the time that the photograph will be under the copyright law. Photographic libraries allow an area where photographs can be brought, instead of relying on your own photographic work. The down side to these is that those photos are available to anyone and may not fit into the style that is dedicated to your particular campaign.
• Speeches are an important skill relying on the skills of a writer and the rhetoric ability of the speaker. "Good speeches are short and to the point." The speech should be written according to the abilities of the speaker, for example in dot points for the confident speaker that can embellish on; or a conversational speach for those that perfer to read a speach then rely on their own memory.
• Presentations allow a number of communication tactics to be implemented. They are used to demonstrate an idea or to provide knowledge or inform a group of people.
• The success of the use of celebrities for public relations campaigns can be summarised by the quote in the text stating that they "...can bring great value through their high public profile, which can cut through communication noise and command immediate attention. Their status also offers implied endorsement of a message so they are often used to spearhead social campaigns...or to endorse products..."
• Advertising is "...one of the most powerful forms of controlled communication, as it uses persuasive messages which can serve as a central pillar for a campaign..." It can be a very targetted and compelling tactic that is extremely effective for pr campaigns. Television is perceived to be the most powerful form for advertising, despite this, it is limited because of time and space constraints.
• Again the text emphasises the importance of sponsorship in the construction of a successful campaign.

The ideas that have really developed my learning about pr from this weeks reading bases around the fact that consistency is necessary in pr campaigns. It is important that pr practitioners create a pattern of tactics that are best suited for that campaigns goals, and that relate to form together. It is also important to note that no mixture of tactics is neccessarily correct. Different mixtures of tactics can be as successful as the next.

Week 9

This week's readings came from the course text book, 'Public Relations - theory and practice', from Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Chapter 13, 'Sponsorship and event management' provided a helpful guide to managing events in concern with Public Relations, and sponsorship to aid organisation campaigns. The points that I felt were most important from the reading included:

• sponsorship is one of the most expensive tactics which can be chosen by an organisation.


• Events range in size and budget. The larger the event is, the more likely that it will need some form of sponsorship to aid the needs of the budget.


• Daniel Boorstin's four characteristics for a media attentive event: 1/ "It is not spontaneous". 2/ It is planned for the purpose of being reported. 3/ Communicates on a number of levels and uses ambiguity to create links. 4/becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.


• The text states that "Sponsorship is the purchase of specific rights and benefits associated with an event, organisation or individual." Sponsorship "...generates goodwill and provides opportunities to enhance the image and reputation of the organisation by association..."


• Benefits include the ability to "...lock out competitors, image association, hospitality for client entertainment, product sampling, signage rights, merchandising, networking with people of importance, media coverage, use of personnel for advertising; and promotions and sales opportunities."


• Philanthropic sponsorship: often community-based. As close to donation as sponsorship gets.


• Corporate sponsorship: "...sponsorship of an event or activity not normally linked to the sponsoring cpmpany's general business."


• Marketing sponsorship: the most popular form and is used as a marketing strategy. Used to generate prodit predominently through increased sales.


• "Understanding the motives and goals of the target audience is crucial when writing a sponsorship proposal." This is generally the first point of contact. Good practitioners will research the target organisation prior to the proposal.


• "...sell the sizzle (rather than the steak) of the sponsorship..."


• "Ambush marketing occurs when a company misrepresents itself as being associated with an event when it has no official, legal or moral rights to do so." This can destroy the concept of sponsorship. If there are a number of sponsoring organisations involved it is important that each takes ownership of its part of the sponsorship, definining both its benefits and rights.
• It is unlikely that a pr professional will be an expert at all areas of special event management, therefore it is common to contract their specific duties to third parties or committiees.
• Event types include: ..."conferences, sports activities, launches, openings, community or political meetings, breakfasts or dinners, lectures..." etc.
• Events are an opportunity to get a face in the media. Strategy will help choose which event is best for that organisation.
• The reasons for holding an event include "...the generation of media coverage, creating a platform for product demonstration, corporate/client entertainment and revenue generation."
• PR practitioners need to ensure that they grab the attention of the media through the wow (shock) factor before, during and after the event. This can be done through providing the visual, the unusual, human interest, spectacle and/or famous faces.
• Many sponsors feel that media coverage is a crucial component of sponsorship. Therefore it is important that PR practitioners meed these needs by attracting as much media attention as possible. This can be done through writing them a media release, providing media functions throughout the event, distributing a handbook to the media members and giving media members free tickets to the event.
• It is important that a media center be provided at events. It is also neccessary that these centers should be staffed by at least one PR practitioner at all times.
• A product demonstration is an event that provides the perfect forum for the launch or market of a specific product in effort to attract sales and generate publicity.
• Corporate/client entertaining: provides the opportunity to impress clients and further develop business opportunities, it is a valuable sponsorship benefit.
• Revenue generation: special events provide the opportunity to gain revenue for a business.
• Tonge's (1999) points to a successful event: 1/ Feasibility: important to undertake research to determine the "feasibility of the event". 2/ Planning: "The easiest way to determine the time it will take to organise the event is to work backwards from the event date and formulate a list of duties and a time management plan for implementation." It is common practice to form an event committee. 3/ Execution: important that the committee communicate together to ensure everyone knows what they are doing, what their role is. It is important to develop a critical path ("which detailes exactly what should be happening at any time") is important to form an effective event. 4/ Evaluation: this can be achieved through a debriefing meeting, an event assessment and a business activity assessment.
• "Careful budgeting is the backbone of any successful special event." The two main areas of budgeting include income and expenditure.
• Events involve the implementation of strong crisis and issues management practices and also a focus on risk management. It is helpful to foreshadow failure and negative occurrences and creating a plan to solve these.
• The O'Toole and Mikolaitis (2002) model for risk managent:

Identify -----> Evaluate -----> Manage -----> Output: risk response procedure & documents

I found this weeks reading to be really interesting because event management sounds to me like an interesting component of public relations. I have learnt how to best manage the planning of an event and the importance of careful choice of an event type for specific organisations. I also did not know about ambush sponsorship until now and it is suprising to see that organisations attempt to feed off others sponsoring work.

Week 8 commenting

This week I am commenting on Jessica Capper's week 8 blog.

Week 8

Three readings for this week. The focus is on media releases. The key aspects that I gained from the first reading, 'To contact.....or not?: Investigating journalists' assessments of public relations subsidies and contact preferences' by Sallot and Johnson include:

• "More than 160 studies since the 1960s confirm the crux of the news-gathering process is the transactional information exchanges between practitioners and journalists that often become the news of the day." An interesting point at the least, this really demonstrates the influence public relations (PR) practitioners have on journalists as news gatherers and communicators, thus emphasising the necessity of their reliance on each other for their own careers.



• The percentage of stories that rely on PR given information is 25-80%. It is obvious that PR aids journalists in their exposure of stories, helping to set the agenda.
  
  
• The text empahises the need for PR practitioners to know about how journalists work, including news values, deadlines and other news styles. One quote that was taken from the research states that a practitioner should "...know the nature of the beast, know the style of journalist, know how they write and what interests them, and the result will be mututally beneficial relationships." It is also important that the stories sent out by PR practitioners, focus on a local angle, thus appealing to the news value of proximity and providing a further relevant story to the publishers audience/readers.



• It is important to be appreciative of any publicity given to your organisation. The text states that non-profit organisations are more likely to credit journalists for inclusion in their papers then profit organisations are. The text expresses that "...absence of a profit motive leads journalists to evaluate practitioners' ethics and subsidies more favourably."



• Excellent news, the text states that it is helpul to have some experience as a journalist to bring into PR. This is good news for me as I am doing both PR and journalism for my degree.



• I found it interesting that 93% of journalists preferred/liked contact through email. I thought that a closer mode of contact such as phone or face-to-face contact would be more appealing as it allows the relationship to build better. I guess that jounalists would not have time to answer phones and have meetings with people all the time when they have important deadlines to meet.



• Probably the key point raised in this text is that practitioners need to know journalistics individually and personally to understand and appeal to their preferences when dealing with media relations. Not all journalists share the same view on appropriate contact techniques and it is important that practitioners do some research into the media outlets they are sending their media kits and media releases to, thus to give them further opportunity to gain from their efforts. I would just like to throw in a quote by Pam and Bob Austin in their text 'Getting Free Publicity'. They state that if you do your research, you will give "...an edge in the useability stakes, because some of the stuff that arrives on editors' desks is so aweful that it can only be described as 'crap copy'".

This text has enlightened my understanding of media relations to a large degree. Although I already knew that it is important for PR practitioners to know how and when to deal with journalists, this text is more detailed in it's approach and has given me insight into methods of dealing with journalists in media releases.

The second reading, Kurt Wise's 'The importance of Writing Skills' also helps PR practitioners understand suitable techniques for media relations. The focus in this text is the importance of writing skills for pr practitioners, quoting Tench 2003) in his statement; "Writing is one of the foundations of a successful public relations practitioner and the ability to communicate messages clealry and concisely is one of their differentiating skills." The text refers to a survey of 200 members of the Public Relations Society of America taken by Hardin and Pompper in 2004 based on the "education of aspiring public relations professionals." The results proved that 71% of their work revolved around writing. Interestingly enough the most common complaint towards PR writing was grammar. The text states that it is as important (maybe even more important) to be able to successfully and effectively write to the clients, because "...Frankly most of our communication is to the client." The key point in terms of writing to suit pr is versatility, to be able to write not just media releases, but front page stories and web pages. This particular test has developed my understanding of writing in pr, especially writing for clients which is probably the most important component of pr writing. I think that this text was included in our prescribed readings to encourage us to undertake more subjects that motivate us to practice writing, especially using grammar.

The third text from the PR News journal, 'How to...ten steps to press release perfection', bringing our study back to the level of media releases and the need for appropriate writing techniques for these when performing successful media relations. The points that I got from this text were that pr practitioners should:

• sell their story through journalistic methods such as the inverted pyramid, as opposed to simply sounding commerical in their release.
• It is important that the release is crafted for each particular audience or media type as one release will not suit a broad range of media outlets, each is different and a practitioner needs to identify the values and formats of each source.
• Make sure the release is short. The text states that the theme of the release should be said in the first sentence, which again draws it back to values of journalists in creating the news through the first sentence of a story, thus appealing to the busy work person.
• The release is often assessed by the heading and subheading, so it needs to be grabbing and appropriate.
• Do as much work for the journalists as possible, find out all the information that you think they would need to write the story. Think not about what they can do for you but what you can do for them.
• Provide a variety of contacts, and be sure to include two for each organisation to aid journalists in getting quotes and coverage of those contacts (just in case one does not respond to the journalists calls and contact.
• Make sure that you check your release after you have written it and before you send it, for grammar mistakes such as pubic relations.

I think that this text just reinforces the information that I have already learnt about media relations from a pr perspective so far in this course. Despite this i did not knos that it was important to have two contacts for each organisation or that the headline and subheading were important for journalists when choosing a release to cover, as I thought that healines were not often included, rather that a simple description of the story was placed there.

Again a tropical gathering of readings that have stimulated my learning experience.

Week 7

aWow, 3 readings for this week... packing them in big time there! But yet again they were well chosen for our understanding. Ok, I'll begin with chapter 10 of the text book, 'Public Relations - Theory and Practice' by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. The points that I found especially interesting/relevant to my personal learning experience included:

• Finally, a reason why public relations is recognised predominently for its work with the media. The text states that this is because we can finally see the work of the practitioners through the media and the outcomes of their efforts.



• Habermas was one of many analysts who noted that the pr industry grew quickly through the demands and influence of the press/media. The text emphasises that the relationship between journalists and pr practitioners is not a one-way relationship. Pr practitioners provide information through media releases, and in return, journalists provide information through media monitoring ("...reading, watching and listening to the media every day") to enhance their scope and role in understanding the publics opinion.



• The point that pr practitioners need to comply to a list of news values is relevant to me personally as I study both a pr and journalist degree. It is funny to see the differing perspectives of such techniques that are used by both careers. For example, in our journalism class, money as a news value is not even explored in the text books.



• Pr practitioners have a responsibility to host their media releases in accordance to the strict deadlines cast by journalists. Therefore it is important that practitoners understand and coordinate with the time restrictions of different media outlets.



• The text states that there are two important components to understanding the news room a practitioner is interested in releasing information to. It is first important to "...understand the personnel make-up of a newsroom..." and to "...know the names and roles of the journalists within the newrooms in your target area...". It is important to know the journalists by name aswell. Practitioners need to consider the media means through which they are providing information to the public as different sources have different customs/layouts/styles/specifications.


• "Selecting the best media for the message is extremely important....Different media target different publics." Practitioners need to evaluate the best media form for their message, this involves staying up to date with media trends.


• Common tools for dealing with the media include the media release (press release, it is important to use appropriate language and format, ie news style, in these otherwise the practitioners release will become one of many rejects. Media releases are assessed according to who you are, the headline and the lead.), a media kit (includes media releases and may also include "...a fact sheet; a backgrounder; a feature article; a newsletter; a biography or profile; a brochure; a map; a calendar of events; a list of key personnel; an annual report; key newspaper clippings; a poster; a keyring; a business card; a media pass; even a t-shirt or cap.") and media conferences (which are held to desseminate news to a wide audience, allow all media sources access to the news at the same time and allow journalists to "ask follow-up questions").


• The text states that media relations involves both technical and magerial roles in pr practice. It also "...calls on the key attributes of writing, organisation and planning, as well as keen interpersonal skills and up-to-the-minute knowledge of news and current events. It also calls for an understanding of the specific nature of the media environment."

I found this reading particularly interesting because it relates to the other course I am doing at university, journalism. The fact that both careers relate and cross-over so often is interesting and allows for enhanced understanding of the role of each professional. This reading has really allowed me to gain insight into the relevance of the information relationship between journalists and PR practitioners.

The next reading by Becker and Van Emden, 'Speaking as Part of a Group', was extremely useful in relation to public speaking although contrastingly focusing on the group presentation. The points I found to be especially important include:

• The benefits of group presentations include a collection of varying abilities, the opportunity to express abilities towards teamwork, the workload is shared and there is a variety of skill, technique and opinion. I find that the most important advantage of group presentations is that it provides a supportive context for the speakers, each individual are not left on their own, they are supported as a component of a group.
• I found it interesting that the text states that the group should use their stronger speaker at the start of the oration to provide a briefing of the topic. I was suprised to read that the text recognises that peoples confidence changes according to a situation. For example a shy person may come alive in front of an audience.
• Visual aids, a change in pace and volume and a change in speakers are all techniques for keeping the audiences interest.
• The suggestion that speakers wear formal shoes because it encourages them to stand up straight was interesting and a point that I have not heard before.
• "A good introduction gives time for listeners to settle and get themselves ready to hear the speaker, before you start giving the essential information in a way which catches their attention." I found this to be a useful summary of the aim of the introduction.
• The low point is two-thirds into the oration and this is the time in which the speakers need to re-gain the attention of the audience using the techniques I mentioned above, or (as the text states) through humour.
• I was suprised by the relevance of rehearsals to the progression of the speech and also by the fact that people end their orations on an irritable level through words such as "That's it!" as opposed to simply pausing and thanking the audience.
• I personally find question time to be incredibly difficult because it is hard to recognise the information that is neccessary to be able to answer the questions. The text was especially useful here in representing how the group can endeavour such questions that are likely to be asked, and how to handle question time in a successful matter.

Although this text was extremely relevant to the pr course in terms of group presentations/debate, I found it to be irrelevant in some of the information and points it drew on. For example the information on choosing a topic for the debate is irrelevant to our situation. Despite this I found it useful when the text put the oral presentations into a context in which doing them will be relevant to our future careers. The text mentions that group presentations can ultimately aid students in interview processes, because they can draw on the fact that they have teamwork experience, a component that is important to the majority of businesses.

The last reading from Drew, titled 'Oral Presentations' from 'The Student Skills Guide' is another example of an important academic article which provides information and points that need to be considered when dealing with oral presentations in a learning context. The points that I thought were important from this text included:

• The exploration of nerves in a speaking context was helpful in that it provided relaxation techniques or techniques for dealing with nerves (such as breathing and viaulising a "pleasant scene") and recognised that although the speaker may know that they are nervous, often the audience can't tell. I also thought the idea of providing visual aid to draw the audiences attention away from the speaker and onto the visual is especially helpful.
• A presentation longer the 20 minutes can be tedious and therefore it may be neccessary to break it up into activites.
• "Knowing your topic will increase confidence." A short yet extremely important point in speeches. I personally feel that this point is critical and essential to oral presentations.
• The methods of providing yourself with cue cards or points that allow the speaker to talk about the topic in a conversational tone as opposed to a drawing, 20 minute talk, which can become boring for the audience.

This reading is very alike to the one above and therefore I didn't feel the need to repeat the points that were already made by the first text. Despite this I found that the second reading was relevant and essential in enhancing the understanding of the first text as it provided a differing view of the topic.

The focus of both readings on oral presentations bases around the need to hold the attention of the audience through techniques that are appealing to their sences. In particular, Drew's text states that "Thinking about the audience is essential to pitch a presentation correctly." I was suprised to see that both readings placed a large amount of relevance on the room set out, in constructing an effective oration.

Both readings on oral presentations are helpful in different ways. The first reading from Becker and Van Emdem is useful in aiding group presentations and the responsibilities of working as a group through support and attributing different opinions/skills. The second reading from Drew was more relevant in individual approach to presentations in that it provides concise detail in formatting an appropriate oration for the audience. This reading bases around the individuals emotional coping as well as the physical aspects of the speech.

Ultimately the texts this week explore the skills and techniques neccessary to becoming a successful PR practitioner and employee. Although oral presentations are a stressful situation in some cases, both the texts from Drew and that from Becker and Van Emdem ease the pain through rational and insightful advice. Chapter 10 from the course text was especially relevant to PR as it explored the relationship with media professionals and the skills that are needed to use that relationship to aid the role and movement of the practitioners.

Week 6 comments

This week I commented on Ngaio Stobbs' blog page, her week 5 reading!

Week 6

The readings from this week were both taken from Johnston and Zawawi's text book, 'Public Relations-Theory and Practice', chapter 4 (the legal environment) and chapter 5 ethical practice.



The points from chapter four that I found to be especially important to my public relations education, included:

• It is important for practitioners to take into account the legal context through negotiation with lawyers on the strategies they emplyed to minimise harm and to ensure that their outcomes are not "compromised". I found that the example of the law suit between McDonald's and London Greenpeace, was really helpful in understanding a situation that the chapter describes. It is relatively obvious that what the PR practitioners have done for London Greenpeace would be negative in relation to the law.




• The tort (described by the text as a "..legal way of saying a civil wrong") affects/limits what can be published by PR practitioners, providing a method to protect the reputation of the practitioners and their clients.




• The text states that "...words could assume different meanings by a person drawing inferences or having knowledge of additional information...". I found this point to be really interesting and true! It expresses one of the difficulties of symbols (both word and image) and the effects and connotations that they can carry, a barrier in PR.




• It is important that PR practitioners state the facts and then draw conclusions from those facts rather then simply saying what they think.




• When determining wether a piece should be publishing, a court will consider "the extent of the publication, the proportion of reader..." who are interested in the item and whether the item is purely for "commercial gain".




• I found this point especially relevant to the story of PR; "When organising campaigns and lobbying for support for a particular campaign, care should be taken to verify claims to ensure they are not misleading and deceptive, which means looking at the way the material will be received and not what it is intended to mean". I think that this could involve collecting response data to ensure that people do not get the wrong idea about the publication, then what was intended by the practitioners. Contrastingly I can not see how a publication can be free from negotiating meaningings by all, as each person has something new to bring to an idea and therefore may interpret it differently to it's originated meaning.




• I found the information about the property law interesting, as I didn't actually know about the codes for protection of property including creative works and inventions. I think this is important for PR practitioners to recognise and acknowledge in their campaigns because (obviously) otherwise they could be wrestingly with law suits. I think the most important point made in the text in reference to copyright laws would be that "Public relations practitioners should vet all public statements, press releases and promotional material for obvious breaches of copyright."



• contracts "defind the relationship between parties and are used in all facts of public relations..." The standard form contains "'a uniform set of printed conditions which can be used time and time again and is oriented towards servicing a large volume of clientele as expeditiously as possible." I found that the texts desciription of the essential concepts within a contract was especially basic and therefore easy to come to terms with. The text states that "The essential ingredients of a contract are an offer; acceptance of that offer...and consideration."



• A contract may specify a particular level of duty of care, and if this standard isn't met it can lead to issues of negligence and action. This level of duty of care is dependent on two things: "forseeability and policy."



• It is important that organisations develop a legal strategy, thus minimising the chances of harm arising from legal problems.

I found this chapter of this weeks readings to be extremely dense, although it seemed to become easier to read as I got further into the chapter. Chapter 4 made me think about the legal side of public relations alot more, something that I had barely taken into account up until now. It is suprising to see how careful PR practitioners need to be in accordance to freedom of speech, copyright laws and individual rights. I think that this chapter was really important in demonstrating my lack of understanding of the legal objects involved with PR, therefore it was important that I read the chapter.

The next chapter (chapter 5), ethical practice, was also really important to the demonstration of appropriate PR practice. The points that I took to be especially important from this reading included:

• The reason for a rise in ethical consideration is put down to being due to a public demand for "greater moral accoutability". Technology has influenced practitioners ability to relay information truthfully.



• The encarta dictionary from Microsoft word defines ethics as "a system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group." I.e. ethics involves acting the right way, "doing the right thing". The text supplies a detailed definition of ethics in business practices, describing it as the process or "prioritising moral values for an organisation and ensuring its behaviours are alligned with those values." In the case of PR, ethics inter-relates with both the practitioner individually and the organisation itself.



• I think that the five duties of PR professionals, as proposed by Sein and Fitzpatrick, are important to understanding PR ethics. The duties included as being to "oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and society."



• Often ethical dilemmas can involve a decision about two alternatives that are both undesirable.



• The text relays study by Professor Ralph Potter of Harvard University in relation to the constructs of ethical decission making, these including; "...the situation and the person's values, principles and loyalties." Also expressing his method of ethical decision making through the concept of the 'Potter Box'. From the given example and my own opinion, I don't feel that the 'Potter Box' should be a critical tool for decision making as it excludes alot that may be neccessary when forming a decision, for example legal rights for confidentiality.



• The theory of utilitaianism is based on the belief that "...judgements should be made on the basis of the greatest good for the greatest number."



• The 'fathers' of PR, Edward E. Bernays and Ivy Lee, aided the development of ethical practices in relation to PR. Ivy Lee proposed a number of principles (the 'declaration of principles') in 1906 about the practice of PR.


• "Best-practice public relations serves the public interest by developing mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics."


• The text claims that advocay is closely linked with the ethical debate, defining it as "...the act of publicly representing an individual, organisation or idea with the oject of persuading target audiences to look favourable upon, or to accept the point of view of, the individual, the organisation or the idea." It is important that practitioners ensure a balance between an advocay for an organisation's interests and other outside interest groups.
• Ethical dilemmas can occur on a number of levels: 1. Interpersonal (between a practitioner and others in the work area), 2. Organisational (the effect of an organisation's protocal or policies on the practitioner), 3. Stakeholder (between an organisation and publics/groups that have an interest in it's motives and actions).
• An important fact that I have taken from this weeks reading and in-class learning is that there are a variety of codes and conducts that practitioners must follow. This includes not only the policies of the organisation and the law, but also ethical codes such as the 15 point code provided by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA). It is also important to note that such codes are different for various locations, eg the Canadian code for PR ethics could be very different to the Australian code.
• The text states that "An ethical culture is central to good corporate governance (ie the method of direction/control)."

I learnt alot about the legal matters of PR from this chapter as well, expanding my knowledge of the relevance of ethical considerations. The text emphasises the relationship between what is and what isn't ethical in well performed PR practice.

A massive reading for this week, but glad we got through it!

commenting in week 5

Today i will comment on Deborah Wise's blob! Thanks!

Week 5

This weeks reading from 'Chapter 4 - A Typical Public Relations Program', In C. Tymson, P. Lazar, P and R. Lazar's 'The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual'; has provided me with real insight towards the role or public relations practitioners in practice. Their ultimate position as "proactive" (playing an active role in voicing the communities perspectives), managerial, public relation practitioners. I was suprised to read that often a public relations program is formed without "clear objectives in mind" and that it is purely the role of public relations that designs and emphasises particular objectives/strategies. The points that I thought were those that were most important from this particular reading included:

• that "identification of target audiences is the first major step in program planning",


• that John Bulbeck states that there are three methods of researching current opinions of the populous. These include desk research (eg journals, online sources, library resources, existing research), field research (includes observational research or research through contacts) and formal research (hard research involving quantitative and qualitative research methods).


• that there are sound (quantitative, measurable, realistic, time-bounded) objectives and probably unsound (qualitative, unmeasurable, optimistic/pessimistic, time-extended) objectives.


• the process of media selection involves four steps: 1. to look at and divide your target audience 2. work out which forms of media are best suited to your campaign 3. "...process of media selection (involving) further definition of the media that have been selected." 4. to implement your media selections through tests to ensure that they are appropriate.


• Suprisingly some public relations practitioners do not believe in evaluating their campaign results. Personally I feel that this practice of public relations is lazy as evaluation is important to development and can increase one's skills through recognising negative and positive points within a project/campaign.


• that if the right public relation techniques and methods are used in a campaign then the success and results can be measured and effectively evaluated.

I found the case study 'AMP sponsorship of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch Relay' really helpful in broadening my perspective of strategy and method behind public relation campaigning. I also found the outline of the role of PR practitioners and the methods of campaigning described throughout the text to be helpful not only to the personal growth of my understanding, but also relevant to the annotated bibliography assessment (in reference to public relation tactics). Although dense in some areas, the text was successful in broadening my perspectives of PR campaigning.

The second reading for this week; "chp 7: strategy, planning and scheduling" from Johnston and Zawai's text 'Public Relations - Theory and Practice' became an insightful read and was inspirattional to my educational development. The points that I found to be most relevant from this reading were as follows:

• the strategic public relations program is a proactive method that "...recognises the cause and effect relationships between our communication activities and the achievement of the ogranisation's mission."
• For public relations to be effective, the practitioner needs to have direct communication with the "decision-making dominant coalition of the organisation."
• Public relations strategies are necessary for ALL target groups.
• The relevance of two-way communication not only through the action of a campaign, but also in the strategic development. The text focuses on internal communication between the Public Relations practitioners and the CEO or head office.
• I liked the text's definition of one particular role of Public Relations in beneficing communication and relationships; "Public Relations can further be explained as building, consolidating and maintaining relationships, centring the function more on the relationship and on communication as the tool that helps to achieve this relationship."
• A vision statement is defined as "...the future state of the organisation at a selected time." The text expresses that this is ideally developed through participation within a group.
• A mission statement describes and plans a number of practical steps for achieving the 'vision' set in the vision statement.
• Key performance indicators (KPI's) measure the progress of the mission in achieving the vision. As some areas of a public relations campaign can't be meausred (public relations is not often measured by quantifiable data), often KPI's are irrelevant to the measurement of progress.
• Lester Potter's (1997) 'ten-step strategic communication plan' portrays the basic structure of a communication plan. The steps include (in order and quoted from the text) executive summary, the communication process, background, situation analysis, main message statement, stakeholders, messages for key stakeholders, implementation, budget, monitoring and evaluation.
• According to McElreath (1997:158) "A budget is a plan for coordinating resources and expenses over a period of time by assigning costs to goals and objectives for specific activities." The text suggests that there are two tyoes of budgeting. These include financial budgets (gives the estimates of the incomes and spending for an organisation) and operating budgets (which "estimates the cost of the goods and services that the organisation will use for specific purposes."
• All Public Relations plans must involve dedicated scheduling to make it a successful campaign. Scheduling helps to ensure jobs are timely and identify a number of steps and strategies.

This readings made me think more about public relations theory and the design of a public relations campaign plan. The text emphasises the relevance of detail and precision in creating a designated campaign outline which justifies budget and strategy. The case studies provided relevant examples of a public relations plan in action and were insightful to the more systematic concerns of public relations practice.

The focus of both texts on the development and before math of proactive campaigning reveals the relevance of development in creating an external and internal, two-way communication strategy.

Thanks guys

Alyssa

Comments

Today I will be commenting on Jess's blog!
Stay tuned

Week 4

This weeks readings were really helpful in again showing what kind of jobs are out there for people who have successefully completed a public relations degree. It was interesting but also humerous to find that each person giving their career experience claimed their job to be perfect for their lifestyle situation. I was suprised by the salaries that the public relations practitioners were being paid; higher then i originally expected for this work.

Both readings shaped public relations as a career revolving around teamwork. For example, this is recognised in the text 'Public Relations - Theory and Practice' (JaneJohnston and Clara Zawawi, 2004) in chapter 11 'Internal and Community Relations, in the statement;

"Senior managers are now recognising that one unhappy employee has the potential to damage a company's polished image in the community."

Therefore it is idealised that each employee must work together as a team to build a reputable position for the company and achieve a greater respect amongst the community. One disgruntled employee has the opportunity to disrupt the process of public relations campaigning.

Basically, the chapter in 'Public Relations - Theory and practice', explores the inter-relationship of employees in an organisation. Reliance on each employee to perform actively and effectively is crucial to that companies development. I thought it was interesting to read that the solution to gossip and rumours in the workplace is the provision of factual information, a theory that is basic but one that I did not expect to be discussed in this text. The focus is on the relationship between the staff and employers, as the staff rely so heavily on the information that is fed to them from the higher positioned workers within the organisation. The formula can therefore be placed as:

a happy relationship between employer and employee + an informed employee = a happy and productive practitioner which therefore leads to a successful business.

I believe that (as stated in the text) face-to-face communication would be the most formal and successful method of creating a strong relationship between employer and employee. Although other methods (for example memos, events and newsletters) may aid in building relationships, the sole reliance is on face-to face communication as it has always been the method that builds a strong and familiar connection. For example, where I work a monthly newsletter is supplied in the lunch room on organisation developments and staff experience. From observance, these newsletters are rarely looked at and if so, are only skimmed over. In contrast, the managers can provide information to employees at the start of a shift that becomes successfully memorised.

I found it interesting to observe that each of the other suggested methods of creating relationships between staff and employer, dabble with public relations as a communication role.

An organisations relationship with the community is perhaps the most important relationship for profit and professional gain. Ofcourse, in public relations, communication between the community and the organisation is the most powerful link between gaining influence in the society. The text outlines the fact that it is important to achieve opinion and response from the people that are involved in the public relations campaign. To do this successfully, the community must be provisioned with descriptive and concise information on the campaign, it's methods and purpose. I think it is important to keep the community involved in the developments of the campaign (as suggested in the text) because they can therefore see not only the aims and ideas behind such a campaign, but also the methods of obtaining the ultimate goal intended.

Thus, I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were circulated around the importance of contacts and building relationships to imply a successful organisation, both internally and externally. The company cannot rely purely on it's relationship with it's customers but must also take into account the attitude of it's staff. A company must also not only focus on the relevance of it's internal memebers (staff) but also the community as this is where the profit and development of the company is promised.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that it broadened my understanding of the jobs that are available to those that have completed a public relations degree. The information providedby the different practitioners in Melanie James text, about what people should take into account when in interviews. I have discovered that, in terms of public relations, success comes with individuality, accurate gramma, concise language and personality. From what these people describe, a formula of the above characteristics enhance your availability to become involved in a job in public relations.

Cheers guys for your advice!

Week 3

This chapter seems based on the theory of public relations through analysing a diverse range of differing theories that aid in explaining the methods of public relations practice. Theories can continue to develop from differing individuals who propose particular methods of public relations. The text explores the prominent theories for public relation theory. I have provided a short summary of each theory as i feel that these are the most important points to note:

• agenda setting: which controls what, where and how a story or issue is placed in a media outlet. Judged according to the agenda of the editor, this technique allows the editor to control and manipulate the priorities of the reader through providing dominant coverage to one issue over another. This can be linked to the clients or relationships between the media personnell and other organisations. I feel that this links closely with gate keeping; defined by Michael O'Shaughnessy and Jane Stadler in their text 'Media and Society - a third edition' as being "the process of controlling what gets involved and whose voices are heard in the media, particularly in the news". (Shaughnessy and Stadler, pg. 460). Public relations administers ensure that their clients advertisement and readings are placed in high priority in dominant media outlets through understanding the process of gate keeping.
• General systems theory: the concept of "closed" and "open" systems. A "closed" system (described by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi the sealing off of an organisation from "all external influencing factors") is a ceoncept that is perhaps best applied to the promotion and informing of employees involved in the organisation rather then reaching out to a wide public level. An "open" system, however, involves the outside picture, taking into account the opinions and involvement of the public and groups/organisations outside that particular clients development. Basically, both systems have negative aspects to their methods. A combination of both closed and open public relations would be adequate to forming a successful public relations program that envisages both the outside and inside organisations and personnel.
• semiotics: the study of signs and sign systems. I feel that this theory is particularly important to public relations as it allows practitioners to understand methods of meaning and interpretation in according to advertisement strategies, etc. When a public relations practitioner creates a piece of information (for example a leaflet) the order and construction of the wordage and images is important in creating a particular meaning. This study allows practitioners to understand the reactions of the public eye in response to methods of public relations. The study is about expression and the manipulation of the diverse population to share ideas through images and language connotations.
• Habermas, critical theory and the notion of the 'public sphere': I can not find a link between public relations and a theory that involves freedom of speech and eqaulity. The text does recognise that public relations is often expressed negatively when applied to this theory and i share this view. Public relations works to promote a company or event through prmototion and relationships. Although it does dedicate some research to the approval and opinion of the public, I believe that the profession bases dominantly around the opinion and influence of larger organisations and even the public relation practitioners.
• Grunig's models:

1. Press agentry: involves little research that often leads to false or basic propaganda formed around the concept of advertisement for profit. My understanding that public relation practitioners have moved away from such simple and ineffective methods of practice, yet as shown in the example in the text of Richard Branson's public stunt in promotion of Virgin Mobile, it is evident that such a method continues to be used in this century.

2. Public information: based around the one-way transition of information to the public. An example of such a model can be found in the "Bali bombings: Supporting Western Australian's after the tragedy", sourced from the case studies proposed in the Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Awards website. I identified this case study to suit the methods of this particular model because it bases around the dissemination of information not for personal gain but rather to give aid, support and advice to those that sufferred from the Bali bombings. The ultimate goal of the campaign was to provide contact information for the public so they could contact, access and receive consultation and assisstance.

3. two- way asymmetric: a system that involves a two-way relationship with the public but dominated by the organisation who's public relations practitioners work to prove are correct. An example of this is evident in the campaign for "Elders Rural Bank Launch" which is also sourced from the Public Relations Institute of Australian Golden Target Awards website. The ultimate goal of the public relation practitioners is to gain customers and therefore profit for the organisation. Although a small survey was taken on customer attitude, the focus is not on response but rather the gain through informing. Their purpose of persuasion is especially evident in their campaign goals to inform and gain.

4. two-way symmetric: described in the text as being rare, it involves the balanced relationship of response and informing, one that is not as prominent in public relations campaigns because of the need for personal gain and profit. Although above I had labelled the "Bali Bombings: Supporting Western Australian's after the tragedy" as an example of the public information model, it also achieves recognition in the two-way symmetric model. For example the campaign benefits a two-way relationship between the sufferring of the public and the aid of the organisations. The methods of research are especially closely linked with public opinion, for example scenario testing. The campaign also aimed to develop a mutual understanding between a variety of organisations, even going as far as to develop a relationship and understanding with Australia, accepting their aid.

• The rhetorical theory: i understood this model to be based around radical, free opinion when public relations campaigners use a strong voice to present a particular vision towards an idea or issue.
• The relationship management approach: I feel that this model is based around the focus on relationships between organisations or social groups. For example the relationship between the cancer council organisations and stores selling products such as approved sunscreen. Through identifying and analysing this relationship, public relations practitioners may be able to develop strategies to further their involvement or enhance participation.

These dominant theories are all relevant, and although one may take or seem to take higher priority over another, my interpretation is that public relations practitioners need to understand each model and attempt to apply each to a campaign so as to encourage a specific and adaptable action. The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that they express the diverse methods of public relations and the systems that public relation practitioners in the industry use to gain loyalty and support from the public eye, it's almost like cracking the clam that holds the pearl inside, as you become deeply involved in the pearls colours and textures, you become to understand its' beauty and need.

week 2

I have only just read the second reading {James, M (2006) Public Relations. Sydney:Careerfaqs} for this week because i still haven't brought the book so i thought I'd just comment quickly on that one.
Now this particular reading seems to provide encouragement and support for the career path of public relations, flattering the job choices and skills/talents involved. I found the role of public relations as described in this text through reference to Tymson and Lazar, as a profession that "'...creates awareness, educates and influences public opinion, promotes and protects reputations and guides organisations to communicate change and to re-examine the values and ethics of their operations.'" (Tymson & Lazar, 2002, The New Australian and New Zealand Public Relations Manual). A definition that is simple yet appropriate to develop understanding of the course from a premature stage. Im interested to find out more on the involvement of PR practitioners in magazines, I don't know as of yet what that entails.
It hurts to hear that again, grammar is an important aspect of public relations, there's no escaping grammar! Another value that is suggested in the text to be important to good public relation practitioning is suprisingly the characteristic of humour. This fact seemed to garnish the profession a little because a combination of humour and work always makes things a little more appealing. The concept of modernism and the reliance on technology when planning/organising public relations consultancies seems to be an integral part of successful public relations.
Basically the text seems to advise and provide a better understanding of the skills and characteristics suggested for a successful and professional career in public relations; champagne, partying and celebrities not necessarily included, infact not included unless on rare occassions.
This particular reading by James, M. made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that it emphasises the broad range of career opportunities available through a public relations degree and establishes the different skills/talents/roles involved.
That's it for this week,
Alyssa

Week 2

Ok, wow! First time i have used a blog site so apologies if it turns out to be quite pathetic.
The readings from this week were thrilling as expected but it actually helped me get a grasp on what public relations is because, as became evident after i went to Melanies first lecture, turns out my definition (if you could call it that, more or less just an guess at what it is, an assumption i guess!) is rusty.
I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that public relations is a developing profession that has only become so in this modern age. However background to the development of PR as it's own career path can be found through Australian history. I was suprised to read in 'Public Relations; Theory and Practice' by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi, that Public relations practitioners take on a number of roles that go oustide the basic fundraising, promotion, events management and marketing. The text and our first lecture place emphasis on the fact that public relations isn't advertising, a vital point to be taken in account to come to terms with what puvlic relations involves. I found the early methods of public relations such as those used by Phineas T. Barnum (USA, 1835) in promotion of his circus through accrediting one of his circus members as having had nursed George Washington 100 years earlier; to be humorous methods of gaining publicity.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that it questioned what i already thought public relations involved, broadening my understanding so that maybe I have developed a closer personal experience with the theory of public relations.
Fun stuff, public relations.
Well thats it, have fun guys!
Alyssa