Public Relations Final Exam Review Chapter 1 What is Public Relations Public Relations Defined o The management communication function that evaluates public attitudes identifies policies and decisions of an individual or an organization with the public interest and executes a program of action to earn public understanding o Common terms often used with the broad definition include deliberate planned performance public interest two way communication and strategic management PR as a Process RACE o Research what is the situation o Action plan to do something about it o Communication execution of the plan o Evaluation was the audience reached and what was the effect o The process is a constant cycle feedback and program adjustment are integral parts of the overall process PR by any other name terms include corporate communications public information corporate affairs public affairs or even global communication o Sometimes given a negative connotation spin doctor liar hype congress even legislates against some PR PR VS Journalism PR VS Advertising o Although writing is an important activity in both the scope segment audience versus mass audience objectives advocating versus informing and channels are different for each field o Publicity one area of public relations uses mass media to disseminate messages as does advertising The format and context however differ Publicity goes through media gatekeepers who make the ultimate decision whether to use the material as part of a news story Advertising involves paid space and time and is easily identified as being different from news editorial content PR VS Marketing o Functions overlap both deal with a an organizations relationships and b employ similar communication tools but approach is different PR is more concerned with relationships and goodwill while marketing is concerned with selling and customers o PR is considered the fifth P of marketing Product Price Placement Promotion and Publicity COMBINATION OF ALL THREE CREATES AN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Most important skills to have in PR o Writing o Research o Planning o Problem Solving o Business Economics Chapter 2 The Evolution of Public Relations Ive Lee Lee is considered the first public relations counsel and is remembered best for his four major contributions to PR o 1 Advancing the concept that businesses and industry should align o 2 Dealing with top executives and carrying out no program unless it had themselves with the public interest the active support of management o 3 Maintaining open two way communications with the news media o 4 Emphasizing the necessity of humanizing business bringing its public relations down to the community level James Grunig outlined four models of public relations practice o 1 The press agentry model communication primarily through mass media and usually exaggerated and completeness o 2 Public information model distribution of information based on accuracy o 3 Two way asymmetric used primarily for scientific persuasion o 4 Two way symmetric communication that aims to gain an understanding of the public Edward L Bernay father of modern PR used behavioral psychology and social science research to change perceptions and behaviors Public Relations Throughout History o Ancient History Ancient Egypt Rosetta Stone Greece Rome and Catholic Church garner support for war Colonial America spread revolutionist ideas o 1800 s Golden age of the Press Agent P T Barnum pioneered many techniques still used today along with railroad corporations to get people to move west o From 1900 to 1950 Individuals such as Ivy Lee and Henry Ford changed practice of public relations to a more journalistic approach o 1900 to Present Consolidation of PR as a major force used to effectively communicate messages with the mass media o The Next 50 Years PR professionals will face a host of problems such as communicating with the multicultural world facilitating organizational transparency managing corporate social responsibility programs managing the 24 7 news cycle and mastering new forms of technologies of communication Chapter 3 Ethics and Professionalism Ethics Defined Ethics is the value system a person follows It focuses on questions of what is wrong or right fair or unfair caring or uncaring good or bad and responsible or irresponsible PR Professionals should take the following into consideration when making an ethical decision 1 The public interest 2 The employer s self interests 3 The standards of the public relations profession 4 Their personal values Ethical Theories range from Utilitarianism the end can justify the means as long as the result causes the least harm or most good to Absolutist do what is right though the world should perish PR Ethics and the Internet principals for the Web o A group of major Public Relations organizations established a set of Organizations must disclose any affiliations in chat room postings Cannot offer opportunities for dialogue and interactions with expert Must reveal the background of experts Disclose any potential conflicts of interest or anonymous economic Practice principal leadership in the digital world adhering to the support of content highest standards Professionalism o Education A body of knowledge for learning skills o Training Instruction continuing education to improve and update skills o Literature Textbooks case studies reference books and academic journals o Research Evaluation and measurement of programs and campaigns o Code of Ethics Standards that generate trust and credibility Accreditation Requires five years experience Bachelors degree and must pass a test and some even require you to submit a portfolio of work It is also considered unethical to interact with front groups groups who claim to be citizen groups but actually have a hidden agendas give expensive gifts or extravagant parties for the media or essentially lack total transparency Chapter 4 Public Relations Departments and Firms While the affects of any one public relations department differs greatly organization and influence can often depend on the size of the organizations views of top management and the capabilities of the firm Larger organizations have a greater influence on the public and perception of a company while the smaller firms have less of an input Many public relations firms have either merged with advertising agencies or become subsidiaries of companies known as integrated marketing communications outsourcing PR work is also still
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