TheSeventh

I think the key point to remember from this week's readings is that the relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists is a mutually beneficial one although the journalists may insist not.

The research questions tackled in the study are as of follows:
- How do journalists assess the quality of practitioners’ framing in their information subsidies for news media?
- What modes of contact do journalists prefer practitioners to use?

The results reflected that in 74% reports of interviews, journalists complained of practitioners’ lack of news sense and values, accuracy, timeliness, and style of presentation.

Most of the journalists interviewed chose email as the preferred mode of contact with public relations practitioners. It was revealed, that journalists will be pleased should PR practitioners ask exactly which mode the journalists personally preferred.

The readings also made me think more about public relations theory and practice, in that public relations practitioners should grasp journalism writing styles to get their work through the media, this would impress journalists and save them vast amount of time from editing and trashing the subsidies.

Seventy-eight percent of reports revealed journalists think that practitioners offer information that was overtly and overly self-serving. Perhaps that’s what the public relations practitioner has to do for his organisation? After all, why would the organisation hire a PR professional when they have totally no intentions of benefiting and promoting itself and concealing or subduing it’s flaws?

It is obvious from the results that journalists think too highly of themselves and do not offer leeway to public relations practitioners. Please, give them a break, they’re no doubt just going about their job too.

TheSixth

I think the key points to remember for this week’s reading are that media relations and public relations are interdependent upon each other. Both feed and provide each other with information therefore they share a two-way relationship. However, the role of media relations is heavier than that of publicists.

Public Relations practitioners should know their media; keep to different deadlines of the different medias and pay attention to who’re the decision-makers and journalists-- the newsroom hierarchy. Public relations practitioners should establish good relationships with roundspeople and news editors/ chief of staffs as they source and allocate stories to roundspeople respectively

The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that it is vital for public relations practitioners to be adept at dealing with the media. Possessing a strong ability at writing media/news releases, organising media conferences and compiling media kits are part of a practitioner’s profession. A PR practitioner not only has to write well but possess excellent interpersonal skills and should always be kept updated on current and news events.

I didn’t use to think that holding a media conference isn’t easy. Public relation practitioners should consider factors like the setting up, when and where to hold the conference, who to invite and how to invite them, to ensure the success of the media conference.

PR practitioners should also be able to spot it’s target audience and select the best media to direct it’s messages at them.

TheFifth

I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were that public relations practitioners have to be aware of the legal risks involved in their daily roles, familiarize themselves with litigation issues and be adept at tackling legal problems. Practitioners should address issues with an agile mind when dealing with contempt law, contract law, defamation and intellectual property law.

Practitioners should engage a professional legal advisor when in doubt or when planning public relations strategies, as any mistakes made might inevitably sabotage a company’s good reputations, positive images, strong relationships and public relations campaigns.


The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that ethics plays a vital role especially when an organisation has to win the publics’ trust and build reputation for itself. The demand for moral responsibility from organisations suggests organisations should take steps to enhance community demands and exercise corporate ethics. Public relations practitioners have to face ethical challenges(interpersonal, organizational and stakeholder) and make crucial judgements.

Ethics concerned should not only be professional and institutional but also personal. Public relations practitioners should serve the public’s interest and incorporate that into their organisations’ activities and campaigns.

The Potter Box can be used to deal with ethical conflicts when factoring situation, values, principles and loyalties involved.

An example would be the National Kidney Foundation(NKF) embezzlement case which happened three years ago. The case of embezzlement reflected badly on NKF which has since been infamously known, deters publics to leave donations and left everyone talking about how charitable organisations might all be out to cheat.

I believe that as public relations practitioners, they should be honest, respectful, caring, responsible, accountable and uphold standards of integrity, these traits will in turn reflect in the values of an organisation and it’s activites.

TheFourth

After reading the given materials, I think the key points to remember are that it’s a must for all public relations practitioners to think and practise strategically, to know how important a public relations strategy is to fulfill an organizations’ goal and how public relations practitioners can make their strategies effective and how to integrate it in order for the organisation to attain it’s goal.

An organisational strategy addresses its long-term purpose. Zawawi- Johnson’s ten steps have to be instated for strategic public relations planning and it’s as follows:

-       Executive summary

-       Vision and mission statement

-       Background and situation analysis

-       Define strategy


-       Define publics


-       Define main message


-       Select tactics and communication methods


-       Implementation and scheduling


-       Monitoring & evaluation


-       Budget

Most people will overlook an organisation’s vision and mission statement, thinking that it serves only as a form of display, but it is vital in the public relation strategy’s framework. The vision statement paints a clear picture of the organisation in the future and the mission statement is the set of skills and process(‘gap analysis’) on how about to paint it.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that an organisation’s vision and mission statement is essential in every company and it acts as a clear message communicated to it’s internal public on how and what they are working towards achieving.  

TheThird

I think the key points of this week’s readings are internal public relations and community relations are imperative for an organization to be successful. Do not belittle employee goodwill as they can ruin the reputation of an organisation as the success of an organization relies largely on its employees.

Organisations should keep employees in the loop on the latest issues and developments by keeping them updated on the latest happenings evolving around the company via newsletters, company website, etc.
That would make employees feel valued and appreciated which will then be translated into better satisfaction, work performance and overall enhancement of a company’s value. Companies can make employees feel more valued by rewarding them for commitment and job well done, like many organizations who award their employees with ‘long-service awards’ amongst others. One dissatisfied employee can damage the reputation of his organisation, therefore organisations have to be extra careful when managing their employees.

Maintaining good community relations are demonstrated when companies sponsor and event or charitable organisation. An example would be Cathay Pacific Airlines sponsoring and supporting UNICEF.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that employees are not just workers, they make or break an organisation’s reputation and are the main tools to help achieve the aim of the organisation.