Transcript What is public relations?

Public relations is something that
everyone has.
 Public relations fosters the
improvement of public relationships
through specific activities and policies.
 Public relations is the cornerstone of a
democratic society.
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Every person and organization has a
reputation
◦ Good, bad or neutral
◦ People form opinions without even
thinking about how or why
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Public relations techniques can be
applied to any social, cultural or
political situation.
◦ Publics can be big or small
◦ The principles are the same
◦ The scale changes the appropriate tactics
The “hacks”
 Propaganda
 Truth not essential
 One-way
 Sports, theatre, product promotion
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The “pros”
 Information dissemination
 Truth is important
 Reputation Management
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Public Relations as a profession
◦ Applies generally accepted techniques,
strategies, structures and tactics
◦ Similar to “law,” “medicine,” etc.
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What it yields are desirable public
relationships and positive reputations
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Standardized educational preparation
◦ Unique knowledge and skills
◦ Based on a body of theory developed through research
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Recognition by the community of a unique and
essential service
Autonomy in practice and acceptance of personal
responsibility by practitioners
Codes of ethics and standards of performance
enforced by a self-governing association of
colleagues
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Self-policing protects the profession
◦ Defines PR practitioners as a group
◦ Protects the professional franchise
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Serves our clients
◦ Maintains public trust
◦ Provides basis and support for professional
privilege.
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Professional ethics
◦ Doing the right thing
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Imperative of trust
◦ Placing your client’s interests above your own
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Professional privileges
◦ Access to information, strategy, financials, etc.
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Formal codes of ethics and professional conduct.
◦ Guide professional practice
◦ Provide the basis for enforcement and sanctions.
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Professional conduct
◦ Generally accepted virtuous motives
◦ Monitored and assessed against established codes of
conduct
◦ Enforced through concrete interpretation for those who
deviate from accepted standards of performance
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Gains advantages for and promotes special
interests, sometimes at the cost of the public wellbeing.
Clutters already choked channels of
communication with pseudoevents and phony
phrases that confuse rather than clarify.
Corrodes our channels of communication with
cynicism and credibility gaps.
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Adversarial in nature, but…
Mutually dependent and mutually beneficial.
Reporters and editors play a crucial
gatekeeping role in all media.
◦ Practitioners must earn and keep the respect of
journalists in the news media.
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Some basic rules:
◦ Shoot squarely -- Honesty is the best policy.
◦ Give service by respecting media deadlines and by
being available to the media.
◦ Don’t beg or carp, especially by asking for special
treatment. (Hint: You won’t get any.)
◦ Don’t ask media to kill a story.
◦ Don’t flood the media with information with no
news value.
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