Public Relations and Framing the Message ch. 12

 

·         What did people like P.T. Barnum and Buffalo Bill Body contribute to the development of -modern public relations in the 20th century?

 

P.T. Barnum used gross exaggeration, fraudulent stories, and staged events to secure newspaper coverage for his clients; his American Museum; and later, his circus. His performers became some of the earliest nationally known celebrities because of Barnum’s skill in using the media for promotion. Buffalo Bill Body was one of the first to use a wide variety of media channels to generate publicity; promotional newspaper stories, magazine articles and ads, dome novels, theater marquees, poster art, and early films.   

·         How did railroads and utility companies give the early forms of corporate public relations a bad name?

Railroad began to use press agents to receive federal fund, and successfully gained government support by developing some of the earliest publicity tactics. Eventually, wealthy railroads received the federal subsidies they wanted and increased their profits, while the American public shouldered most of the financial burden of rail expansion. Historians argued that ironically the PR campaign’s success actually led to the decline of the railroads: Artificially maintained higher rates and burdensome government regulations forced smaller firms out of business and eventually drove many customers to other modes of transportation. Utility companies PR and lobbying efforts were so effective that they eliminated all telephone companies with the government’s blessing, until the 1980’s.

·         What are two approaches to organizing a PR firm?

 

To carry out the mutual communication process, the PR industry uses two approaches. First, there are independent PR agencies whose sole job is to provide clients with PR services. Second, most companies, which may or may not also hire the independent PR firms, maintain their own in-house PR staffs to handle routine tasks, such as writing press releases, managing various media requests, staging special events, and dealing with internal and external publics.

·         What are press releases and why are they important to reporters?

 

Press releases, or news releases, are announcements written in the style of news reports that give new information about an individual, a company, or an organization and patch a story idea to the news media. Through press releases, PR firms manage the flow of information controlling which media gets what material in which order. Reporters sort through hundreds of releases daily to determine which ones contain the most original ideas or at the most current.

 

·         What is the difference between VNR and PSA?

 

VNRs are video news releases which are 30-90 second visual press releases designed to mimic the style of a broadcast news report. Although networks and large TV news stations do not usually broadcast VNRs, news stations in small TV markets regulate footage use material from VNRs. The equivalent of VNRs for nonprofits are public service announcements (PSAs): 15-60 second audio or video reports that promote government programs, educational projects, volunteer agencies, or social reform.

 

·         What special events might a PR firm sponsor to build stronger ties to its community?

Public relation practice involves coordinating special events to raise the profile of corporate, organizational, or government clients. Typical special-events publicity is a corporate sponsor aligning itself with a cause or an organization that has positive stature among the general public. For example, John Hancock Financial has been the primary sponsor of the Boston Marathon since 196 and funds the race’s prize money.

·         Why have research and lobbying become increasingly important to the practice of PR?

 

In many industries, government relations has developed into lobbying: the process of attempting to influence lawmakers to support and vote for an organization’s or industry’s best interest. This is important to be able to maintain connections with government agencies that have some say in how companies operate in a particular community, state or nation. Both PR firms and the PR divisions within major cooperations are especially interested in making sure that government regulations neither becomes burdensome nor reduces their control over their businesses.

·         How does the Internet change the way in which public relations communicates with an organization's many publics?

 

The internet offers public relations professionals a number of new routes for communicating with publics. A company or organization’s web site has become the home best of public relations efforts. Companies and organizations can upload and maintain their media kits, giving the traditional news media access to the information at any time. Also, the Web enables PR professionals to have their clients interact with audiences on a more personal, direct basis through social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, and blogs.

 

·         Explain the historical background of the antagonism between journalism and public relations.

 

Journalists have long considered themselves part of a public service profession, but some regard PR as having emerged as a pseudo-profession created to distort the facts that reporters work hard to gather. Over time, reporters and editors developed a derogative term flack to refer to a PR agent. The term flack symbolizes for journalists the protective barrier PR agents insert between their clients and the press.

 

·         Overall, are social platforms a good thing for practicing public relations, or do they present more problems than they are worth?

 

Social platforms are not a completely good thing for practicing public relations. Journalists have objected that PR professionals block press access to key business leaders, political figures, and other newsworthy people. Further, they argue that PR agents are now able to manipulate reporters by giving exclusives to journalists who are likely to cast a story in a favorable light or by cutting off a reporters access to a newsworthy figure altogether if that reporter has written unfavorably about the PRs agency’s client in the past. Another criticism is that PR firms with abundant resources clearly get more client coverage from the news media from their lesser known counterparts. Social platforms cause more problems than not.

·         Considering the Exxon Valdez, BP, and Tylenol cases in this chapter, what are some key things an organization can do to respond effectively once a crisis hits?

One important duty of PR is helping a corporation handle a public crisis or tragedy, especially if the public assumes the company is at fault. PR advisors encourage a quick response, and to take responsibility, and show compassion for affected people and wildlife. As a part of the PR strategy to overcome negative publicity and to resore Tylenol’s market share, Burson-Marsteller tracked public opinions nightly through telephone surveys and satellite press conferences to debrief the news media. Also, the company set up emergency phones lines to take calls from consumers and health-care providers.