Week 7- Catering to the whims of Journalists

Week 7

Catering to the whims of the Journalists.

Halo...Greetings ladies and gentlemen and (anyone in between).....

To contact or not?.... This is not the question....

How to contact most effectively?... That is the question...

This week readings offer an answer to the above question which I personally condensed into a single word- Listen

The readings made me think about public relations practice in that beyond their personal desire to reflect overtly self-serving information, public relations practitioner should listen to the voices and sentiments of the “gatekeepers”. Listening is quessential in a two-way symmetrical approach. More importantly it provides public relations practitioner with defined awareness to trim and package their information in manner that most appeals to the media. This may be the key to unlocking the gate that stand between the flow of public relations information and the masses. Furthermore, it increases the chance of penetration whilst maintaining the core of the intended message.

Public Relations officers should realise that in their attempts to influence the general population, it is imperative to win over the media.

The ability to sway the media and gain their trust is of greater significance when confronted with the result of the readings which reveals:

“In 107 of the interview reports, journalists estimated the percent of news content in the United States that involves contact with public relations practitioners to range from 1% to 100% with a mean of 47%; a third of the estimates ranged from 60% to 100%.”

This represents an excellent opportunity for public relations professionals to induce their information into mainstream media as the results shows that the media rely on public relations practitioners for materials which eventually translate into a large percentage of the journalists’ publication.

Hence, the ability to influence the media would assist the flow of intended message from public relations to the community. I wish to highlight that it would be possible for public relations professional to influence news agenda.

Research on agenda-building suggests that public relations activities are crucial to the formation of the media agenda (e.g., Berger, 2001; Curtin, 1999; Gandy, 1982; Kaid, 1976; Turk 1986a).

Through the use of information subsidies, such as news conferences, news releases, and interviews, public relations programs and campaigns can have a profound impact on shaping news content. (Kiousis, Popescu, & Mitrook, 2007).

Despite being constantly treated with much suspicion by the members of the press, Public Relations professional of any organisation should move away from the siege mentality and embrace the possibilities of winning over the media through skilful interaction.

To that same extent, Public Relations officers should avoid reinforcing the negative notion by submitting sloppy, poorly written information, often littered with errors which journalist so often lament about.

Power struggle

This week readings revealed that journalist found that non- profit Public Relations practitioners to be more appreciative. This implies that other public relations practitioners do not show or even pretend to demonstrate their appreciation for journalists.

In my previous blog (week 6), Grace posed an interesting comment.

Who holds more power-The media or public relations?

If you would allow me to quote myself, I responded that this line of thought was responsible for the uneasy relationship between PR and the media.

Real power is creating the illusion of control for the other constituent whilst maintaining control of the invisible strings that concede very little.

In relation to public relations, I personally believe it is passable for public relations practitioners to recognised the power status of the media and show due recognition for their influence. By the same token through accommodating the whims and fancy of the journalists, public relations should seek to maximise their intended objectives.

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were the necessity of understanding the psychological nature of the journalists. More importantly, this comprehension should be moulded and injected into public relations efforts. This would require the changing of mindset and projection of humility by public relations professionals. PR practitioners should tactfully act upon factors that might ease public relations messages to the general population and not carry on with business as usual.

The Debate

Ethics, not economics should drive public relations professionalism.

This week saw my group acting as the role of the proposition for the above-mentioned statement.

As the first speaker to officially cut the ribbon for the first debate, I sharpened and frame the key definitions of the subject matter to reflect our collective stance in attempts to solidify our position.

I reminded the audience that professionalism, at its core, refers closely to the development of trust and reputation.

Subsequently, I went on a historical account to reflect that the pursuit of economics has resulted in the public relations being tainted and associated with negative notion.

I argued that it would be hard for Public Relations professionals to have a positive attitude about themselves if their work arouses negative sentiments.

Hence, the solution lies not with economics but the employment of ethics as the main driver and it is essentially a human problem.

In summary, ethics is not a state of stagnant passivity but offers an all encompassing view; with the emphasis of intellectual capital- the thinking process, the inclusion of intangible benefits- the human factor, the environment, cultural values and yes- economic considerations.

Overall, the debate provided an enriching learning experience and I was fortunate to have a cohesive group unit which enabled all of us conduct a well researched presentation.

(898 words)