Principles of PR Exam 1 Flashcards
What is the essence of PR
Communicating collaboratively to build a mutually beneficial relationship
Why has the practice of PR become one of society’s most potent forced in the second decade of the 21st century
Used in every business
when combined w/ social media everyone uses it making it more powerful
PR definition
A strategic communication process that build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics
What is the growth outlook for PR employment between now and 2026
9%, addition of more than 23,000 jobs
What are the two primary PR US Trade associations
PR Society of AMerica
International association of business communications
Income gap between PR specialists and Journalists
$20,000
PR- $54,940
Journalist- $35,600
What are the roots of PR
A democratic society where people have freedom to debate and to make decisions- in the community, the marketplace, the home, the workplace, and the voting booth
Four step process which PR might influence Public Opinion
- Research
- Action
- Communication
- Evaluation
Melvin Sharpe’s 5 principles to the PR process
-honest communication for credibility
-openness and consistency of actions for confidence
- fairness of actions for reciprocity and goodwill
-continuous two-way communication to prevent alienation and to build relationships
-environmental research and evaluations to determine the actions or adjustments needed for social harmony
In what ways are PR professionals an organization’s interpreters
Translate the orgs philosophies, policies, programs, and practices to the public
convey the publics opinion to management
What are the overlapping categories publics can be classified into
-Internal and external
-Primary, secondary, and marginal
-traditional and future
-proponents, opponents, and uncommitted
Difference between the functions of PR and marketing/advertising
Marketing+ advertising promote a product or service
PR promotes the entire organization
What is “spin” and why is it antithetical to the proper practice of PR
Altering or distorting a negative issue so it seems positive
-it removes all credibility once followed through with
What 7 areas characterize a successful PR career
- Diversity and experience
- Performance
- Communication skills
- Relationship building
- Proactivity and passion
- Teamliness
- Intangibles (personality, likeability, and chemistry)
6 technical skills that are important in PR
- Knowledge of the field
- Communications knowledge
- Tech knowledge
- Current events knowledge
- Business knowledge
- Management knowledge
6 attitudinal attributes to PR
- Pro communications
- Advocacy
- Counseling orientation
- Ethics
- Willingness to take risks
- Positive outlook
Quote from Abe Lincoln that shows potential power of PR
“public sentiment is everything…”
Why does PR field enjoy so much prominence today
The respectful and public way J&J handled the Tylenol murders
What 5 societal trends have influences the evolution of PR theory and practice
- Growth of big institutions- project info to public
- Heightened public awareness and media sophistication
- Increasing incidence of societal change, conflict, and confrontation
- Globalization and the growing power of global media, public opinion, and democratic capitalism
- Dominance of the internet and growth of social media
Roots of PR in Iraq, Greeks, Romans, the Catholic church
Iraq- bulletins of farming techniques
Greeks- Sophists talking in favor of politicians with nice reasoning and rhetoric
Romans- Caesar used pamphlets and staged events before upcoming battles
Catholic Church- college of propaganda to help “propagate the faith”
How does PR experience date back to the American Revolution
Committees of correspondence as a “revolutionary Facebook” to spread anti British ideals. Thomas Paine wrote pamphlets and essays urging colonists to band together
how does US constitution owe itself party to PR
Federalist papers, articles, etc. written to persuade people to support the constitution
After ratification, 10 amendments continue PR by 1st amendment (freedom of speech)
Who were two of the more prominent antecedents of PR and what did they do to become notorious
Amos Kendall- First authentic presidential press secretary, administrative newspaper for Jackson- The Globe
PT Barnum- crazy circus w/ memorable headlines for his dramatized shows
How did Lee differ from press agents of the early 1900s
Present his side honestly, accurately, and forcefully
What do Lee’s supporters argue about his importance to the profession
Among the first to counsel his clients that “positive PR start w/ action, performance and positive publicity must follow positive performance”
How did PR receive and even bigger boost during WWII
Office of War Information (OWI) established to convey message of the US @ home and abroad. Laid foundations of Americas voice around the world
What was the nations first PR Firm
The publicity Burea
Who, besides Ivy Lee, was this eras most significant counselor and what are some of his accomplishments
Edward L Bernays- taught first PR course in 1923, recruited the fields first distinguishable female practitioner (Doris E. Fleischman), built counsel of PR
Who was one of the earliest African American PR counselors and what did he do
D. Park Gibson- began his firm, authored 2 books on African American consumerism, and advised companies on multicultural relations
What are Arthur Page’s 5 principles of successful corporate PR
- Make sure management thoughtfully analyzes its overall relation to the public
- To create a system for informing all employees about the firms general policies and practices
- To create a system giving contact employees (direct dealings with the public) the knowledge needed to be reasonable and polite to the public
- to create a system drawing employee and public questions and criticism back up through the organization to management
- To ensure frankness in telling the public about the company’s actions
Why should PR be taught in all business schools
Used daily in all workings and ongoing relationships of most organizations
How many PR agencies exist in the US
12,000
What is the most important thing for PR people to emulate
Candor
Why are PR jobs relatively growing and stable, even during rough economic times
More communication is actually necessary in an economic downturn
5 things PR students need to do in college to get a jump on the competition
- improve communication skills
- start networking
- Focus (on what you like the best)
- Look companies you like
- Intern
7 keys to having a successful PR carreer
- Diversity of experience
- Performance results
- communication skills
- Relationship building
- Proactivity and passion
- Teamliness
- Intangibles
What is the practice of PR all about
Earning credibility
How does PR failing ethically cause problems for the profession
Creates a lack of trust and credibility making people think PR isn’t as innocent as people claim
What is the underlying factor that led to ethical lapses
All of the people were in the public eye, influenced by the power they held
What are the 6 fundamental values of PR code of ethics
- Advocacy- serve + represent public interest
- Honesty- communicate truthful facts to the public
- Expertise- Continue developing knowledge, research and education to advance the profession
- Independence- WE are accountable for our actions
- Loyalty- we are faithful to those we represent, while serving the public interest
- Fairness- deal fairly with everyone and respect all opinions
How does the Josephson Institute define Ethics
Standards of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues
Ethics definition
Values that guide a person, organization, or society against one’s own conscience and norm of acceptability
How are the coded of conduct established by the PRSA and International Association of Business Communicators “applied ethics”
to enhance public trust one must be ethical hence applying ethics to benefit your business and gain trust
what is one purpose public relations professionals must be driven by
building trust between your organization and the public
What are the four purposes formal codes of conduct can help a business accomplish
to preserve, defend, sustain, and enhance the health and vitality of the organization
What is the definition of Corporate Social Responsibility
how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society
What do most firms recognize about CSR
It must be a corporate way of life
-businesses are responsible for behaving ethically
What are the four ethical theories relevant to the practice of PR?
Attorney/adversary model- practitioners are not obligated to think about public interest in the interest of the client
TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION MODEL- practitioner balances his role as a client advocate with one as a social conscience for a larger public
ENLIGHTENED SELF-INTEREST MODEL- reconcile being a professional advocate and a social conscience
What is the fundamental difference between legal versus public relations advice
Lawyers tell clients what they MUST do to defend themselves in the court of law
PR advisors tell clients what they SHOULD do in the court of public opinion
What has happened in recent years with PR and Law
Lawyers are pursuing the publicity turf by going on TV to use PR techniques to further their clients and own needs
What do cases dealing with PR and the first amendment suggest
Interpreting the First Amendment is not easy and people view it differently
What is “defamation” and what requirements must a plaintiff meet
-Either false writings or slander about someone
- the falsehood was communicated through print, broadcast, or other electronic means
- The person subject of the falsehood is identifiable
- identified person has suffered injury- monetary loss, reputational loss, or mental suffering
Why do PR professionals need to be aware of Libel and slander
They are always spreading info online so they have to be careful with what they say because everyone can see it and it’s permanent
What is a “material announcement”
One that might cause an investor to buy, sell, or hold a stock
Why do PR counselors need to be careful to act only on Public info when trading securities
If they violate confidentiality, they can lose clients or violate the law
What does “Regulation FD” Require
Companies to widely disseminate any material announcement
What is copyright law
provides basic, automatic protection for writers whether a manuscript is registered with copyright or published
What kinds of works are subject to copyright law
-literary (articles)
-Songs (words and music)
-Plays and choreographed dances
- Art
-Motion picture and audio visual works
-sound recordings
-architectural works
how does copyright law differ from trademark law
trademark is with a word, symbol or slogan, that identifies a product or sponsor
what types of activities constitute as “fair use” of something
Criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research
What are the reasons accurate polling results have been more difficult to achieve in recent years
Phones have made it harder
-people don’t want to answer calls to help
What must always compliment research
Analysis and judgment
Why is it a good idea to provide managers with research as a part of PR
Educating about PR, grounding in data, informed decision making, and meeting client expectations
What does early research do, and what does late research do?
Early- determines current situations, attitudes, and difficulties
Late- programs success and finishing touches
What is research conducted to do
- Describe a process, situation or phenomenon
- Explain why something is happening (cause/effects)
- Predict what probably will happen if we do or don’t take an action
What is the difference between primary and secondary research
Primary- straight from source, someone doing own research
secondary- research taken from someone who has already performed it
What are the 3 primary forms of PR research
surveys
communications audits
Unobtrusive measures
What are two types of surveys
- descriptive surveys (capture at a point in time)
- Explanatory surveys (Cause and effect)
the 4 different types of random sampling
- simple random- everyone has equal chance of getting picked
- systematic random- start with one then select every nth one on the list
- stratified random- break into groups based on common characteristics to represent the population
- cluster sampling- break onto smaller groups and choose from those
Types of nonrandom sampling
- convenience- take who you can find (unsystematic)
- Quota- imposed in proportion into each groups percentage of the population
- Volunteer- willing participants
12 things researchers need to do when designing a questionarre
- keep it short
- use structured (not open ended) questions
- Measure intensity of feelings
- Don’t use fancy words
- don’t ask loaded questions
- don’t ask double-barreled questions
- pretest
- Say how important answers are but say they remain anonymous
- Use unique stamps when mailing
- Follow up your first mailing
- Send out more questionaries than you think necessary
- Enclose a reward
What’s the difference between a focus group and a Delphi panel
Focus group- 8-10 people selected with common interests to gain opinion and answer questions on
Delphi Panel- repeated questioning to same panel to gain consensus
What are communication audits used for
to see if communication group and produced products realize objectives and how its perceived by its core constituents
-help PR professionals understand the relationship between management actions and objectives on one hard communication methods to promote objectives in the other
What are the 3 types of unobtrusive methods of data collection
- Fact finding
- Content Analysis
- Case study research
define term evaluation
Determines what happened and why by measuring results against established objectives
What are the 4 “tools” used to measure PR outcomes
Awareness and comprehension measurements
Recall and retention measurement
Attitude and preference measurement
Behavior measurements
Define the term Search Engine Optimization
The process of improving the visibility of a site or a page in a search engine’s algorithmics search results
What is one of the most popular measurement vehicles to assess websites
Google analytics
