Readings- 'Investigating Journalists' & 'Writing a Media Release'
I found the journal article on how to contact journalists very interesting as well as beneficial. I think the key point to remember from this reading is that it varies on each individual journalist on how they like to be contacted. I think and important point also is to maintain a good relationship with your journalist contacts. It was also interesting to read how journalists view PR practitioners. The second reading was all about writing a media release. I think the key points to remember from this weeks reading is every thing that was outlined what to know, consider and how to write a media release. I feel that learning to write a perfect media release takes time.
References:
Sallot, M. & Johnson, A. (2006). To contact … or not?: Investigating journalists’ assessments of public relations subsidies and contact preferences. Public Relations Review. 32(1) 83-86
Tymson, C., Lazar, P. & Lazar, R. (2006). Writing a media release. In C. Tymson, P. Lazar, P. and R. Lazar, (Eds). The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual (5th ed.) (pp. 74-117). Manly: Tymson Communications.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
WEEK 7- Media Relations & Oral Presentation Skills
Readings- Chapter 10 'Media Relations', Van Emden & Becker 'Speaking as Part of a Group' and Drew 'Oral Presentation'
The two readings not from the set text discuss all the skills that are essential when conducting an oral presentation. Drew outlines three crucial steps that are needed when given the task to conduct an oral presentation, which are: prepare, deliver and evaluate (Drew 2001:98). When preparing for an oral presentation you must identify your aim, purpose, audience, topic and context. When delivering a presentation you must dress appropriately, assess what audio/visuals are appropriate and use techniques to engage the audience. Finally you must evaluate your presentation, identify what went wrong, what went right and how to improve in the future.
The second reading is all about speaking as part of a group. To be honest I have never been a keen on group work but after reading this article it has outlined various points that would assist me in the future when conducting group work. Firstly the article states it is less important to work together in the early stages and I agree with this. All members of the group need conduct their own research and study and formulate their sections before congregating together as a group (Emden & Becker).
I never thought about the advantage of working in a group but one point the reading makes is the stress is shared amongst the group. There is also a wider range of abilities and voices. These points all made are benefits as when working alone the task is all up to you. The wider range of abilities equals more creativity and the audience also does not have to listen to one voice continuously. The article also discusses various elements such as the image the group wants to portray to the audience. The venue is also a crucial element of the presentation, as aspects such as facilities that are available and where is the best position to stand all come into play (Emden & Becker).
Chapter 10 is all about media relations, which is a crucial element of PR practitioner’s job. As a PR practitioner media relations means dealing with contacts on a regular basis, dealing with the media is an integral part of a PR practitioners activity and its impact of power should never be under estimated (Johnston 2004:260).
Within Australia the media is owned and controlled by three major players therefore it is essential that a PR practitioner maintain positive relationships with as many media outlets as possible. This relationship is also just as important to the media outlets (predominately newspapers) as they rely on press releases, which are done by the PR practitioner. Johnston states it is not a one-way relationship…just as PR provides information to the media, so does the media provide information to the PR profession (Johnston 2004:263).
Johnston also outlines what makes news, which is something I have already been taught in journalism such as, impact and conflict stories. These elements are important in order for a journalist to be interested in your press release (Johnston 2004:264). I think the key points to remember from the media relations reading is knowing how the media works, knowing which medium is relevant to your PR campaign and they are constructed, whether it is a media release etc. The reading made me think more about PR in practice that it is crucial to maintain good relationships between media outlets.
References:
Johnston, J. (2004). Media Relations. In Johnston, J., & Zawawi, C. (Eds.), Public Relations: Theory and Practice.(2nd ed.)(pp.259-287). Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Drew, S. (2001). Oral Presentations.In The Student Skills Guide. (2nd ed.)(pp. 98-114). London: Gower.
Van Emden, J., & Becker, L. (2004). Speaking as Part of a Group. In Presentation Skills for Students. (pp. 77-93). New York: Palgrave Macmillan
The two readings not from the set text discuss all the skills that are essential when conducting an oral presentation. Drew outlines three crucial steps that are needed when given the task to conduct an oral presentation, which are: prepare, deliver and evaluate (Drew 2001:98). When preparing for an oral presentation you must identify your aim, purpose, audience, topic and context. When delivering a presentation you must dress appropriately, assess what audio/visuals are appropriate and use techniques to engage the audience. Finally you must evaluate your presentation, identify what went wrong, what went right and how to improve in the future.
The second reading is all about speaking as part of a group. To be honest I have never been a keen on group work but after reading this article it has outlined various points that would assist me in the future when conducting group work. Firstly the article states it is less important to work together in the early stages and I agree with this. All members of the group need conduct their own research and study and formulate their sections before congregating together as a group (Emden & Becker).
I never thought about the advantage of working in a group but one point the reading makes is the stress is shared amongst the group. There is also a wider range of abilities and voices. These points all made are benefits as when working alone the task is all up to you. The wider range of abilities equals more creativity and the audience also does not have to listen to one voice continuously. The article also discusses various elements such as the image the group wants to portray to the audience. The venue is also a crucial element of the presentation, as aspects such as facilities that are available and where is the best position to stand all come into play (Emden & Becker).
Chapter 10 is all about media relations, which is a crucial element of PR practitioner’s job. As a PR practitioner media relations means dealing with contacts on a regular basis, dealing with the media is an integral part of a PR practitioners activity and its impact of power should never be under estimated (Johnston 2004:260).
Within Australia the media is owned and controlled by three major players therefore it is essential that a PR practitioner maintain positive relationships with as many media outlets as possible. This relationship is also just as important to the media outlets (predominately newspapers) as they rely on press releases, which are done by the PR practitioner. Johnston states it is not a one-way relationship…just as PR provides information to the media, so does the media provide information to the PR profession (Johnston 2004:263).
Johnston also outlines what makes news, which is something I have already been taught in journalism such as, impact and conflict stories. These elements are important in order for a journalist to be interested in your press release (Johnston 2004:264). I think the key points to remember from the media relations reading is knowing how the media works, knowing which medium is relevant to your PR campaign and they are constructed, whether it is a media release etc. The reading made me think more about PR in practice that it is crucial to maintain good relationships between media outlets.
References:
Johnston, J. (2004). Media Relations. In Johnston, J., & Zawawi, C. (Eds.), Public Relations: Theory and Practice.(2nd ed.)(pp.259-287). Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Drew, S. (2001). Oral Presentations.In The Student Skills Guide. (2nd ed.)(pp. 98-114). London: Gower.
Van Emden, J., & Becker, L. (2004). Speaking as Part of a Group. In Presentation Skills for Students. (pp. 77-93). New York: Palgrave Macmillan
REFLECTION
Before I begin my blog entry I would like to express how much I've learnt in CMNS1290. I've never really enjoyed the uni experience, found study to be quite tedious and very unpractical at times. However I think the course structure of CMNS1290 (even though only an introduction) has been very beneficial as all the theory I have learnt it has been presented to me in hypothetical practical situations. Even the textbooks have been great, easy to read and easy to understand. Even though the blogs have been have quite tedious I would not have learnt nowhere near as much if just told to read the readings every week. So I guess my uni experience is not as bad as I thought it would be…hopefully it becomes even better!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
WEEK 6- Student comment
This week I have commented Taegen Ried's blog.
http://taeganreidcmns1290.blogspot.com/
http://taeganreidcmns1290.blogspot.com/
WEEK 6- The Legal Enviroment & Ethical Practice
Readings- Chapter 4 'The Legal Environment' & Chapter 5 'Ethical Practice'
When I think of law I think black and white. When I think of ethics I think grey. This weeks readings are foundations for ethical practice and the legal environment of PR. Breit the author of chapter 4 is also the author if the book Law and Ethics which is a required reading for another subject I am undertaking. Breit writes in a way, which is easy to understand legal terminology. When I first undertook PR as a subject I never thought of the legal implications that could be involved but like a doctor, teacher etc there is always legal implications when dealing with other people or organisations.
When a PR practitioner is making decisions they must assess the legal risks. They also must be aware of the tort of negligence (duty to client and publics) and tort of defamation (publications that harm an individuals reputation), contract law, contempt law (protecting the administration of law) and property law (Breit 2004:76).
As a PR practitioner always seek legal advice if you are unclear of your legal rights, legal responsibilities and legal disputes. It is essential the PR practitioner is aware of the concept of defamation and contempt. Defamation is basically a publication that can defame someone in a way that can ruin his or her reputation, as protecting a person’s reputation is a human right (Breit 2004:84).
Property law is something I was never aware of that would apply to a PR practitioner but obviously it does when running events in a venue that is not owned by your company that you are employed for but rather someone else. Property law refers to land and things affixed to land. Pr practitioners should be aware of the rights attaching to property ownership and occupation of land (Breit 2004:88).
Contract law is something that I have come across in my study years at high school. It was drummed into me that for a contract to be established there needs to be an offer, acceptance of that offer and consideration. Contracts define the relationships between two parties. A practitioner will come across many contracts in their PR career, contracts between the practitioner and the campaign, contracts between the practitioner and their employer etc (Breit 2004:95).
Contempt is an area I am all too familiar with as it was an area that I did an assessment task for. I did not come across information in relation to PR practitioners as such but as journalist if you publish a court case that in anyway impedes the administration of law and the outcome of the case whether it be guilty or innocent the can journalist can be charged with contempt. The main points to remember for this weeks reading is to beware of the legal implications as a PR practitioner and when in doubt of your legal obligations seek legal advice.
Chapter 5 deals with ethics, which is an area that I have never been keen on as it is not simply black and white. I also did my PR presentation on ethics and the amount of research and different scenarios I read about made me release as an aspiring PR practitioner I will encounter situations where I too will have make ethical decisions. McCoy sums up as ethics being the right things but I have to question this, as sometimes the right thing is not that clear or that simple. So many factors come into play such as your own morals and values compared to what your employer wants.
Seib and Fitzpatrick discuss that there are five duties of a PR practitioner, oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and society. I would order these five duties in theory as oneself, society (as oneself is part of society), and the other three falling in behind. But in practice as a PR practitioner would I put society last and prefer to make my client happy and maybe deceive society? There are many hypothetical answers to this but I would not be able to make a decision until actually faced with real life ethical situations.
There are also ethical frameworks that have been constructed by PRIA such as the 15-point codes of ethics. I think a key point to remember from this weeks reading is that as a PR practitioner when making decisions think of all the other stakeholders that are involved and remember maintaining a credible reputation. Once a credible reputation is ruined due to poor ethical decisions, it is hard to reconstruct.
References:
McCoy, L. (2004). Ethical Practice. In Johnston,J. & Zawawi, C.Public Relations: Theory and Practice.(2nd ed). (pp. 104-133).
Breit, R. (2004). The Legal Environment. In Johnston,J. & Zawawi, C.(2004).Public Relations: Theory and Practice. (2nd ed). (pp. 75-103).Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
WEEK 5- Student Comment
This week I commented on Nicole's Blog.
http://cmns1290nicolemagripilis.blogspot.com/
http://cmns1290nicolemagripilis.blogspot.com/
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