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JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Course Code Course Title Course Developer Content Editor Programme Leader JLS 610 Principles and Practice of Public Relations Ojomo W. Olusegun Dr. Adidi O. Uyo Christine I. Ofulue (Ph. D) National Open University of Nigeria Victoria Island Lagos. Chidinma Onwubere National Open University of Nigeria Victoria Island Lagos. Course Coordinator NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA ii JLS 610
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos Abuja Annex 245 Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun Street Central Business District Opposite Arewa Suites Abuja e-mail: centralinfo@nou. edu. ng URL: www. nou. edu. ng National Open University of Nigeria 2006 First Printed 2006 ISBN: 978-058-987-2 All Rights Reserved Printed by …………….. For National Open University of Nigeria iii JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS TABLE OF CONTENT
Module 1 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Module 2 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Module 3 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Module 4 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Module 5 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 iv PAGE Meaning and Scope of Public Relations…… 1 Definitions and components of public Relations……………………………………… Functions and Careers of Public Relations …… Public Relations and Related Concepts………. Public Relations Publics……………………… 1-7 8-10 11-19 20-26 Evolution and Process of Public Relations… 27 Origins and Pioneers of Public Relations……..
History and Development of Public Relations in Nigeria……………………………………… Models of Public Relations…………………… Models of Public Relations (The Melvin Sharpe’s Model)……………………………… Research in Public Relations…………………. 27-32 33-38 39-44 45-49 50-60 Writing and Speaking In Public Relations… 61 The Challenge of Writing and Speaking in Public Relations………………………………. Editing and Proofreading……………………… The Press Release…………………………….. Speaking in Public Relations…………………. The Process of Successful Public Relations Speeches……………………………………… 61-67 68-75 76-83 84-87 88-94 Public Relations in Action…………………… 5 Public Relations Planning…………………….. The Public Relations Plan……………………. Public Relations for Non-profit Organisations…………………………………. Crisis Communication Management…………. Steps in Crisis Communication………………. 95-101 102-109 110-116 117-124 125-131 Public Relations and Society……………….. 132 The Role of Public Relations in Society……… Public Opinion and Propaganda……………… Public Relations and the Law………………… Ethics in Public Relations…………………….. Cases in Public Relations…………………….. 132-137 138-148 149-153 154-161 162-167 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS APPENDICES……………………………………………… 168-180 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS MODULE 1 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 MEANING AND SCOPE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Definitions and components of public relations Functions and Careers of Public Relations Public Relations and Related Concepts Public Relations Publics UNIT 1 CONTENTS 1. 0 2. 0 3. 0 DEFINITIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS COMPONENTS OF 4. 0 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 Introduction Objectives Main Content 3. 1 Defining Public Relations 3. 2 Components of Public Relations 3. 3 What public relations is not Conclusion Summary Tutor-Marked Assignment References/Further Readings . 0 INTRODUCTION Like most subjects or disciplines, public relations has as many definitions as there are authors and practitioners in the field. These authors and practitioners offer varying definitions based on their knowledge, experience and practices perspectives. However, as we examine these definitions, you will observe points of similarities and unanimity in them. 2. 0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: • • • Accurately restate at least two definitions of public relations. Explain the terms or ideas that are common in these definitions.
Offer your own definition. 3. 0 MAIN CONTENT 1 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3. 1 Defining Public Relations The British Institute of Public relations (BIPR) defines public relations as ‘the deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. ” This definition suggests that public relations is the creation or establishment of mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics. It also suggests that public relations is not a haphazard process. It must be consciously designed.
Planning calls for attention, deliberation, research, anticipation, analysis and consequences. Public relations efforts must ensure that not only does the organisation understand its publics, the publics must equally understand the organisation. It must understand its reasons for whatever actions it takes. As a public relations officer or manager of your firm, for instance, it is your duty to ensure that mutual understanding is achieved between your firm and its several publics. More often than not, the publics are passive at performing this role. Therefore, your organisation must take proactive steps towards achieving it. Sustained effort’ means that it is not enough to start the plan; it must be carried through to a logical end. This is not usually very easy in the face of a precarious economy, political instability and other factors. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) says “public relations is concerned with or devoted to creating mutual understanding among groups and institutions. ” The PRSA recognises the place of groups and institutions in the public relations process. It admits that these entities have interests that must be protected. It also presupposes a streamlining of these benefits for mutual good.
The concept of mutuality in this definition makes you as a public relations man or woman an intermediary between your organisation and its publics. This implies that you should be able to align the interests of these two parties for their mutual advantage. You do this by convincing your organisation that public relations attempts to put the broad interest of the public first before the special interest of the organisation. By doing this, the organisation is indirectly serving its own interest; hence PR has what is called “enlightened self interest”.
Another definition is that given Cutlip, Center and Broom, in their book Effective Public Relations which is considered the bible of public relations in America. According to them, public relations is the “management function that identifies, establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation and its publics upon whom its success depends. ” Now, take note of the last part of the definition, ‘upon whom its success depends,’ because this is one fact 2 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS that very many organisations have not realised.
A company’s success or failure depends considerably on its relationship with its various publics. We shall see these publics in another module. Let us take two more definitions. Frank Jefkins, a British author, in his book Public Relation, says “public relations consists of all forms of planned communication both inward and outward between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving objectives concerning mutual understanding. ” Jefkins’ definition includes a term common to many other definitions of PR: mutual understanding. Mutual understanding is a very broad concept which every organisation must seek to establish. Inward and outward communication’ implies a two-way communication involving both the organisation and its various publics. Our last definition is the one often referred to as the Mexican statement. This definition was adopted at the first World Congress of National Public Relations Associations, held in Mexico in 1978. It states ” Public Relations is the art and social science of analysing trends, predicting their consequences, counselling organisational leaders as well as planning and implementing a programme of action that will serve the interest of not only the organisation but also that of its publics. You will agree that this definition is broad, multidisciplinary and allembracing. It suggests that public relations borrows knowledge and expertise from other fields, like psychology, politics, sociology, languages, etc. Public relations is an art because it involves artistic skills, fine arts, language, writing, public speaking, etc. It is a social science because it uses social scientific instruments to understand and predict human behaviour. It attempts to understand its environment and relates with it mutually. Public relations monitors, surveys and researches issues and happenings in the environment.
It advises the organisation so that the policies of the organisation are in line with the expectations of its publics. It implements programmes that will favour both the organisation and the publics in a win-win outcome. SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE Write down three points common to the definitions of PR presented in this unit. Ask two or more of your colleagues to do the same; then, discuss your points in terms of their similarities and differences. 3 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3. 2 Components of Public Relations Public relations has divergent parts.
According to the Public Relations Society of America, the components of public relations include the following: Counselling: Providing advice to management concerning policies, relationships, and communication with its various publics. Research: Determining attitudes and behaviours of publics through research in order to plan public relations strategies. Such research can be used to (1) generate mutual understanding or (2) influence and persuade publics. Media Relations: Working with the mass media in seeking publicity or responding to their interest in the organisation. EMBED CorelDRAW. Graphic. 2 Figure 1: Components of Public Relations Publicity: Disseminating planned messages through selected media to further the organisation’s interest. Employee/Member Relations: Responding to concerns, informing, and motivating and organisation’s employees or association or club members. 4 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Community Relations: Planned activity with a community to maintain an environment that benefits both the organisation and the community. Public Affairs: Developing effective involvement in public policy and helping an organization adapt to public expectations.
The term is also used by government agencies to describe their public relations activities and by many corporations as an umbrella term to describe multiple public relations activities. Governmental Affairs: Relating directly with legislature and regulatory agencies on behalf of the organisation. Lobbying can be part of the government affairs programme. Issues management: Identifying and addressing issues of public concern that affect the organisation. Financial Relations: Also known as Investor Relations or Shareholder Relations.
It involves creating and maintaining investor confidence and building good relationships with the financial community. Industry Relations: Relating with other firms in the industry of an organization and with trade associations. Development/Fund-Raising: Demonstrating the need for and encouraging the public to support an organisation, primarily through financial contributions. Multicultural Relations/ Workplace Diversity: individuals and groups in various cultural settings. Relating with Special Events: Stimulating an interest in a person, product, or organisation by means of a focused “happening”.
They are activities designed to interact with publics and listen to them. Marketing Communications: Combination of activities designed to sell a product, service, or idea. These activities may include advertising, collateral materials, publicity, promotion, direct mail, trade shows, and special events. SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1. 2. Distinguish the assertion: “public relations is a very complex activity. ” Distinguish ‘media relations’ from ‘publicity’ and ‘public affairs’ from ‘community relations. ‘ 5 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3. What Public Relations Is Not One of the greatest problems which public relations practitioners in Nigeria have had to grapple with over the year has been that of credibility stemming from society’s wrong perception of what a public relations person actually does. Worse still is the fact that lots of practitioners themselves do not have a clear idea of what public relations actually is. For this reason, many come into the profession with the wrong motives, intentions and perceptions. Ikechukwu Nwosu (1997) identified some of these misconceptions, thus: 1.
Public relations is not about lying and selling falsehood about your product and organisation. It is not about denying every statement that does not favour your organisation. It is not about prevarication. Public relations is about telling the truth all the time. Public relations is not about bribery. This wrong idea about public relations came to the fore recently when a Nigerian minister of education excused his action of bribing the executive arm of government to increase his ministries budget allocation as public relations. According to him, the bribe was ‘PR’.
The truth is that public relations is not bribe giving. Public relations is based on moral principles and as such it is not ‘arranging’ pretty ladies for international visitors to government houses or to chief executives of companies, clients, board members, etc. If there is any profession where morality should be held in high regards, it is in public relations because it enhances public confidence in the profession. Public relations is not magic, enchantment or paranormal. For this reason all its activities are based on scientifically provable and empirical methods.
Public relations is based on high performance, quality performance, quality and credibility in terms of products, service, policies and practice. Public relations is not about organising parties and other social events. No doubt, public relations does activities of this nature, but not in the sense of making it its only preoccupation. Public relations is not about employing pretty ladies lacking in morals and principles to woo men into acting against their wishes. Public relations is not about being a yes-boy or a bag carrier for your boss’ madam or relations.
Rather it is a dignified and noble 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 6 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS profession that attracts self confident, intelligent and selfrespecting men and women. 4. 0 CONCLUSION Public relations is a discipline that has attracted many definitions, but the numerous definitions have a lot in common. A major point of agreement is that public relations involves creating mutual understanding between organisations and their publics. As an activity, PR is very complex, indeed it has many components. 5. 0 SUMMARY What have we learnt in this unit?
We have learnt that public relations has as many definitions as there are practitioners and academics in the field. But they all agree in their definitions that public relations aims at creating mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics. Public relations has various components which include counselling, research, media relations, publicity, government affairs, financial relations, community relations, etc. 6. 0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT Explain four terms or concepts that are common to two or more of the four definitions of PR in this unit. 7. 0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Baskin, O. , and Aronoff, C. E. (1992). Public Relations: The profession and the practice. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown. Bayles, M. D. (1981). Professional Ethics. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Berkman, D. (1992). The rush to PR. Quill, 80(3), 31-33. Cutlip, S. M. (1994). The Unseen Power: Public Relations: a History. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Grunig, J. E. , and Hunt, T. (1984). Managing Public Relations. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Martinson, D. L. (1995-96). “Client partiality and third parties: An ethical dilemma for public relations practitioners? Public Relations Quarterly, 40(4), 41-44. 7 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT 2 CONTENTS 1. 0 2. 0 3. 0 4. 0 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 FUNCTIONS AND CAREERS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Introduction Objectives Main Content 3. 1 Areas of Work of Public Relations Practitioners Conclusion Summary Tutor Marked Assignment References/Further Readings 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Public relations involves a diversity of functions. The people who do the work of public relations, that is PR practitioners, do different kinds of work, and they are a multitude indeed.
Nevertheless, these functions are interrelated and are directed towards the achievement of a singular goal: the creation of mutual understanding between organisations and their publics. 2. 0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: • • List and explain the functions of a public relations practitioners State the knowledge, abilities and skills required to perform the functions. 3. 0 3. 1 MAIN CONTENT Areas of Work of Public Relations Practitioners The work of public relations may be divided into many areas or functions.
Fundamentally, public relations practitioners perform the following functions: Writing and editing: Writing is a very vital skill in public relations. Therefore you must learn not only to appreciate good writing but must also be able to write well. The beauty about writing is that it is a skill that can be learned. Good writers are in high demand in most agencies. Mass Production: Practitioners of public relations engage in the writing of various messages for the purpose of communicating with both 8 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS internal and external publics. This is why the skill of writing is vital to public relations.
Some of the messages that PR practitioners write are packaged as magazines and other forms of publications, which require editing and production. Media relations: The mass media in both print and electronic are the channels through which public relations practitioners communicate with the public. This is why PR practitioners need to need to cultivate and maintain good relations with mass media organisations and other personnel, especially editors, reporters and columnists. Research: Public relations problems are not solved by guess work. PR practitioners carry out formal research h to obtain information that is vital to planning.
Strategic planning: Public relations practitioners who operate at the top level participate in the formulation of organisational missions, policies and goals. . Management and administration: Public relations practitioners engage in management work. Public relations is a distinct management function which helps to maintain mutual lines of communication between an organisation and its publics. PR practitioners manage people, businesses, and events. Corporate counselling: Public relations practitioners advise management on matters concerning their organisations’ relationships with their various publics.
Organising special events: The organisation of events, such as trade fairs, trade exhibitions, `press conferences, fashion shows, factory tours, special observances (e. g. mothers’ day) AGMs, etc is part of work public relations practitioners do. Speaking: To represent their organisations, PR practitioners do engage in speaking assignments of different kinds for different publics. For example, your organisation may be invited by students who are studying a subject that underlies the work of your organisation to give a public lecture during their career day.
Coaching: PR practitioners also engage in training and coaching top management staff on public speaking and press interviews. Crisis Communication: A very special type of work that PR practitioners do is helping their organisations to resolve crises whenever they occur. They do this essentially by managing the flow of 9 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS information between the organisation and the public, via the mass media, and by advising management on what to do and how to do it, so that the crisis is not aggravated.
To practice preventive public relations, it’s necessary to plan extensively to avoid crisis, but since crisis must occur, it is your duty to counsel management in crisis situations. SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE: Which five functions of public relations would you say are the most critical, and why? 4. 0 CONCLUSION When you see how much the field of public relations has been bastardized by charlatans in recent times, you will agree with me that the subjects of this unit are quite necessary in order for you at this early stage to appreciate the fact that public relations is practiced by persons with high and lofty ideals. . 0 SUMMARY In this unit, we saw that public relations involves commitment to some key areas of corporate work which include ensuring that the corporation acts in the interest of its publics. That it protects and enhances the company’s reputation, maintains openness and integrity. We also saw the knowledge, skills, and abilities you are expected to have to do well on your job as a public relations person. Lastly, we saw that public relations is not about pulling the wool over people’s eyes or being a yesman in the name of ensuring a good name. 6. 0
TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT Discuss the job demands of a public relations practitioner. 7. 0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS Brehm, S. (1992) Intimate Relations, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Cherniss, C. (1980). Professional burnout organizations. New York: Praeger. in human service Cutlip, S. , Center, A. , & Broom, G. (1985). Effective public relations (6th ed. ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Johnston J & Zawawi, C: Public relations: Theory and Practice, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1st Edition 2000. 10 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
UNIT 3 CONTENTS 1. 0 2. 0 3. 0 4. 0 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 PUBLIC RELATIONS CONCEPTS AND RELATED Introduction Objectives Main Content 3. 1 Public Relations and Related Concepts 3. 2 Jobs in Public Relations Conclusion Summary Tutor Marked Assignment References/Further Readings 1. 0 INTRODUCTION PR goes with a lot of related concepts. Some of which are often misused and confused by the audience, even those in communication. A discussion of these related concepts will give you a good insight into what public relations entails.
It is necessary to mention that your thorough knowledge of these concepts will assist you greatly in understanding the functions the PR practitioners perform. 2. 0 OBJECTIVES By the end of this unit, you should be able to: • • • Define related concepts in public relations, such as publicity, press agency, lobbying, merchandizing etc. Differentiate between these related concepts Outline the types of functions involved in public relations e. g. informative service, product publicity, investor relations etc. 3. 0 3. 1 MAIN CONTENT Public Relations and Related Concepts
So far, we have succeeded in defining public relations, but we must go a little further by explaining the relationships that subsist between public relations and similar or related concepts. The nature of public relations is quite broad and as such it includes a wide range of activities which are sometimes confused as public relations rather than elements of public relations. We shall take a look at some of these concepts and attempt an explanation of the differences and similarities between them and public relations. 11 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Publicity: This refers to any attempt designed to expose an organisation, its services or product to the public through any public media. It includes advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, etc. However in a technical sense, it is more limited and defined, so that it means free publicity which is provided essentially by the press. It is the practice of placing newsworthy and factual information written in a journalistic and editorial format published in the news media at no cost. An example of publicity is a situation where a company issues a news release about a new product or new functions of an existing product.
Should Nigeria produce its first air plane for instance, it will be given wide, free publicity. Press Agency: Unlike a news agency, a press agency deals with staging newsworthy events that are designed to attract the attention of the public by publicising them in the media. Such events include press conferences, trade exhibitions, fashion shows, etc. These must be distinguished from events that happen daily. They are rather pseudoevents because they are stage-managed for the purpose of being reported by the media. Lobbying: This is one of the most abused expressions in common usage.
In a technical sense, lobbying is a professional attempt designed to influence the government or any authority to change a public programme or policy in favour of an organisation, a cause, a group, an event e. g. organising a petition drive against a cause, e. g. open letters in daily newspapers or magazines. Dry cell manufacturers in Nigeria did this a few years ago to draw government attention to the unbridled importation of dry cell batteries. Lobbying is a legal thing when it has points, information and logical reasons. Merchandising: This deals with blending an acceptable appearance.
It is part of promotion. You blend the product or person with the real it or him, so as to win acceptance and patronage from public for a group, a product, service, cause or an idea e. g. the grooming of a positive image by a politician who acts, dresses and speaks like a real native even though he is from somewhere else, e. g. during political campaigns when politicians dress like the native people he is going to speak to. In commercial merchandising, most products are designed to convey messages by their packs. You know that normally people do not patronize badly packaged products.
Promotion: This involves moulding or mobilising opinion favourably to an organization to get it to support a worthy cause, e. g. the mounting of events or fund raising programmes for motherless babies’ homes. 12 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Personal Selling: This talks about a personal effort involving a person who is attempting to woo other people on behalf of a product, a group, an idea, etc, e. g. religious crusaders who go from door to door. There are two types of personal sellers namely: order-takers and order-getters.
Human Relations: Human relations deals with an individual’s ability to develop and maintain a personality type as well as image that is capable of successful and spontaneous interpersonal relationship with other people. Human relations is relating well with others. It talks about manners and character. Good human relations is the basis of good public relations. Persuasion: It is a fundamental assumption in public relations that effective public relations is persuasive, not intimidating or forcing. Persuasion is any mass communication effort designed to change public opinion, believe, attitudes as well as action.
Communication: This is a process of sharing ideas with other people. In a professional sense, it is a means of sending information from one person to another. Public relations in all its forms embraces communication in one form or the other. SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE List three other concepts which we have not discussed above and discuss them with your colleagues. 3. 2 Jobs in Public Relations If you have chosen to take public relations as a career, you probably know what I know: that it is a field with great job prospects, especially in the world of today.
Today’s corporate world has become very competitive in every sense. Every organisation goes the extra mile to keep its various publics by creating and maintaining mutually cordial relationships with them. Since public relations has equally become scientific and technology-based, it is hazardous for any firm not to hire appropriately qualified personnel to man its public relations office. Aside from working for a firm however, there are other options of employment for a good public relations person. The Public Relations Society of America outlined the following as the activities an average public relations personnel does.
Information Service Part of building a company’s reputation is the role of supplying information to a variety of publics. Companies send news releases to the 13 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS media in order to inform the public about earnings, acquisitions, new products and the like (media relations). Companies must respond to inquiries from customers, distributors, government officials and community residents. Product Publicity Introduction of new products, and campaigns to put fresh life into the sale of established products, are important functions in what is broadly called marketing communications.
PR practitioners work closely with the marketing department to develop product publicity that reinforces advertising and promotion campaigns. Product recall is the negative side of product publicity. Investor Relations Also referred to as stockholder communications, investor relations is a means for providing information to individuals who own stock or have a special interest in the corporation. Elaborate annual reports, quarterly reports mailed with dividend checks and other printed materials are sent to stockholders on a regular basis. Staff members may have to convince stockholders that an acquisition or merger is in their best interest.
Financial Relations A parallel function to investor relations is to provide extensive information to the financial community including security analysts at brokerage houses, large banks and similar institutions, and to weigh the information and make judgments on a company’s financial strength and prospects. On the basis of their recommendations, institutional investors and brokerage firms buy or sell a company’s stock. A thorough knowledge of finance, as well as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, is essential for a public relations person specializing in financial relations.
Community Relations A company is a vital part of a community and as such has obligations to that community through various kinds of support including encouraging employees to do volunteer work, providing a grant to the local orchestra or art museum, donating needed equipment to local schools or hospitals and so on. Good community relations include efforts to improve the quality of life in the community. Employee Relations 14 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS In any organisation, there must be a good communication “flow” between management and employees and employees and management.
The public relations department often works closely with personnel or human resources to achieve good employee relations through publication of an employee newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or video news magazine, the writing of brochures to explain company policies and benefits, preparation of audio-visual materials for training and policy-transmission purposes, the scheduling of staff meetings and seminars, the training of speakers among managers and supervisors who serve as communicators to employees, and coordination of employee productivity or energy conservation campaigns.
Special Events Management Public relations personnel are responsible for the planning and implementation of special events including sponsorship of the games, of civic or cultural events and festivals. Public Affairs The actions of government on the local, state, and national level have major effects on how companies conduct their affairs. Thus, a number of PR people work in an area often referred to as governmental relations. In this role, public affairs executives seek to influence legislation through contact with legislators and governmental regulatory agencies.
A public affairs manager must be “concerned with the management function covering the relationship between the organisation and its external environment and involving key tasks of intelligence gathering and analysis, external action programmes directed at government, communities and the general public as well as strategic issue management and internal communications. ” A lobbyist has a narrower function “concerned with direct or indirect means of exercising influence on passage or defeat of legislative bills or regulatory actions, and to influence their outcomes. Issues Management Issues management is the management process of determining how various public issues will affect a company. The manager must identify the issue, analyse it, ascertain options open to the company, initiate a plan of action and evaluate the results (e. g. , How would a company handle investments in the Republic of South Africa? How would a company handle environmental legislation impacting specific manufacturing processes? ). Trade Associations 15 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Trade associations are generally comprised of member companies that produce the same type of product or provide similar services. The association works to promote or oppose legislation, informs the public about the industry, and undertakes statistical and other types of research for the benefit of its members. Examples include: Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, National, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria. Labour Unions Labour unions must use public relations extensively to inform members about pension plans, insurance programs, and contract negotiations to name a few tasks.
In addition, labour unions participate actively in politics from the federal to the local level by endorsing and financing candidates and taking positions on political issues. Professional Societies Like the Nigerian Medical Association, the Nigerian Dental Association, the Nigerian Bar Association, work as professional societies to support legislative campaigns, advocate professional standards, publish information at both the skilled professional and general readership levels, recruit membership, and generally work to strengthen the profession’s stature in the public mind.
Government or Military Relations Government or military offices personnel work as public relations practitioners although they are most commonly referred to as public information officers (specialists) or public affairs officers (specialists). Sports Information and Entertainment Publicists These work basically as press agents to promote the personalities and careers of movie stars, musicians, rock bands, athletes, politicians, authors and so on. Professional sports teams have a public relations specialist.
Many university sports teams or athletic departments have public relations specialists in most developed countries. Generally, professionals in the sports industry are referred to as promotions directors or managers. 16 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Educational Public Relations Public relations plays a vital part in almost every educational institution. Fund raising is an important part of educational public relations. In urban areas, elementary and high school districts frequently employ public relations officers to assist the news media and to work with parents and school groups.
Collegiate public relations practitioners may distribute news releases containing information about campus events and personalities, prepare periodicals, brochures and catalogues, maintain ties with alumni, maintain relations with local, state and federal government officials, recruit students, maintain internal relations with faculty, staff and students, solicit donations from foundations, alumni, federal and state governments and special interest groups (a serious task in private institutions). Generally, however there are five major areas where public relations experts usually work which are: 1. 2. 3. . 5. Corporations Non profit organizations and Trade Associations Governments- State, Federal, Local Public Relations Agencies Independent Consulting Firms It is important to note that working in any of these public relations job areas entails same general skills but there are very wide differences in terms of job demands, challenges and complexities. Corporations: Corporations refer to organizations that produce goods and services with a strong motive for profit. In today’s world, corporations do not only offer most of the jobs in public relations, but they equally offer the greatest variety of jobs.
Can you think of the reasons for this? Some common corporations in Nigeria include: Nigeria Bottling Company (NBL), Unilever Nigeria, NICON Insurance, First Bank, etc. In most corporations, public relations jobs focus on specific publics. Indeed, several big corporations create different sub departments for their various publics, thus you have employee relations, media relations, government relations, community relations consumer relations, etc. If the corporation is a public limited liability company, it could have a financial relations department otherwise known as investor relations department.
Each of these departments is usually headed by a public relations personnel who is an expert in a given sub-field. Their duties would include research as well as advising the organisation’s management. They also plan, execute and evaluate communication programmes. It is important to look at specific job demands in each of these areas. 17 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Governments: Government Departments at Federal, state, and local levels also employ public relations personnel.
If you get a job in any of these places, you would be called by such titles as press secretary, public information officer, public affairs officer, etc. Your job would involve writing news releases and position papers, speaking with reporters, speech writing and press briefing. You may equally ply your trade with political parties. Your duties will include all the above and voter relations and media relations. Public Relations Agencies: There are lots of challenges and opportunities for growth and development if you work in a public relations agency.
The work is enormous because companies that have in-house public relations departments and those who do not would at one time or the other require the services of an independent public relations organisation. Thus, agencies handle public relations activities of other organisations, corporations, non-profit set ups, governments and even individuals. For instance, some corporations may hire your agency to handle its annual report to stockbrokers or its overseas investors. You could be hired to partner with other agencies or bodies or even the public relations department of a corporation to do research, planning, communication and evaluation..
Just as it is in advertising agencies, staff of public relations agencies are often assigned to accounts. Usually, an account would include all the public relations activities planned for one particular client. Accounts are managed by account executives. It would be their job to research into the public relations problems, write messages, and decide on media and placement. They equally do evaluation of such campaigns. It is now very common to have public relations staff specialising in various areas of an account. Some are experts in message designing, media planning and placement, while others focus on research.
In some cases, a staff could take up more responsibilities than one. Public relations agencies vary in size. There are some that work as a small part of big advertising agencies while others are full-fledged, fullblown agencies, yet others are one room agencies. Known public relations agencies in Nigeria are Progan Promotions, Lagos, Trucontact, Lagos. Independent Public relations Consultants: You may equally which to ply you trade as a one man public relations consultant. Successful public relations consultants are often persons with broad experience having worked in a few agencies and handled several successful accounts.
They are a one-man agency. Very often they specialise in small areas of public relations like crisis communication, speech writing, international public relations, etc. In the words of Guth and Marsh (2000) ‘The main 18 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS appeal of independent consulting is also is biggest burden. The consultant alone bears the responsibility for success or failure. 4. 0 CONCLUSION It was necessary to look at the elements that make up public relations as we did in this unit in order to be sure from the start of your career what you are really going to be doing.
We must note however that public relations is a growing area of knowledge. It is expanding with new vista by the day as more people and events shape it to fit into a more challenging future. 5. 0 SUMMARY The focus of this unit was to make clear some essential elements of public relations. We also saw the relationship of public relations with such concepts as publicity, press agency, lobbying, merchandising, promotion, personal selling, human relations, etc. We observed that each of these concepts is related directly or indirectly with public relations but it is not exactly public relations. We also examined the job descriptions of ublic relations professionals. Among these jobs are: information service, product publicity, investor relations, media relations, etc. 6. 0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT Attempt an in-depth description of the relationship that subsist between public relations and other related concepts. 7. 0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS Baskin, O. , and Aronoff, C. E. (1992). Public Relations: The Profession and the Practice. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown. Berkman, D. (1992). The Rush to PR. Quill, 80(3), 31-33. Cutlip, S. , Center, A. , & Broom, G. (1985). Effective Public Relations (6th ed. ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Grunig, J. E. and Hunt, T. (1984). Managing Public Relations. Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 19 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT 4 CONTENTS 1. 0 2. 0 3. 0 4. 0 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLICS Introduction Objectives Main Content 3. 1 Public Relations Publics Conclusion Summary Tutor Marked Assignment References/Further Readings 1. 0 INTRODUCTION In unit one of this module, we saw several definitions of public relations. We learnt that the success of any organisation depends on its relationship with its publics. In this unit, we shall identify the various publics with whom your organisation relates.
We shall also see best approaches to relating with these publics. 2. 0 OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: • • Identify the various publics of your organisation Show how best to relate with your publics 3. 0 3. 1 MAIN CONTENT Public Relations Publics Let’s begin this lesson by going back to the start of this module when we attempted to define public relations. There we saw some definitions that suggested that public relations aims to create mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics upon whom its success depends. This tells us that we cannot talk about public relations without reference to publics.
It also reminds us that every public relations effort is aimed at a specific public per time. A public is any group whose members have a common interest or common values in a particular situation. Publics differ from one organisation to another and the publics of one organisation may not be the publics of another organisation. Therefore you have to help your organisation to identify its publics. 20 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS We shall study the categorisation of public relations publics from two points of view. First, we look at the Wragg (1993) categorisation and later the Guth and Marsh (2000) categorisation.
According to Wragg (1993), public relations publics or audiences can be divided into four categories which include: 1. Functional Publics: They are those publics which enable the organisation to perform its chosen tasks. These include its customers, consumers, business firms with which it relates, employees, trade unions which represent it in its given line of trade or business, suppliers of raw materials and components. 2. Enabling Publics: These are publics which permit the organisation to function within the framework of the society to which it belongs.
Such publics include regulatory bodies (e. g. the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, National Broadcasting Commission, etc. ), community leaders, politicians and shareholders. 3. Diffused Publics: Within this group are media organisations, pressure groups and local residents. These are varied audiences and often, especially in the case of the media and pressure groups are avenues to other major audiences. 4. Normative Publics: This term refers to trade associations and professional bodies, but it could also include political parties.
Among the four categorisations, the functional publics are usually closest to the organisation and may exhibit the highest level of interaction. It is clear from the above that some of these classifications overlap, since in some situations political parties, pressure groups and politicians can include many of the same people and they might equally be consumers or employees. But the reason for this is not far-fetched because public relations is a dynamic field in a capricious world. This poses a challenge to you as a public relations practitioner in implementing a campaign for your organisation.
For example if you were a public relations man for an airline you would have your customers as your functional publics, however, among them could be individuals who reside around the airport who are complaining about the noise of your planes through the formation of resident associations to exert pressure on your company to change its noisy planes. Some of them could be very influential politicians. Thus you can have your 21 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS publics streaming down into enabling publics, diffused publics and normative publics. Guth and Marsh (2000) categorised public relations publics as follows: 1. . 3. 4. 5. 6. Traditional and Non-traditional publics Latent, Aware and Active publics Intervening publics Primary and Secondary publics Internal and External publics Domestic and International publics Traditional Publics Traditional publics refer to groups with which your organisation has ongoing, long term relationships. They include employees, the news media, governments, investors, customers, multicultural community groups, etc. These publics are always there, however, they must not be taken for granted as they can in one minute be allies and in another minute could be foes depending on how your organisation relates to them.
For instance any organization that takes the mass media for granted will learn too soon that ‘pen is mightier than sword. ‘ Same goes for your employees. All it takes to bring down a manufacturing company is for an aggrieved employee to produce a contaminated version of a product and for such product to get to the market. This is especially dangerous where there are strong consumer associations. Fig. 2: Traditional Publics in Public Relations. Adapted from Guth and Marsh (2000) 22 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Non-traditional publics These are groups that usually are not familiar with your organisation; that is your organisation has not had an ongoing, long term relationship with them. Non-traditional publics immerge either due to changes in your organisation, the society or those publics themselves. They have always been there but not very relevant to your organisation but due to those changes, it could become imperative for them to form one of your publics. An example here would be ethnic militias in Nigeria who are seeking to be identified with by the government and corporations in their environment.
For instance, oil companies in the Niger Delta area in Nigeria would want to look at such groups as MASSOP as new publics to relate with. Some traditional publics of some companies today were at some point non-traditional publics. After several years of relevance and interaction between an organization and its non-traditional publics, such publics could become traditional publics. Latent, aware, and active publics A latent public is one which, by evolving developments, common grounds of relationship is opening up between it and your organization, but whose members are yet to realize or explore it.
There is no active relationship between both parties presently. The members of that public are not yet aware of the existence of the relationship. An aware public is that whose members are aware of the existence of a commonality of values or interest with your organization, but have not made any organised effort to respond to such relationship. On the other hand, an active public has realised the relationship between itself and your organisation, and is working to manage that relationship on its own terms.
Several publics at the evolving stages of their relationship with organizations would usually find themselves at one of these levels of relationships. Intervening publics Any public that helps you to send a message to another public is known as intervening public. Naturally the mass media fall into this group. Without the media, there is very little any organisation can achieve in its relationship with other publics. Primary and secondary publics You could also divide public relations publics into primary and secondary publics depending on the extent to which they affect your organisation’s pursuit of its goals.
If a public can directly affect your organisation’s goals so that you have to take them into consideration 23 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS virtually on all PR matters, then that public is definitely a primary public. Here, you have such publics as your employees, your immediate community, the media, the government, the shareholders (if your company is quoted on the stock exchange), the financial institutions from which you obtain loans and through which you pay salaries. Primary publics are of great importance to any organisation.
Secondary publics are equally important and you must strive to have a good relationship with them. However, the degree to which they affect your organisation’s pursuit of its goals is minimal. In a world of limited resources in relation to time and money, most companies concentrate on building and managing relationships with primary publics. With abundance of resources, secondary publics could also get some attention. Internal and External Publics Internal publics exist within your organisation while external publics are outside.
For a higher institution of learning for instance, some of its publics would include students, academic staff, non-academic staff, food vendors, etc. , while external publics would include its immediate community, providers of social amenities like water and electricity, other institutions in its state or country of location, education ministry, Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, embassies and high commissions. Domestic and International publics A final category of publics we shall look at are domestic and international publics. Domestic publics are those within your country. International public exist beyond your country’s borders.
More and more organisations are realising the place of international publics in their overall corporate success. It is important to note however that the fact that a public is close to you does not make it familiar to you. To court the close relationship of a company requires well thought out communication strategies. International public relations is not just about the specific group or persons that your organisation relates to in another country, it entails knowledge of such a country in such areas as culture, believe and value systems, taste and preferences, religion, business ethics, important holidays, weather, etc.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1. For five named organisations in Nigeria, list the publics of each based on the categories of Wragg 24 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 2. For five named organisations in Nigeria, list the publics of each based on the categories of Guth and Marsh 4. 0 CONCLUSION Answers to all the above seven questions and indeed several other related ones are not as easy to ferret out of your mind even if you are a public relations whiz kid. You need well planned research to collect the data needed to answer these questions.
This will be the subject of discussion in a later unit. 5. 0 SUMMARY In this unit, we saw that every organisation that is serious about public relations must identify its publics clearly. We observed that there are various publics among which are: traditional and non-traditional publics, latent publics, aware and active publics, intervening publics, primary and secondary publics, internal and external publics, domestic and international publics. The nature of business as well as organisational goals and objectives of your organisation would determine its kind of publics. . 0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT Part of the jobs of a good public relations man is to consistently collect relevant information about the various publics of the organisation for which he works. Outline and discuss some questions as enunciated by Guth and Marsh that you would ask in order to get the appropriate information about your publics 7. 0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS Bernays, Edward L. (1961). Crystallizing Public Opinion (Reprint of 1923 Boni and Liveright edition). University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK. Cutlip, S. , Center, A. , & Broom, G. (1985).
Effective public relations (6th ed. ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Cutlip, Scott (1999). Public Relations History: From the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century. Lawrence Erlbaum & Associates, Mahwah, NJ. Tye, Larry (2002). The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations. Henry Holt. 25 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Wylie, F. W. (1994), “Commentary: public relations is not yet a profession”, Public Relations Review, Vol. 20 No. 26 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS MODULE 2 Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5
EVOLUTION AND PROCESS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Origins and Pioneers of Public Relations History and Development of Public Relations in Nigeria Models of Public Relations Models of Public Relations (The Melvin Sharpe’s Model) Research in Public Relations UNIT 1 CONTENTS ORIGINS AND RELATIONS PIONEERS OF PUBLIC 1. 0 Introduction 2. 0 Objectives 3. 0 Main Content 3. 1 Origins of public relations 3. 2 Trends in the Development of Public Relations 3. 3 Pioneers of public relations 4. 0 Conclusion 5. 0 Summary 6. 0 Tutor Marked Assignment 7. 0 References/Further Readings 1. 0 INTRODUCTION
History is essential to a good understanding of any area of knowledge. In this unit, we shall take a brief look at the global history of public relation. 2. 0OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit, you should be able to: • • Describe how public relations have evolved. Explain the roles of Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays in the growth of public relations. 3. 0MAIN CONTENT 27 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3. 1Origins of public relations It is very safe to say that what we now refer to as public relations had actually been with us from the beginning of man’s existence.
Although the phrase “public relations” was invented in the twentieth century, the practice of public relations had been since the dawn of recorded history. Edward Bernays, one of the seminal figures in modern public relations stated that ‘the three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people. Of course the means and methods of accomplishing these ends have changed as society has changed’. For Bernays and other public relations historians, professional public relations has always moved with civilization.
Society was crude at the start of its life, so was public relations. Primitive society ruled mainly through fear and intimidation; whereas more advanced cultures employed persuasion and debate. Public relations has equally followed this trend. The force of public relations was visible in ancient Rome as evidenced in phrases like Vox Populi, Vox Dei, ( the voice of the people is the voice of God); and Ves Publicae (public affairs). The study of rhetoric in Athens is often seen as the beginning of public relations as a social science based on research, planning and two-way communication.
The spread of Christianity in the middle ages could in modern sense be linked to the application of public relations technique. Before the development of communication and technology, the Christian faith was spread by missionaries using persuasion skills by the word of mouth. With the invention of the movable type by Guttenberg in 1456, which heralded the use of mass communication technology, public relations was gradually pushed to the frontiers of modern civilization. In the 17th century, the Catholic Church established the Congregalio Propaganda Fide, the congregation for the propagation of faith.
This was the origin of propaganda, a means at this time for spreading church doctrine. SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE Attempt a two-page write up on any other pioneer who contributed to the global development of public relations. 28 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 3. 2 Trends Leading To the Development of Modern Public Relations The end to the civil war in America and the transition from an agricultural to an industrial society are closely linked to the march towards modern public relations in the West.
The industrial revolution and its attendant pains redefined the relationships among the governments, businesses and the people. This is often referred to as the progressive era which ran from the 1890s to the United States entrance into the World War I in 1917. The progressive era witnessed the birth of the mass media and modern public relations as natural outgrowths of the sweeping social change of that era. Through the use of the ‘new media’ at this time, organisations were able to communicate with groups essential to their success. We shall examine five ocial trends that have aided the development of modern public relations as outlined by Guth and Marsh. The Growth of Institutions The Industrial Revolution brought about the growth of big companies. This in turn led to the emergence of men who had a large chunk of the nation’s money concentrated in their hands, (like J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller). However, the American system which was never disposed to a money-in-few-hands economy created laws that would spread these wealth among Americans. As businesses, government and labour grew, the need for effective communication also increased.
Expansion of Democracy With the expansion of democracy, as evidenced in such developments as women’s right to vote, and direct election of U. S Senators, civil rights movements, access of minorities to the political process, etc, there was the need for effective communication. Due to the increasing importance of persuasion and consensus, public relations became an integral part of the democratic process. Technological Improvements in Communication The revolutionary changes in communication in the 20th century contributed to the growth of public relations. Commercial radio had debuted in 1920 and commercial television in 1947.
Developments in satellite and computer technology in the second half of the 20th century further revolutionized communications. The 1990s saw the dramatic expansion of the Internet. All of these led to the shifting of communication power from media companies to individuals. 29 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS The Growth of Advocacy The last two centuries have witnessed a surge in social advocacy. Movements for women’s rights, civil rights, multinationalism, rights for persons with disabilities, children’s rights, gay rights, etc, have led to an increasing use of public relations.
The Search for Consensus The first and second world wars left several mistrust among nations of the world. With the collapse of communism and the realization by nations of the need for mutual interdependence, and the emergence of the global economy, public relations has become a handy means of increasing growth and consensus. 3. 3 Pioneers of Public Relations We cannot discuss the growth of public relations at the global level without a mention of persons who have played prominent roles in its development.
We shall look at two important figures in world public relations. Ivy Ledbetter Lee (1877-1934) Public relations historians have argued that Lee was the most famous of the early public relations practitioners. He is often regarded as a major player in birthing modern public relations. This could be due to the major roles he played in the development of the profession. Lee helped develop many techniques and principles that practitioners use today. He believed in open communication with the media and was forthright and candid in his dealings with the press.
Lee was recognised in the early twenties as the first public relations counsel. He understood that good corporate performance was the basis of good publicity. He advocated open and honest communication between an organisation and its clients. It was his principle that business had to tell its story honestly, accurately and openly in order to win public confidence and support. Two of Lee’s major clients were John D. Rockefeller and the Pennsylvania Railroad. He developed the publicity policy of ‘the public be informed’, which in his view was essential to good corporate image.
Each time Lee sent a release to the press, he attached a copy of his famous declaration of principles which read in part “This is not a secret press bureau. All our work is done in the open. We aim to supply news. This is not an advertising agency; if you think any of our matter properly ought to go to your business office, do not use it. Our matter is accurate. Further details on any subject treated will be supplied 30 JLS 610 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS promptly, and any editor will be assisted most cheerfully in verifying directly any statement of fact.
In brief, our plan is, frankly and openly, on behalf of the business concerns and public institutions, to supply to the press and public of the United States prompt and accurate information concerning subjects which is of value and interest to the public to know about. ” At a time when public relations was at its infancy, Lee gave it credibility and ethical standards. Ivy Lee was however not a saint. Some authors believe that he did always apply the standards of truth and accuracy to his work. He was also believed to have secretly worked for Hitler. Edward L.
Bernays (1891-1995) Bernays was an author, educator and public relations pioneer. He coined the famous public relations term ‘public relations counsel’ in his first book by the title ‘Crystallizing Public Opinion’ published in 1923. Bernays later published two other public relations books propaganda in 1928 and Public Relations in 1952. According to Bernays, he invented the phrase Public relations counsel because of the negative connotations attached to such terms as propagandist, publicist and press agent. In his words, “I wanted something broader than publicity and press agentry.
I called what I did ‘publicity direction’, by which I meant directing the actions of a client to result in desired publicity. A year later, Doris {Bernays