Download Public Relations

Public Relations and Framing the
Message
Chapter 12
Public Relations vs. Publicity
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Publicity: one type of PR communication
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Messages that spread information about a person,
corporation, issue, or policy in various media
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E.g., Kraft Foods launching a food education campaign after
fatty processed foods came under attack
Public relations: The entire range of efforts by an
individual, an agency, or any organization
attempting to reach or persuade audiences
Historical Development
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Press agents
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Hype and stunts
P.T. Barnum and William F. Cody
Modern PR Agents
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Ivy Lee
Edward Bernays
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The father of modern PR
Ivy Lee
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Pennsylvania Railroad
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Ludlow massacre
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Advocated open dialogue between clients and
press
Rehabilitated Rockefeller image
Nazi clients
Soviet clients (his undoing)
Edward Bernays
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Freud’s nephew
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PR’s first “counselor”
Torches of Freedom
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Applied behavioral sciences to PR
Made smoking fashionable among women
Sign of their independence and celebration of suffrage
Engineering consent
Lippmann vs. Bernays
Wrote Crystallizing Public Opinion
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The field’s first textbook
“Public relations is the attempt, by
information, persuasion, and
adjustment, to engineer public
support.”
—Edward Bernays, 1923
The Practice of Public Relations
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Growing field since the 1970s and 1980s
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Public relations agencies: Counseling firms that
provide clients with PR service
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In-house services: A company has an in-house
staff to take care of any PR-related concerns.
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“Public relations helps an organization and its
publics adapt mutually to each other.”
—PRSSA, 1988
Top Public Relations Agencies
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Burson-Marsteller
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103 offices in 58 countries
Clients include Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Walmart
Hill & Knowlton
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71 offices in 40 countries
Clients include American Express, Starbucks, and
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Types of Public Relations Writing
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Press releases
Articles
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Newspapers
Magazines
Brochures and catalogues
Company newsletters
Speeches
Scripts
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Television
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Video news releases (VNRs)
Radio
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Public service announcements (PSAs)
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For TV and radio
Some Types of Work in PR
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Media relations
Special events
Research
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PR’s fastest-growing segment
Determines why particular campaigns succeed or
fail
Targets specific audiences
Community and consumer relations
Government relations and lobbying
Nonprofit PR
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PSAs
Public Relations Ethics
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In 2006, the Pentagon investigated the
Lincoln Group for misrepresenting its
capabilities and connections, and secretly
paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories
written by the U.S. military.
Pejorative Public Relations:
What journalists fear about PR
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Flacks
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Propaganda
Spin
Pseudo-event
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PR people who insert themselves between
their clients and the press
Coined by Daniel Boorstin
Fabricated stories
Block reporters from sources
“We need to amend our work product, to get
away from message triangles, hyped-up
press releases, and controlling access to our
clients.”
—Richard Edelman, Edelman CEO, 2006
Public Relations Society of America
Ethics Code
Advocacy
Honesty
Expertise
Independence
Loyalty
Fairness
“In politics, image [has] replaced action.”
—Randall Rothenberg