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Public Relations and Framing the Message. Chapter 12. Public Relations vs. Publicity. Publicity: one type of PR communication Messages that spread information about a person, corporation, issue, or policy in various media
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Public Relations and Framing the Message Chapter 12
Public Relations vs. Publicity • Publicity: one type of PR communication • Messages that spread information about a person, corporation, issue, or policy in various media • 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 • Press agents • Hype and stunts • P.T. Barnum and William F. Cody • Modern PR Agents • Ivy Lee • Edward Bernays • The father of modern PR
Ivy Lee • Pennsylvania Railroad • Advocated open dialogue between clients and press • Ludlow massacre • Rehabilitated Rockefeller image • Nazi clients • Soviet clients (his undoing)
Edward Bernays • Freud’s nephew • Applied behavioral sciences to PR • PR’s first “counselor” • Torches of Freedom • Made smoking fashionable among women • Sign of their independence and celebration of suffrage • Engineering consent • Lippmann vs. Bernays • Wrote Crystallizing Public Opinion • 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 • Growing field since the 1970s and 1980s • Public relations agencies: Counseling firms that provide clients with PR service • In-house services: A company has an in-house staff to take care of any PR-related concerns. • “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” —PRSSA, 1988
Top Public Relations Agencies • Burson-Marsteller • 103 offices in 58 countries • Clients include Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Wal-mart • Hill & Knowlton • 71 offices in 40 countries • Clients include American Express, Starbucks, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Types of Public Relations Writing • Press releases • Articles • Newspapers • Magazines • Brochures and catalogues • Company newsletters • Speeches • Scripts • Television • Video news releases (VNRs) • Radio • Public service announcements (PSAs) • For TV and radio
Some Types of Work in PR • Media relations • Special events • Research • 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 • PSAs
Public Relations Ethics • 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 • Flacks • PR people who insert themselves between their clients and the press • Propaganda • Spin • Pseudo-event • 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