The document presents a lecture by Dr. Kay Colley on public relations and its role in the communications process, emphasizing the skills and tools necessary for success in the field. It contrasts public relations with journalism and advertising, highlighting its unique characteristics, such as the need for truthful messaging from the organization’s perspective and the challenge of message control. The importance of credibility and ethics in public relations, as well as an overview of various PR tools and practices, are also discussed.

1. Public Relations and the Media Presented by Dr. Kay Colley April 23, 2007

2. Who am I? Former reporter and editor Former public relations director at UNT Health Science Center PhD in higher education, minor journalism; Master of International Journalism; Bachelor of Arts in Journalism 15 years of college teaching experience

3. Objectives To understand how public relations fits into the communications process To understand the role of public relations in society To understand the skills needed to be successful in public relations To understand the tools public relations practitioners use To understand how credibility and ethics fit into public relations

4. What do you know about PR? Definition/role in communications Like journalism Unlike journalism Like advertising Unlike advertising Internal versus external

5. Like journalism Informative, clean and concise writing Conduct extensive research on your subject Interview participants in your story Write stories in standard journalistic formats Same goal: Providing timely information

6. Unlike journalism Your organization’s goals come first Provide information to journalists as well as other publics Have no control over the message once it’s “out there” Use a wide variety of media to convey messages Information is truthful but from the organization’s perspective only

7. Like advertising The persuasive professions: Goal driven Information can be recycled in a variety of formats for continued use Messaging is designed in campaign style

8. Unlike advertising Public relations practitioners cannot control the message Public relations is more subtle Public relations is less expensive overall The public tends to trust public relations more than advertising and usually doesn’t even know it’s there

9. Internal versus external Internal publics include Employees Top executives Shareholders External publics include Media Public, which can be broken into subsets

10. The communications process The basic communications model Sender/Encoder Message Channel Receiver/Decoder **Figure from Wikipedia Where does public relations fit into this process?

11. Skills needed for public relations Good communications skills Written Spoken Integrated Good information gathering skills Good critical thinking skills Creativity Ability to be persuasive Ability to understand and conduct research Understanding of how all media work Understanding of technology and its role in society Ability to meet deadlines consistently Ability to solve problems quickly Ability to understand and empathize with people Ability to work with a team Ability to create and implement a plan Integrity*** http://www.prsa.org/supportfiles/news/viewNews.cfm?pNewsID=949

12. Tools of public relations News release Print Video Audio New media Media kit Newsletters Pamphlets, brochures and manuals Position papers or white papers Byliners or expert stories Op-ed pieces Web sites Speeches News conferences Special events Exhibits Lobbying Only your imagination and budget limit this list***

13. Most important tool Your credibility: Once it’s lost, you can’t get it back.

14. A word on spin What is spin? Why do people spin? Spin can damage credibility Spin can damage your company’s image Spin leads to a bad image for public relations practitioners overall Is spin ethical?

15. Exercises: The news release Looking at a specific public relations tool For 10 minutes, grab a partner and contrast page 181 to page 58, be prepared to cite 3 differences between the two groups of tips and provide examples. Divide into three groups. You are receiving a news release and one of the resultant stories. Compare and contrast the two. Be prepared to discuss your analysis with the class. What was the goal of the news release? Did it accomplish that goal?

16. For more information Florida Public Relations Association www.fpra.org Public Relations Society of America www.prsa.org International Association of Business Communicators www.iabc.com International Public Relations Association www.ipra.org Some textbooks This is PR: The realities of public relations by Newsom, Turk and Kruckeberg Public relations writing: Form and style by Newsom and Carrell Writing PR: A multimedia approach by Carstarphen and Wells