The document outlines the course content for a public relations course. It discusses definitions of public relations, the origins and history of the field, research methods, planning, evaluation, international public relations, and fundamentals of public relations writing. Key topics covered include Grunig and Hunt's widely cited definition of public relations as the management of communication between an organization and its publics, the development of public relations in the early 20th century, and the historical background and development of public relations in Africa.

1. PUBLIC RELATIONS
BY GETAHUN AYENW (Mir)
DDU
2/23/2023 1

2.  What is Public Relations
 Definitions, Origin and Functions of PR
 Public Relations Practices
 Objectives, Techniques and tools of PR
 PR Roles, Models and Activities
 Functions of PR as management
 PR Communication Strategy and PR Activities
 Theories of PR
 Theories of Relationship, Mass Communication, Persuasion and
Social Influence
 Crisis Communication
 Indicators and Stages of crisis
 Crisis Communication and Management Strategies
 Ethics in PR
 Ethical Values for PR professionals
 PRSA Code of Ethics
Course Outline
2/23/2023 2

3. 2.Research in Public Relations
Definition of research
The importance of research
 Types of public relation research
Applied research
 Theoretical research
Methods of public relation research
Barriers to Using Research
Course Outline
2/23/2023 3

4. 3 Planning
The MBO approach
 Importance of Planning
Strategic Thinking
Programming in Pubic Relations
 Reasons for Planning
Course Outline
2/23/2023 4

5. 4. Evaluation
Purpose of Evaluation
Objectives: A Prerequisite for Evalua
tion
Methods of Evaluation
Course Outline
2/23/2023 5

6. 5. International Public Relations
• Conceptual Development of Internation
al PR
• Major Areas of International PR
Course Outline
2/23/2023 6

7. 6. The Business of Public Relations
• The PR Agency
• Scope, development and Nature of PR A
gency
Course Outline
2/23/2023 7

8. 7. Fundamentals of Public Relations Writing
• News releases
• Memos
• Newsletters
• Brochures and handbooks
• Annual reports
• Speech Writing
Course Outline
2/23/2023 8

9. • positivists
• Some definitions of public relations are positivists;
that is they are based on explaining what is
involved in the practice of public relations, or what
it achieves within organizations.
• normative
• Others are normative and state a vision of what PR
should be.
• Any differences between positivist and normative
definitions reveals disagreements about whether
the reality of PR lives up to the ideals or aspirations
for its practice.
Perspective Public
Relations
2/23/2023 9

10. Con…
• The search for a single, broadly accepted definition
for the field of PR is an ongoing struggle and both
PR literature and practice have not yet agreed on a
definition.
• The search for a definition started in 1975, when the
American Foundation for PR Research and
Education searched for a universal definition
2/23/2023 10

11. Con…
• Sixty-five PR leaders participated and 472
definitions were analysed (Seitel, 1995:6). In
1980 the PR Society of America did research
on the stature and role of PR (Lesly, 1981:32).
• It is therefore clear that the search for a single
definition has been an ongoing process.
• PR has suffered from an identity crisis, which
is largely the field’s own making, and therefore
numerous definitions for PR exist.
2/23/2023 11

12. Con…
• They are seeking to persuade, not simply
explain or inform. A definition also needs to be
put into a social context, since meaning may
change overtime or be culturally dependent.
This can be seen when reviewing different
definitions or views of public relations
2/23/2023 12

13. 2/23/2023 13

14.  PR defined
“PR is the management of communication between an
organization and its publics.”(-Grunig and Hunt
(1984), p. 4.
• Among the many competing definitions of public
relations, J. Grunig and Hunt’s is the most widely cited
definition of public relations:
• The component parts of Grunig and Hunt’s famous
definition of public relations are as follows:
1. What is Public Relations
2/23/2023 14

15. • Management. The body of knowledge on how best
to coordinate the activities of an enterprise to achieve
effectiveness.
• Communication. Not only sending a message to a
receiver but also understanding the messages of others
through listening and dialogue.
1. What is Public Relations
2/23/2023 15

16.  Organization. Any group organized with a common
purpose; in most cases, it is a business, a
corporation, a governmental agency, or a nonprofit
group.
 Publics. Any group(s) of people held together by a
common interest.
1. What is Public Relations
2/23/2023 16

17.  PR defined
“PR is a management function which tabulates public
attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of
an organization followed by executing a program of
action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”
-Edward L. Bernays
“PR is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to
establish and maintain mutual understanding between on
organization and its publics.”
-Institute of Public Relations, USA
1. What is Public Relations
2/23/2023 17

18.  The earliest definitions emphasized press agentry and publicity,
while more modern definitions incorporate the concepts of
“engagement” and “relationship building.”
 The PRSA(Public Relations Society of America)
National Assembly adopted the following definition in
1982:
 “PR helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to
each other.”
 In 2011‒12, PRSA led an international effort to
modernize the definition of PR. PRSA initiated a crowd
sourcing campaign and public vote that produced the
following definition:
 “PR is a strategic communication process that builds
mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and
their publics.”
Definition… Cont’d
2/23/2023 18

19. “PR is a planned effort to influence opinion through good
character and responsible performance based upon mutual
satisfactory two-way communication".
-PRSA 2011-2012
“PR is the art and science of managing communication between
an organization and its key constituents to build, manage, and
sustain its positive reputation.” (Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier,
2002).
 So far, successful organizations have been found to emphasize
the value of PRs
 by integrating it into strategic management in the pursuit of
satisfying organizational goals (Grunig, Grunig, & Dozier,
2002).
Definition… Cont’d
2/23/2023 19

20.  In the definition
 'Organisation' can be a government body, a business, a
profession, a public service or a body concerned with health,
culture, education - indeed any corporate or voluntary body
large or small.
 'Publics' are audiences that are important to the
organisation; employees and management; investors; media;
government; suppliers; opinion-formers.
 'Understanding' is a two-way process. To be effective, an
organisation needs to listen to the opinions of those with
whom it deals and not solely provide information. Issuing a
barrage of propaganda is not enough in today's open society.
Definition… Cont’d
2/23/2023 20

21.  Thomas Jefferson (1807) used the phrase "Public
relations" in the place of "State of thought" while
writing his seventh address to the US Congress.
 The First World War also helped stimulate the
development of PR as a profession. Many of the first
PR professionals, including Ivy Lee, Edward
Bernays, John Hill, and Carl Byoir, got their start
with the Committee on Public Information, which
organized publicity on behalf of U.S. objectives
during World War I.
 Some historians regard Ivy Lee as the first real
practitioner of public relations, but Edward Bernays
is generally regarded today as the profession's
founder.
Origins of PR
2/23/2023 21

22.  Ivy Lee, who has been credited with developing
the modern news release also called a "press
release", espoused a philosophy consistent with
what has sometimes been called the "two-way
street" approach to public relations, in which PR
consists of helping clients listen as well as
communicate messages to their publics.
 Bernays was the profession's first theorist. A
nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays drew many
of his ideas from Freud's theories about the
irrational, unconscious motives that shape
human behaviour.
2/23/2023 22
Origin… Cont’d

23.  As a result the PRs Practice in Africa achieved
momentum only during the last two decades. As in
other parts of the world, many African practitioners
enter the profession through journalism, often being
trained abroad since few facilities exist locally.
 African PRP has a different role than their U.S.
counterparts.
 In the West, it is assumed that PRP will be socially
responsible.
 In the Third World, PRs practices are designed to be
consistent with political ideologies, levels of development,
and sociopolitical controls.
 African PRP are thus expected to be team players on the
side of the government.
A Historical Background of PR
in Africa
2/23/2023 23

24.  In politically unstable Africa, governmental PRs
is used to present an image of a unified country.
 The development of PRs on the African
continent has been influenced by the availability
of mass media. E.g.: Nigeria, in Egypt it is still
misunderstood.
 PR departments have no power to answer the
questions of journalists and have to seek
answers from superiors.
 Maybe because of a lack of formal education,
only 10 percent of individuals in the public
relations business are considered to be skilled
professionals.
2/23/2023 24
History… Cont’d

25.  The PRs associations of Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana,
Uganda, Cameroon, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe are
registered with IPRA.
 FAPRA (Federation of African PRs Associations) was formed in
Nairobi in 1975 with the aim of uniting the Francophone and
Anglophone parts of Africa.
 In African governments in which one party or one leader
determines public policy, there can be no true role for PRs
as we define it.
 They may use communication techniques as a form of
propaganda or manipulation to keep the people in line; but
there would be no room for professional practitioners to
practice on behalf of those who wanted to challenge or criticize
the statuesque or propose different ideas, policies and
procedures.
 Clearly these communication practices would be labeled
subversive, unlawful and undemocratic (Rice and Atkin 2001,
p.153).
2/23/2023 25
History… Cont’d

26.  Furthermore, Africa has a responsibility
towards the global PRs society;
the empowerment of African PRP with
the necessary knowledge and skill;
to serve their societies;
to build PRs theory and
to contribute to the understanding of PRs
on the African continent.
2/23/2023 26
History… Cont’d

27.  In Ethiopia the practice of PR started to
take shape during the 1960’s
 The major purpose of the PR was merely
serving the interest of the ruling
class/group.
 During this time it is so unprofessional and
it was unable to respond to the situations
arising in those times.
The 1974 devastating famine was the failure of
PR in the government organizations.
PR in Ethiopia
2/23/2023 27

28. Nature and Scope of public relations
• Public relations as a process serves a number of functions.
• While the definitions may vary, the nature of Public Relations
indicates that it is essentially a task promoting rapport and
goodwill between a person, firm or institution and the
community at large through dissemination of information.
• It seeks to earn support, mobilize or solicit favor for an idea, a
cause, a problem, for an institution or an individual.
• It uses a two-way communication in dealing with public
opinion.

29. • First, it assesses the attitudes of the public towards the
organization.
• Next, it executes communication programmes to gain
public understanding and acceptance of the management's
point of view.
• Public Relations aims to bring about harmonious and
mutually advantageous adjustment between an organization
and the community through dissemination of ideas and also
by providing feedback from the public to the management.
• It also evaluates public attitudes, identifies policies that
interests public and executes the programme of
communication.

30. • Good public relations implies a sound moral base, i.e.,
communication must be sincere and based on facts.
• Harmless conduct is not enough. Action is required to
gain favorable recognition.
• This may be expressed as striving for three objectives:
⸙ to attract attention
⸙ to win belief
⸙ to impart understanding.

31. • These steps are taken to reach a goal: to
convince people that they should adopt a
certain attitude or pursue a certain course of
action.
• To perform this fact public relations must
begin at the heart of the organization it serves-
the management.
• It must find the answer to these three questions:
What is the message that the management
wants to impart?
To whom?
How'?

32. • And a fourth question is implied in these three: What
is the purpose?
• These questions, although innocent-looking require
great deal of thought.
• It is no good to engage in some Public Relations
activity in spurt because someone else is doing it.
• Public Relations activity has to be a planned and
sustained program with the goals worked out clearly.

33. • Without knowing what, whom, how and why, a public
relation programme can serve no purpose.
• A purposeful Public Relations program should:
1) understand the organization’s nature and purpose
thoroughly;
2) Communicate this understanding to others, i.e., the
publics;
3) Observe and evaluate the effect of the
communication.

34. Elements in Public Relations
• Briefly, Public Relations involves four major elements.
• They are inter-related and overlapping. In fact, one
tends to lead to another. These are:
 Two-way Communication
 Mutual Understanding
 Caring for Public Opinion
 Social Responsibility

35. Two-way Communication
• Public Relations philosophy puts great emphasis on the
need for two-way communication.
• It is now fairly well accepted that feedback is important.
• Many misunderstandings spring from a total lack of or an
inadequate communication.
• The foremost objective in any public relations programme,
therefore is to improve existing channels of communication
and to establish two-way flow of information.
• However, this is not as easy as it sounds! Even if you have a
strong desire to communicate, there may be great difficulties in
achieving success because of the barriers in communication
process.

36. • Many of the human problems in organization are
ascribed to lack of communication.
• Managements are constantly advised to give prompt
and regular information to employees and the public.
• Public Relations methods can do much to resolve such
conflicts to reconcile differences or even as a preventive
measure but let nobody underestimate the difficulties
involved.

37. Mutual Understanding
• Mutual understanding requires by definition, a two-
way communication.
• A Public relation policy for any organization, for
example, should include both inward activity and
intelligence to assess the policies and behavior of
the management, to see whether action is necessary
to improve the organization’s image; and outward
activity to inform the public about its achievement.
• You may be curious about one point- where does
the question of 'mutual interest arise’?

38. • In any public relationship there are at least two parties
involved.
• First, there is the organization which has something to
promote, often in competition with others.
• Second, there are the "publics" to which the
organization directs its efforts.
• Thus, there are two interests to be met; The private
interest and the public interest.
• Generally, these interests are often in conflict.
• Each party interprets the public interest in terms of its
own self interests.

39. • Let us take an example of a manufacturing
industry.
• It is exposed to pressures from different sides.
The consumers who want to pay the lowest price
for the goods they need.
The worker who wants the highest wage or salary
for producing goods.
The stockholder who wants the maximum dividend
or profit for his/her investment in the machinery
used to make the goods.
The governments which want you to pay the sales
and excise taxes on the goods you are selling.

40. • Each group has its own interests in mind.
• Resolving these conflicts of interests is the essential part
of Public Relations, because satisfying those interests is
essential to the enduring success of organization.
• This can only be done by achieving mutual
understanding between the organization and all these
interests.
• For this two-way communication is necessary by
providing information to the people and seek public favor
through an informed public opinion.

41. Caring for Public Opinion
• Public opinion has been described as the “source
spring" of public relation.
• Public opinion, is the consensus of individual opinions
of the majority among the masses, based on their attitudes
and widely held beliefs, molded by public interest.
• Abraham Lincoln once said public sentiment is
everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail;
without it nothing can succeed.

42. Social Responsibility
• The social responsibility of any organization stems
from what has been discussed earlier-that all
organizations work in the name of the people with
the main aim of serving their interests.
• For the organization to profit or gain through its
efforts it has necessarily to first achieve the
acceptance and approval of the people for its role.
• Many organizations, through getting profit from
society, do not show their concern for the latter’s
welfare and thereby end up having problems.

43. • Public relations seeks to attune itself to the needs and
aspirations of the community it serves and identifies the
interests of the organization with that of the community`s. E.g.
 participating in festivals,
 sponsoring local sports events,
 instituting scholarships,
 bus shelters,
 promoting local causes, etc.
• This is the social responsibility role of public relations.

44. Objectives of public relations
• The main objective of public relations is to
maintain a positive reputation of the brand and
maintain a strategic relationship with the public,
prospective customers, partners, investors, employees
and other stakeholders which leads to a positive
image of the brand and makes it seem honest,
successful, important, and relevant.

45. Components/Department 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
 Research
 Media Relations
 Publicity
 Employee/Membe
r Relations
 Community
Relations
 Public Affairs
 Governmental
Affairs
 Issues management
 Financial Relations
 Industry Relations
 Development/Fund-
Raising
 Multicultural
Relations/
Workplace Diversity
 Special Events
 Marketing
Communications

46. • Counselling: Providing advice to management concerning
policies, relationships, and communication with its various
publics.
• Research: Determining attitudes and behaviors of publics
through research in order to plan public relations strategies.
Such research can be used to:
 generate mutual understanding or
 influence and persuade publics.
• Media Relations: Working with the mass media in
seeking publicity or responding to their interest in the
organization.
• Publicity: Disseminating planned messages through
selected media to further the organization’s interest.

47. • Employee/Member Relations: Responding to concerns,
informing, and motivating and organization’s employees or
association or club members.
• Community Relations: Planned activity with a
community to maintain an environment that benefits both
the organization 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.

48. • Governmental Affairs: Relating directly with legislature
and regulatory agencies on behalf of the organization.
Lobbying can be part of the government affairs programme.
• Issues management: Identifying and addressing issues of
public concern that affect the organization.
• 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.

49. • Development/Fund-Raising: Demonstrating the need for and
encouraging the public to support an organization, primarily through
financial contributions.
• Multicultural Relations/ Workplace Diversity: Relating with
individuals and groups in various cultural settings.
• Special Events: Stimulating an interest in a person, product, or
organization 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.

50. Public Relations Activities
The work of public relations may be divided
into many areas or functions.
 Writing and editing
 Mass Production
 Media relations
 Research
 Strategic planning
 Management and
administration
Fundamentally, public relations
practitioners perform the following
functions:
 Corporate counselling
 Organizing special events
 Speaking
 Coaching
 Crisis Communication

51. Public Relations and Its Audiences
• Public relations professionals interact with seven
categories of publics, and a public is any group of
people with a stake in an organization, issue, or idea:
Employees
Stockholders
Communities
Media
Government
Investment community
Customers

52. Public Relations Publics
• According to Wragg (1993), public relations audiences
can be divided into four categories which include:
• 1.Functional Publics: They are those publics which enable
the organization 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
organization to function within the framework of the society to
which it belongs.
• Such publics include regulatory bodies, community leaders,
politicians and shareholders.

53. 3. Diffused Publics: Within this group are media
organizations, pressure groups and local residents.
4. Normative Publics: This term refers to trade
associations and professional bodies, but it could also
include political parties.

54. • Guth and Marsh (2000) categorized public
relations publics as follows:
1. Traditional and Non-traditional publics
2. Latent, Aware and Active publics
3. Intervening publics
4. Primary and Secondary publics
5. Internal and External publics
6. Domestic and International publics

55.  Scope
 PR has various components, ranging from counseling to issues
management and special events, journalistic writing and media
relations.
 In addition, effective PR practice requires strategic thinking,
problem-solving capability, and other management skills.
 Objectives
 Journalists gather and select information for the primary
purpose of providing the public with news and information.
 PR personnel also gather facts and information for the purpose
of informing the public, but the objective is not only to inform
but also to change people’s attitudes and behaviors in order to
further an organization’s goals and objectives.
PR Vs Journalism
2/23/2023 55

56.  Audiences
 Journalists write primarily for a mass audience-readers,
listeners, or viewers of the medium for which they work.
 A PR professional, in contrast, carefully segments
audiences into various demographic and psychological
characteristics. Such research allows messages to be
tailored to audience needs, concerns, and interests for
maximum effect.
 Channels
 Most journalists reach audiences through one. On the
other hand, PR professionals use a variety of channels.
 The channels employed may be a combination of mass
media outlets-newspapers, magazines, radio, and
television.
 Or they may include direct mail, brochures, posters,
newsletters, trade journals, special events, podcasts,
blogs, websites, and even video postings on YouTube.
2/23/2023 56
PR Vs Journalism… Cont’d

57. Differences between Journalism and
PR
Journalists
• Use only two
components
(writing and media
relations)
• Are objective
observers
• Focus on a mass
audience
• Use only one channel
PR Professionals
●Use many
components
●Are advocates
●Focus on defined
publics
●Use a variety of
channels

58. Differences between Advertising and
PR
Advertising
• Works through mass
media outlets
• Addresses external
audiences
• Is a communications
function
• Is a communication tool
in PR
• Sells goods and services
Public Relations
● Relies on a variety of
communication tools
● Targets specialized
audiences
● Is broader in scope
● Fills a support role
● Creates a favorable
environment for an
organization’s survival

59. 2/23/2023 59