(Prepared by By Jagadish Pokhrel, Teacher)
Media Issues
media issues you are supposed to cover as per your syllabus arise in three broad contexts: globalization, role and effect of the media. In these contexts, we talk about the media generally in the following sense: that is, the mass media for us here
• is any communication—whether written, broadcast, or spoken—that reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and so forth.
• is significant because it reflects and creates the modern culture
• legislatures, media executives, and sociologists agree that mass media is a permanent part of modern culture
• messages promote products, moods, attitudes, and a sense of what is and is not important
• makes people famous businessmen, politicians, criminals, actors, singers, and other celebrities or “stars”
• programming meant to please all ages, incomes, backgrounds, and attitudes, so television becomes the primary focus of most mass-media discussions. More recently, the Internet has increased its role exponentially as more businesses and households “sign on.”
• three main perspectives on the role of media: 1. the limited-effects theory, that is, because people generally choose what to watch or read based on what they already believe, media exerts a negligible influence, 2. the class-dominant theory, that is, the media reflects and projects the view of a minority elite, which controls it, and 3. the culturalist theory, which claims that people interact with media to create their own meanings out of the images and messages they receive. This theory sees audiences as playing an active rather than passive role in relation to mass media
Globalization-related issues
Globalization, Nepal and Cultural Intrusion
• unidirectional flow from the west to the rest
• cultural/media imperialism, like colonial times-Herbert Schiller
• world patterns of communication flow, both in destiny and direction, mirror the system of domination in the economic and political order (Sinclair et al.), a reflection of obvious power structures (Chomsky)
• media have vested interest in the capitalist system, western values and cultures
• contrary views (Sinclair et al) – transfer of technology, and the trend toward greater regional exchanges
• countries like Nepal lose either way—lack capacity to buy or develop technology, cultural invasion occurs from global and regional centers. e.g. Hollywood and Bollywood—intrude Kollywood
• need of national cultural policy—to subsume any cultural intrusion, such as the revival of Lok Dohori. It fosters cultural identity and creativity and resists intrusion
Media Imperialism Vs Cultural Identity
• some scholars claim that the export of American and Western popular culture is latter-day imperialism
• e.g. rock music encourages youngsters to use drugs and engage in sexual behavior
• cultural imperialism in the name of globalization and modernization
• conditions for preservation of cultural identity necessary—such as national cultural policy for safeguarding national cultural development while promoting knowledge of other cultures
Obstruction to the Global Village
• globe connected via communication and transportation, that is, technology
• but economic power important—access issue
• rich countries control all electronic power—dump obsolete technologies in developing countries
• access shaped by domestic strength—economic resources, good governance, political stability, market size, media system and so on
• imbalance in sharing new technology and flow of information holds back development
Issue of Digital Divide
• let’s say, there are 1000 people in the world, then there would be 520 women, 480 men, 330 children, 60 over 65 years, 10 college graduates, 335 illiterate adults. 52 North Americans, 55 Russians, 84 Latin Americans, 95 Europeans, 124 Africans, 584 Asians
• communications would be difficult—165 would speak Mandarin Chinese, 86 English, 83 Hindi, 64 Spanish, 58 Russian, and 37 Arabic. The other half would speak one of more than 200 languages
• one third would have access to clean drinking water; half of our children would be immunized. 500 people would suffer malnutrition. 200 of 1000 would control wealth. Another 200 would have only 2 per cent of the wealth. Seventy people would own cars. One would have a computer, probably not connected to Internet
• rich have grown richer, middle class has shrunk and the poor have remained poor
• the division is critical in the field of information = knowledge = power
• some say information equals wealth today—65 % in some ways employed in information occupations
• issues of control, access, freedom, fragmentation, privacy
• society divided in information-rich and information-poor—digital divide
Glocalization Of News
• international reporting has a role in understanding nations
• local readers may not always have much interest in foreign news
• news media localize the global news to meet the information needs of the readers-- glocalisation
• glocalisation tries to answer – what does this mean to me?
• example, Nepali media covered 9/11, Gurjrat quake and Libya returnees by localizing the international news
Electronic Imperialism
• Nepal’s communication revolution essentially a hardware revolution, a physical engineering, not yet social engineering
• satellite broadcast, cable network, fiber optics, compact discs, videocassettes, PCs etc setting the pace of media development
• those who lack these or the money to purchase these are in a distinct disadvantage in global communication
• like cultural invasion, an electronic invasion occurs when a dependency relationship is established by the importation of technology, foreign produced software, along with engineers and technicians, and wherewithal to manage information resources
• if a few rich countries continue to control all the electronic power, and dump obsolete technologies, poor nations will see their development hampered
• developing countries are far behind in latest technology and lack a communication philosophy, approach and policy of their own
• Nepal has culturally rich civilization and a communication tradition, rich and refined, in theory and practice
• but the traditional approaches cannot meet today’s requirements
• blending traditional communication system with modern communication based on the latest scientific advances in communication theory and technology is necessary
Are Electronic Media the Second God?
• anthropologists see communication as the means through which culture is learned, acted out, transmitted and preserved
• many ways to know—are mass media technologies, genres, programs, or contents? Are they cultural or entertainment industries? Are they organizations?
• describe the God, as all knowing, all powerful, a spirit, not a body, always with us, everywhere, working in mysterious ways, never allowing full understanding of him
• this describes the electronic media, and they are the Second God, the man created
• views like medium is the message and interpreting media like the second god are not very relevant from the Nepali perspective
• Nirmala Mani Adhikari claims that intra-personal dimensions also matter in Vedic Hindu approach in which communication is sharing among Sahridayas
Mass Media and Nationality
• media playing integrative role in the west—example, European Union
• in the developing countries, increasing communication is about assertion of group identities, in terms of language, religion, region, ethnicity etc—example, India, Sri Lanka
• although influence of media on audiences, not clear, they are known to reinforce popular image of society and can play a role in nation building process
• socially responsible media can foster national belongingness
• during conflict, the national media system as a whole should take up the side of the nation—Nirmala Mani Adhikari
• patriotism and nationalism must be resounded by the national media system in any country
Standardization and Imitation in Media Content
• unlike other products, media products often follow standard ways and formats
• standardization, the standard way of presenting the content, helps audiences to understand the media content
• example, inverted pyramid – common everywhere
• imitation may bring immediate profit to producers—but that is ethically problematic, whereas standardization is not
Role Related
Public Opinion and Media
• public opinion = aggregate of individual opinions towards persons and issues
• media, politics, and public opinion related
• the political realm depends on the media report of issues for the public to know them
• the public depends on the media for objective knowledge of these issues
• media, the mind magicians, can cause a downward spiral in public opinion
• public opinion surveys major tools
• media increasingly using polls as sources
Propagation Vs Propaganda
• propagation = spread, dissemination; propaganda = misinformation, half truths
• propaganda is telling only one side of the story, as a deliberate attempt to influence collective behavior and opinion
• frequently distorts facts, appeals to passion and prejudice, often false and misleading
• intention matters: e.g. a lawyer’s brief and a billboard
• propaganda may be circulated by or for individuals, businesses, ethnic associations, religious organizations, political organizations, governments and special interests
• efficient use of communication media is central to these efforts
• German and British propaganda during World War I
• US organized the Committee on Public Information, an official propaganda agency, to mobilize American public opinion about the war
• after war, totalitarian nations employed propaganda as an instrument of national policy
• the Cold War, between US and Soviet Union, saw a lot of propaganda too
• now used in election campaigns
• e.g. Nepali people demonstrated against Zee News propaganda
Law, Morality and Mass Media Ethics
• law is binding and has to do with external behavior > morality seeks to govern internal processes of intention, motive and conscience > ethics has to do with duty to self and others
• e.g. Jana Astha published a naked photo of artist Shrisha Karki who killed herself after that. the court, that is law, did not find any problem with the paper’s decision. the incident provoked moral outrage among many who came out to the streets in protest against the paper. debates on ethics of the case took the centre stage. remember the class discussion: Puja and Namrata handled similar issues differently
• law refers to the rules that are determined and enforced by the state and that are intended to channel behavior and to resolve certain adverse events. morality has to do with rules of conduct which are less binding on individuals. both guide human behavior
• e.g. sale of weapons may be legal but those who profit from it come under moral censure
• in religious societies, law and morality are almost equally strong
• some say the task of law is to enforce morality while others say law should not be construed as defining morality
• ethics is the study of what we ought to do – our obligations to others
• so in dealing with the media, we are concerned with ethical standards— code of conduct—of the media personnel. are they taking good or bad, right or wrong decisions?
• media ethics is primarily self-determined, rational and voluntary
• two views emerge—one, the media can publicize anything they wish to, and, two, the news media should be concerned about how they gather, and interpret information and the effects of their actions
• the ideal situation will be to have both freedom of expression and a responsible exercise of that freedom
• correct ways of making ethical decisions will be to use self-realization, and self-restraint because external guidance on their behavior would curtail freedom
Concentration of Media Business and Aftermath
• giant international media mega-corporations control production, distribution and audience
• they seek profit and market power
• media in fewer hands mean their monopoly, or even an oligopoly
• hard for new ventures to enter the field of mass communication
• three kinds of conglomerates emerging: industrial, service and communications conglomerates
• in books and magazines, there is a perfect competition, which is good for the consumers
• but in TV and newspapers, oligopolies control most of them – they don’t allow competition, which is not good for audiences
• let’s look at our own cable and telecom systems, they have the monopoly to decide what to give us, for how much
• according to McQuail, there are three public policy issues arising out of the trend of concentration: pricing, product, position of competitors
• that means, the provider sets the prices, quality and choice of contents, environment to drive out smaller competitors
• e.g. it is difficult for new media ventures to compete with Kantipur publications, although they are not yet a monopoly
• we can anticipate mergers of media in Nepal too
Owners’ Influence versus Editorial Independence
• contents of mass media reflect the interests of those who finance them, be they owners or advertisers
• according to McQuail, owners are of three kinds: commercial companies, private non-profit bodies, and the public sector
• commercial owners see media as their ‘property’ rather than an instrument of public service
• non-profits designed to safeguard independence, but they have a special cultural or social task such as political parties
• public ownership also ranges from direct state administration to other formations
• a study has found three out of four publishers taking interest in newsroom decisions
• owners exercise control through one of these means: direct day to day interventions, and setting goals and resources and appointing editors to implement them
• the right of the editor to take independent decision on what to publish and what not to publish is often compromised
• it is fine for the editor to accept the job under the broad policies and principles of the organization
• but the proprietor should not intervene in the day-to-day newspaper handling
• editorial independence emphasizes editor’s sphere of autonomy without which newspapers become lapdogs, not watchdogs
Journalism: Balancing Service and Business
• modern media institution is both a public service of informing the people and a business of making profit
• their task of providing a free flow of information and opinion needs to be balanced with the goals of business, such as through advertisements and circulations
• the law of large numbers governs them: whatever content will attract the largest number of consumers, which means attracting more advertising revenues, guides these media
• although the mass media have a responsibility to their owners and advertisers, they should put the public interest before them—and that is hard
• ideally, journalists should be guided by what function the news plays in the lives of the people
• the central purpose of journalism is to tell the truth so that people will have the information that they need to be sovereign
• aligning it with the business interests is a challenging demand on the media
The Objectivity Concept: Theory Vs Practice
• the concept of objectivity is concerned with the way news is created and reported, in the selection of facts, their arrangement, their framing and formation on public agenda with or without relationship to values
• objectivity is generally defined as the view that one can and should separate facts from values. Facts are assertions about the world open to independent validation; they are statements that stand beyond the distorting influences of any individual’s personal preferences. Values, so it is argued, are an individual’s conscious or unconscious set of preferences for what the world should be
• it means: (1) accuracy; (2) truthfulness; (3) fairness and balance, and (4) moral neutrality
• in many cases journalists are not objective in their reporting either because they consciously prefer not to be or because they are being manipulated by their sources
• some believe subjectivity is preferable to objectivity when the media cover illiberal and anti-democratic phenomena like terror, racism, cannibalism, sexism, chauvinism, fascism, genocide and slavery
• the idea of media objectivity was sustained by the acceptance of photographic realism
• as one critic puts it, objective reporting is a way of getting you to accept the journalist's account by saying "I don't have any passions. I don't have any convictions. I don't have the word of God… I am just telling you the way it is, you see, so accept it because this is the way it is”
• reporters, like all human beings, need to be aware of their biases
Effects Related
Mass Media Effects
• the limited-effects theory argues that because people generally choose what to watch or read based on what they already believe, media exerts a negligible influence. This theory originated and was tested in the 1940s and 1950s. Studies that examined the ability of media to influence voting found that well-informed people relied more on personal experience, prior knowledge, and their own reasoning. However, media “experts” more likely swayed those who were less informed. Critics point to two problems with this perspective. First, they claim that limited-effects theory ignores the media's role in framing and limiting the discussion and debate of issues. How media frames the debate and what questions members of the media ask change the outcome of the discussion and the possible conclusions people may draw. Second, this theory came into existence when the availability and dominance of media was far less widespread
• the class-dominant theory argues that the media reflects and projects the view of minority elite, which controls it. Those people who own and control the corporations that produce media comprise these elite. Advocates of this view concern themselves particularly with massive corporate mergers of media organizations, which limit competition and put big business at the reins of media—especially news media. Their concern is that when ownership is restricted, a few people then have the ability to manipulate what people can see or hear. e.g. owners can easily avoid or silence stories that expose unethical corporate behavior or hold corporations responsible for their actions.
the issue of sponsorship adds to this problem. Advertising dollars fund most media. Networks aim programming at the largest possible audience because the broader the appeal, the greater the potential purchasing audience and the easier selling air time to advertisers becomes. Thus, news organizations may shy away from negative stories about corporations (especially parent corporations) that finance large advertising campaigns in their newspaper or on their stations. Television networks receiving millions of dollars in advertising from companies like Nike and other textile manufacturers were slow to run stories on their news shows about possible human-rights violations by these companies in foreign countries. Media watchers identify the same problem at the local level where city newspapers will not give new cars poor reviews or run stories on selling a home without an agent because the majority of their funding comes from auto and real estate advertising. This influence also extends to programming.
critics of this theory counter these arguments by saying that local control of news media largely lies beyond the reach of large corporate offices elsewhere, and that the quality of news depends upon good journalists. They contend that those less powerful and not in control of media have often received full media coverage and subsequent support. e.g. they name numerous environmental causes, the anti-nuclear movement, the anti-Vietnam movement, and the pro-Gulf War movement.
while most people argue that a corporate elite controls media, a variation on this approach argues that a politically “liberal” elite controls media. They point to the fact that journalists, being more highly educated than the general population, hold more liberal political views, consider themselves “left of center”
media language can be revealing, too. Those who argue that a political elite controls media also point out that the movements that have gained media attention—the environment, anti-nuclear, and anti-Vietnam—generally support liberal political issues
• the culturalist theory, developed in the 1980s and 1990s, combines the other two theories and claims that people interact with media to create their own meanings out of the images and messages they receive. This theory sees audiences as playing an active rather than passive role in relation to mass media. One strand of research focuses on the audiences and how they interact with media; the other strand of research focuses on those who produce the media, particularly the news.
theorists emphasize that audiences choose what to watch among a wide range of options, choose how much to watch, and may choose the mute button or the VCR remote over the programming selected by the network or cable station. Researchers have found that when people approach material, whether written text or media images and messages, they interpret that material based on their own knowledge and experience. Thus, when researchers ask different groups to explain the meaning of a particular song or video, the groups produce widely divergent interpretations based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, and religious background. Therefore, culturalist theorists claim that, while a few elite in large corporations may exert significant control over what information media produces and distributes, personal perspective plays a more powerful role in how the audience members interpret those messages
Children, TV and Advertising
• critics fear that ads create in children wants that cannot be fulfilled and teaches them wrong lessons. This results in family tension
• defenders say ads help children learn to be consumers
• but effects hard to judge:
• to what extent do children pay attention to commercials?
• what, if any, effect do commercials have on children’s thinking process? Can they, for example, distinguish between fact and fantasy in a commercial?
• what, if any, influence do children exert on their parents’ buying as a result of commercials?
• research suggests the younger the child, the fuller attention he or she pays to commercials. Very young ones do not know the difference between commercials and programs
• young children pay a good deal of attention—such as to ads of detergents; perhaps they are learning about unfamiliar and unnecessary things
• as they get older they pay less attention, and adults scorn them
• the evidence so far indicates that children are influenced by commercials and they pressure their parents to buy advertised products
• main groups of needs satisfied in children by mass media are: entertaining (or emotional), informative ( or cognitive), social, non-social (escapist), mode of consumption
• children want information from TV, preferably presented in an entertaining manner, because they want in various ways to improve their real social contacts
Stereotyping, the Second Shift and the Media
media stereotypes are inevitable, especially in the advertising, entertainment and news industries, which need as wide an audience as possible to quickly understand information. Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their class, ethnicity or race, gender, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.
but stereotypes can be problematic. they can:
• reduce a wide range of differences in people to simplistic categorizations
• transform assumptions about particular groups of people into "realities"
• be used to justify the position of those in power
• perpetuate social prejudice and inequality
• more often than not, the groups being stereotyped have little to say about how they are represented.
e.g: female stereotypes in entertainment and news media, including onscreen portrayals of women, their effect on cultural ideas of beauty, and how these stereotypes influence the social development of young women
• the second shift is the job women have at home caring for the family after they completed their first shift at the workplace
• second shift activities are: housework, childcare, and managing domestic life
• the issue of second shift not unfamiliar to Nepali society as women are increasingly going for ‘paid work’ here
• the stereotype of becoming ‘just a housewife’ is increasingly getting real
• the condition of job-holding women becomes worse when her husband doesn’t cooperate with them in housework and caring children
• women underrepresented in media coverage—feature in accidents, natural disasters or domestic violence rather than in stories about their professional abilities and expertise
Can Media Help Control Crimes?
the debate over media violence has eluded definitive answers for more than three decades. At first blush, the debate is dominated by one question—whether or not media violence actually causes real-life violence. But closer examination reveals a political battle. On the one hand, there are those who blame media violence for societal violence and want to censor violent content to protect children. On the other hand are those who see regulation as the slippery slope to censorship or a smokescreen hiding the root causes of violence in society.
one group of people see humans are moral and desire to obey the values, rules and norms of the society. Those who break laws and commit crimes are therefore motivated by their inability to fit into the normal, cohesive, order.
another sees society as fragmented and divisive where selfish interests naturally lead to violence, crime, and delinquency. They prescribe rigorous system of social controls.
the third view is that people in power define what is deviant. People break standards established by others but do not break their own standards.
Nirmala Mani Adhikari says violence is related with culture and adds that communication media can be helpful in alienating the crime.
in the midst of all these views, one thing is certain: the issue of media violence is not going away. Increasingly the debate is focusing on the "culture of violence," and on the normalization of aggression and lack of empathy in our society.
the depiction of violence is evolving in a number of media formats. Violence is used by the entertainment and information industries.
maybe effects depend on how someone is disposed towards crime in the society. For some, media violence will have a cathartic effect and for others, it will incite them to engage in violence. Without definitive and exhaustive studies of the media’s role in controlling crimes in a particular culture, we cannot say anything for sure. What appears important then is more engaged media education, which can play a role in helping young people to put media violence into perspective
Media and Rural Development
• communication essential for development
• media can create a sense of involvement, participation and cooperation among the people
• in less developed parts, including Nepal, communication is constrained by economic, educational and demographic factors
• in Nepal, because of its low literacy status, broadcast media are of greater importance
• a coordinated media strategy, involving old and new media, could be useful for Nepal
• making proper use of communication facilities, and policies, we can employ media to be a catalyst for development of Nepal’s rural areas
• Mexico and India have experimented with the media mobilization programmes for development
• not always the magic potion, though
Using Television in Education
• various countries have educational broadcasting systems
• they aim to combat illiteracy, and advise rural people in public health, agriculture, and other social and practical subjects
• Japan, England, and the US have educational broadcasting systems
• NHK has two televisions and AM radio services devoted wholly to education
• in India, TV was introduced primarily to exploit the medium for distance education
• various Doordarshan centers transmit educational programs for primary and secondary school classes
• a UNESCO evaluation found that the TV education was useful as an ‘aid to the teaching of science subjects’
• Doordarshan devotes at least 10 per cent of its telecast time to educational or enrichment programs for school children, youth, farmers and other groups
• Nepal Television has the motto: Communication for Development
• there are few programs devoted to education
• TV reach may be there, but not many people own sets in rural areas—and there is electricity problem
• only a good planning and implementation can help in this area
Review of Earlier Classes and Left-outs
The Marketing Mix
it consists of four P’s: product (goods and services), price (of the product or service), place (the target consumers) and promotion (activities to communicate the merit of products or services)
the new integrated marketing communication (IMC) hybrid, with elements of PR, advertising and marketing, emerged in the 1990s. The idea is to use any and all means to make a product part of targeted consumer’s mindset. (Vivian)
in marketing terms, a newspaper is also a ‘product’. When developing products, marketers first must identify the core consumer needs the products will satisfy. They must then design the actual product and find ways to augment it in order to create the bundle of benefits that will best satisfy consumers.
we mainly looked at Ad and PR as special forms of communication. The idea in both is to get the message across.
so what are the options for getting the message across for an organization?
• paid for. Examples- space advertising, direct marketing, promotions, and competitions. Advantages. You control the message, decide the timing, and can be sure what went out. Disadvantages. Cannot be sure if will get read, may be disbelieved because it is you information
• free. Examples- media publicity. Advantages. Costs nothing, believable to the market, can be very effective. Disadvantages. You lose control of the message, takes a long time to organize, you may end up with nothing
how to write the message—the process checklist
• discuss what it is you are to write, why, and what you hope to achieve as a result
• make a list of all those who need to check your copy, keeping it as short as possible
• do the research-find out more about the topic/product/event you are to write about, read publications read by the market, find out what else they receive, talk to members of the market if that is possible
• start thinking about your message
• make notes on your key themes
• think about the structure of what you will write
• is the planned format the most sensible way of getting the message across? Can you think of a better solution?
• think
• write your copy from memory
• recheck against your notes to ensure you have included the main messages
• leave your text for several days (or at least overnight) before circulating it to those who must check it
• try to distinguish between changes that need making and those that must be discussed. Negotiate
Checklist for producing a newsletter
• why am I writing a newsletter?
• what do we want to get out of it?
• what is the long-term commitment to the project?
• how often will it appear?
• for how long?
• how will it be judged a success or a failure?
• who will be running this project?
• do they have the resources that they need (time, budget, talent, etc)?
• who am I writing to?
• what kind of people, reading in what kind of circumstances?
• what kind of style and tone is appropriate to this group?
• what initial/lasting impression do I want to make?
• do I want feedback, and if so how will this be managed?
• who else is writing for this market and how?
• what should it look like?
• what is the most suitable format (e.g. print or email, number of colors, quality of images)?
• how much should I write?
• what illustrations are available?
• who else can I get to contribute?
• what is the schedule of production?
• when does the market need to have it in their hands? (work back from this date.)
• are there any critical external constraints, e.g. must be received by the end of term?
• am I allowing too much time or too little time?
• who has to check it, and how long should I allow for this?
Checklist for writing a press release
• do I need a press release?
• have I got anything interesting to say?
• would an individual approach be more successful?
• what story do I have to tell?
• any individual tales that prove the point?
• any statistics that support my case?
• any third-party anecdotes/trends on the same theme?
• how can I get over the story in a nutshell?
• the who, what, where, when, and why for the first paragraph?
• what headline can I use to draw the reader in?
• what supporting themes can I develop to sustain interest?
• what follow-up action can I suggest (e.g. photo opportunity or interview)?
• basic things to check before sending out a press release.
• is it clear who sent it?
• is the contact information correct (check all numbers given)?
• is it visually varied and attractive to look at?
• would I read it myself if it were in my post?
How to develop media relations
• be frank and honest. Don’t be evasive.
• always be available to the press
• don’t combine news releases and orders for advertising
• don’t overplay the company info, or color the facts
• always assume that you will be quoted and be careful and accurate when making statements
• avoid ‘off the record’ statements, but, if necessary, clearly label them as ‘not for publication’
• don’t discriminate or play favorites with the press
• don’t complain of minor misprints or errors. Don’t mislead a reporter, if you can’t talk, say so
• don’t condemn the editor when a story is left out of the paper. don’t go over a reporter’s head to his /her superior with a complaint
• anticipate a newsperson’s interest and have the facts ready in advance
• be helpful with bad news as well as good
How to organize a press conference (you have the notes, I guess)
Some Ad, PR Perspectives
PR perspectives:
• a special type of communication process. PR specialists senders, encode messages and send to organization’s publics
• a special kind of profession: public interest professionals, just like ad agencies, they have firms to present information in a favorable manner—organized, staffed and funded activity, a specialized body of knowledge, skills, methods
• a part of a promotional mix— marketing concept
• a knowledge discipline itself—fairly institutionalized
Definitions
• PR is engineering of consent (E.L. Barneys)
• deliberate, planned, sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between organization and its publics (Institute of Public Relations)
Elements
• social mgmt philosophy – interest of people first
• an expression of that philosophy in policy decisions – policies to define course of action
• it is action resulting from these policies – doing, not just saying
• a two way process of communication—contributes toward creation of policies, then explains, defends or promotes them to the public to secure mutual understanding
Scope and Importance of PR
as a management function, PR encompasses:
• anticipating, analyzing, interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact operations and plans of organizations
• counseling mgmt at all levels in orgnization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action, and communications
• researching, conducting, and evaluating on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding in marketing, financial, fund raising, employee, community relations etc
• planning and implementing the organizations efforts to influence or change public policy. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff
PR’s role in organization
• building a strong sense of corporate identity
• overcoming misconceptions and prejudices, which the publics might have against the organization
• promoting understanding of the organization and activities including its products and services with both internal and external publics
• attracting and retaining key personnel
• projecting a good sense of social responsibility
PR and Its Value to Public
• means for the public to have its desires and interests felt by the institutions in our society
• means to achieve mutual adjustment between institutions and groups
• safety valve for freedom—makes arbitrary action and coercion less likely
• informs people on many aspects of the subject
• activates organization’s social conscience
• universal- functions in all aspects of life. Each member does PR to seek acceptance, cooperation and affection
PR and Political Communication
• both believe in the ultimate authority of people
• both concerned about public opinion
• political communication—aims to bring about favorable change in public opinion sometimes by persuading them through welfare state policies and sometimes regulations about the conduct of people and public officials
• has a role in constructing beliefs, values, expectations and political leadership
The Public Opinion
• opinion of special publics
• hard to measure—human nature, gender, age, culture, religion, language, profession, educational background, nationality etc involved
• because of differences in exposure, attention, perception and retention, people experience the same events in different ways
• small groups are key factors in public opinion
• opinions are commonly group opinions. But they change over time. Since no one is born with opinions they can be engineered. There are theories that believe public opinions can be changed
• organizations should take stock of public opinions because they make or mar them. Modern PR has evolved with business people trying to win the hearts and minds of people
The publics—the ultimate authority
Jefkins (97):
• the community
• potential employees
• employees
• suppliers of services and materials
• the money market
• distributors
• consumers and users
• opinion leaders
• some writers also include the media as publics. PR practitioners must identify their publics
Universe of PR
• all fields in the society
• marketing communications
• consumer relations
• media relations
• opinion leaders
• financial community
• stockholders
• industry relations
• employee relations
• international publics
• public affairs
• government relations
• political relations
• minority relations
• community relations
Characteristics of PR
• involves organizations—only some individuals, politicians, actors, musicians are exceptions
• systematic
• purposive—planned, have purposes
• continuous—not a single event
• interactive
Objectives
• inform the public—e.g. pre-game press releases
• persuade people to change beliefs
• create and maintain understanding
Functions (tools of PR aim to achieve these)
• publicity—public notice or technique to secure it
• promotion—activities or events to secure support or endorsement of a person, product, institution and idea
• press agentry—favourable press coverage
• lobbying-- legislators
PR functions by type of organization
• government//political organizations--- political PR, fund-raising, crisis mgmt, event coordination
• interest groups--- political PR, fund-raising, lobbying, event coordination
• for-profit organizations—lobbying, crisis mgmt, financial PR, event coordination
• non-profit organizations – fund raising, event coordination, lobbying, crisis mgmt
To achieve all these,
• programming—analyzing problems and opportunities, defining goals, determining the public, recommending and planning activities
• writing and editing—press releases, speeches, stockholder reports, product information, employee publications
• placing info—in the most effective way
• organizing special events—press functions, award programmes, exhibits and displays
• setting up face to face communication, including preparation and delivery of speeches
• providing research and evaluation using interviews, reference materials, various surveys
• managing resources—planning, budgeting and recruiting and training staff
a PR perspective we discussed in the class (just a reminder)
• as competition increases, the news media industry has to adopt new strategies for survival.
let’s look at newspapers as an example,
• they are laying off journalists, and cutting costs, but at the same time increasing pagination, supplements and sections to attract more readers and advertisers
• how can fewer journalists with reduced resources produce bigger newspapers ?
• to fill the increasingly gaping news hole -- journalists accept news subsidies from public relations professionals as a substitute for their own independent journalistic enquiries
• this process imposes changes in journalists’ working practices, revises editorial priorities and reduces markedly both the independence and the integrity of journalism.
• the fourth estate risks being overwhelmed by the fifth estate of public relations
• the manufacture of news relies on inputs from individuals and organizations outside the news organization
• their cooperation and participation is the outcome of negotiations and bargains struck implicitly or explicitly between them and journalists.
• they are the news sources on which all journalists rely for their livelihood.
• the relationship between the two groups is complex, shifts across time and particular settings
• PR is becoming one of the two “primary conveyor belts” (the other being news agencies) feeding the assembly line in the news factory” with the “raw materials” which journalists use to construct the national news.
• rapid growth in public relations across the 1990s has impacted on journalists’ news room practice, transforming them into mere processors rather than originators of news.
• critics call it:‘churnalism’, ‘McJournalism’
who leads the merry dance?
• dance metaphor -- cooperative, but not necessarily equal, character of relationships between journalists and sources
• “It takes two to tango,” Gans suggests, but “sources usually lead”
• which partner becomes dominant and ‘leads’ varies at different stages in the cycle of news gathering and reporting
a “love-hate relationship”
• “getting too close” to sources offends a key professional principle, and risks blunting journalists’ critical edge transforming the journalistic watchdog into a public relations lapdog
• “politicians employ an entire industry often using public money, to present themselves as favorably as possible”
• PR practitioners offer a form of subsidy to news organizations via press releases, press conferences, vnRs (video news Release), press briefings and lobbying.
• news subsidies offer the prospect of not merely “cheap news” but “free news”
