public relations

1. (used with a sing. verb) The art or science of establishing and promoting a favorable relationship with the public.
2. (used with a pl. verb) The methods and activities employed to establish and promote a favorable relationship with the public.
3. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The degree of success obtained in achieving a favorable relationship with the public.

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Form of communication that is primarily directed toward gaining public understanding and acceptance. It tends to deal with issues rather than specifically with products or services. Public relations uses publicity that does not necessitate payment in a wide variety of media and is often placed as news or items of public interest. Because public relations communications are placed in this manner, they offer a legitimacy that advertising does not have, since advertising is publicity that is paid for. The practice of PR is used to build rapport with the various publics a company, individual, or organization may have (i.e., employees, customers, stockholders, voters, competitors, or the general population). Publicity releases, employee-training seminars, and house organs are examples of instruments used in public relations. Financial public relations, a specialized branch of the profession, is concerned with corporate annual reports, stockholder communications, and the disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Form of communication that is primarily directed to image building and that tends to deal with issues rather than specifically with products or services. Public relations uses publicity that does not necessitate payment in a wide variety of media and is often placed as news or items of public interest.

Public relations describes the various methods a company uses to disseminate messages about its products, services, or overall image to its customers, employees, stockholders, suppliers, or other interested members of the community. The point of public relations is to make the public think favorably about the company and its offerings. Commonly used tools of public relations include news releases, press conferences, speaking engagements, and community service programs.

Although advertising is closely related to public relations—as it too is concerned with promoting and gaining public acceptance for the company's products—the goal of advertising is generating sales, while the goal of public relations is generating good will. The effect of good public relations is to lessen the gap between how an organization sees itself and how others outside the organization perceive it.

Public relations involves two-way communication between an organization and its public. It requires listening to the constituencies on which an organization depends as well as analyzing and understanding the attitudes and behaviors of those audiences. Only then can an organization undertake an effective public relations campaign.

Many small business owners elect to handle the public relations activities for their own companies, while others choose to hire a public relations specialist. Managers of somewhat larger firms, on the other hand, frequently contract with external public relations or advertising agencies to enhance their corporate image. But whatever option is chosen, the head of a company is ultimately responsible for its public relations.

Goals of Public Relations

Some of the main goals of public relations are to create, maintain, and protect the organization's reputation, enhance its prestige, and present a favorable image. Studies have shown that consumers often base their purchase decisions on a company's reputation, so public relations can have a definite impact on sales and revenue. Public relations can be an effective part of a company's overall marketing strategy. In the case of a for-profit company, public relations and marketing should be coordinated to be sure they are working to achieve the same objectives.

Another major public relations goal is to create good will for the organization. This involves such functions as employee relations, stockholder and investor relations, media relations, and community relations. Public relations may function to educate certain audiences about many things relevant to the organization—including the business in general, new legislation, and how to use a particular product—as well as to overcome misconceptions and prejudices. For example, a nonprofit organization may attempt to educate the public regarding a certain point of view, while trade associations may undertake educational programs regarding particular industries and their products and practices.

Steps in a Public Relations Campaign

Effective public relations requires a knowledge, based on analysis and understanding, of all the factors that influence public attitudes toward the organization. While a specific public relations project or campaign may be undertaken proactively or reactively (to manage some sort of image crisis), the first basic step in either case involves analysis and research to identify all the relevant factors of the situation. In this first step, the organization gains an understanding of its various constituencies and the key factors that are influencing their perceptions of the organization.

In the second step, the organization establishes an overall policy with respect to the campaign. This involves defining goals and desired outcomes, as well as the constraints under which the campaign will operate. It is necessary to establish such policy guidelines in order to evaluate proposed strategies and tactics as well as the overall success of the campaign.

In step three, the organization outlines its strategies and tactics. Using its knowledge of the target audiences and its own established policies, the organization develops specific programs to achieve the desired objectives. Finally, step four involves actual communication with the targeted public. The organization then employs specific public relations techniques, such as press conferences or special events, to reach the intended audience.

In step five the organization receives feedback from its public. How have they reacted to the public relations campaign? Are there some unexpected developments? In the final step, the organization assesses the program and makes any necessary adjustments.

Areas of Public Relations

Public relations is a multifaceted activity involving different audiences as well as different types of organizations, all with different goals and objectives. As a result, there are several specific areas of public relations.

PRODUCT PUBLIC RELATIONS. Public relations and marketing work together closely when it comes to promoting a new or existing product or service. Public relations plays an important role in new product introductions by creating awareness, differentiating the product from other similar products, and even changing consumer behavior. Public relations can help introduce new products through staging a variety of special events and handling sensitive situations. For example, when the Prince Matchabelli division of Chesebrough-Pond's USA introduced a new men's cologne, there were twenty-one other men's fragrances being introduced that year. To differentiate its new offering, called Hero, Prince Matchabelli created a National Hero Awards Program honoring authentic male heroes and enlisted the participation of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America to lend credibility to the program. Similarly, when Coleco introduced its Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, public relations helped increase awareness through licensed tie-in products, trade show exhibits, press parties, and even window displays in Cartier jewelry stores.

Public relations is often called on to give existing products and services a boost by creating or renewing visibility. For example, the California Raisins Advisory Board organized a national tour featuring live performances by the California Dancing Raisins to maintain interest in raisins during a summer-long advertising hiatus. The tour generated national and local publicity through media events, advance publicity, trade promotions, and media interviews with performer Ray Charles. Other public relations programs for existing products involve stimulating secondary demand—as when Campbell Soup Co. increased overall demand for soup by publishing a recipe booklet—or identifying new uses for the product. Public relations can interest the media in familiar products and services in a number of ways, including holding seminars for journalists, staging a special media day, and supplying the media with printed materials ranging from "backgrounders" (in-depth news releases) to booklets and brochures. Changes in existing products offer additional public relations opportunities to focus consumers' attention. An effective public relations campaign can help to properly position a product and overcome negative perceptions on the part of the general public.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS. Employees are one of the most important audiences a company has, and an ongoing public relations program is necessary to maintain employee good will as well as to uphold the company's image and reputation among its employees. The essence of a good employee relations program is keeping employees informed and providing them with channels of communication to upper levels of management. Bechtel Group, a privately held complex of operating companies, published an annual report for its employees to keep them informed about the company's operations. The company used surveys to determine what information employees considered useful. A range of other communication devices were used, including a monthly tabloid and magazine, a quarterly video magazine, local newsletters, bulletin boards, a call-in telephone service, and "brown bag" lunches where live presentations were made about the company. Suggestion systems are another effective way to improve employee-management communications.

Other public relations programs focusing on employees include training them as company public relations representatives; explaining benefits programs to them; offering them educational, volunteer, and citizenship opportunities; and staging special events such as picnics or open houses for them. Other programs can improve performance and increase employee pride and motivation. Public relations can also play a role in recruiting new employees; handling reorganizations, relocations, and mergers; and resolving labor disputes.

FINANCIAL RELATIONS. Financial relations involves communicating not only with a company's stockholders, but also with the wider community of financial analysts and potential investors. An effective investor relations plan can increase the value of a company's stock and make it easier to raise additional capital. In some cases special meetings with financial analysts are necessary to overcome adverse publicity, negative perceptions about a company, or investor indifference. Such meetings may take the form of full-day briefings, formal presentations, or luncheon meetings. A tour of a company's facilities may help generate interest among the financial community. Mailings and ongoing communications can help a company achieve visibility among potential investors and financial analysts.

Annual reports and stockholder meetings are the two most important public relations tools for maintaining good investor relations. Some companies hold regional or quarterly meetings in addition to the usual annual meeting. Other companies reach more stockholders by moving the location of their annual meeting from city to city. Annual reports can be complemented by quarterly reports and dividend check inserts. Companies that wish to provide additional communications with stockholders may send them a newsletter or company magazine. Personal letters to new stockholders and a quick response to inquiries insure an additional measure of good will.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS. A comprehensive, ongoing community relations program can help virtually any organization achieve visibility as a good community citizen and gain the good will of the community in which it operates. Banks, utilities, radio and television stations, and major retailers are some of the types of organizations most likely to have ongoing programs that might include supporting urban renewal, performing arts programs, social and educational programs, children's programs, community organizations, and construction projects. On a more limited scale, small businesses may achieve community visibility by sponsoring local sports teams or other events. Support may be financial or take the form of employee participation.

Organizations have the opportunity to improve good will and demonstrate a commitment to their communities when they open new offices, expand facilities, and open new factories. One company increased community awareness of its presence by converting a vacant building into a permanent meeting place. Another company built its new headquarters in an abandoned high school that it renovated. One of the more sensitive areas of community relations involves plant closings. A well-planned public relations campaign, combined with appropriate actions, can alleviate the tensions that such closings cause. Some elements of such a campaign might include offering special programs to laid-off workers, informing employees directly about proposed closings, and controlling rumors through candid and direct communications to the community and employees.

Organizations conduct a variety of special programs to improve community relations, including providing employee volunteers to work on community projects, sponsoring educational and literacy programs, staging open houses and conducting plant tours, celebrating anniversaries, and mounting special exhibits. Organizations are recognized as good community citizens when they support programs that improve the quality of life in their community, including crime prevention, employment, environmental programs, clean-up and beautification, recycling, and restoration.

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS. Public relations practitioners become heavily involved in crisis communications whenever there is a major accident or natural disaster affecting an organization and its community. Other types of crises involve bankruptcy, product failures, and management wrongdoing. In some cases, crises call for an organization to become involved in helping potential victims; in other cases, the crisis may require rebuilding an organization's image. In any case, experts recommend that business owners prepare a plan in advance to deal with potential crises in an honest and forthright manner. The main objective of such a plan is to provide accurate information quickly in order to reduce uncertainty. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1989, for example, the Bank of America utilized its public relations department to quickly establish communications with customers, the financial community, the media, and offices in 45 countries to assure them the bank was still operating.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL RELATIONS. Public relations in the political arena covers a wide range of activities, including staging debates, holding seminars for government leaders, influencing proposed legislation, and testifying before a congressional committee. Political candidates engage in public relations, as do government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

Trade associations and other types of organizations attempt to block unfavorable legislation and support favorable legislation in a number of ways. The liquor industry in California helped defeat a proposed tax increase by taking charge of the debate early, winning endorsements, recruiting spokespersons, and cultivating grassroots support. A speakers bureau trained some 240 industry volunteers, and key messages were communicated to the public through printed materials and radio and television commercials.

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST.

Organizations attempt to generate good will and position themselves as responsible citizens through a variety of programs conducted in the public interest. Some examples are environmental programs (including water and energy conservation) and antipollution programs. Health and medical programs are sponsored by a wide range of nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, and other businesses and industries. These range from encouraging other companies to develop AIDS-in-the-workplace policies to the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. Other programs offer political education, leadership and self-improvement, recreational activities, contests, and safety instruction.

CONSUMER EDUCATION. Organizations have undertaken a variety of programs to educate consumers, building good will and helping avoid misunderstandings in the process. Opportunities for educating consumers might include sponsoring television and radio programs, producing manuals and other printed materials, producing materials for classroom use, and releasing the results of surveys. In addition to focusing on specific issues or industries, educational programs may seek to inform consumers about economic matters and business in general.

OTHER PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAMS. Other types of programs that fall under the umbrella of public relations include corporate identity programs, ranging from name changes and new trademarks to changing a company's overall image. Special events may be held to call attention to an organization and focus the public's good will. These include anniversary celebrations, events related to trade shows, special exhibits, or fairs and festivals. Speakers bureaus and celebrity spokespersons are effective public relations tools for communicating an organization's point of view. Speakers bureaus may be organized by a trade association or an individual company. The face-to-face communication that speakers can deliver is often more effective than messages carried by printed materials, especially when the target audience is small and clearly defined.

Public Relations for Small Businesses

Like other types of organizations, small businesses can benefit from public relations in terms of their relationships with customers, employees, investors, suppliers, or other interested members of the community. Since small business owners are the most visible representatives of their own companies, they frequently handle many of the public relations functions themselves. But experts caution small business owners against taking on this responsibility if they are unqualified, or if they are unable to give public relations the attention it deserves. In these cases, entrepreneurs may choose to hire a public relations specialist or contract with an outside agency.

In his book Public Relations for the Entrepreneur and the Growing Business, Norman R. Soderberg outlines the main qualifications for public relations professionals. An ideal candidate would be creative and enterprising, possess good communication skills and solid news judgment, have a thorough knowledge of the business, be sincere and considerate in dealing with people, and make a good impression as a representative for the company. Some of the skills required in public relations work include writing and editing, public speaking, graphic arts, public opinion polling, and advertising. The responsibilities of a public relations executive include interpreting public opinion, advising management, generating opportunities to increase public awareness and acceptance, disseminating good publicity, and evaluating the results of campaigns. In order to perform these duties effectively, the public relations professional must know what is going on in the business, which means that he or she requires access to management.

"Most companies need to seek outside help from a public relations agency at some point," Chad Kaydo wrote in Sales and Marketing Management. "Even if staff members handle most of your PR efforts, an independent firm can assist with a special project, or give occasional advice." There are a variety of reasons why a small business owner might decide to contract public relations work out to an external agency. For example, company personnel may be inexperienced in handling public relations; the company may be geographically distant from its main audiences; the company may not be able to afford to hire a full-time public relations executive with the needed skills; or the company may want the objective judgment of an outsider. A small business owner can locate reputable public relations firms through the Small Business Administration, the Public Relations Society of America, the trade press for their industry, or the recommendations of fellow business people or local news people. When choosing between several potential agencies, a small business owner should consider those that have experience in the industry, clients in similar industries, financial stability, and a compatible overall philosophy. Contracting with an outside firm can be costly—some charge their clients a monthly retainer, while others charge straight hourly rates for limited services.

While communication is the essence of public relations, an effective public relations campaign is based on action as well as words. Whether it is practiced formally or informally, public relations is an essential function for the survival of any organization. Small business owners cannot afford to neglect public relations. But lavish parties and gifts are not necessary—it is possible to vastly improve a small business's image within its community while also controlling public relations expenditures. Sponsoring a local softball team, speaking at a chamber of commerce meeting, and volunteering at a neighborhood clean-up are among the wide variety of public relations activities readily available to small businesses.

Further Reading:

Bianco, David, ed. PR News Casebook:1000 Public Relations Case Studies. Gale Research, 1993.

Kaydo, Chad. "How to Hire a PR Firm." Sales and Marketing Management. April 2000.

Lesly, Philip, ed. Lesly's Handbook of Public Relations and Communications. AMACOM, 1991.

Nucifora, Alf. "Small Businesses Need Positive PR." Dallas Business Journal. May 19, 2000.

Soderberg, Norman R. Public Relations for the Entrepreneur and the Growing Business. Probus, 1986.

Young, Davis. Building Your Company's Good Name. AMACOM, 1996.

See also: Community Relations; Press Kits; Press Releases

The art and science of promoting good will within the public by a corporation or governmental agency.

Public Relations (or PR) is a field concerned with maintaining public image for high-profile people, commercial businesses and organizations, non-profit associations or programs.

An earlier definition of PR (by The first World Assembly of Public Relations Associations, held in Mexico City in August 1978) was "the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders, and implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the organization and the public interest." ^[1].

Others define it as the practice of managing communication between an organization and its publics.^[2] Public relations provides an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that provide a third-party endorsement^[3] and do not direct payment.^[4] Once common activities include speaking at conferences, working with the media, crisis communications and social media engagement^[5], and employee communication.

The European view of PR as practice notes that besides a relational form of interactivity there is also a reflective paradigm that is concerned with publics and the public sphere; not only with relational (which can in principle be private), but also with public consequences of organizational behaviour ^[6][3]. A much broader view of neo-ubiquitous interactive communication using the Internet as outlined by Phillips and Young in 'Online Public Relations' Second Edition (2009) which describes form and the nature of Internet-mediated public relations. It encompasses social media and other channels for communication and many platforms for communication such as personal computer (PC's), Laptop, mobile phone and other mobile devices and online games machines.

PR is used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public.^[7] Almost any organization that has a stake in how it is portrayed in the public arena employs some level of public relations. There are a number of PR disciplines falling under the banner of Corporate Communications, such as Analyst Relations, Media Relations, Investor Relations, Internal Communications and Labor Relations.

Other PR disciplines include:

• Financial public relations - providing information mainly to business reporters.
• Consumer/Lifestyle public relations - gaining publicity for a particular product or service (rather than using advertising).
• Crisis public relations - responding to negative accusations or information.
• Industry relations - providing information to trade bodies.
• Government relations - engaging government departments to influence policy making

Contents 1 History 2 Global alliance 3 The industry today 4 Methods, tools and tactics 4.1 Tools 4.2 Publics targeting 4.3 Lobby groups 4.4 Spin 4.4.1 Spin doctors 4.5 Other 5 Politics and civil society 5.1 Defining the opponent 5.2 Managing language 5.3 Conveying the message 6 Front groups 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

History

See also: History of public relations

In the United States of America, Edward L. Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud, is widely recognized as the father of public relations. In Europe and in antiquity there are many more contenders as the founders of the practice. Most notably, according to Bournemouth academic, Dr Kevin Moloney, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire with her political activism, use of printed news outlets, events management and social gatherings in the late 18th Century in favour of her, predominantly, political clients, has a claim to be an early practitioner.

A conference held at Bournemouth University in July 2010 [4] is to delve more deeply into practices of PR dating back as far as the Roman Empire.

Two hundred years after the death of the Duchess, Bernays graduated from Cornell University in 1912 and opened the first recognized public-relations firm with Doris Fleischman in 1919.^[8] As Harold Lasswell explained in 1928, "public relations" was a term used as a way of shielding the profession from the ill repute increasingly associated with the word "propaganda": "Propaganda has become an epithet of contempt and hate, and the propagandists have sought protective coloration in such names 'public relations council,' 'specialist in public education,' 'public relations adviser.' "^[9]

Global alliance

Globally, the profession is represented by The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management [5] which is the umbrella organisation linking PR Professional Associations worldwide. At its World Public Relations Forum in 2010, the Alliance accepted the Stockholm Accords[6] These accords present the practice of public relations in the following terms:

The Communicative Organisation The concept of the Communicative organisation was conceived as a result of the five-year research programme “Business Effective Communication” a collaboration between the Swedish Public Relations Association, Mälardalen University and the Stockholm School of Economics. During the project a number of cases were studied to define how information and communication can be used in the leadership of organisations in order to achieve a higher degree of external effectiveness.

The value-creation networks The world is no longer a straight line from company to consumer. The organization holds a position in a network full of different stakeholders, and the network decides if you are valuable enough to keep your position. You can be replaced anytime. Your organization needs to find the perfect position where it is so valuable that the network can´t do without you. The key to this is to develop the organisation´s communicative skills. This is where the communicator comes in to save the day.

The contextual leadership The communicator needs to take on leadership in the communicative organization. It is his or her task to put the ideological leadership (i.e. the business idea or purpose) into the correct context. However the saying goes, perhaps selling sand in Sahara isn´t the best of ideas. The leadership can take different forms; as system building, mediation, coaching or influencing. The important thing is, communication is an organizational quality, rather than a function.

Sven Hamrefors, professor at the Department of Innovation, Design and Product Development, Mälardalen University, describes the Accords in a YouTube interview here.

The industry today

The need for public relations personnel is growing at a fast pace. The types of clients for whom PR people work include the government, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, specific industries, corporations, athletic teams, entertainment companies, and even countries. The title public relations is a broad description of the field because careers that one can have in the public relations field include a publicist, media specialist, analyst, and communications specialist.

The practice of public relations is spread widely. On the professional level, there is an organization called Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the world's largest public relations organization. PRSA is a community of more than 21,000 professionals that work to advance the skill set of public relations. PRSA also fosters a national student organization called Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).

In the USA, Public Relations professionals earn an average annual salary of $49,800 which compares with £40,000 for a practitioner with a similar job in the UK [7]. Top earners bring home around $89,220 annually, while entry-level PR specialists earn around $28,080.^[10]

In the industry today it is very critical for public relations professionals to learn and know the importance of new media outlets. New media outlets include blogs, social networking sites, as well as internet radio. Public relations professionals must know that using these new media outlets are ways to directly send messages to their key publicians (also known as target audiences).

Methods, tools and tactics

It has been suggested that Black Public Relations be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Public relations and publicity are not synonymous, but many PR campaigns include provisions for publicity. Publicity is the spreading of information to gain public awareness for a product, person, service, cause or organization, and can be seen as a result of effective PR planning. More recently in public relations, professionals are using technology as their main tool to get their messages to target audiences. With the creation of social networks, blogs, and even internet radio public relations professionals are able to send direct messages through these mediums that attract the target audiences. Methods used to find out what is appealing to target audiences include the use of surveys, conducting research or even focus groups. Tactics are the ways to attract target audiences by using the information gathered about that audience and directing a message to them using tools such as social mediums or other technology.

Tools

There are various tools that can be used in the practice of PR. Traditional tools include press releases and media kits which are sent out to generate positive press on behalf of the organization. Other widely-used tools include brochures, newsletters and annual reports.

Increasingly, companies are utilizing interactive social media outlets, such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook, as tools in their PR campaigns. Unlike the traditional tools which allowed for only one-way communication, social media outlets allow the organization to engage in two-way communication, and receive immediate feedback from their various stakeholders and publics.

One of the most popular and traditional tools used by public relations professionals is a press kit (also known as a media kit). A press kit is usually a folder that consists of promotional materials that give information about an event, organization, business, or even a person. What are included would be backgrounders or biographies, fact sheets, press releases (or media releases), media alerts, brochures, newsletters, photographs with captions, copies of any media clips, and social mediums. With the way that the industry has changed, many organizations may have a website with a link, "Press Room" which would have online versions of these pieces.

Publics targeting

A fundamental technique used in public relations is to identify the target audience, and to tailor every message to appeal to that audience. It can be a general, nationwide or worldwide audience, but it is more often a segment of a population. A good elevator pitch can help tailor messaging to each target audience. Marketers often refer to socio-economically-driven "demographics", such as "black males 18-49." However, in public relations an audience is more fluid, being whoever someone wants to reach. Or, in the new paradigm of value based networked social groups, the values based social segment could be a trending audience. For example, recent political audiences seduce such buzz word monikers as "soccer moms" and "NASCAR dads."

An alternative and less flexible, more simplistic, approach uses stakeholders theory to identify people who have a stake in a given institution or issue. All audiences are stakeholders (or presumptive stakeholders), but not all stakeholders are audiences. For example, if a charity commissions a PR agency to create an advertising campaign to raise money to find a cure for a disease, the charity and the people with the disease are stakeholders, but the audience is anyone who is likely to donate money.

Sometimes the interests of differing audiences and stakeholders common to a PR effort necessitate the creation of several distinct but complementary messages. This is not always easy to do, and sometimes – especially in politics – a spokesperson or client says something to one audience that creates dissonance with another audience or group of stakeholders.

Lobby groups

Lobby groups are established to influence government policy, corporate policy, or public opinion. An example of this is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC, which influences American foreign policy. Such groups claim to represent a particular interest and in fact are dedicated to doing so. When a lobby group hides its true purpose and support base, it is known as a front group. Moreover, governments may also lobby public relations firms in order to sway public opinion. A well illustrated example of this is the way civil war in Yugoslavia was portrayed. Governments of newly succeeded republics of Croatia and Bosnia invested heavily with American PR firms, so that the PR firms would give them a positive war image in the US.^[11]

Spin

Main article: Spin (public relations)

In PR, "spin" is sometimes a pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in specific favour of an event or situation. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation of the facts, "spin" often, though not always, implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics. Politicians are often accused of spin by commentators and political opponents when they produce a counterargument or position.

The techniques of spin include selectively presenting facts and quotes that support ideal positions (cherry picking), the so-called "non-denial denial", phrasing that in a way presumes unproven truths, euphemisms for drawing attention away from items considered distasteful, and ambiguity in public statements. Another spin technique involves careful choice of timing in the release of certain news so it can take advantage of prominent events in the news. A famous reference to this practice occurred when British Government press officer Jo Moore used the phrase It's now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury, (widely paraphrased or misquoted as "It's a good day to bury bad news"), in an email sent on September 11, 2001. The furor caused when this email was reported in the press eventually caused her to resign.

Spin doctors

Skilled practitioners of spin are sometimes called "spin doctors," despite the negative connotation associated with the term. Perhaps the best-known person in the UK often described as a "spin doctor" is Alastair Campbell, who was involved with Tony Blair's public relations between 1994 and 2003, and also played a controversial role as press relations officer to the British and Irish Lions rugby union side during their 2005 tour of New Zealand.^{[citation needed]}

State-run media in many countries also engage in spin by selectively allowing news stories that are favorable to the government while censoring anything that could be considered critical. They may also use propaganda to indoctrinate or actively influence citizens' opinions. Privately run media may also use the same techniques of 'issue' versus 'non-issue' to spin its particular political viewpoints.

Other

• Publicity events, pseudo-events, photo ops or publicity stunts.
• Talk show circuit. A PR spokesperson (or his/her client) "does the circuit" by being interviewed on television and radio talk shows with audiences that the client wishes to reach.
• Books and other writings.
• Blogs.
• After a PR practitioner has been working in the field for a while, he or she accumulates a list of contacts in the media and elsewhere in the public affairs sphere. This "Rolodex" becomes a prized asset, and job announcements sometimes even ask for candidates with an existing Rolodex, especially those in the media relations area of PR.
• Direct communication (carrying messages directly to constituents, rather than through the mass media) with, e.g., newsletters – in print and e-letters.
• Collateral literature, traditionally in print and now predominantly as web sites.
• Speeches to constituent groups and professional organizations; receptions; seminars, and other events; personal appearances.
• The slang term for a PR practitioner or publicist is a "flack" (sometimes spelled "flak").
• A Desk Visit is where the PR person literally takes their product to the desk of the journalist in order to show them emerging promotions.
• Astroturfing is the act of PR agencies placing blog and online forum messages for their clients, in the guise of a normal "grassroots" user or comment (an illegal practice across the larger practice areas such as the European Union).
• Online Social Media and internet mediated public relations practices.

Politics and civil society

Defining the opponent

In the USA but not in the larger PR markets, the tactic known as "defining one's opponent" is used in political campaigns. Opponents can be candidates, organizations and other groups of people.

In the 2004 US presidential campaign, Howard Dean defined John Kerry as a "flip-flopper," which was widely reported and repeated by the media, particularly the conservative media. Similarly, George H.W. Bush characterized Michael Dukakis as weak on crime (the Willie Horton ad) and hopelessly liberal ("a card-carrying member of the ACLU"). In 1996, President Bill Clinton seized upon opponent Bob Dole's promise to take America back to a simpler time, promising in contrast to "build a bridge to the 21st century." This painted Dole as a person who was somehow opposed to progress.

In the debate over abortion, self-titled pro-choice groups, by virtue of their name, defined their opponents as "anti-choice", while self-titled pro-life groups refer to their opponents as "pro-abortion" or "anti-life".

Managing language

If, in the USA, a politician or organization can use an apt phrase in relation to an issue in interviews or news releases, the news media will often repeat it verbatim, without questioning its aptness. This perpetuates both the message and whatever preconceptions might underlie it. Often, something that sounds innocuous can stand in for something greater; a "culture of life" sounds like general goodwill to most people, but will evoke opposition to abortion for many pro-life advocates. The phrase "States' rights" was used as a code for anti-civil rights legislation in the United States in the 1960s, and allegedly in the 1970s and 1980s.

Conveying the message

The means by which a message is communicated can be as important as the message itself. Direct mail, robocalling, advertising and public speaking are commonly used depending upon the intended audience and the message that is conveyed. Press releases are also used, but since many newspapers are folding in the USA, they have become a less reliable way of communicating for American practitioners, and other methods have become more popular.

In the USA and India, news organizations have begun to rely more on their own websites and have developed a variety of unique approaches to publicity and public relations, on and off the web.^[12]

Long after many initiatives across the world by more advanced nations; the use of online communication by al-Qaida dating back to 2001, the country of Israel has employed a series of Web 2.0 initiatives and are indicative of how a small nation can use internet mediated communication. Israel's initiative in 2008 included a blog,^[13] MySpace page,^[14] YouTube channel,^[15] Facebook page^[16] and a political blog to reach different audiences.^[17] The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs started the country's video blog as well as its political blog.^[17] The Foreign Ministry held the first microblogging press conference via Twitter about its war with Hamas, with Consul David Saranga answering live questions from a worldwide public in common text-messaging abbreviations.^[18] The questions and answers were later posted on IsraelPolitik, the country's official political blog.^[19]

Front groups

One of the most controversial practices in public relations is the use of front groups – organizations that purport to serve a public cause while actually serving the interests of a client whose sponsorship may be obscured or concealed. Critics of the public relations industry, such as PR Watch, contend that some PR firms involve a "multi-billion dollar propaganda-for-hire industry" that "concocts and spins the news, organizes phony 'grassroots' front groups, spies on citizens, and conspires with lobbyists and politicians to thwart democracy." ^[20]

Instances with the use of front groups as a PR technique have been documented in many industries. Coal mining corporations have created environmental groups that contend that increased CO₂ emissions and global warming will contribute to plant growth and will be beneficial, trade groups for bars have created and funded citizens' groups to attack anti-alcohol groups, tobacco companies have created and funded citizens' groups to advocate for tort reform and to attack personal injury lawyers, while trial lawyers have created "consumer advocacy" front groups to oppose tort reform.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Chief Communications Officer
• Customer relationship management
• Interactive PR
• Litigation Public Relations
• Marketing and Advertising
• News conference
• Promotion (marketing)
• Public Opinion
• Publicity
• Spokesman
• Message Discipline
• Investor Relations

References

1. ^ Jensen Zhao. Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd. Ed. Retrieved from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5209/is_1999/ai_n19125848/
2. ^ Grunig, James E. and Hunt, Todd. Managing Public Relations. (Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984), 6e.
3. ^ Seitel, Fraser P. The Practice of Public Relations. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007), 10e.
4. ^ name="answers.com" http://www.answers.com/topic/public-relations Answers.com Marketing Dictionary: Public Relations. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
5. ^ Rubel, Gina F., Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers, Doylestown, PA: 1 ed. 2007, ISBN 978-0-9801719-0-7
6. ^ name=On the definition of public relations: a European view
7. ^ Answers.com Marketing Dictionary: Public Relations. Retrieved August 7, 2008
8. ^ [1]. Retrieved December 18, 2009
9. ^ pp. 260-261, "The Function of the Propagandist", International Journal of Ethics, 38 (no. 3): pp. 258-268.
10. ^ "Public Relations Specialist Careers: Employment & Salary Trends for Aspiring Public Relations Specialists". http://www.collegedegreereport.com/articles/public-relations-specialist-careers-employment-salary-trends-aspiring-public-relations-spec. 
11. ^ See Peter Viggo Jakobsen, Focus on the CNN Effect Misses the Point: The Real Media Impact on Conflict Management is Invisible and Indirect, Journal of Peace Research, vol.37, no.2. Institute of Political Science, University of Copenhagen (2000).
12. ^ [2]
13. ^ Israel Video Blog aims to show the world 'the beautiful face of real Israel', Ynet, February 24, 2008.
14. ^ Israel seeks friends through MySpace page, Bobby Johnson, The Guardian, March 23, 2007.
15. ^ Israel uses YouTube, Twitter to share its point of view, CNN, December 31, 2008
16. ^ Israel's New York Consulate launches Facebook page, Ynet, December 14, 2007.
17. ^ ^{a b} Latest PR venture of Israel's diplomatic mission in New York attracts large Arab audience, Ynet, June 21, 2007.
18. ^ Battlefront Twitter, HAVIV RETTIG GUR, The Jerusalem Post, December 30, 2008.
19. ^ The Toughest Q's Answered in the Briefest Tweets, Noam Cohen, The New York Times, January 3, 2009; accessed January 5, 2009.
20. ^ PRWatch

• Bernays, Edward (1945). Public Relations. Boston, MA: Bellman Publishing Company. 
• Biagi, S. (2005). Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media. Chicago: Thomas Wadsworth.
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• Calcagni, Thomas (2007). Tough Questions, Good Answers, Taking Control of Any Interview. Sterling, VA: Capital Books, Inc.. ISBN 978-1-933102-50-4. 
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• Cutlip, Scott (1994). The Unseen Power: Public Relations, A History. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-1464-7. 
• Ewen, Stuart (1996). PR!: A Social History of Spin. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-06168-0. 
• Forman, Amanda (2001). Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire. New York: Random House USA Inc; New Ed edition. ISBN 0-037-5753834-0. 
• Grunig, James E.; and Todd Hunt (1984). Managing Public Relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0-03-058337-3. 
• Hall, Phil (2007). The New PR. Mount Kisco, NY: Larstan Publishing. ISBN 0-9789182-0-7. 
• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
• Macnamara, Jim (2005). Jim Macnamara's Public Relations Handbook (5th ed. ed.). Melbourne: Archipelago Press. ISBN 0-9587537-4-1. 
• Nelson, Joyce (1989). Sultans of Sleaze: Public Relations and the Media. Toronto: Between The Lines. ISBN 0-921284-22-5. 
• Phillips, David (2001). Online Public Relations. London: Kogan Page. ISBN 0-7494-3510-0. 
• Seitel, Fraser. The Practice of Public Relations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 10 ed. 2006 ISBN 0-13-230451-1
• Stauber, John C.; and Sheldon Rampton (1995). Toxic Sludge is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies, and the Public Relations Industry. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press. ISBN 1-56751-061-2. 
• Tye, Larry (1998). The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays & the Birth of Public Relations. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-70435-8. 
• Tymson, Candy; and Peter Lazar (2006). Public Relations Manual. Sydney: Tymson Communications. ISBN 0-9579130-1-X. 
• Stoykov, Lubomir; and Valeria Pacheva (2005). Public Relations and Business Communication. Sofia: Ot Igla Do Konetz. ISBN 954-9799-09-3. 

1. Scott M. Cutlip/ Allen H. Center/ Glen M. Broom, "Effective Public Relations," 7th Ed., Prentice-Hall, Inc. A Simon and Schuster Company, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 07632, 1994, Figure 10-1
2. Center, Allen H. and Jackson, Patrick, "Public Relations Practices," 5th ed., Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle, N.J., 1995, pp. 14–15
3. Crifasi, Sheila C., "Everything's Coming Up Rosie," from Public Relations Tactics, September, 2000, Vol. 7, Issue 9, Public Relations Society of America, New York, 2000.
4. Kelly, Kathleen S., "Effective Fund Raising Management," Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, N.J., 1998
5. Wilcox, D.L., Ault, P.H., Agee, W.K., & Cameron, G., "Public Relations Strategies and Tactics," 7th ed., Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA, 2002
6. Grunig, James E. and Hunt, Todd. Managing Public Relations. (Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984), 6.

Further reading

• Edward Bernays. (1928) "Propaganda".
• Boorstin, Daniel J. (1972) The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. New York: Atheneum.
• Ewen, Stuart. (1996) PR! A Social History of Spin. New York: BasicBooks.
• Hall, Phil. (2007) The New PR. Mount Kisco, N.Y.: Larstan Publishing.
• LA YEllow Shuttle. ‘
• Seib, Patrick and Fitzpatrick, Kathy. (1995) Public Relations Ethics. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace and Company.
• Friedman, Marsha. (2009) Celebritize Yourself: The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business. North Carolina: Warren Publishing, Inc. "Celebritize Yourself".

External links

• Public Relations at the Open Directory Project

About the industry

• A History of Public Relations, from The Institute for Public Relations

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