Diversity and My Thesis

My proposed master’s thesis examines the mutually beneficial relationship between journalists and state and local government public relations practitioners. One of the problems facing the relationship between these two groups, is the journalists and publics’ perceived distrust and poor perception of government agencies and public relations practitioners. In order to diagnose and attempt to alleviate the notion of distrust of government agencies, my study aims to point out the existence of this distrust among journalists, quantify the degree or magnitude of it, and attempt to offer areas improvements in practice can be made to better this perception and regain trust.
Maintaining an open and trusting relationship between journalists and state and local government public relations practitioners is important to both groups. The two rely heavily on this mutually beneficial relationship to gather, disperse and communicate sometimes vital information to the public. The public relations practitioners communicate and disperse their agencies’ information to the public through journalists and journalists often rely on public relations practitioners to obtain and explain complicated policy or technical issues in ways that can be more easily understood by the public.
Issues of diversity in public relations, journalism and the relationship between the two may play a vital role in how each group does their business and how the two groups interact.
Issues such as the diversity, or lack of diversity, of target audiences public relations practitioners are trying to reach with their press releases or the lack of diversity issues that journalist cover may effect the relationship.
A public relations practitioner that works for an organization promoting diversity or working for an organization that is itself diverse may be disappointed by the lack of coverage they receive or the way in which their organization is covered by the media. In the same way, public relations practitioners may be on the other side of the spectrum and may give a false representation of the organizations employee diversity, or the diversity of businesses they contract with.
Diversity issues will continue to be a major part of how both journalism and public relations is practiced, as the U.S. population also becomes more diverse and as new media expands the amount of diverse groups media can reach. In addition, both industries will grow and change as the next generation of public relations practitioners and journalists graduate from college and enter the work force. This generation has grown up in an increasingly more diverse atmosphere and with much greater understanding of other diversity groups. This greater knowledge and understanding of each other may help to bridge or at least lessen the gap between both journalists and public relations practitioners and among the multi generational, multiracial, and multi-ethnic audiences they are looking to reach.

(Photo courtesy of : journalism.co.uk/13/articles/532410.php)

Links
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=58&aid=157919
http://www.prsa.org/diversity/diversity%20dimensions/studyExamines.html
http://www.instituteforpr.org/essential_knowledge/list/category/Diversity%20and%20Public%20Relations%20Practice/
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/17904
http://journalism.unr.edu/classes/jweek08/?p=33
http://www.platformmagazine.com/article.cfm?alias=Diversity-A-Challenge-Worth-Welcoming

Journalism vs. PR: why can't we all get along

(photo from prethicaldilemma.blogspot.com)

Much has been written on the relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners. The fact is that the two groups have a mutually dependent, but also mutually cautious relationship. Most of what comes out in the press is dependant on the help of public relations practitioners to some extent. Whether a whole story is provided to a journalist in a press release or questions are answered or clarification given to journalists by public relations practitioners, the end product of what journalists produce is in some way influenced by PR. In the same way, public relations practitioners need the press just as bad, if not worse. The media, through the journalists, are the disseminators of information about the organization that the public relation practitioners work for.
Scholars, journalists and public relations practitioners alike have debate the degree of dependence, but most admit that dependence exists. “Journalists and public relations people have always had an ambivalent relationship. Simply put, there is mutual dependence, but also mutual caution and that doesn’t lead to a trusting atmosphere” (Falconi, 2007).
According to journalists and the press, public relations practitioners are always trying to spin a story to the advantage of their organization and are simply obstructions in the way of getting the answers they need from the important people who they really want to talk to.
On the other hand, many public relations practitioners are disenchanted by the way they are treated with suspicion by journalists who are distrusting of the information they are provided by practitioners. Those in PR may feel disappointed when stories come out, because the journalists they gave the information to may have twisted or left out information they may see as crucial to telling the whole story from the perspective of their organization.
What results is a cycle of distrust and disappointment that does nothing but widen the gap between the two industries. The aim for those researching the topic is to come up with a strategy to maintain a healthy balance in the journalism/PR relationship.
In addition to trust problems between the two, the increasing speed and growth of technology have also widened the gap between the two. When asked about the journalist/PR problem, current public relations practitioner and former business journalists Hope Heyman responded by saying she thinks “it’s becoming a more distant relationship, at least for PR people working for agencies, with fewer face-to-face meetings or even phone calls as both PR practitioners and journalists communicate exclusively via e-mail” The disenchantment between the two groups hangs heavily on the fact that both parties see the other as less ethical. The perceived ethic division between the two may grow to be a bigger problem as new media progresses and the lines of journalism and PR are blurred.

Links:
http://www.louisvillehardcore.com/steakcharmer/2008/06/public-relations-and-journalis.html

http://www.prconversations.com/?p=245

http://weblogs.jomc.unc.edu/talkingbiznews/?p=2096

http://www.deirdrebreakenridge.com/2009/04/social-media-changes-pr-and-journalism/

http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2007/02/pr_does_not_hav.shtml

http://www.ereleases.com/prfuel/strengthening-the-relationship-between-public-relations-and-business-journalism/

http://www.ereleases.com/prfuel/maintaining-a-healthy-balance-in-the-public-relationsjournalist-relationship/

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=156713&sid=32

My Choice

My Choice – Amber Theinert

I hate my choice options. The open-endedness of such a blog makes it difficult to decide what to do. I could write about my research, but sometimes I bore of that topic (since I am so immersed in it on a relatively frequent basis). So, I think I will contribute to this blog by writing a mini survival guide to getting a Masters degree while working full-time and being a full-time mom. As much research as I’ve done in sports public relations, I definitely know much more about this topic then anything else.

1. Find a job that will work with you and understand your school commitments.

This is actually quite difficult, as I soon found out. First, I moved backed to Oklahoma as there were no schools within close proximity to where I lived in Texas that offered my degree. Then the job I moved for that promised complete understanding no longer understood after a year. Luckily, I finally fell into a job that seems to get it (although there are still issues at times).

2. Have a strong support system in place.

Having family that gets it and an awesome spouse that is willing to spend a lot of lonely nights with two children under the age of three seems like it would be impossible to find. However, a simple conversation explaining all the crazy time commitments can go a long way to save a marriage. Also, knowing that if your spouse has to work late that you have other family willing to take care of the kiddos while you are in school is of the utmost importance.

3. Although you have no time, be ready to make time.

This is the hardest thing for me to do. I still find myself doing a lot of things last minute (like this blog), but time is really difficult to make and often times I need the deadline to kick things into high gear. Luckily, I’ve always worked my best under pressure. I’ve learned quite a bit about time management by getting my Masters degree that I never learned while getting my Bachelors degree.

4. Getting a Bachelors degree is very different than a Masters degree.

This is good knowledge for every student taking this step. The whole undergraduate process is geared toward practical knowledge, training you to get a job upon graduation. However, graduate school requires more thinking, asks that you learn more about the why rather than the how of it all. So, all studying skills that were effective for a BA are almost completely ineffective for an MA.

Life After Project!

Is there life after the completion of a thesis or project? YES! A much less stressful life awaits! :)
With the completion of my project will also come the end of my school years, so yes for me there is life after completing my project!
As is the nature of any professional project, I hope to successfully disseminate my ideas and the core concepts from my project to a particular client. I am still uncertain of who exactly that client will be, but this will be determined when I get a little closer to time for me to begin my final project. If I go with the project proposal that I have come up with for this class, the client would be Grand River Dam Authority as well as a chosen nonprofit agency.
The audience I really hope to influence would be nonprofit agencies as well as large corporations that wish to be socially responsible and help to financially support a worthy cause. My project proposal proposes that a joint advertising campaign be created, that would involve both a for-profit corporation and a non-profit organization. Not only would the nonprofit benefit because of the financial support, but the corporation would benefit as well, because of the goodwill and positive brand image the partnership would accrue.
The interesting spin that this project has as opposed to other social cause-related marketing campaigns is that it involves the non-profit one hundred percent. Input, approval, and suggestions for the ads of both entities would be needed from the nonprofit as well as the corporation. Also, though this would be an advertising campaign, several public relations techniques and practices would be implemented therefore making it an integrated marketing campaign. In today’s world of advertising, many traditional methods are very near death. That is why it is so important for new and integrated forms of advertising and marketing to be created and put into practice.
Brand image building has emerged as an important way to promote and stabilize your brand. For example, try to think of an advertisement you have recently seen for Starbucks coffee . Except for billboards Starbucks doesn’t really advertise heavily, but they have an amazing brand image that brings in new customers and keeps previous customers returning day after day. Or, take Apple computers for example, while yes they may use traditional advertising to advertise their newest product, their brand image is so strong that they have a consistently growing loyal following. Their brand is so salient that people use it to define themselves. That is what my project sets out to do, maybe at a smaller scale that is not so cult like. J In essence, this project is simply increasing brand awareness while also increase favorable brand image for both the nonprofit agency and the large corporation. So, all of this being said, the best way to share my ideas with a broader audience is to pitch the idea to a client and begin implementing it one client (or client pair) at a time.

Contributing to the Body of Knowledge

Contributing to the Body of Knowledge

When conducting research during undergraduate course work, there is no need to really think about the field as a whole, you pick a topic, conduct minor research and put together a paper of 5-7 pages. Starting out in graduate school, I was quite surprised on day one to hear that my first paper would be between 20-25 pages. The research was so different, and I realized quickly that my undergraduate studies had done little to help me think on a theoretical level.

Soon after starting graduate school, I began hearing this term “body of knowledge” being thrown around. I realize now that the body of knowledge is the world around us, what the past and present researchers have studied and that this body has natural holes within it where new researchers (or graduate students) can find their niche within it.

Journalism and mass communications is in a unique situation compared to other fields. The field is still young (in comparison to other fields) and there is much spill over from other bodies of knowledge that relates to out field. For example, for my professional project I must look into areas such as human resources, job recruitment and gender roles in order to develop a sufficient literature review to work from.

The body of knowledge is important because of the starting place it provides the future researchers. It also points towards new areas of study, giving even more potential areas for those unsure of what they wish to study. The body of knowledge is by no means complete, and never will be as journalism and mass communication is an ever evolving field.

I plan to conduct my professional project on the subject of recruiting more women into the field of sports information directing within higher education institutes. I feel this will connect me to a very large gap in the current body of knowledge, seeing as there is little existing research in the field of sports information directing. I find it interesting that so many female public relations students express interest in working in the sports information directing industry, but the current research shows that very few women are within the field.

Finding these sorts of holes is key when conducting research which you wish to use as a contribution to the body of knowledge for any subject. Our field is lucky because the body of knowledge is continuously growing into new areas, continuously adding new gaps that require study and rapidly changing with the technology. It is unfortunate that this idea of contributing to the greater good of the journalism and mass communication field is not introduced to undergraduate students more often. I believe that all higher education students should be introduced to this idea much sooner, and should begin understanding that what they choose to research can be a contribution to the greater body of knowledge for the entire field.

My Research Topic -- The Future of Public Relations! -- by Christina

When I first began developing my research topics I looked into my future. I thought about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to get there. After much soul searching I knew I did not want to go on to attain my doctorial degree, but rather wanted to go into the practice of public relations, either corporate or agency work. With this decision made, I had to answer the question of how my studies can help me get the job I wanted. My focus turned to what it was I wanted to get out of graduate school and how my studies could help me attain my career goals. I decided the best course of action would be to focus on the future of the public relations industry. One major portion of the future of public relations is the utilization of Web 2.0 tools in the practice of public relations. The industry to catching onto the importance of using Web 2.0, but there is not much scholarly work on the topic. I decided that I wanted to become a pioneer in the study of utilizing social media as a public relations tool that should be implemented into public relations campaigns. Ultimately this is how my research topic was decided. When it is all over, I want to use my newly found expertise in this area as a stepping-stone to the career I choose. Also, I strongly believe that social media is the future of public relations. Becoming an expert in implementing social media tools is something that every public relations practitioner must understand and use sooner than later.
The Public relations industry is beginning to show interest and see the importance of using social media in public relations, hosting multiple conferences to assist practitioners in this new, untraditional form. The academic side, however, has been slower in acceptance and studying about social media use in public relations. Our own Dr. Michael Kent is one of the leading researchers about the importance of using interactivity on Web sites in order to build relationships with publics. Being published in the next Public Relations Review, Dr. Kent conducted a critical analysis of blogging in public relations. Another scholarly article that is a key part of my research topic will be from Trent Seltzer and Michael Mitrook about the dialogic potential in social media for relationship building. Blogging is a key component of social media. Some of the most successful blogs that my research project could potentially study include Southwest Airlines, General Motors, as well as social media experts blog, like that of Giovanni Gallucci’s Blog and The Marketing Blog. The experience with my research topic so far has been wonderful, yet very overwhelming. There are many different opinions out there about what is social media even is, what purpose it serves, and many critics call it a fad. The most difficult part about choosing a research topic so new is that there are very little scholarly reviewed articles about this. Though there has been a lot published in the practitioner and trade journal world, most of it is not based on actual methodological research studies. Taking on a topic like this will be very rewarding and has great potential to be extremely significant to the field of public relations.