What exactly is PR? (4460)

I don’t think anyone outside the field of public relations really knows what PR is or what PR professionals actually do. Come to think of it, even though I’m in my final semester before graduating with a degree in that very field, I’m still figuring it out.

When I first returned to college, now as an adult, I had my heart set on becoming a materials science engineer. I have a passion for science and I really wanted to get into the environmental side of engineering – biomaterials.

Turns out I’m really bad at chemistry. It’s like a learning disability.

I had never struggled with anything in academia before, and the failure to understand concepts in CHEM I really dealt a blow to my self-confidence. I swallowed my pride and headed to the public library to pick up some career testing materials. I had to choose a different field.

After taking extensive career and personality tests, one profession kept popping up: public relations.

Now, I really had no idea what that meant. The words “public relations” brought to my mind images of a charismatic person at a press conference, talking on behalf of another person from behind a cluttered mound of microphones all stacked on top of a podium.

I could do that.

When family and friends would ask me what I had chosen to pursue now that my Marie Curie fantasy had been dashed, I said, “public relations.”

“Oh, you’d be perfect for that,” was always the response. I’m pretty sure they all saw the charismatic person bantering with reporters at the press conference.

Once I started my upper-level PR classes, I realized that I was way off in my understanding of the profession. It’s only an infinitesimal percentage of PR professionals who regularly see press conferences. There seems to be a kind of unsaid difference between a publicist and a PR professional.

Public relations is all about writing. Actually, it’s all about writing, writing and more writing. Most of a PR professional’s time is spent in the office, writing all sorts of literature for a company: brochures, newsletters, business letters, strategic key messages, news releases, blogs, communications plans. Public relations writing requires an almost unattainable mastery of grammar and AP style, and that keeps me in a constant state of panic about what I might be messing up at any moment. It’s so hard to learn every little rule that I have to learn.

PR professionals have to know what any potential audience for information would want to know, need to know and should know at any given time. Whether it be a disaster, a breakthrough, a goof, a leak, a success, a failure, a minor hiccup or a big change, a PR professional has to know what needs to be communicated and how to communicate it. No pressure.

Although it’s not exactly what I was mentally prepared for, I’m turning out to be okay at this. I hate writing and I’m total crap at it, but it seems to be coming more smoothly. No matter what happens, I have a newfound respect for PR professionals.

So next time you’re reading a brochure, a newsletter or even your own company’s mission statement, think about the PR professional who likely formulated the message and put it there. That could be me someday.

The need for media and business ethics (4470)

The need for ethics in the media and in business springs from the need to minimize harm.

What kind of harm could the media do without the constraint of ethics?

Embarrass

Without the media’s ethical restraint in withholding identities of victims in potentially embarrassing news stories, victims could suffer through more than they already have.

In November of 2011, the New York Times published a story that revealed biographical information about an unidentified victim in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal. The New York Times soon came under fire for allowing information that could easily be searchable and inevitably lead to the identity of one of Sandusky’s anonymous accusers. Although the intent of including the personal information about the victim was to lend human interest to the story and perhaps evoke sympathy, the details made the identity of the victim discoverable.

Endanger

If the media were not ethically bound to limiting information in some news stories, people could potentially be hurt or even killed.

Imagine if Woodward and Bernstein had been required to reveal the identity of Deep Throat, their anonymous source for the Watergate expose. Deep Throat, whose real name was eventually revealed, would have lost his job and might have even faced physical threat. W. Mark Felt, a top official at the FBI, took a great risk in divulging information about the Watergate scandal to reporters. At a time of deep political corruption, the exposure of Felt as the primary source would have lost him his job, reputation and possibly could have put him in danger.

In a Fox News broadcast in 2003, reporter Geraldo Rivera drew a map in the sand, potentially exposing the position of U.S. troops in Iraq. Although it is unknown whether or not the information compromised the safety of the soldiers, a reporter must always think about the implications of the report. The safety of the soldiers should have been considered in the delivery of the story, and all war correspondents must protect the confidentiality of military secrets and strategies to which they are privy.

Damage reputation

Once something is said, there’s never a real way to take it back - just as once something’s been done, it can’t be undone. People form impressions immediately about what they see, hear and read. Even if an audience is alerted to an information error, it’s unlikely that that first impression the misinformation made in their psyche will go away. That’s just human nature and no one can help it. The media have an ethical responsibility to report the truth and protect the reputations of the innocent in stories.

In 1976, the National Inquirer ran a story about actress Carol Burnett. The story made false claims that Burnett had been drunk and foolish at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., and that she had gotten into an argument with Henry Kissinger. Although the newspaper printed a retraction, Burnett felt that the damage to her reputation had already been done. Burnett sued the newspaper and eventually won, proving without a doubt that the information in the article was false, and therefore libelous and defamatory.

Offend

The media must consider whether or not to publish material that the public could find offensive or inappropriate.

In 2008, Vanity Fair published an article about 15-year-old Disney sensation Miley Cyrus. The photographs for the profile piece were taken by renowned photojournalist Annie Leibovitz. One of the photographs sent the public, mostly parents of children who were fans of Cyrus, into an uproar. The photo showed the underage star holding a sheet over her breasts with her bare back exposed. Even though the photo seemed innocent enough, the public found it to be sexual in nature and therefore completely inappropriate for publication.

Shock

It is the responsibility of the media to gauge whether or not shocking words or images are important enough news to be shown in public.

In 1987, Pennsylvania state treasurer Budd Dwyer, who had just been convicted of bribery, held a press conference for what everyone expected to be his resignation from office. After a long speech proclaiming his innocence and his loss of faith in the American justice system, while cameras continued to roll and snap, Dwyer pulled out a .357 Magnum revolver and shot himself in the head. Although most publications chose not to run the gruesome photographs of the suicide, some did. The story of a wrongly accused man and his tragic final choice was soon overshadowed by the sensational circumstances of the act and the gory images that were published.

What kind of harm could business do without the constraint of ethics?

Manipulate

It is the ethical responsibility of businesses to be transparent and honest.

Enron. The executives at Enron wove a tangled web of financial deceit, cover-ups and lies that cost investors billions of dollars. Executives falsely reported the company’s earnings for years so that they could continue to bring in money from investors who, in hindsight, knew nothing about the real financial situation of the company. In the end, the Enron house of cards imploded, and the unchecked greed of a handful of men cost billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

Destroy

It is unethical for businesses to take money for services not rendered and products not delivered.

Bernie Madoff made bold yet empty promises to investors all over the world about the returns on their investments if they invested with his hedge fund, Ascot Partners. Madoff’s hedge fund turned out to be one of the biggest scams of all time. Tens of billions of dollars were lost and many investors’ lives were destroyed following financial ruination. Madoff’s own son, Mark, hanged himself in shame – another life destroyed by Madoff’s lies.

Why do we need ethics in media and business?

Through these examples and many others not listed, it is clear that ethics are necessary to protect. Without the protection that ethics provide, society would be chaotic and harmful – to individuals, children and the general public. We must protect each other so that we can all live in a just world of truth and freedom.

Sources:

“Name Withheld, but Not His Identity,” by Arthur S. Brisbane via The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/opinion/sunday/name-withheld-but-not-his-identity.html?pagewanted=all

“The Secret Man,” by Bob Woodward

“A NATION AT WAR: COVERAGE; Pentagon Says Geraldo Rivera Will Be Removed from Iraq,” by David Carr via The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/01/us/a-nation-at-war-coverage-pentagon-says-geraldo-rivera-will-be-removed-from-iraq.html

“Photojournalism: An Ethical Approach,” by Paul Lester. Retrieved from http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter4.html

“The Final Speech of Bud Dwyer,” Video retrieved from http://vimeo.com/35481444

“Former Pennsylvania Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer’s Controversial Death Re-examined in New Film,” by David N. Dunkle via The Patriot-News. Retrieved from http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/former_pennsylvania_treasurer.html

“Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method,” by Carole Rich

“Burnett v. National Enquirer, Inc.,” Case 144 Cal.App.3d 991, 193 Cal.Rptr. 206. Retrieved from http://www.lawlink.com/research/caselevel3/59876

“Miley Knows Best,” by Bruce Handy via Vanity Fair. Retrieved from http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/06/miley200806

“Revealing Photo Threatens a Major Disney Franchise,” by Brooks Barnes via The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/business/media/28hannah.html?ref=annieleibovitz

“Miley Cyrus Bare in Vanity Fair: Tells Fans She’s ‘Embarrassed’,” via the Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/27/miley-cyrus-topless-in-va_n_98836.html

“How Fastow Helped Enron Fall,” by Bill Saporito via Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,201871-1,00.html

“The Enron Effect,” by Cathy Booth Thomas/Dallas via Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1198917,00.html

“Enron Scandal At-a-glance,” via BBC News, World Edition. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1780075.stm

“Bernie Madoff’s $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme,” by Robert Lenzner via Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/12/madoff-ponzi-hedge-pf-ii-in_rl_1212croesus_inl.html

“The Lasting Shadow of Bernie Madoff,” by Diana B. Henriquez via The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/business/bernie-madoffs-lasting-shadow-3-years-after-his-arrest.html?pagewanted=all

Technology inspires babytalk (4460)

The technological revolution has turned us all into mushmouthed babytalkers, and we didn’t even realize it was happening. I sat in class the other day and listened to the names associated with the technology tools that we will be using for strategic communications, and it took everything in my power not to crack up. Words like “Google,” “tweet,” and “Twitter” flew for hours, and it was hilarious to listen to adults use words that sounded like they were pulled out of a Dr.Seuss book. These words sound phonetically as though they’re in the lyrics of some “Yo Gabba Gabba” musical number. What’s the next big website going to be? Twinkie? Zoggle? What about the next social media outlet? Fizzy? Squeet?

Even the word “blog” sounds like some sort of marshland in a fairy tale. It’s always funny to listen to seasoned CNN journalist Jack Cafferty request that viewers comment on his blog. When he says the word, it sounds like he’s choking on something in the back of his throat. I have to write 27 blogs this semester, and I’m going to giggle a little when starting every one.

It was interesting to sit in a class where no one else seemed to pay any notice to the goofy words. No one reacted because these words and what they mean are so ingrained in everyday life and conversation that it’s almost impossible to step away and see them as only an amalgamation of the syllables and sounds they make.

Being relatively new to these websites and concepts, and really to the Internet itself, I feel like an outsider looking in. To me, the word “google” still evokes an image of little plastic eyeballs that I glued on puppets in elementary school. Will I be able to suppress the giggles in my professional life? The word has taken on a whole new meaning to the entire planet, and I feel a little behind.

I think about what astrophysicists deal with now that they’ve run out of words with which to name celestial bodies, so they just make them up. With the infinite possibilities presented by the Internet, I wonder if someday we’ll have to start naming websites thing like “WR124” and “M1-67.” At least the names of websites right now are a little whimsical.

Not only do I have to become accustomed to saying these silly words with an absent-minded fluidity, but I have to learn the slang and abbreviations used by what will eventually be my normal audience: people who know and use textual slang. As a public relations professional, I will have to field tweets and comments that will likely contain slang and abbreviations that I, at least at the moment, don’t understand. I will have to learn things like “ROFL” and “LMAO.” I will have to keep up with the constantly evolving hashtag lingo, like “#nf” and “#somf.” Hopefully my experience with social media this semester will pull me into these sites and words enough that I evolve with them, and the concepts and words become second nature to me as much as they are for everyone else.