This chapter basically introduces the idea that it is crucial for PR practitioners to build relationships in which "trust and integrity are the underlying elements" (Stanton, 2007, p. 15). This is because the media is recognized as a driving tool in PR campaigns, especially in the public sphere where additional stakeholders need to be reached. However, it is also important to note that in building relationships with the media, one cannot forget that this is done in a business environment where there are plenty of other stakeholders that can, and are willing to, offer better deals than yours. Habermas, a German philosopher, describes it as a "public forum in which literate and wealthy citizens exchanged information... with the object of profit" (Stanton, 2007, p. 16).
In order to develop a strategic media relations campaign that is competitive, practitioners need to be able to measure the success of their campaign. In measuring the success of the campaign, it is vital to understand the different theories that come into play and how they affect every stage of the campaign. There are a lot of theories that are brought up when it comes to media relationship building. However, one theory that is highlighted in this chapter of the book is the framing theory. It is defined as the "capacity of a media relationship builder to comprehend and interpret the agenda-setting policies and source selection processes employed by the media" (Stanton, 2007, p. 18). In other words, it requires the practitioner to sell the story according to the interest of the news provider that they are pitching to and to understand the target audience of the news provider.
Using avian flu as an example, different aspects of the news is interesting to different groups of people. The general public would most probably be interested in whether the virus have been controlled and preventive measures to keep their loved ones safe. The pharmaceutical companies on the other hand, would be interested in the vaccines that have been developed to counter the virus. Similarly, if I was a PR practitioner for P&G, my news story would have a different angle from a PR representative from MOE because of the different target audience that we cater to.
At the end of the day, we frame news a certain way in order to elicit a certain response or interpretation from the other party. However, in eliciting this desired response, certain practitioners go to the extent of unethical news framing where fabricated issues and events are framed in a certain way that it takes up the form of reality to the extent that it becomes difficult to tell fake from real.
-Noraida Mohamed Yunos-
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ReplyDeleteKlara: I believe that the target audience is very important. It determines how the PR consultant is going to "package" the article, for example the content, the language, the density of the language etc. If the PR consultant is targeting at the general members of the public, the language use should be simple, precise and easy to digest. However if the target audience is towards professionals, the "package" can include scientific terms and a more academic tone.
ReplyDeleteEthical issues are common when PR practitioners decide on how to frame their media releases. However, it is sad to say that most companies are more focuses on profits first, ethics second. Focusing on ethics goes a long way in maintaining a company's image and would 'profit' them further in the long run.
ReplyDeleteNilay: I believe that being ethical is a very important aspect for the media. "Responsible journalism" has to be understood and practiced by the practitioners, as the result is that it would affect the "image" of the practitioner and slowly the response from the interpreting party. Another issue is transparency of the sources or the authenticity of the source should be verified in order not to tarnish reputation, there are also cases where the media house is bribed not to publish a certain news, and sometimes frame the news in a manner which is ethically not correct.
ReplyDeleteAs much as building media relations is crucial to satisfying good public relations, there are many underlying issues to ensure that media ethics are practised. However, tehre tend to be many grey areas when it comes to practising media ethics. More often than not, media ethics are sacrificed in the midst of surviving the competitive public relations industry. I agree with the author that the media often frames news stories according to how they want the audience to interpret and such is an issue of ethics that will always have to be battled. It is unfair to call it unethical and yet at the same time it seems pretty unethical for the media to control how the audience thinks or interprets an issue that has been reframed by the media.
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