Community Relations & Media Relationships - Essay Example

Public relations activities on the other hand have very minimal or no public participation, with the citizens receiving information of what has been agreed upon by the institution. Public relation activities serve mostly the wellbeing of the organization and the society is the reason why the activity is undertaken, but the members of the community are not the ones who undertake the task (Kowalski, 2007). 2. How Can Principals Identify and Analyze Relevant Publics? Principals can identify relevant publics in schools by verifying who are the customers, producers, enablers and limiters in the setup.

They identify who are the major publics of the institution, who are the major publics concerning the given situation at hand and the key opinion leaders of the community or public. This will identify their customers who in this regard will include students and teachers, producers who could include teaching staff, donors and banks, enablers who could include the media, guidance and career counselors. They will also identify limiters who could include other schools, universities or learning institutions in the area.

Analysis of publics is also vital since it enables principals to get vital information concerning relevant publics which is very imperative for the accomplishment of the program in question (Kowalski, 2007). Principals analyze relevant publics informally through research such as interviews or through formal methods such as surveys or focus groups. They analyze the consequences the public has on the institution and vice versa. 3. Discuss Ways Principals Can Influence the Development of Community Relations.

Principals can influence the development of community relations by various ways which could include the encouragement of use of school facilities by the community after normal school times which is a good use of resources. They can also introduce a banquet to honor old students where prominent people can be invited as speakers. They can also introduce a senior citizens banquet which can be hosted by a department of the school where the senior citizens can be involved in the preparations, which will create a bond between the community and the school.

A career day can be introduced which will allow the students to have educational information about their future careers and also the community to learn about the students and the school, to understand their future employment needs. The principals can also introduce the distribution of periodic newsletters to the families of the students and other members of the community around the school (Kowalski, 2007). The principals can also introduce senior citizens passes which can allow the citizens to attend school functions without being charged.

This will make them feel appreciated by the school and part and parcel of its operations. It is also wise for principals to relay news to local media , highlighting ways principals can influence the development of community relations special events and activities so that the community may be kept abreast of what is going on. When honoring students for academic and other achievements, the community could be involved with other students in attendants too. These methods among many others can greatly influence the development of community relations 4.

What Information Should Be Contained In A Media Relations Plan? The information that should be contained in a media relations plan include a details including an overview of the organization which will