Major Issues in Public Relations - Essay Example

Principles of Public Relations (PR) As defined, Public relations practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (www.ipr.org.uk) The practice of Public Relations however has not always been viewed unfavorably. To shake off such negative impression that comes with the profession, organizations are using euphemisms such as “public affairs, corporate affairs or public communications to dissociate themselves from the distrust associated with the title. This negativity compels that in the profession of public relation, the PR practitioner should ground its practice with the following ethical principles as articulated by Baker and Martinson (2002). a) Truthfulness – does not only stating the facts. Being truthful meant avoiding slanting the facts to create a false and an inaccurate impression out of the actual facts. This is principle is crucial to dispel the negative connotation about the PR profession. b) Authenticity – meant being true to the profession. As differentiated from truthfulness, the PR practitioner must practice the craft with lofty objectives aside from the self-interest of its client. It meant practicing the profession with utmost integrity that the recipient of information conveyed by the practitioner should benefit those who receives it. c) Respect- meant the placing of proper value or importance to the public who will consume the information that the PR practitioner will dispense. It meant that in the practice of the craft, an ethical PR person should strive to provide better choices among its audience and to foster understanding instead of misinformation. d) Equity – meant the fair practice of the PR profession. It meant that a PR professional should not take advantage those who are in a less privilege situation in advancing its PR objectives. e) Social responsibility – just like any job, the PR profession must be exercised with a sense of social responsibility. This means taking into consideration the common good of the public at large as the PR person exercises his or her profession. It also means serving not only the interest of those who have, but also should serve the interest of those who have less in society. 2. Functions of PR I am interested with I am very much interested with the societal function of Public Relations. It is the function of Public Relation that deals with the public at large that includes functions such as consumer relations and marketing communication. I find this specific function of Public Relation that deals with the public a very exciting job because I am in a position not only to dispense news and information, but is also empowered to shape the point of view, perspective and opinion of people about the product and organization I represent. When the above ethical principles is integrated in the practice of the craft, the PR profession can become a potent force for good; which can foster understanding and goodwill not only about the product and organization I represent but also on issues between people. 3. What is the significance of the article to the fields of public relations? The article discussed how the relationship between journalists and PR professionals are shifting from a love-hate relationship to a more cooperative environment because of the introduction of new technology. The traditional relationship of the two has been characterized as adversarial with the PR professionals always seeking the journalists and the journal was able to explain how this was “turned around”. This is significant because the literature explained how the emergence of technology and its platforms such as blogs, twitters, social networking and LISTERV(e-mail list management software system), HARO (help a reporter out, a social networking site for journalists asking for sources for their stories) was able to transform the formerly distrustful relationship between the journalists and PR practitioners. 4. What is the significance of the article to the specific function of public relations? The literature was able to illustrate how the current trend of information distribution has changed. In the old set up between PR practitioner and journalists, the latter used to be just passively seeking news releases and media kits from PR practitioners who want to get publicity for the organization they represent. The article was able to illustrate that with the sprouting of non-traditional mediums spawned by the new technology, the paradigm is now beginning to shift where the journalists are “media catching” in trying to get their stories across. 5. What is my opinion of the article? The article was well researched considering that the data contained in the study was a product of 40 years of scholarly research. It was also able to provide an adequate and scientific explanation how technology changed the relationship between PR practitioners and journalists. It was able to adequate explained the evolution of information distribution from the traditional fax to email to social networking sites and how this emerging technology has changed relationships and working environment. 6. Is it helpful and well-written? The study was helpful. To a young adult like me who was not around when the PR profession started, the study served as a chronicle of how the practice was being transformed and catalogued the factors that precipitated such shift. I was able to easily understand the literature so I can say that it is well-written. Through this literature, I was able to realize how potent and powerful the social networking sites are. I used to think that they are just used exclusively for keeping in touch with family and friends. I also did not know how the blog changed the news and information dissemination until I read this study. I used to think that it is just a platform to vent and rant the excessive energies of teenagers. In short, the article was sort of an eye opener. 7. Will I recommend this article to academics and/or practioners? I will definitely recommend the study. Teachers, PR practitioners and students like me can tremendously benefit from a study like this. But of course, this is more recommended to the teachers because they can add additional insight to the study that came from their other researches and experience and will be able to provide us a richer and more in-depth explanation of how the profession changed. To the PR practitioners, this can explain to them why their counterparts in their profession, the journalists are changing their behaviors and perspective. Understanding them better will enable them to better adapt to the changing work environment. REFERENCES: Baker, Sherry and Martinson, David L (2002). Out of the Red-Light District: Five Principles for Ethically Proactive Public Relations Public Relations Quarterly. (47)3: pp 15 - 19 Waters, Richard D., Tindall, Natalie T.J., Morton, Timothy S. (2010). Media Catching and the Journalist–Public Relations Practitioner Relationship: How Social Media are Changing the Practice of Media Relations. Journal of Public Relations Research. 22(3):241–264, Read More