Chapter 5

research (Photo credit: suttonhoo)

Chapter 5 is all about research: what to research, where to research and how to figure it all out. Going along with one of my last posts about ethics, being a credible source is so incredibly important for public relations professionals. One of the major ways to be sure that your work is credible is by doing your research.

Not only does researching help you credibility, it also helps you gear your message toward a specific audience.

This chapter was very helpful when it comes to knowing what you need to research. It lays out specific things to research for each audience base you may encounter such as the publics, the media and the web.

When dealing with the publics you first want to research the demographics of your target audience. You then want to weigh their psychographics to determine their stance on your company so that you can target your message accordingly. You also want to be aware of their knowledge of your client, their behavior towards them and also the extent of their media use.

When dealing with media you must research and consider what publics that outlet reaches and how frequently, and also the cost effectiveness of the outlet.

When dealing with the web you want to be aware of information regarding the size of the audience you will reach, what your audience is saying about your client and also what is currently being published about your client.

Chapter 3

Professional Ethics (journal) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chapter 3 is all about ethics and ethical influences. The chapter talks through what really defines ethics and also tries to apply it to different areas such as ones personal life as well as their business life.

Many people are referenced giving their advice on ethics in writing, in the media and in the professional world in general. Being an ethical person or being sure that the company you are representing is ethical is so crucial in today’s society.

The best bit of advice that I found throughout this chapter is the TARES acronym. This was developed by Baker and Martinson and was designed to be a layout of the principles of ethical public relations writing for public relations professionals to follow.

The T stands for truthfulness- “providing substantially complete information”

The A stands for Authenticity- “personal integrity”

The R stands for Respect- Are you truly respecting the person to whom you are sending the message?

The E stands for Equity- “Are you treating people fairly?”

The S stands for Social Responsibility- “the social implications of your communications”

 

By keeping this little acronym in mind, professionals in the public relations world will always have a quick guide to being sure their pieces of copy are being sent in ethical fashion.

Chapter 4: Cultural Influences

Orthographic map of the Americas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week, our chapter is based on Cultural Influences and the intricacies that lie behind them. Being able to pay attention to and specifically target each of these cultural influences is a very useful and critical talent one can possess as a Public Relations writer.

The part of this chapter that jumped out the most at me was the section on Sector Cultures and its three potential implications on Public Relations writers.

The first implication that can come from this is that during times of crisis within a company, the company may be forced to team up with an organization that would typically be deemed competition in order to protect the common interest between the two companies.

The second implication speaks about elements of common style. It states that throughout different organizations, there are specific style elements that will be commonly practiced.

The third states that the approaches each Public Relations professional chooses to take will be greatly based on the sector in which they are operating.

Chapter 1: Theories

The Leading Bird (Photo credit: Rusty Russ)

This chapter talked through a couple different Public Relations theories, as well as giving a breif overview of the industry and and issues that arise within it. The largest section of theories discussed were the Theories of Behavior and Attitude Change.

Out of the seven theories listed, the one I found the most interesting was The Social Learning Theory. One part of the theory states that people learn from their observation of others. I found this to be impactful due to the fact that I have been placed in many leadership positions throughout the course of my life. Understanding that the way I carry myself could have a positive or negative impact on the people placed under me was somewhat of a reality check.

Overall I really enjoyed and learned a lot from this chapter. There was a lot of really good information within the chapter and I am excited to dive further into this book and this course.

Back Again!

English: Fruit stall in a market in Barcelona, Spain. Français : Étal de fruits dans un marché à Barcelone (Espagne). Deutsch: Obststand auf einem Markt in Barcelona, Spanien. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello again readers! It has been quite a while since I posted on here, so I figured I would take the first blog of the semester to describe the direction I will be taking my blog, and also to catch you up on a little bit of what has been going on over the last few months.

This summer flew by before I even had time to blink an eye. I spent a majority of my short summer taking online classes, working, and assistant coaching for my old high school cheerleading team. It was fairly uneventful, but the time off was very much-needed.

In coming back to SIUE this fall, I enrolled in SPC 313, a Public Relations writing course. One of the requirements for this course is continued weekly postings in this blog. I enjoyed this assignment last semester, and am looking forward to it again this semester.

This time around I decided to take a different approach to my postings. For the duration of this semester I plan on posting recipes for my weekly blog. I have set a personal goal for myself of cooking at least one healthy dinner a week. As I prepare these meals I will be documenting the preparation steps as well as taking pictures of the things that I prepare and sharing them with my readers.

I hope that all of my readers enjoy the changes I will be attempting to make in my blog this semester. Also, to my fellow bloggers, good luck and happy blogging!

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