Public Relations Professionals as Shapers of Public Information: The Role of Theory in Their Education

Works Cited

Public Relations Professionals as Shapers of Public Information: The Role of Theory in Their Education. By: Latchaw, Joan, Allen, Chris, Ogden, Dave, Simile, 14966603, Feb2009, Vol. 9, Issue 1

Summary

This week, I picked an article about PR theory in the classroom. I'm interested in this subject, because I've never taken an official PR class, and wonder what kinds of things they are being taught in these classes, and how they affect what they are putting out to the public. 

The purpose of this article is to discover whether or not it is a good idea to continue studying public relations theory in the classroom, and how the role of theory affects the way PR professionals convey information to the public once they're in the professional realm. The article cites that it might be more practical to teach everyday, common PR problems so that those in the field will know what to do, rather than teaching archaic theory that has little application to everyday life. The article also argues that a lot of theory being taught is outdated, which reaffirms the belief that theory has little real world purpose.

The article is written by Latchaw, Joan, Allen, Chris, Ogden, Dave, Simile, and is available online in HTML format. The purpose of this article is to examine the importance of PR theory in the classroom, and see if it's something actually worth continuing, and if so, how that affects PR practices in the real world. 

To find out this information, questionnaires were distributed to teachers and students to find out how much theory they were teaching/ being exposed to in the classroom. Results showed that educators and students alike thought that theory was important, but the overall response to the survey was low, meaning that further studies need to be done. This is important because of the fact that everyone in the world is influenced by PR tactics, and those learned in the classroom provide the foundation for what will be projected upon others in the future. 

Theory seems to be an important part of all aspects of educational study, but it is interesting that PR professionals are curious as to how important it really is in the real world. I think it is important for some theory to be learned, but real world application is more important for making sure those training for a job in the PR sector know what they're doing. 

Blog Post #4: Watauga County Habitat for Humanity Newsletter

Works Cited

Caito, Tony. Watauga County Habitat for Humanity Newsletter (2010). Print.

Summary

When I lived in Boone, NC I did some work on a class project with the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity. We worked on some of their media, including their website, newsletters, etc. It is for this reason that I know they have a newsletter, and since they're a nonprofit entity, I thought their newsletter would be perfect to study this week. 

The purpose of this newsletter is to inform the community of Boone, NC and surrounding areas about what Habitat is doing. There is an article about the 18th Annual Taste of the High Country, and info about which companies in the area are sponsoring it. The proceeds from this event benefit Habitat, and the sponsors of the event get free advertising. There is also information about the new community of homes in the works, and info about the neighborhood, school demographics, and house plans. These facts are great for investors and donors to know so that they know their money is being put to good use. 


To make the newsletter a little more personal, there is a letter from the director, Tony Caito, as well as a section in which a new member of the Habitat team is profiled. I feel that putting a face and a name with an organization is always a good idea, and helps members of the community feel more comfortable reaching out, working for, or donating to this organization. 


Keeping with this theme, the newsletter rounds out with a list of more sponsors, and a blank volunteer form. I feel that this is a great idea, because a lot of people would love to help out a good cause like this, but don't really know where to begin. Having a blank volunteer form makes it easy for those interested to fill out the form, and send it in. Then, they are contacted by a member of the Habitat team, and can begin helping out this great cause. 


The article is written by Tony Caito, and his purpose is to get the word out about Watauga County Habitat for Humanity. This is an organization that literally could not run without volunteer labor, and donations from those in the community. Watauga county has the second highest living costs of any county in North Carolina, and it is for this reason that building homes there are expensive-- they need support. Mr. Caito does a great job of getting this info out to the public with this newsletter. It is distributed by mail, available online, and left in many local businesses for patrons to take. 

The visuals in the newsletter are minimal, but are pretty effective. In the section about Watauga Co. Habitat corporate sponsors, large colorful logos are used so that the advertising is effective. Also, there is a picture of Mr. Caito, and pictures of the new members of the team. Otherwise, the newsletter is well-laid out, there is good use of white space, and the Habitat for Humanity logo is prominent, showing well-known affiliation with a trusted and established organization. 

The Watauga County Habitat for Humanity values community above all else. This is an organization that builds houses for those who cannot afford them within the community, and they do this solely with the help of others in the community. Therefore, the newsletter conveys the importance of volunteer and donor support. They present themselves as an organization that is trying to do good for people, and simply ask that others do what they can to help. 



You can check out the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity newsletter here. 

Blog Post #3: Linking PR Tactics to Long-Term Success

Works Cited

O'Neil, Julie. "Linking Public Relations Tactics to Long-Term Success: An Investigation of How Communications Contribute to Trust, Satisfaction, and Commitment in a Nonprofit Organization." Journal of Promotion Management 14.3 (2008): 263-74. Print.

Summary

This week, I picked an academic journal to give me more insight into the world of PR and nonprofits. I found an article called "Linking Public Relations Tactics to Long-Term Success: an Investigation of how Communications Contribute to Trust, Satisfaction, and Commitment in a Nonprofit Organization." This article was written by Julie O'Neil for the Journal of Promotion Management. 


The purpose of this article is to let Public Relations professionals know about the importance of garnering support in the nonprofit world. This is one of the main concerns for nonprofit organizations-- staying afloat in a tumultuous economic environment. The article offers helpful suggestions to this end:

• Public relations tactics can make a big difference concerning the public's trust, commitment, and satisfaction with a nonprofit organization
• It is the responsibility of PR professionals to make the public aware of their philanthropy and community relations
• Public relations professionals are responsible for telling the story of their organization to the public in a complete and compelling manner
• Public relations workers have the job of making their organization seem worthy-- 26% of donors stop giving to nonprofits because they think another cause is more deserving. 
• Nonprofits are involved in scandals just like everyone else-- this has happened with the United Way and the American Red Cross. Public relations professionals have to clean up the mess in the eyes of the public. 

The article is written by Julie O'Neil for the Journal of Promotion Management, available in print and online. Her purpose in writing this article is to make it clear how important it is for nonprofit organizations to build trust within the community and make their cause known to everyone possible. This will result in more donations and more volunteers, which will make their businesses as big and successful as they can be. It is the responsibility of those in the PR field to know the tactics to instill good feelings in the public about their organizations. This makes everything run more smoothly in the long run.


This article contained a study about a large nonprofit organization in Forth Worth, Texas, and had some great visuals in the form of charts which illustrated a sampling of the community feelings about the organization. These charts illustrated regression analyses for feelings of trust, commitment, and satisfaction concerning the organization, and descriptive statistics for communications. These charts were great because it is good to know that a PR person could make quantitative charts about things like feelings-- who knew?


Public relations professionals for nonprofit organizations clearly value the importance of community. Without those in the community being behind them, they could not receive monetary support or volunteer support. Therefore, they present the fact that the community's feelings about their particular organizations are crucial. This is evidenced by the charts presented in the article, and the entire theme-- Without community, nonprofits don't stand a chance. 

Blog Post #2: Albemarle Smart Start Partnership Newsletter

Works Cited

Albemarle Smart Start Partnership. Starting Smart in the Albemarle (2010). Print.

Summary

This week, I decided to pick a workplace document from a nonprofit agency, Albemarle Smart Start Partnership, located in Elizabeth City, NC. Albemarle Smart Start Partnership is a program that helps parents and childcare providers care for children to the best of their abilities by offering information and free community resources. I'm familiar with this organization, because I interned with them last summer, and worked in community outreach.


The purpose of the newsletter is to educate parents and daycare providers about how to take care of the children for whom they are responsible. There is an article about how to be a good father, one about eating healthy, one about the free lending library of educational books and toys for kids, and one about preventing child abuse, just to name a few. The primary and secondary audiences are parents and childcare providers, respectively, but an accidental audience might be children themselves. This newsletter is mailed to parents and daycare providers all over the community, and with its fun layout and colorful pictures of kids having fun, any child might take interest and make their parents do the same.


The newsletter is written by the director of community outreach at Albemarle Smart Start Partnership, and is available online, in print at various locations throughout the community, and by mail if a person wishes to join the mailing list. The main intent of the author is to make parents and teachers aware of important issues in the lives of the children for which they are responsible. The author uses simple, yet non-condescending language to convey that the lives of our children are of the utmost importance, and if we are responsible for children, we should be doing all we can for them. Examples of excellent resources are provided, and parents/providers can glean from it what they will.


The format and visual elements of the newsletter are simple and clean. There is a lot of white space utilized, and it is inviting and not at all daunting to look at. Sections are very separate, and do not directly relate to each other, but similar language is used throughout, and there is a common theme connecting all the articles. The pictures utilized are of children having fun, conveying the message that kids will be happy if providers take this helpful advice.


Check out the newsletter here!

Blog Post #1: Small is Different

Works Cited

"Small is different: Researchers look at Public relations practices for micro-organizations." Communication World 19.2 (2002): 6. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Summary

With my Professional Writing degree, I hope to do some work in the nonprofit sector, specifically within the field of public relations. It is for this reason that I’m really excited about working with my group on the professional-writing/public relations project.

While I have a good feeling about public relations (PR), and would really like to make a career out of it, I don’t really know much about the science behind it—how do public relations specialists know the best ways to reach out to the community, promote events, and reach a large audience? Are all organizations created equally, or do different PR philosophies apply to different outlets?

I found a great article called, “Small is Different: Researchers Look at Public Relations Practices for Micro-Organizations,” which makes a direct argument concerning the problems small businesses face in the PR world. The majority of PR studies and analyses are done with large businesses in mind. This means that assumptions are made concerning hierarchy, business departments, etc. The majority of businesses are too small to be concerned with these types of issues, and clearly this is a problem.

According to the article, businesses that employ 500 people or fewer are considered “small businesses.” Clearly, this means the U.S. has a lot of small businesses. Studies were performed to rectify the situation of these entities being formerly excluded from research, and across four specific types of small businesses—for-profits, nonprofits, government agencies, and trade associations—interesting research was discovered. Not surprisingly, unlike huge corporations, small business directors are concerned with getting more business through public relations without having to take on excessive staff. Small business owners and operators are also worried about the community, and feel civic obligations to their communities in ways larger businesses do not. This is especially true for government and nonprofit agencies. One government agency worker that was quoted in the article said, “I feel like a public servant. I feel that I must try to do the best job for the public.” This makes it clear that people working this kind of angle want to use public relations for the greater good, and not necessarily for their own gain.

Since I want to work in the nonprofit sector, this was a great article for me to read. I want to be able to implement public relations strategies to heighten awareness of community resources, important events, and social issues. This can be done, as the article states, but small and/or nonprofit entities are going to have to use a slightly modified version of public relations—not better or worse than traditional public relations, just decidedly smaller.

This text is undeniably effective. Through the author’s use of direct language, s/he makes it clear that the exclusion of small businesses from the PR world is not only unfair, but unintelligent. The majority of businesses are classified as small ones, so not only should they be included, but they should be thought of as extremely important in our society. All people would benefit if nonprofit businesses and government agencies could do their work to the best of their abilities by spreading their words to the public through the use of PR strategies. The author does a great job of convincing the reader that this is something that should not be put on the back burner any longer.