PR 3310Principles of Public Relations

Wednesday, 5/27/09

Class Objectives

Lecture Intro. to course What is public relations?

Homework assignment Read chapter 1 in book

Class topics

Syllabus, schedule, lectures, all up on class webpage http://www.ttujournalism.net/pr3310.html Schedule lecture topics and lectures posted to

web site will be filled in as the sum. session goes on

Assignment dates are fixed

Grades will be posted on WebCT/Blackboard starting on June 1st

Class topics

Best way to reach me is by e-mail I get a TTU e-mail on June 1st

In the meantime, kubik_sj@yahoo.com Or stop by my office, 225D before class T-R

11am-noon Telephone is 742-6500 x251

Videos

I use a lot of them in classes First one, did you know (2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nteiqLgZFOU&feature=fvst

Issues with PR

PR, advertising, design, journalism, marketing are very much intertwined Especially if you work for a smaller agency or

company where you wear many “hats” Book tries to differentiate them What is for sure is that PR is a misunderstood

term Derogatory terms include flack (a publicist),

spin (biased portrayal), and propaganda (originally not political= spreading of information to serve a cause)

Public Relations

For the sake of a discussion, let’s define PR as “telling a story about something”

How has PR changed (over the last 5 years)? Processes to disseminate message have changed as

technology/tools have changed Due to Web 2.0 and 3.0 (interactivity in terms of social

networking, forums, replies) there is a tremendous amount of feedback/dialog

Sending message directly to the consumer (e.g. web sites)

Lack of “editors” and gatekeepers (e.g. blogs) Where is your audience?

Remember that you may or may not be a part of your target audience

Terms

Trust versus “spin” Issues: Who’s funding the campaign? How transparent

should the funding agency be? Mainstream media coverage versus non-mainstream

Think of end consumers/masses as mainstream…everyone else (e.g. corporate, industry specific, reporters) as non-mainstream

Purchased media versus Free media Purchased = advertisements (in print, radio, tv, on-line) Free = blogs, tweets

PR Videos

MESH 2007 conference (Canadian web conference), Future of PR

start at minute 3:33 go to 11:11 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-

8719904131778990212&ei=6a8cSq7AA8iE-QaM7_XVCQ&q=public+relations&hl=en

Critical Issues, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeOiNlBC4yo&feature=related

Other issues with PR

Is all “bad” coverage bad? PR of celebrities

How do we make $$ with new tools? Susan Boyle video has been viewed millions

of times with no $$ going to the 3 companies that own “Britain’s Got Talent”

What do we do with “dying” industries? Do we pull out of them altogether

(print/newspapers) or stick with them in hopes they will adapt and survive?