Week 6 Reading

'Crisis and Issues Management' Public Relations: Theory and Practise, S Mackey In J, Johnston and C, Zawawi (eds)

'Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses' by Taylor, M and Kent, M

'Crisis Communication Practises at an International Relief Agency' By Davis, B

'Creating and Managing a Crisis Team in Crisis Control: preventing and managing corporate crises' By Campbell, R

I believe the key messages from this week's readings were;
The Mackey readings key message is that crisis and issue management can be one of the most stressful challenges facing a PR officer. And how the organisation deals with the challenges it faces during a crisis can be extremely important to whether an business can recover from a crisis situation. It also highlighted the fact that it is extremely important to for PR officers to be thinking ahead and planning for any possible crisis scenarios that may occur. They need to already have the plans in place.

The 'Crisis Communication Practices at an International Relief Agency' was a insightful case study that illustrated how essential a communication plan is. It is part of every aspect of the successful running of an organisation, particularly a international organisation like Direct Relief.

The Taylor and Kent reading explained the many benefits of using the Internet and having a company website, particularly in a crisis. The Internet can be used to get information out immediately, tell your side of the story without media's influence, promote their product and publise their good deeds.

The Campbell reading emphasised the importance of having an efficient team prepared for a crisis situation. The team needs a leader to make decisions, and the team must have extensive skills and know how to deal with a stressful situation.

The Key points in the reading could be applied to my group's work in that they;
The Taylor and Kent reading showed that a use of the current Wine Country Tourism website could be used to promote a more harmonious relationship with the Cessnock community, by using it to communicate with the community and encourage dialogue between the two.

The Campbell reading also showed how a PR team can effectively work with each other to achieve its goals.

The readings made me think more about the public relations practise in that;
All of these readings illustrated different ways for PR practitioners to deal with a crisis, all of these strategies are helpful. And they outlined the ways that PR officers should already have these strategies in place for crisis situations, so that the reaction time is quicker.

The readings related to other readings I've done in previous weeks;
This crisis and issue management reading follows on from the other readings in the Johnston and Zawawi textbook. Each week the textbook readings build on each other, from Strategies, research, community relations and now crisis management. All of these reading would be common issues facing PR officers, and they would have to be knowledgeable and skilled in all of these areas to be successful.

Week 5 Reading

Week Five Readings;

'Internal and Community Relations' Chapter 11 in Public Relations: theory and practise

PRIA Case Studies

I believe the Key Messages from this weeks readings were;
The 'Internal and Community Relations' chapter presented the key messages of the reading to be that Internal and community relations should be the main priorities in Public Relations. Public Relations plays a very important role as the 'social conscience' for many companies and this helps to build goodwill within the surrounding community. Internal Relations has also been recognised as an important link between job satisfaction and productivity. This works in reverse also, as an unsatisfied employee can damage a company's image.

The Case Studies highlighted the challenges campaigns face and what strategies they employed to achieved their goals.

The Key Points in the Readings could be applied to my group's work in that they;
The Case studies were particularly helpful in highlighting the strategic planning that is involved in PR and how to set out our strategic plan, as well as some important issues to consider. It was good to see a 'real' PR plan (particularly the Australia Day Council, as we have seen the success of this for ourselves) and how they deal with challenges and achieved their goals.

The 'Internal and Community Relations' chapter, was also very relevant to my group work. A major part of my group assignment relates to community relations. This chapter provided some very helpful information as to how to find out what community members are feeling and thinking, as well as how to include the public in decision making, therefore building a greater relationship with the community, and a feeling of 'ownership' over decisions made and as if the community is part of the organisation's 'club.'

The Readings made me think more about Public Relations practise;
Both the readings made me think about how much work goes into every PR strategic plan, and how the background work, such as research can really make a difference to the outcome of the plan.

The Readings related to the other readings I've done in previous weeks in that;
I think the 'Internal and Community Relations' chapter flowed on from the previous weeks readings, highlighting the main areas of importance for PR practitioners, Strategy, Research, Media Relations and Internal and Community Relations.

I also feel the Case studies continue to support my growing understanding of PR, and the role it plays within organisations.

Week 4 Reading

Public Relations: theory and practise, 'Media Relations' by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi

'Two Theories of Media Relations', By R. Stanton

'The Epistemic struggle for credibility: Rethinking media relations' By J. Motion and K. Weaver

I believe the Key Messages from this Week's readings were;
The key message of the the Johnston and Zawawi was to emphasis the dual relationship between PR and Journalism. Both of these industries support and provide each other with information. It also explained the importance of understanding how the media industry works, so you have the best opportunity to get your message to the target audience. The tools of a Media kit were explained which was helpful.

'Two Theories of Media Relations' emphasised the importance of the Media in reaching the stakeholders, and some of the theories relating to media relations.

The Motion and Weaver reading highlighted the fact that to promote an organisation's profile it will only successfully reach the stakeholders if the story includes some element of news or entertainment values.

The Key points in the readings could be applied to my group's work in that they;
The Motion and Weaver provided a case study of 'Greenpeace' which provided helpful inside for our my group assignment, as to how to get an organisation into the public sphere with the message you want to get to your audience.

The Readings made me think more about the Public Relations theory/practise;
The Johnston and Zawawi reading showed how a working relationship between PR and Journalism can be successful and how it is important to have an understanding of the tools of Media relations and knowledge of the hierarchy of Journalism.

The readings related to the other readings I've done in previous weeks;
I feel this week's readings led on from the previous weeks, in that Strategy, Research and Media Relations are all vital skills are PR practitioner must learn to be successful in the industry.

Week 3 Reading

Week 3 Readings:
Public Relations Theory and Practise, "Research and Evaluation" Edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi.
'Conflict, Strategic Management and Public Relations' By Kenneth.D Plowman and
Website workshop-http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/brief.html

I believe the key messages from this week's readings were:
The key messages from the Plowman reading were that it is becoming increasingly important for Public Relations Practitioners to be an effective and essential component of the strategic planning and problem solving team. Public Relations Officers need to show their organisation that communication is key to their overall success as a company and that their implementation of such communication and goal-setting will achieve overall success for the company. PR officers need to show that they are an essential part of the organisation.

The 'Research and Evaluation' reading emphasised the importance of research as well as how to evaluate a Public Relations campaign. Research can lead to a more successful program that effectively achieves its outcomes. It also highlighted the fact that research is an ongoing part of a successful program. This reading also outlined the various methods of research and what each of these technique's strengths and weaknesses are.

'The Internet Detective' website emphasised the best way to use the Internet, utilizing its strengths and avoiding the pitfalls, such as hoaxes and parody web pages. It provided hints on how to spot whether a site is genuine or not and the best places for academic information.

The Key Points in the Readings could be applied to my group's work in that they:
Provided practical information in how to apply Public Relations in a 'real' world situation.

The 'Research and Evaluation' reading explained in a step-by-step manner how to achieve an effective campaign and the best research to use depending on the kind of goals you are hoping to achieve.

The 'Internet Detective' website described the best places to look for academic information and this will be helpful as we begin our research into for our assignment, as well as advising us on how to avoid inaccurate and false information that can be found on the Internet.

The Readings made me think more about Public Relations Practise in that:
The 'Plowman' reading was effective in helping me understand that Public Relations can be under valued in the workplace and therefore it is important for practitioners to use skills such as communication, strategy and problem solving to assert ones self in their organisation, to ensure that they are seen to be a vital party of the organisation.

The 'Research and Evaluation' theory made me realise how much planning work goes into an effective PR campaign and that this needs to be successfully balanced with your campaign budget. An important skill is accessing what is going to be helpful research, and also whether this willl be cost-effective.

The Readings related to the other readings I've done in previous weeks:
The 'Research and Evaluation' reading related to the previous textbook reading on 'Strategy, Planning and Scheduling'. Research and Strategic Planning are linked together as part of an effective campaign. An effective strategy is based on sound research, as it will help you achieve your outcomes.