COM312 LATEST 2026 EXAMS MANUAL QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS GUARANTEE A+
✔✔Accreditation - ✔✔Holds the place of state licensing. Encourages professionalism
and accountability in PR. With accreditation earn 20 percent more income than those
who are not. Many employers do not care if you are accredited or not during the hiring
process, it is just a plus.
✔✔Must earn 10 points every three years in process of accreditation in: (3 subjects) -
✔✔education, professional development, public service activities
✔✔Accreditation process: - ✔✔-Portfolio presentation
-panel review with 3 accredited practitioners
-4 hour computer based test
✔✔PR practitioners and law (do they practice it?) - ✔✔They do not practice LAW
✔✔Laws - ✔✔system of rules that govern society. Different societies have different
laws, reason why PR cannot be practiced in the exact same way around the world
✔✔The First Amendment - ✔✔Congress shall make no law:
-respecting an establishment of religion
-or prohibiting the free exercise of thereof
-or abridging (cutting short) the freedom of speech AND the press
-or the right of the people peaceably to assemble (to promote peace and calmness)
-to petition the government for a redress of grievances (don't have to repeat it more than
once)
✔✔Problem of practitioners and the law - ✔✔Many practitioners have a limited
understand of legal issues
✔✔Achieving "free publicity" how to: - ✔✔Practitioners need access to the news media
to:
- disseminate ideas
-information
-causes of the organizations and clients they represent
✔✔Print media rights - ✔✔No citizen has a guaranteed right to require the print media
to publish specific information
-Greatest amount of FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION
-No right of access, no right of reply
✔✔State government and print media - ✔✔The state government should not be allowed
to push a newspaper to print something that its editors would not have chosen
, ✔✔Broadcast media: over the air signals - ✔✔-Federal Communications Commission
(FCC)
-Congressional assertion of broadcast
-Rationale
✔✔Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - ✔✔Created by the Communications
Act of 1934. Gave the agency power to make and enforce programming policies for
broadcasting and to issue, renew, or deny licenses to station operators
✔✔Congressional Assertion of broadcast - ✔✔The US airwaves are owned by the
public and are a scarce resource that needs to be protected
✔✔Rationale - ✔✔spectrum scarcity (no longer real issue)
✔✔Cable systems - ✔✔Applied to broadcasting by the Community Antenna Television
(CATV)
✔✔CATV (community (C) antenna (A) television (tv)) - ✔✔Improve a community's
reception of available but hard to receive over the air broadcast signals. Awarded by the
state and local government franchises
✔✔Cable Community Policy Act - ✔✔Gives the FCC jurisdictional authority over cable.
Deregulates rates and program choices. Provides benefits for cities and counties
regarding government franchise fees
✔✔Cable Community Policy Act Requirements: - ✔✔Requires cable applicants to set
aside channels on its systems for public, educational and government access
✔✔Cable Community Policy Act BENEFITS for PR practitioners - ✔✔Valuable tool to
reach particular publics through mass medium. --> Opportunities to observe city council
meetings and government activities
✔✔Heaviest users of open access laws: - ✔✔Business
✔✔First amendment and constitutional rights do not apply to - ✔✔-Media access to
government-controlled information (you don't have the right of access to government
information)
✔✔Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 1966 - ✔✔promotes full disclosure from the
executive of government
-applies to any executive department or independent agency (military etc.)
-Applies to records like documents (TANGIBLE items)
-Can petition federal government for most information. Nine restricted categories of
information.
SOLUTIONS GUARANTEE A+
✔✔Accreditation - ✔✔Holds the place of state licensing. Encourages professionalism
and accountability in PR. With accreditation earn 20 percent more income than those
who are not. Many employers do not care if you are accredited or not during the hiring
process, it is just a plus.
✔✔Must earn 10 points every three years in process of accreditation in: (3 subjects) -
✔✔education, professional development, public service activities
✔✔Accreditation process: - ✔✔-Portfolio presentation
-panel review with 3 accredited practitioners
-4 hour computer based test
✔✔PR practitioners and law (do they practice it?) - ✔✔They do not practice LAW
✔✔Laws - ✔✔system of rules that govern society. Different societies have different
laws, reason why PR cannot be practiced in the exact same way around the world
✔✔The First Amendment - ✔✔Congress shall make no law:
-respecting an establishment of religion
-or prohibiting the free exercise of thereof
-or abridging (cutting short) the freedom of speech AND the press
-or the right of the people peaceably to assemble (to promote peace and calmness)
-to petition the government for a redress of grievances (don't have to repeat it more than
once)
✔✔Problem of practitioners and the law - ✔✔Many practitioners have a limited
understand of legal issues
✔✔Achieving "free publicity" how to: - ✔✔Practitioners need access to the news media
to:
- disseminate ideas
-information
-causes of the organizations and clients they represent
✔✔Print media rights - ✔✔No citizen has a guaranteed right to require the print media
to publish specific information
-Greatest amount of FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION
-No right of access, no right of reply
✔✔State government and print media - ✔✔The state government should not be allowed
to push a newspaper to print something that its editors would not have chosen
, ✔✔Broadcast media: over the air signals - ✔✔-Federal Communications Commission
(FCC)
-Congressional assertion of broadcast
-Rationale
✔✔Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - ✔✔Created by the Communications
Act of 1934. Gave the agency power to make and enforce programming policies for
broadcasting and to issue, renew, or deny licenses to station operators
✔✔Congressional Assertion of broadcast - ✔✔The US airwaves are owned by the
public and are a scarce resource that needs to be protected
✔✔Rationale - ✔✔spectrum scarcity (no longer real issue)
✔✔Cable systems - ✔✔Applied to broadcasting by the Community Antenna Television
(CATV)
✔✔CATV (community (C) antenna (A) television (tv)) - ✔✔Improve a community's
reception of available but hard to receive over the air broadcast signals. Awarded by the
state and local government franchises
✔✔Cable Community Policy Act - ✔✔Gives the FCC jurisdictional authority over cable.
Deregulates rates and program choices. Provides benefits for cities and counties
regarding government franchise fees
✔✔Cable Community Policy Act Requirements: - ✔✔Requires cable applicants to set
aside channels on its systems for public, educational and government access
✔✔Cable Community Policy Act BENEFITS for PR practitioners - ✔✔Valuable tool to
reach particular publics through mass medium. --> Opportunities to observe city council
meetings and government activities
✔✔Heaviest users of open access laws: - ✔✔Business
✔✔First amendment and constitutional rights do not apply to - ✔✔-Media access to
government-controlled information (you don't have the right of access to government
information)
✔✔Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 1966 - ✔✔promotes full disclosure from the
executive of government
-applies to any executive department or independent agency (military etc.)
-Applies to records like documents (TANGIBLE items)
-Can petition federal government for most information. Nine restricted categories of
information.
