Online Public Relations – lecture 1 – 24/10/2024
Key words: defining PR
Public Relations (PR) =
Public relations are a distinctive management function which helps establish and
maintain;
Mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation
between an organization and its publics;
Involves the management of problems or issues: helps management to keep
informed on and responsible to public opinion;
Defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public
interest;
Helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change;
Serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends
- Observe the external world, see where they need to adapt
And uses research and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools;
- Base your strategies and advice on research
Defining PR
Grunig & Hunt: “the management of communication between an organization and its
publics”
“An organization’s managed communications behavior”
- Focusses on external communication
The CIPR (UK’s Charted Institute of Public Relations)
They focused on reputation with the aim of earning, understanding and support and
influencing opinion and behavior
It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual
understanding between an organization and its publics
First definition that links PR to reputation
About reputation: the result of what you do, say and what others say about you
External view of the company reputation
The public feels things about the company based on more than one image
Reputation is built on more stable and long-term ideas about a company
Guth & Marsh (2006): 5 core concepts that help to define PR
1. Management function
2. Two-way communication
3. Planned activity
- Presupposes that you prepare and analyze things
4. Research-based social science
- You want to influence; helpful if you know how to
5. Socially responsibly
Reputation = the beliefs and opinions someone
has about another person, organization or object
Identity & image
, Reputation is foundation on which an organization builds
Corporate identity = internal image; perceived by the employees and the staff itself
Corporate image = perceived by the stakeholders
History of PR
19th century: industrialization and mass media
Entwined with social, economic and political developments
Key date: 1984, study Grunig & Hunt (what we saw in the beginning)
Distinguish among 4 categories of communication
1. Propaganda (1 way, truth unimportant)
o Newspapers about war
o PR started off as propaganda
2. Dissemination of information (1 way, truth important)
3. Scientific persuasion (2-way, imbalanced effects)
4. Mutual understanding (2-way, balanced effects)
- Nowadays: two-way balanced symmetrical PR is considered best
o Social media nowadays; offer much information, but it also presupposes
that the organization handles and acts upon that information
o Presence of social media stimulates that two-way communication
- Not always good, but do not underestimate
Nowadays: two-way balanced symmetrical PR is considered best
Ideal form:
Building true relationships
Dialogue and conversation
Allow mutual influence to accommodate the need of the other
PR today
, Communication
Planning
When to communicate what
Research
You base your planning on research
What strategy would be the best to react in a certain situation
Evaluation
Evaluation of the communication
- These are interconnected
Basic stakeholder model
The organization employees
Corporate PR
Consumers or equivalents
Marketing communication
Marketing and PR are not exactly the same
Use marketing communication as a tool for
PR
- Relevant for your primary
stakeholders (on who you depend,
such as customers)
All other publics or stakeholders
Corporate PR
Reputation
Cumulative understanding of the
organization by all stakeholders
Takeaways
PR is a complex concept
PR focuses on relationships with stakeholders
Reputation is fundamental
Different PR types and channels are being used
PR is a distinct discipline, it differs from e.g., marketing and advertising
BUT: there is overlap
Online Public Relations – lecture 2 – 25/10/2024
, Ethics and professionalism in public relations
Q1: Why are ethics important in PR?
Ethics and PR
Ethics and morality are related concepts
Morality = principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, or good
and bad behavior
- Moral rules help to structure society
- Breaking them could lead to various types of sanctions
Ethics = moral principles that govern an actor’s behavior
- Moral rules for public relations
o Being trustworthy is an important asset for an organization
Ethical theories: two schools
1. Utilitarianism/consequentionalist perspective
The morally right action
The action that produces ‘the most good’
In terms of consequences produced
Maximizing the overall good is the idea behind it (the good of others as well as one’s
own good
- Disadvantage: it permits the sacrificing of the interests of individuals and
minorities for the greater good
2. Deontological perspective
Motivation determines whether actions are ethical or not
Kantianism or the non-consequentionalist perspective
- Deon = Greek for duty
- According to this approach, we have a moral duty
- Kant: an act is carried out from a sense of duty when it is in accordance with the
categorical imperative
- It could become a universal law
o An action is only moral if you can make your reason for acting into a rule
that everyone can follow
- Disadvantage: what if there are two conflicting categorical imperatives?
o Two moral guidelines
However, both schools, utilitarianism as well as deontology have shortcomings
Moreover:
Cultural differences ---> what is considered right or wrong may differ between
organizations, industries and countries
Gregory: PR practioners’ duties
1. Be guided by your own value system
2. The duty to the public: provides all facts, so they can make their own judgement
3. The duty to reckon society’s interest
Professionalism: is PR a profession?
Key words: defining PR
Public Relations (PR) =
Public relations are a distinctive management function which helps establish and
maintain;
Mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation
between an organization and its publics;
Involves the management of problems or issues: helps management to keep
informed on and responsible to public opinion;
Defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public
interest;
Helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change;
Serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends
- Observe the external world, see where they need to adapt
And uses research and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools;
- Base your strategies and advice on research
Defining PR
Grunig & Hunt: “the management of communication between an organization and its
publics”
“An organization’s managed communications behavior”
- Focusses on external communication
The CIPR (UK’s Charted Institute of Public Relations)
They focused on reputation with the aim of earning, understanding and support and
influencing opinion and behavior
It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual
understanding between an organization and its publics
First definition that links PR to reputation
About reputation: the result of what you do, say and what others say about you
External view of the company reputation
The public feels things about the company based on more than one image
Reputation is built on more stable and long-term ideas about a company
Guth & Marsh (2006): 5 core concepts that help to define PR
1. Management function
2. Two-way communication
3. Planned activity
- Presupposes that you prepare and analyze things
4. Research-based social science
- You want to influence; helpful if you know how to
5. Socially responsibly
Reputation = the beliefs and opinions someone
has about another person, organization or object
Identity & image
, Reputation is foundation on which an organization builds
Corporate identity = internal image; perceived by the employees and the staff itself
Corporate image = perceived by the stakeholders
History of PR
19th century: industrialization and mass media
Entwined with social, economic and political developments
Key date: 1984, study Grunig & Hunt (what we saw in the beginning)
Distinguish among 4 categories of communication
1. Propaganda (1 way, truth unimportant)
o Newspapers about war
o PR started off as propaganda
2. Dissemination of information (1 way, truth important)
3. Scientific persuasion (2-way, imbalanced effects)
4. Mutual understanding (2-way, balanced effects)
- Nowadays: two-way balanced symmetrical PR is considered best
o Social media nowadays; offer much information, but it also presupposes
that the organization handles and acts upon that information
o Presence of social media stimulates that two-way communication
- Not always good, but do not underestimate
Nowadays: two-way balanced symmetrical PR is considered best
Ideal form:
Building true relationships
Dialogue and conversation
Allow mutual influence to accommodate the need of the other
PR today
, Communication
Planning
When to communicate what
Research
You base your planning on research
What strategy would be the best to react in a certain situation
Evaluation
Evaluation of the communication
- These are interconnected
Basic stakeholder model
The organization employees
Corporate PR
Consumers or equivalents
Marketing communication
Marketing and PR are not exactly the same
Use marketing communication as a tool for
PR
- Relevant for your primary
stakeholders (on who you depend,
such as customers)
All other publics or stakeholders
Corporate PR
Reputation
Cumulative understanding of the
organization by all stakeholders
Takeaways
PR is a complex concept
PR focuses on relationships with stakeholders
Reputation is fundamental
Different PR types and channels are being used
PR is a distinct discipline, it differs from e.g., marketing and advertising
BUT: there is overlap
Online Public Relations – lecture 2 – 25/10/2024
, Ethics and professionalism in public relations
Q1: Why are ethics important in PR?
Ethics and PR
Ethics and morality are related concepts
Morality = principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong, or good
and bad behavior
- Moral rules help to structure society
- Breaking them could lead to various types of sanctions
Ethics = moral principles that govern an actor’s behavior
- Moral rules for public relations
o Being trustworthy is an important asset for an organization
Ethical theories: two schools
1. Utilitarianism/consequentionalist perspective
The morally right action
The action that produces ‘the most good’
In terms of consequences produced
Maximizing the overall good is the idea behind it (the good of others as well as one’s
own good
- Disadvantage: it permits the sacrificing of the interests of individuals and
minorities for the greater good
2. Deontological perspective
Motivation determines whether actions are ethical or not
Kantianism or the non-consequentionalist perspective
- Deon = Greek for duty
- According to this approach, we have a moral duty
- Kant: an act is carried out from a sense of duty when it is in accordance with the
categorical imperative
- It could become a universal law
o An action is only moral if you can make your reason for acting into a rule
that everyone can follow
- Disadvantage: what if there are two conflicting categorical imperatives?
o Two moral guidelines
However, both schools, utilitarianism as well as deontology have shortcomings
Moreover:
Cultural differences ---> what is considered right or wrong may differ between
organizations, industries and countries
Gregory: PR practioners’ duties
1. Be guided by your own value system
2. The duty to the public: provides all facts, so they can make their own judgement
3. The duty to reckon society’s interest
Professionalism: is PR a profession?
