Blog #10

·       What did people like P.T. Barnum and Buffalo Bill Body contribute to the development of modern public relations in the 20th century?

Phineas Taylor Barnum was the most notorious press agent of the 1800s, who used gross exaggeration, fraudulent stories, and staged events to secure newspaper coverage for his clients; his American Museum; and later his circus. It was called “The Greatest Show on Earth,” included the “midget” General Tom Thumb, Swedish soprano Jenny Lind, Jumbo the Elephant, and Joice Heth. These performers became some of the earliest nationally known celebrities because of Barnum’s skill in using the media for promotion. William F. Cody, who once killed buffalo for the railroads, promoted himself and his traveling show: “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West nd Congress of Rough Riders of the World.” Burke was one of the first press agents to use a wide variety of media channels to generate publicity: promotional newspaper stories, magazine articles and ads, dime novels, theater marquees, poster art, and early films. Burke and Buffalo Bill shaped many of the lasting myths about rugged American individualism and frontier expansion that were later adopted by books, radio programs, and Hollywood films about the American West. With Barnum, they were among the first to use publicity- a type of PR communication that uses various media messages to spread information about a person, corporation, issue, or policy-to elevate entertainment culture to an international level.

·       How did railroads and utility companies give the early forms of corporate public relations a bad name?

In the 1800s, America’s largest industrial companies, particularly the railroads. The railroads began to use press agents to help them obtain federal funds. Initially, local business raised funds to finance the spread of rail service. However, the railroads began pushing for federal subsidies, complaining the local fund-raising efforts took too long. The railroad press agents successfully gained government support by developing some of the earliest publicity tactics. Their first strategy was simply to buy favorable news stories about rail travel from newspapers through direct bribes. Another practice was to engage in deadheading-giving reporters free rail passes with the tacit understanding that they would write glowing reports about rail travel. Wealthy railroads received the federal subsidies they wanted and increased their profits, while the American public shouldered much of the financial burden of rail expansion. The larger rail companies turned their attention to bigger game-persuading the government to control rates and reduce competition, especially from smaller, aggressive regional lines. Railroad lobbyists argued that federal support would lead to improved service and guaranteed quality because the government would be keeping a close watch. These lobbying efforts, accompanied by favorable publicity, led to passage of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1851 authorizing railroads “to revamp their freight classification, raise rates, and eliminate fare reduction. The PR campaigns success actually led to the decline of the railroads. Utility companies such as Chicago Edison and AT&T also used PR strategies in the late 1800s to derail competition and eventually attain monopoly status. In addition to buying the votes of key lawmakers, the utilities hired third-party editorial services, which would send favorable articles about utilities to newspapers, assigned company managers to become leaders to community groups, produced ghostwritten articles, and influenced textbook authors to write histories favorable to the utilities.

·       What are two approaches to organizing a PR firm?

The PRSA, The Public Relations Society of America, offers this simple and useful definition of PR: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” Firstly, there are independent PR agencies whose sole job is to provide clients with PR services. Secondly, most companies, which may or may not also hire the independent PR firms, maintain their own in-house PR staffs to handle routine tasks, as writing press releases, managing various media requests, staging special events, and dealing with internal and external publics.

·       What are press releases and why are they important to reporters?

Press releases are announcements written in the style of news reports that give new information about an individual, a company, or an organization and pitch a story idea to the news media. PR agents hope that their client information will be picked up by the news media and transformed into news reports. PR firm manages the flow of information, controlling which media get what material in which order. News editors and broadcasters sort through hundreds of releases daily to determine which ones contain the most original ideas or are the most current. Most large media institutions rewrite and double-check the releases, but small media companies often use them verbatim because of limited editorial resources. The more closely a press release resembles actual news copy, the more likely it is to be used.

·       What is the difference between VNR and PSA?

Video News Releases (VNRs)-thirty-to ninety-second visual press releases designed to mimic the style of a broadcast news report. Networks and large TV news stations do not usually broadcast VNRs, news stations in small TV markets regularly use material from VNRs. News stations have been criticized for using video footage from a VNR without acknowledging the source. Public service announcements (PSAs) fifteen-to sixty second audio or video reports that promote government programs, educational projects, volunteer agencies, or social reform. As part of their requirement to serve the public interest, broadcasters have been encouraged to carry free PSAs. When PSAs do run, they are frequently scheduled between midnight and 6 a.m., a less commercially valuable time slot.

·       What special events might a PR firm sponsor to build stronger ties to its community?

Companies have learned that sustaining close ties with their communities and neighbors not only enhances their image and attracts potential customers but also promotes the idea that the companies are good citizens. PR firms encourage companies to participate in community activities such as hosting plant tours and open houses, making donations to national and local charities, and participating in town events like parades and festivals. More progressive companies may also get involved in unemployment and job-retraining programs, or donate equipment and workers to urban revitalization projects such as Habitat for Humanity. PR has become much more sophisticated since 1965, when Ralph Nader’s groundbreaking book, Unsafe at Any Speed, revealed safety problems concerning the Chevrolet Corvair. After the success of Nader’s book, along with a growing public concern over corporate mergers and their lack of accountability to the public, consumers became less willing to readily accept the claims of corporations. PR specialists responded by encouraging companies to pay more attention to customers, establish product service and safety guarantees, and ensure that all calls and mail from customers were answered promptly. 

·       Why have research and lobbying become increasingly important to the practice of PR?

The government PR specialists monitor new and existing legislation, create opportunities to ensure favorable publicity, and write press releases and direct-mail letters to persuade the public about the pros and cons of new regulations. Government relations has developed into lobbying: the process of attempting to influence lawmakers to support and vote for an organization’s or industry’s best interests. Some lobbyists contact government officials on a daily basis. There are about thirteen thousand registered lobbyists, in Washington D.C., alone. Lobbying expenditures targeting the federal government rose above $3.3 billion in 2011, up from $1.64 billion ten years earlier. Ethical problems can often lead from lobbying, as in the case of earmarks and astroturf lobbying. Earmarks are specific spending directives that are slipped into bills to accommodate the interests of lobbyists and are often the result of political favors or outright bribes.

·       How does the Internet change the way in which public relations communicates with an organization's many publics?

Public relations practitioners have tried to earn news media coverage to communicate their clients’ messages to the public. The internet, with its instant accessibility, offers public relations professionals a number of new routes for communicating with public. A company or organization’s Web site has become the home base of public relations efforts. Companies and organizations can upload and maintain their media kits, giving the traditional news media access to the information at any time. The barriers between the organization and the groups that PR professionals ultimately want to reach are broken down. The web enables PR professionals to have their clients interact with audiences on a more personal, direct basis through social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, and blogs. Corporate executives can share their professional and personal observations and seem downright chummy through a blog. Executives, celebrities, and politicians can seem more accessible and personable through a Twitter feed. But social media’s immediacy can also be a problem, especially for those who send messages into the public sphere without considering the ramifications. Another concern about social media is that sometimes such communications appear without complete disclosure, which is an unethical practice. A growing number of companies also compensate bloggers to subtly promote their products, unbeknownst to most readers. Internet analytic tools enable organizations to monitor what is being said about them at any time. The immediacy of social media also means that public relations officials might be forced to quickly respond to a message or image once it goes viral.

·       Explain the historical background of the antagonism between journalism and public relations.

The relationship between journalism and PR is important and complex. Journalism lays claim to independent traditions, the news media have become ever more reliant on public relations because of the increasing amount of information now available. Another cause of tension is the PR firms often raid the ranks of reporting for new talent because most press releases are written to imitate news reports, the PR profession has always sought good writers who are well connected to sources and savvy about the news business. Although reporters frequently move into PR, public relations practitioners seldom move into journalism; the news profession rarely accepts prodigal sons or daughters back into the fold once they have left reporting for public relations. The professions remain co-dependent: PR needs journalists for publicity, and journalism needs PR for story ideas and access. PR by making reporters’ jobs easier, has often enabled reporters to become lazy. PR firms now supply what reporters used to gather for themselves. Instead of trying to get a scoop, many journalists have become content to wait for a PR handout or a good tip before following up on a story.

·       Overall, are social platforms a good thing for practicing public relations, or do they present more problems than they are worth?

Social platforms don’t seem to be a good thing for practicing public relations. Journalism’s most prevalent criticism or public relations is that it works to counter the truths reporters seek to bring to the public. Journalists have also objected that PR professionals block press access to key business leaders, political figures, and other newsworthy people. Reporters could talk to such leaders directly and obtain quotable information for their news stories, before the prevalence of PR. Journalists complain that PR agents insert themselves between the press and the newsworthy, thus disrupting the journalistic tradition in which reporters would vie for interviews with top government and business leaders. Journalists also argue that PR agents are now able to manipulate reporters by giving exclusives to journalists who are likely to cast a story in a favorable light or by cutting off a reporter’s access to a newsworthy figure altogether if that reporter has written unfavorably about the PR agency’s client in the past.

·       Considering the Exxon Valdez, BP, and Tylenol cases in this chapter, what are some key things an organization can do to respond effectively once a crisis hits?

An important duty of public relations is helping a corporation handle a public crisis or tragedy, especially if the public assumes the company is at fault. Disaster management may reveal the best and the worst attributes of the company and its PR firm. For example, one of the largest environmental disasters of the twentieth century occurred in 1989, Exxon Valdez spilled eleven million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound, contaminating fifteen hundred miles of Alaskan coastline and killing countless birds, otters, seals and fish. Exxon was slow to react to the crisis and even slower to accept responsibility. Another example was the Tylenol pain-relief capsules, seven people died after someone tampered with several bottles and laced them with poison. Its PR representatives focused on whether or not withdrawing all Tylenol capsules from stores. As part of its PR strategy to overcome the negative publicity and to restore Tylenol’s market share, Burson-Marsteller tracked public opinion nightly through telephone surveys and organized satellite press conferences to debrief the news media. Emergency phone lines were set up to take calls from consumers and health-care providers. When the company reintroduced Tylenol three months later, it did so with tamper-resistant bottles. The public thought Johnson & Johnson had responded admirably to the crisis and did not hold Tylenol responsible for the deaths.