Week Ten

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…presenting need only be intimidating if you are unprepared, that working as a team is important to pull a presentation off successfully, and that you should draw on strengths you already have to work well as a whole. The main purpose of a presentation is to get a message across in an effective way and certain things can help and/or hinder whether your audience receives this message.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…since there are only two of us in the group we basically both need to take on all the responsibility of speaking and organizing the presentation beforehand. Neither of us have any nerves about speaking but since there are only two of us to organize the putting together of the presentation we will need to pay extra attention to detail because there’s less people to pick up any mistakes or inconsistencies. On a positive note, we can work more efficiently as a group because there are less differences of opinion, and we both know each part of the program plan inside out rather than just one or two sections each. We both believe that we’ve got all our research and ideas well planned out and therefore have no worries about being caught out in the presentation.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…it really takes quite a bit of preparation to get a presentation ready for public viewing. Public relations teams working for big clients would really have to be on the ball and know their plan and their team inside out to deliver a cohesive presentation to people that have had many program plans presented to them over the years. Also, it’s not just the content of the presentation that will make an impression on a client but your ability to speak clearly and the body language that you use during the presentation. Confidence is paramount in this industry because if you’re unable to sell a plan to an organization with confidence then you have no chance of surviving in PR.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…once again, in giving a presentation, if a team is not all on the same page the presentation can fall apart right in front of your eyes. One person’s success doesn’t mean victory for the whole team. They also related to the readings about media relations and press releases in that you really have to be prepared for any outcome, especially during question time after the presentation. This is where thorough research comes into play also. Being on top of things is extremely important to show your prospective client that you have what it takes to run a campaign that they are paying big money for.

Required reading for Week 10

1. Wyeth, S. (2002). The Three Commandments of Presenting and how to obey them. Consulting to Management. 13(1) 8-12.
2. Drew, S. (2001) Oral Presentations (pp 98-114) in The Student Skills Guide. (2^nd ed.) London:Gower.
3. Van Emden, J. and Becker, L. (2004). Speaking as Part of a Group (pp 77-93) in Presentation Skills for Students. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Week Nine

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were… that local media are extremely important in the community’s acceptance or rejection of an issue, that building a long term relationship with a community is important and a newsletter fosters a sense of community, and that providing a community with information about what’s going on lets them feel involved and improves community relations, making the whole process easier for everybody.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…newsletters are one method of getting information out to a community on a mass scale and that is something we’re trying to do in our program. The problem we have with that though is that we are working for a non profit organization and therefore our budget is limited to nil. Printing out a newsletter can be expensive. An alternative could be that we create an e-newsletter and send it out to existing members but then we face the problem of just reaching an audience that is already familiar rather than recruiting new members.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…even a small publication like a newsletter needs a lot of effort and research put into it to be successful. PR professionals really need to have a good sense of people and what they want in order to create that communication bond and trust between an organization and their publics.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…they emphasized the importance of building long term relationships with your target publics in order to gain their trust in the organization and its reputation. They also related to the group work readings which stated that communication methods that are practical are needed so that your message is clear and obvious to your particular demographic or community.

Required reading for Week 9

1. Smith, A. (2003). Community relations: How an entire industry can change its image through proactive local communications. Journal of Communication Management. 7(3) 254-265.
2. Tymson, C., Lazar, P. & Lazar, R. (2006) Producing a newsletter. In C. Tymson, P. Lazar, P and R. Lazar, (Eds.)The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual (5^th ed.) (pp. 564-575) Manly: Tymson Communications
3. Baverstock, A. (2002) Newsletters (pp 47-62) in Publicity, Newsletter and Press Releases. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Week Eight

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…that media relations between journalists and PR practitioners are extremely important and need to be based on mutual respect, brought about by ethical, professional, and unbiased behaviour by both sides. Gonzalez-Herrero’s reading explored how the internet has become a very powerful and effective tool for PR practitioners and can dramatically help or hinder an organization depending on whether it is utilized properly. The Tymson and Lazar reading looked at writing effective media releases and the need to decide on a target audience and write in a relative style.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…we believe that Toastmasters website is a great way for people to gather information about the organization but that they have definitely not made the most of its potential. Alpha Toastmasters doesn’t have any formal PR team either so the media releases are definitely not up to scratch in getting their message out.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…the relationship between journos and PR practitioners needs to be treated with respect because both need each other to do their jobs properly. A journalist will appreciate and work well with you if you put the effort into your work that will make their job easier. Writing that isn’t overly biased or self-serving will give you a better relationship with journalists and more credibility as a PR practitioner. Gonzalez-Herrero’s reading explained that the internet is a great tool for PR practitioners in this age because of its immediacy and easy access for the public.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…they looked at media relations and target audience and public relationships and how vital these are to an organizations success. The relationships we build with others in the profession and the clients we work with reflect not only on those organizations but also on us as professionals. Credibility is a huge aspect of being a successful PR practitioner and the relationships we build are paramount to how others judge us.

Required reading for Week 8

1. Tymson, C., Lazar, P. & Lazar, R. (2006) Writing a media release. In C. Tymson, P. Lazar, P and R. Lazar, (Eds.)The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual (5^th ed.) (pp. 74-117) Manly: Tymson Communications
2. González-Herrero, A. & Ruiz de Valbuena, M (2006). Trends in online media relations: Web-based corporate press rooms in leading international companies. Public Relations Review. 32(3) 3, 267-275.
3. Sallot, M. & Johnson, A. (2006). To contact … or not?: Investigating journalists’ assessments of public relations subsidies and contact preferences. Public Relations Review. 32(1) 83-86.

Week Seven

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…the importance of each stage of a public relations plan and how they fit together. Also the need for in depth research and evaluation, the differences between in house and consultancy work, and having strong objectives in place in the program plan. A focus on detailed planning and clear objectives were the basis for a successful plan.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…we’re working through our final program using these steps and trying to avoid the common mistakes outlined in the reading. The research part was especially helpful because we’re working with a company that we have never heard of before and that really needs some help updating its brand identity. Each different part of the process has an important role and we are dividing up the workload based on this.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…it really put the program plan as a finished work into perspective for me. Any weak point in the plan could lead to a certain part being unsuccessful, e.g. badly done research could lead to a problem with our final crisis management plan. I think an important and maybe essential step in finishing and checking our plan could be putting it through some scenarios and seeing whether we think it would stand up to the challenge.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…it once again stressed the importance of research, objectives, and evaluation. The evaluation part has confused me a little because I wasn’t exactly sure how you could check to see whether a company’s image has become more widely recognizable (as in Toastmasters case) but the reading helped clarify how the evaluation was firstly carried out and then drawn upon for future reference.

Required reading for Week 7

1. Tymson, C., Lazar, P. & Lazar, R. (2006) A Typical Public Relations Program. In C. Tymson, P. Lazar, P and R. Lazar, (Eds.)The new Australian and New Zealand public relations manual (5^th ed.) (pp. 74-117) Manly: Tymson Communications

Week Six

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…that prior planning to a crisis is essential if an organization wants to survive the crisis. In the Johnston and Zawawi reading there’s a quote that says “that 80% of corporations which have experienced a disaster, without prior planning to deal with crisis, have found themselves out of business within five years (IATA, 2003).” This clearly shows the importance of crisis management planning to the survival of an organization after the event. Recognition of possible crises, strategic planning, and a crisis management team and plan that has been well practiced should be considered one of the most important things an organization can have in place. The other key message was about handling the crisis in a way that shows your publics that they are at the forefront in your concern.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…Toastmasters would definitely need to show their publics that they were foremost in the organizations worries. Using a situation like the white supremacist links we created in the tute, Toastmasters’ main priority would be reassuring their members and volunteers that they were not racist, as implied by the allegations, and cared about every single one of their members, no matter what racial background they were from.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…every potential situation needs to be thought of and planned for before it actually happens. The job of a PR person is constant and ever changing because issues like terrorism are always either arising or becoming more prominent in society and a PR professional has to be on the front foot of it all.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…the planning and research stage it extremely important in crisis management. A lot of the time the crises thought up will never come to fruition but the steps to be taken if they ever do need to be considered carefully and stored away in case they’re ever needed.

Required reading for Week 6

1. Mackey, S. (2004) Crisis and Issues Management. In J. Johnston & C. Zawawi (eds.), Public relations: theory and practice (pp. 287-313). Sydney: Allen and Unwin
2. Taylor, M. and Kent, M (2006).Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public Relations Review, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 29 December 2006 Science Direct.
3. Davis, B. (2006).Crisis Communication Practices at an International Relief Agency. Business Communication Quarterly. 69(3) 329-337.
4. Campbell, R. (2004). Chapter 3, Creating and Managing a Crisis Team in Crisis Control: preventing and managing corporate crises. (pp. 41-59) Sydney: Penguin.

Week Five

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…that honesty is crucial to an organizations success. You can be a huge company with lots of money but unless your brand is trusted by its clients and publics there is no path to future success or growth. Community relations should also be foremost in a company’s priorities. Developed relationships with the community will ensure a strong company identity and one that is renowned as a community friendly company.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…one of the main issues we’re trying to work on is the Toastmasters’ brand identity and how they are viewed by the community. One of the things they supposedly pride themselves on is their internal employee relations, and we’re trying to use that as a key point to get across to the community…drawing on a “friends as well as teachers” kind of image, or “personalizing the corporate image” (Johnson and Zawawi, p298.).

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…it really is important to have strong relationships within the company if you’re going to be successful within the community as well. A company that the community sees as internally weak and falling apart or conflicting is hardly a company that someone would want to put their faith and business in.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…team work is an important factor in keeping a company internally strong and externally successful. Showing the community that the company actually does care about their thoughts and opinions is the first step to developing a trusting public.

Required reading for Week 5

1. Sison, M. (2004) Internal and community relations. In J. Johnston & C. Zawawi (eds.), Public relations: theory and practice (pp. 287-313). Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
2. PRIA Case Studies – distributed in class prior to Week 4

Week Four

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…that the media and public relations professionals have an interdependent relationship where one relies on the other to get their job done. Dealing with the media is a necessary part of the PR profession and requires repeated practice of communication and interpersonal skills.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…we’re at the point where we need to exercise those skills with the client organization rather than the media. Finding a point of communication that is going to both inform the client but also show them what they’re lacking in a polite, non-condescending way is a difficult yet necessary thing to do.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…dealing with the media requires excellent personal communication skills that need to be worked on, and aren’t something that comes naturally. Competence comes with experience.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…research is vital in order to become knowledgeable and practiced in media relations. Studying previous media conferences and speaking techniques helps get a clear idea of what to steer away from and what to focus on.

Required reading for Week 4

1. Johnson, J. (2004) Media Relations. In J. Johnston & C. Zawawi (eds.), Public relations: theory and practice (pp. 259-286). Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
2. Stanton, R. (2007) Two Theories of Media Relations. In R.Stanton, Media Relations (pp 13-27). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
3. Motion, J. & Weaver, K. (2005) The epistemic struggle for credibility: Rethinking media relations. Journal of Communication Management, 9 (3), 246-255.

Week Three

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…that research is the first and probably the most important part of the process, and is ongoing throughout the whole PR campaign. A campaign has little hope of being successful without knowing, firstly, what the aims and goals of the client organization are, and secondly, without researching the most effective ways to implement the plan. Basically, all the information you would gain from a SWOT analysis is the starting point to knowing what methodologies to employ for a certain company in a certain environment.

The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…I’d never even heard of our client organization before. This in itself requires research to find out what it is they actually do and/or offer. I think that since our client organization is such a huge international company there are definitely some campaign tactics that we can rule out straight away. Our group hasn’t had the initial meeting with the client yet, but even after browsing the website it was clear to me that there are some areas that stand out as needing a lot of PR work done.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…a detailed and intimate knowledge of your client organization is essential to devising which means we use to get to their hoped for end. The research may be the boring part but it is integral to creating a plan that will put the focus back where it’s needed.

The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…the research coincides with the strategical planning the whole way along. Events happen, situations change and continuous research is needed to keep on top of it all. The information gathered and discussed by numerous people will also have been thought through more thoroughly, (wow, that was even confusing to type) which demonstrates the importance of team work in public relations practice.

Required reading for Week 3:

1. Please ensure you read through this information/Workshop on Using the Internet for Research - Students should note that the information and skills covered in this online workshop will stand them in good stead in other courses and in their work environments.
2. Singh, R. & Glenny, L.. (2004) Research and Evaluation. In J. Johnston & C. Zawawi (eds.), Public relations: theory and practice (pp. 137-168). Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
3. Plowman, K.D. (2005) Conflict, strategic management, and public relations. Public Relations Review, 31(1), 131-138.

Week Two

I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were… that a hands on, strategic approach to public relations is the only way to realistically prepare for the challenges and obstacles that one could face in professional practice these days. Strategy is the basis from which everything else grows in public relations. Without it there is uncertainty, distrust, and floundering action without a backup plan. Goals and aims are not met unless a strategic approach is utilized. This is where group work comes into play. Once a strategy is decided upon then a functional group is needed in order to carry it out to the end. Without a group that can work as a team and trust and depend upon one another the strategy is useless.

The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that… the whole process is completely integrated and if one part of the process fails then the rest comes falling down after it. There is no such thing as an individual success when you’re working as part of a functioning unit. Everyone needs to do well in each their own aspect of the strategy otherwise the whole group is pulled down.

Required reading for Week 2:

1. Allert, J. and Zawawi, C. (2004) Strategy, Planning and Scheduling. In J. Johnston,& C. Zawawi (eds.), Public relations: theory and practice (pp. 169-196). Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
2. Group work and Collaborative Writing - find this reading in Course Documents.
3. Introduction to Problem Based learning - see Course Documents

Week One

Hi All,

I'll be posting my reflections on the required readings here every week and encourage any comments or feedback :)

Thanks.