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Introduction to Public Relations Key words: – Public relations – Target audience – News release

What is Public Relations Public Relations was founded in the early 1920s by the late Edward L. Bernays. This field is combining communications and a knowledge of public opinion, human behavior, and motivations to reinforce, modify, or change how groups of people think or act.

Background A Public Relations Professional is guided by a set of ethics and sense of social responsibility. A lot of the time public relations is often referred to as reputation management.

PR Model All public relations strategies are designed along models, similar to the following: – Objectives- What you want to accomplish – Audiences- know which publics (groups of people) are the target – Desired action- define what you want your audience to do (support, stay neutral, buy a product, etc.) – Research- Evaluate what target audiences or publics currently know, think, and believe about an organization, issue, or subject; how they get information, and who they feel are credible sources

PR Model Cont. – Risks-define the risks and barriers that may affect the public relations plan. – Themes/messages- develop information based on the research that will help you affect the behavior of your target audience. – Action plan- how will you communicate your messages to these audiences, which media (radio, newspaper, etc) will be used, timing; meetings, special events, etc. – Budget- how much will the plan cost – Assessment- set measures that will help evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy. – Course correction – take action to change the strategy, messages, or techniques when assessment suggests that the plan is not achieving its objectives.

When planning a PR campaign… Know the issue inside and out Know which community organizations already address the issue and they do so Don’t reinvent an existing program Determine which are your primary publics and which are secondary Consider bringing existing information to your publics in new years. Define how you will measure the success of each objective.

News Release A news release is just a part of an overall PR campaign. News Release are documents that are released to various media outlets that contain up to date information. News releases are written to suit the media in which they will be delivered (radio, newspapers, etc.) – Instructions for timing should be at the top of the release: For Immediate Release or For Release [date].

Check list for a News Release Does the release include the most newsworthy features of the news story? Is the information included in the release chosen for its relevance to a particular public? Have all names, dates, and facts been double- checked for accuracy? Is the release free from grammatical errors and in accordance with the publication and general AP style?

PR career opportunities Some opportunities/tasks within the PR field are: – Writing, designing, producing company publications – Writing editorial pieces for the company, cause, or client – Organizing and managing special events such as trade fairs, receptions, art shows, and tours – Arranging for speaking opportunities that will reach target audiences with important company or organizational messages – Writing speeches for and news release about speaking events, and coordinating mailings of the speech to other key audiences. – Serving as official spokesperson for the organization they represent

Assignment In the last issue of the school paper, read the article entitled Chromebooks: New Technology, New Beginnings – Specify the top two external audiences – Identify what will need to be done in order to make this acceptable as news release to those audiences.