 Public relations is something that everyone has.  Public relations fosters the improvement of public relationships through specific activities and policies.  Public relations is the cornerstone of a democratic society.

 Every person and organization has a reputation ◦ Good, bad or neutral ◦ People form opinions without even thinking about how or why

 Public relations techniques can be applied to any social, cultural or political situation. ◦ Publics can be big or small ◦ The principles are the same ◦ The scale changes the appropriate tactics

 The “hacks”  Propaganda  Truth not essential  One-way  Sports, theatre, product promotion

 The “pros”  Information dissemination  Truth is important  Reputation Management

JPG, PUB475, Spring  Public Relations as a profession ◦ Applies generally accepted techniques, strategies, structures and tactics ◦ Similar to “law,” “medicine,” etc.  What it yields are desirable public relationships and positive reputations

 Standardized educational preparation ◦ Unique knowledge and skills ◦ Based on a body of theory developed through research  Recognition by the community of a unique and essential service  Autonomy in practice and acceptance of personal responsibility by practitioners  Codes of ethics and standards of performance enforced by a self-governing association of colleagues JPG, PUB475, Spring 20087

 Self-policing protects the profession ◦ Defines PR practitioners as a group ◦ Protects the professional franchise  Serves our clients ◦ Maintains public trust ◦ Provides basis and support for professional privilege. JPG, PUB475, Spring 20088

 Professional ethics ◦ Doing the right thing  Imperative of trust ◦ Placing your client’s interests above your own  Professional privileges ◦ Access to information, strategy, financials, etc. JPG, PUB475, Spring 20089

 Formal codes of ethics and professional conduct. ◦ Guide professional practice ◦ Provide the basis for enforcement and sanctions.  Professional conduct ◦ Generally accepted virtuous motives ◦ Monitored and assessed against established codes of conduct ◦ Enforced through concrete interpretation for those who deviate from accepted standards of performance JPG, PUB475, Spring

 Gains advantages for and promotes special interests, sometimes at the cost of the public well- being.  Clutters already choked channels of communication with pseudoevents and phony phrases that confuse rather than clarify.  Corrodes our channels of communication with cynicism and credibility gaps. JPG, PUB475, Spring

 Adversarial in nature, but…  Mutually dependent and mutually beneficial.  Reporters and editors play a crucial gatekeeping role in all media. ◦ Practitioners must earn and keep the respect of journalists in the news media. JPG, PUB475, Spring

 Some basic rules: ◦ Shoot squarely -- Honesty is the best policy. ◦ Give service by respecting media deadlines and by being available to the media. ◦ Don’t beg or carp, especially by asking for special treatment. (Hint: You won’t get any.) ◦ Don’t ask media to kill a story. ◦ Don’t flood the media with information with no news value. JPG, PUB475, Spring