Public Relations Notes

Public Relations Notes
Instructor Dr. Ilias Hristodoulakis, Ph.D Athens, Greece Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

What is Public Relations
What is this thing called public relations? The term public relations is often confusing because it is frequently used inaccurately. According to many self-called PR practitioners as well as to managers publicity, like public relations and corporate advertising, consists of promotional program elements that may be of great benefit to the marketing. Continuing, they recommend that the use of public relations in the promotion mix is a very good idea taking into consideration that: public relation is a cheap mean of communication, because mostly is coming free through publicity, and it is perceived by consumers as a more credible source than other media of promotion such as advertising. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

As a result public relations is related to the promotional activities, and is one technical activity used by marketing to promote the image of corporations and products. Public relations is a unique management function which helps organizations to establish and maintain mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation with their public(s). It involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of the management to serve not only the organization but most important the public(s)’ interest(s); helps management to stay familiar with environmental changes; serving as a warning system to help predict trends; and uses research and symmetrical communication techniques as its principal tools. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

1) Public relations is a unique management function Public relations practitioners need to be part of the total organization, in surveying the environment and in helping to define the mission, goals, and objectives of the organization. participation of the head of the public relation department in the dominant coalition, for defining the mission and planning the present and future strategy of the organization. The boundary role: they function as a liaison between the organization and its external and internal publics. To put it in different words, public relation managers have one foot inside the organization and the other outside. Public relations departments help organizations maintaining mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation with their public(s); Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The first step of strategic management of public relations is to - make a list of the people who are linked to or have a stake in the organization after thoroughly researching their public(s) ranking them according their impact on the organization or the extent to which the organization believes it should moderate its consequences on them; plan ongoing communication programs with the most important public(s). The communication activities between organization and public(s), need to be based on the principle of symmetrical communication. As a result communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation with their public(s). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Public relations departments help organizations to manage problems or issues Organizations in which the public relations department is part of their decision management level, will have resolved most of the problems with publics before they become issues. Excellent public relations departments make sure that they scan the environment around the organization and balance their organization mission with external and internal demands On the one hand, they must interpreter the philosophies, policies, programs, and practices of their management to the public(s); and on the other hand, they must translate the attitudes and reactions of the public(s) to their management. Even when they are not represented in the dominant coalition, as environmental scanners, public relations practitioners are sensitive to changes taking place in the larger environment surrounding the organization that may influence the public opinion. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Public relations serves not only the organization but most important the public(s)’ interest(s) Public relations practitioners must constantly communicate with many different publics, each having each own special needs and requiring different types of communications. Public relations practitioners’ role is to identify with critical publics with whom the organization must communicate on a frequent and direct basis. Under the quittance of public relations, organizations learn of how to get more sensitive to the self interests, desires, and concerns of each public. They understand that self interest groups today are themselves more complex and with more power than ever before. They harmonizing actions necessary to win and maintain support among each groups. Emphasizing and achieving a win- win arrangement. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Excellent public relations departments must use research techniques as its principal tools for developing decisions If communicators and public relations practitioners are decision makers, then operations research can contribute to public relations management by helping to provide decisions that produce efficient and/or effective courses of action in a rigorous and demonstrable manner. Operations research can be used to help develop well formulated objectives, that is, assist in goal setting; discover states of nature (situation analysis); identify possible strategies, competitive strategies; handle excessive numbers of strategies and states of nature; determine outcome; evaluate outcomes, that is quantifying the outcome's desirability; and select a specific strategy that is the best or the most efficient or both. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The three primary forms of public relations research, as they have been suggested are methods, mostly indirect, of observing human behavior surveys to reveal attitudes and opinions, communication audits to evaluate how an organization is doing with respect to particular public(s), and unobtrusive measures such as fact finding, content analysis, and readability studies. As a result helps management to stay familiar with environmental changes; to predict trends Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Organizations with good public relations departments are always using two ways symmetrical systems of communication Under an asymmetrical communication system, organizations are striving to convince their practitioners that the organization knows best and that publics benefit from cooperating with the organizations decisions. Thus, the role of the practitioners to persuade publics to follow decisions made by the organization. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

On the other hand, organizations that basing their communication systems on symmetrical models recognize that they cannot isolate themselves from their environment. Acknowledging that publics and other organizations operating in the same external and/or internal environment interrelated with the organization, and freely exchanging information with those organizations and publics, establishing an equilibrium state that constantly move as the environment changes. Symmetrical models of communication are conflict resolution oriented rather than persuasion. Conflicts are resolved through negotiation, communication, and compromise and not through force, manipulation, coercion, or violence. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

What Is Public Relations: The four Models of PR
Press Agentry/Publicity For Propaganda purpose , one way communication– complete truth is not essential, Source – Receiver as com. model, the initiative is always strongly in the hands of the source/sender. The means are usually strait forward advertising or other promotional activities Public Information For dissemination of information purpose, one way communication but truth is important, source receiver as communication model, it is one way communication w/out usually the purpose of persuasion. little research usually readability and readership, is used for Government- nonprofit associations, businesses Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D
The four Models of PR Two way Asymmetric For Scientific persuasion purposes, two way imbalanced effects communication, source – receiver – source com. Model, research is formative with evaluation of attitudes, typical use in competitive business and agencies Two Way Symmetric For mutual understanding purposes, two way balanced effects, symmetrical mod., formative with evaluation of understanding, typical used in regulated business and agencies Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR the Communication Management: NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Need for a common ground Feedback The role of the senses Source – message encoding – channel – message decoding – receiver Noise and Feedback Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

THE GOALS OF COMMUNICATION
Inform Persuade Motivate Mutual understanding Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

A PUBLIC RELATIONS PERSPECTIVE
Questions to Focus Materials Produced - Is it appropriate? - Is it meaningful? - Is it memorable? - Is it understandable? - Is it believable? Determine objectives Based on the Awareness Interest Desire Action model Informational motivational Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Communication Process: From Theory to Practice
In Communication we are generally concerned with persuading people in one way or another, even if it's only persuading them that we're quite nice people. We therefore will often be concerned with examining people's needs, in order that we can respond to those needs in our communication. People's needs motivate them to act; if we can identify those needs, we have a chance of motivating them to do what we want them to do, even if only attend to our communication in the first place. One humanist psychologist who is constantly referred to in the study of Communication is Abraham Maslow, who developed the 'hierarchy of needs' shown in the graphic. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Maslow emphasised the human need for self-actualisation, the realisation of one's full potential as a human being. According to Maslow, before one can set about self-actualisation, a person has first to solve the problems associated with the four lower-level needs of the hierarchy: Physical/survival needs: you must satisfy your physical wants before you can take the next step up the motivational hierarchy; Safety needs: once you have satisfied your basic biological needs, you can get on with exploring your environment. It is well known, however, that a child will not begin to explore unless it feels secure. But the drive for safety is in itself a motivator for exploration - when you know 'what's out there' in the world, your uncertainty is reduced, the world s more predictable and 'safe'; Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Social needs: these are 'belongingness' needs. Maslow claims that we have an innate need to affiliate with others in search of affection and love. Through empathising with others we learn also to see the world from different points of view; Esteem needs: the groups we affiliate with help us to set our life's goals. They can provide us with feedback on how well we are doing in pursuit of those goals. The closer we get, the more esteem we are likely to receive from others and feel for ourselves; Self-actualization needs: when we have acquired sufficient self-esteem we are confident enough to go on to realise our full potential, expressing ourselves in our own unique way. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Maslow's hierarchy has the benefit of attempting a holistic account of human motivation, considering a range of influences on human behaviour. It is questionable whether, in the light of contemporary notions such as the decentred self, humanistic psychology's conception of the self is still tenable, though it has to be said that many people who have experienced Rogerian counselling will testify to its efficacy. Maslow's hierarchy has also been criticised for being based on Maslow's study of successful individuals in Western society. To what extent it might apply to non-Western societies or to non-middle- or upper-class individuals is not clear. Nor is it clear why there should be five stages rather than sixty-eight and it is certainly not clear why he believes that we must progress through the stages - one could think of artists, for example, who have shown scant regard for their survival needs, or even esteem needs, appearing to jump straight to working on their self-actualisation. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Certainly, it is hard to see how any but totally isolated people could satisfy their survival needs independently of, say, social needs. Hunter-gatherers live together, hunt and forage together, their survival is entirely dependent on society. So is mine of course in the sense that my ability to buy things from shops depends on certain infrastructures in society, but it's also the case that I can't buy things from shops without engaging in an at least a rudimentary form of social intercourse. To separate out each of these needs in the way that Maslow does seems highly artificial. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Nevertheless, there is some empirical evidence from Harlow's experiments with monkeys which tends to support Maslow's ideas. Whatever criticisms may be made of Maslow, the notion that something like these needs seems to motivate people has been taken on by marketers. Think of the way that house insurance companies offer free smoke or burglar alarms as incentives (safety needs) all those adverts which show the product at the centre of groups of happy people (social needs) marketing which pushes the high status of the product (esteem needs) Microsoft's current emphasis on exploration of ideas and one's self through modern technology, their slogan 'Where do you want to go today?' (self-actualisation needs) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Communication Process: Source
Communicator: Source Credibility The principal characteristic of the Communicator affecting his or her persuasiveness is his or her credibility. Credibility itself is made up of a variety of factors: Trustworthiness: Is this person honest? Can I believe what he's telling me? If Bill Clinton has had an affair and not told his wife, then how do I know he won't lie to me as well? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Politicians will also try to undermine their opponents' credibility by pointing to self-contradictions in their past - if (former Labour Party leader) Neil Kinnock was vehemently opposed to Britain's membership of the European Union and in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament, how can you believe him now that he's a fervent supporter of European union and opposed to disarmament? Advertisers will sometimes use 'trustworthy' people to endorse their product: the jazz critic George Melly to endorse Sony's headphones, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Robert Mark to endorse Goodyear tyres and so on Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

In a 1953 experiment conducted by Kelman and Hovland subjects were played a message which recommended more lenient treatment of juvenile offenders. In the one case, the source of the message was said to be a judge in a juvenile court, in the other case an alleged drug dealer. Unsurprisingly, when the subjects were assessed immediately after hearing the messages, they found the high-credibility source (the judge) to be more persuasive). Three weeks later they were again assessed. This time, half the subjects were reminded who the source was. It turned out that where there was a reminder, the subjects maintained their original position, but, where there was none, there was a significant decrease in the persuasion of the high-credibility condition. (There was also a very minor, but insignificant, increase in the low-credibility condition.) Hovland argued that over the course of time the connexion between the 'cue' (i.e. the communicator's credibility) and the message became dissociated. He termed this the sleeper effect. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Sorokin and Baldyreff played listeners two records of a classical music piece, each bearing exactly the same performance. Listeners were told in advance that one of the performances had been judged as significantly better by music critics. 96% of subjects considered the performances were different and 59% agreed with the alleged opinion of the experts. Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast was doubtless also effective in part because of the perceived prestige of those allegedly commenting on the 'invasion' - the fictitious Prof. Farrell of the Mount Jennings Observatory, Prof. Morse of McMillan University, General Montgomery Smith, commander of the Trenton state militia and others Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Expertise: Does this person know what he's talking about? Hence the tendency of politicians to spout statistics at the slightest provocation and the tendency of computer consultants to use computer jargon to people they know don't understand it. The perceived expertise of the source is likely to be more persuasive if the audience have no particular commitment to the subject under discussion. If people have some knowledge of the subject, then they probably have some arguments or counterarguments already prepared. If not, then they'll probably use some general rule of thumb, like 'This bloke's paid to teach Communication Studies, so I suppose he knows what he's talking about.' (!) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Attractiveness: We know from our studies of NVC that physical attractiveness often works in a person's favour. Judges give attractive people lighter sentences, college lecturers give them better marks and so on. Presidential and Prime Ministerial candidates have themselves remodelled by image consultants. One presidential hopeful is even rumoured to have had plastic surgery. Attractiveness is not only a matter of physical attractiveness, though. Other factors such as similarity and familiarity are important: 'Is he my sort of person?', 'I've never heard of her before.' 'Does he look like my sort of person?' 'He sounds like a complete idiot' and so on. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

So, a leader from specific local area might use a strong accent when addressing a rally in this area, though he uses a regular one when being interviewed on TV. There are numerous factors which influence attractiveness, for example the paralinguistic aspects of speech, which led Prime Minister Thatcher to take lessons in voice control, so that she appeared less strident and developed the sound of measured, breathy sincerity which became her hallmark. Humour is another factor, which explains why we find comedians being used for the voice-overs on a variety of commercials. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

There is an exception to this general rule of attractiveness, though. If a liked communicator's recommendations are seen as stemming from internal factors (e.g. her special interests, her bias, her self-interest), but those of a disliked communicator are seen as stemming from external factors ('that's the way things are'), then the disliked communicator can be more persuasive If the source of a message was perceived as having low credibility, then the message would be interpreted as biased and unfair. That effect could probably be explained by the need to maintain cognitive consistency. High credibility sources were shown by Hovland and his colleagues to be likely to have a significant effect on the positive reception of the message. However, the effects of high and low credibility sources were demonstrated to disappear after a period of some weeks - a potential problem for the propagandist. However, Hovland's research does suggest that a rational presentation of the arguments for or against a particular. position might be less important than who presents them. More recent investigations into cognitive response theory may also shed some light on this. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Power: Under the heading of 'power' Hovland and his colleagues considered the amount of control the Communicator has over Receivers. Clearly, this will have some persuasive effect. If Hitler's Brownshirts are likely to beat you up if you don't do what they tell you, then there's a good chance they'll do what they tell you. Further Education colleges up and down the country are introducing major changes to their employees' working conditions. Very many employees consider these entirely unreasonable, but, since the college managers have the power to deny them a pay increase ever again unless they sign the new contracts, many employees sign up. Forcing people to do what you want may bring about compliance, but does not guarantee internalisation. In other words, people comply with your demands, but they retain the values they had before and continue to see your behaviour as wrong and therefore comply grudgingly or attempt to subvert your demands or even revolt. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Communication Process: Message
Is it important to argue your case? To any rational person, it may seem self-evident that the best way to persuade someone of your point of view is to present them with a reasoned argument. In fact, it seems quite clear that much depends on the audience. If people are unable, or unwilling, to pay close attention to your message and evaluate it, then there is no point in developing a thoughtful, reasoned argument; in such a case its better to try to use, say, classical conditioning (see the section on conditioned reflex) as a means of persuasion. It does seem to help if you give a reason in support of your views, but research suggests that it doesn't necessarily have to be a particularly good reason. In an experiment by Hellen Langer (unfortunately, I've lost the reference), she arranged with her college librarian that all of the photocopiers but one would be 'out of order'. This rapidly produced long queues in front of the one remaining photocopier. Her confederates then approached those in the line qith a request to jump the queue. Not surprisingly, 'Can I use the photocopier?' was a good deal less successful than 'Can I use the photocopier? I'm late for my class.' Amazingly, though, 'Can I use the photocopier? I have to make some copies' was only marginally less successful than 'I'm late for my class'. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Type of Appeal Fear An appeal to fear is often thought of as being an effective persuasive device. Of course, it can be if you're actually threatening the Receiver, but that's not what is meant here. What is meant here is that the message appeals to fear, perhaps showing the Receiver what will happen to her if she persists in her current behaviour. In advertising, direct appeals to fear of this sort are strictly limited by the ASA, though they do tend to be tolerated more in public information advertising, e.g. an AIDS campaign. You might expect that an appeal based on fear has to be hard-hitting to be effective. However, a study conducted by Janis and Feschbach in 1954 suggests that a minimal appeal is likely to be more effective. They used three different versions of a lecture on dental hygiene. The strong appeal provoked the most tension in the audience, but the greatest change in behaviour n conformity with the message was produced by the minimal appeal to fear. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

This probably suggests that when people feel they can do nothing about the threat then they are not likely to change their behaviour. They may well repress their anxiety (see defence mechanisms). An appeal to fear should probably be counterbalanced by the reassurance that it is possible to do something about it. It's probably worth mentioning also that Leventahl and others found in a 1956 study that a high degree of fear did indeed lead to higher attitudinal change, in contrast to what Janis and Feshbach found. In their case, however, they were dealing with tetanus rather than oral hygiene, which suggests that the question of fear arousal cannot be divorced from the subject matter of the message. The 1992 drink-driving campaign at Christmas was particularly hard-hitting, in fact provoking a number of complaints. It showed a close-up of a young woman with a ventilator in her mouth, her eyes wide open in a glassy stare. The ambulance crew could be heard busying themselves around her, as the blue lights flashed constantly across her face. In the background we could hear an anguished motorist asking for reassurance that she would be all right and protesting that he hadn't intended to do anyone any harm. Great things were expected of the campaign, but it seems in fact to have been less effective than others. A possible explanation is that the motor car is seen as an essential part of everyday life, just as essential as walking. Cars kill, as all motorists know, but there is nothing they can do about it. Conceivably, the ad was perceived as stating strongly that cars kill people, rather than differentiating between the causes of accidents. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Consequently, drivers would see that they could avoid such horrendous accidents only by stopping driving, something they of course 'can't' do. It's perhaps worth remarking in passing that a general atmosphere of fear may also contribute to the success of a message. This of course is a factor extraneous to the message and thus does not properly belong here under 'message', but should rather be under a heading such as 'context'. For example, Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast may have owed some of its success to the general atmosphere of fear and confusion which prevailed in world affairs at the time. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Vocabulary If we are persuaded by an 'expert' communicator, then the chances are that some technical jargon will increase the apparent expertise. The ability to use certain kinds of vocabulary is also associated with the 'elaborated code' identified by Bernstein and valorised by the education system, so that may also contribute to the apparent expertise of the communicator. Accent You'll be aware no doubt of the relationship in Britain between accent and social class, an RP accent being suggestive of status and a high terminal level of education. The use of accent has to be balanced against source attractiveness (see the section on the Communicator), avoiding , for example, the possibility of being seen by certain audiences as a 'toff'. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Humour It's not at all clear whether it works or not. British advertisers achieved an international reputation for their humour, but research studies show contradictory results. Speed You might think, as I would, that the communicator should decrease speed in order to be persuasive, especially if dealing with a complex topic. However, the research shows that an increase in speed is likely to be more persuasive - anything up to 50% faster, in fact! This probably connects with the notion of 'expertise'. If a communicator can speak fast about a complex issue, then they must know what they're talking about. It also has the advantage of shutting other people out, denying them the opportunity to interrupt before you've finished what you have to say. It's not necessarily as simple as that, though, since a range of variables have to be taken into account. I, for example, tend to be put off by suits, so someone wearing a suit and talking fast might well be dismissed by me as merely 'slick' rather than 'expert'. Speaking fast can be helpful if you're arguments are weak, because it doesn't give your audience time for cognitive processing of your arguments. However, if you have strong arguments, it can be useful to slow down precisely in order to allow cognitive processing to take place. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Selection I would have thought, as with speed above, that you would increase your apparent expertise by packing in as many arguments as possible. In fact, it seems that you're more likely to be persuasive if you limit yourself to the most important and strongest arguments only. From the point of view of cognitive response theory, though, this does make sense. If you present your weaker arguments, you give the receiver the opportunity to formulate negative cognitive responses. By giving your audience, say, six weak arguments and two strong ones, you give them the opportunity to form six negative responses and only two positive ones. Remember that it is not the arguments themselves which are normally later recalled by receivers, but their own reactions to those arguments (i.e. their cognitive responses), so you would be best advised to limit yourself to the two strong arguments. To an extent, this will depend upon the audience's sense of involvement in the issue. As we have seen with the question of expertise, they will tend to use some general rule of thumb if their involvement is not high, saying something like, 'she's got a lot of arguments, so I suppose she must know what she's talking about. An uninvolved audience won't even bother to distinguish between weak and strong arguments, so, in such a case, your best bet would be to produce all your arguments, whether weak or strong. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Ordering If you can't avoid giving the bad news, then, according to research, it's best to give the good news first. This may be connected with the general perception that 'first impressions count'. However, it's not entirely clear that they do. In an experiment conducted by Tomorrow's World on March , viewers were shown a man being interviewed for an ambulance driver's job. In fact, without the viewers' knowledge, two different versions of the interview were shown in the east and west of the country. In the east, the interviewee began by giving the 'good news', namely that he had been in the army medical corps where he had learnt various skills and ended with the bad news, namely that, since leaving the army he had never held down a job for long. In the west exactly the same information was given, but with the 'bad news' first. In the east 45% of viewers would have given him the job; in the west 54% would have given him the job. This strongly suggests that first impressions do not count for much and that it's best to end with the 'good news'. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

This question of ordering revolves around what is known as primacy and recency effects. The adage that 'first impressions count' states that the primacy effect is likely to dominate, whereas the Tomorrow's World experiment suggests that the recency effect is dominant. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

For and against Whether or not you should include arguments for and against your case depends very much on your audience. If you know that they already agree with you, a one-sided argument is quite acceptable. If they are opposed to your point of view, then a one-sided message will actually be less effective, being dismissed as biased. Even if your audience don't know much about the subject, but do know that there are counterarguments (even if they don't know what they are) will lead them to reject your views as biased. Hovland's investigations into mass propaganda used to change soldiers' attitudes also suggests that the intelligence of the receivers is an important factor, a two-sided argument tending to be more persuasive with the more intelligent audience. It is possible to inoculate audiences against certain views. If you present them with a weakened version of the arguments against your case, then they are likely to be resistant to stronger versions of those arguments that they may come across later. Again, this seems to be explained by cognitive response theory, since, by giving them a weakened version, you allow them to formulate negative cognitive responses. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Conclusion drawing Hovland's research results are unclear here. Hovland tends to assume that you should draw the conclusions for your audience where complex issues are involved. He also seems to believe that it depends on your assessment of the audience's intelligence. Timing The time delay between your presentation of your case and the audience's having to reach a decision on it is of some importance. The first side has the advantage when the second side immediately follows and there is a delay before the receivers reach a decision. The second side has the advantage if the receivers are to reach a decision immediately after presentation of the two cases, if there is a gap between presentation of the first and second sides. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Repetition Research (following up Zajon's findings in the 60s) has shown again and again that repeated exposure to a stimulus will increase subjects' liking for that stimulus. It doesn't seem to matter whether the stimulus is one which would normally be judged positively or negatively, nor even whether subjects are aware that they are more familiar with the stimulus than they are with others. The research seems to suggest that this is more likely to be the case with complex, rather than simple, stimuli. So it does seem that, say, a political party with plenty of money for the campaign has a better chance, simply because it stands more chance of using the media to increase exposure to its messages and its candidates. Repetition, then, will certainly strengthen a message, but you can soon reach the point of diminishing returns and that, of course, is something that advertisers have to bear in mind. We all know from seeing the same ad for what seems like the thousandth time that too much exposure can lower our liking of a message. The problem, naturally, is to be able to gauge where the point of diminishing returns lies. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Communication Process: Channel
Mass Medium There is no very clear evidence as to which medium is likely to be the most effective. Lenin and Goebbels both considered film to be the most powerful propaganda medium. TV today has much the same reputation and radio was considered in its early days to be particularly powerful. Television and radio are perhaps considered so effective because they are in our own homes, but there's not much evidence to show that that makes much difference, even though it's one important factor in the BBFC's decisions on how to censor videos. TV and film may be considered especially powerful because they incorporate both sound and vision, but there is some evidence that that may in fact reduce effectiveness. TV is often also considered especially powerful because it is a mass medium, delivering the same message to around 20 million people at a time for the major soaps. However, that may work to its disadvantage when compared with, say, newspapers and periodicals which have highly differentiated markets, allowing much more precise targeting. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Research tends to show relatively little effect of any of the mass media - the so-called 'limited effects' paradigm, which emerges quite strongly from the empirical research tradition in the USA. However, it is possible that that is a deficiency of the research rather than of the media. It is often argued that since the American researchers were looking for clearly measurable effects they tended to concentrate on the short-term and thus may have missed the longer term and more diffuse effects. A very important piece of research was conducted by Katz and Lazarsfeld into the effects of radio propaganda in the 1940s. Their research led them to formulate their Two-Step Flow Model of mass media communication, which still underlies much communication practice today. In essence, it emphasises the importance of the influence of our social contacts in influencing our interpretation of media messages. Sophisticated political 'spin doctors' continue to recognise today that the best form of advertising is word-of-mouth advertising. They don't only need to persuade us as individuals of the validity of what they have to say. They must also persuade the people we come into contact with, especially the 'opinion leaders' in our lives. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Selective exposure The Labour Party spin doctors know that Conservative Party voters will switch off when the Labour election broadcast is on and vice-versa. We will tend actively to seek out those messages which support the view we already have and avoid those which may challenge it. This applies not only to the mass media, but also to interpersonal communication. For example, it is well known that those with a positive self-image will tend to remember positive comments made about them, and those with a negative self-image will tend to remember the negative ones. (See also the sections on Selective Attention and Cognitive Consistency). Selective attention We maybe can't avoid being exposed to messages we don't like, but there is plenty of evidence that in such a case we won't pay much attention to them Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Selective interpretation Even if we are exposed and do attend to messages which conflict with our views, the chances are that we will interpret them in such a way that they do fit what we already believe. However good the Labour Party's arguments might be, the chances are that the Conservative voter will dismiss them as a load of nonsense. An excellent example of this is provided by Kendall and Woolf's analysis of reactions to anti-racist cartoons. The cartoons featured Mr Biggott whose absurdly racist ideas were intended to discredit bigotry. In fact 31% failed to recognise that Mr Biggott was racially prejudiced or that the cartoons were intended to be anti-racist (Kendall & Wolff (1949) in Curran (1990)). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Interpersonal communication Visual channel Physical attractiveness of the Communicator is certainly important and there are other factors we can be fairly certain of. The following seem to undermine the persuasiveness of a message: narrow pupil dilation a closed and symmetrical posture self-touching ('self-grooming') very high and very low levels of eye contact Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

In public speaking, we expect rather higher levels of eye contact than in ordinary interpersonal interaction, where we expect the speaker's eye contact to be intermittent and the listener's to be high. In public speaking, we expect the speaker to keep looking at the audience. Our impression of the speaker's expertise is increased if we see them able to speak without constantly referring to their notes. It may also have some impact on their apparent sincerity, since we know that many public speakers' speeches are written for them. Thus, it is not at all uncommon nowadays to see public speakers using the 'truth machine', also known as the 'idiot box', perhaps because President Reagan was the first to use it extensively. The speaker has in front of her an autocue, whose image is projected on the two screens to left and right, thus allowing the speaker to read the speech off the screens while at the same time appearing to look straight through them at the audience. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Auditory channel In the auditory channel, a high pitch, lots of hesitations, erm's, like's, sort of's and tag question like 'won't he?', 'didn't he?' etc. will tend to reduce credibility. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Communication Process: Receiver
Intra-personal factors By definition, intra-personal factors such as the receiver's attitude to the subject matter and the extent of her personal involvement may well be largely unknown to the communicator. Sherif and Hovland attempted to summarize the effect of these two factors by saying that the person's position on an attitude scale provides her with an anchor from which she evaluates other positions on the attitude scale and that evaluation will be the firmer and more difficult to shift the greater the degree of ego-involvement. They concluded that if the positions of the communicator and of the receiver are so far apart that the communicator's position falls within the receiver's latitude of rejection, then the only way that the communicator can have an effect is by adopting a step-by-step approach, starting from messages which fall within the receiver's latitude of acceptance and gradually working outward from there. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Age Age is an important variable. People reach maximum persuasability around the age of nine. Hence the Hitler Youth, East Germany's Young Pioneers and, for that matter, the Cubs and Brownies. Sex Sex appears to be of some limited significance, women apparently being more easily persuadable than men. However, this research was conducted a long time ago when women saw themselves and their rτle differently, so this may well have changed. Personality Personality variables such as self-esteem, anxiety and depression have an influence on persuadability. Janis's research suggests that people with low self-esteem are likely to be relatively easily persuaded - which may partly explain the success of Hitler's propaganda and the success of right-wing parties today in another era of mass unemployment. See especially the section on the authoritarian personality. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Group norms The norms of a group apparently serve to protect members from outside influence. The more important group members consider their membership of the group to be, the less likely they are to be persuaded by messages which undermine the group norms. Beliefs ('self-schemata') The pattern of the receiver's beliefs will in part determine whether the message is given serious attention in the first place. (For further information, see the sections on Selective attention, Consistency theory and Attitudes.) The persuasive impact of a message can be increased if it is anchored in the system of beliefs and values of the receiver. This seems to be evident in the close parallels between Nazi symbolism and ceremony on the one hand and Christian rituals on the other. The swastika replaced the cross on Christmas trees and in public squares and on fountains at Christmas time just as the Christian cross had been before. Hitler was also careful to ensure that his rhetoric echoed the values of the 'old guard'. In a not dissimilar way, Mrs Thatcher, whose programme was entirely revolutionary in its impact, was careful to refer back to Churchill, the British Empire, Victorian values and family values. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Social groups Katz and Lazarsfeld's Two-Step Flow Model makes it clear that, whether we receive media messages in isolation or not, their effect will be mediated by the social groups we belong to. The pattern of our social relationships will determine how we ultimately interpret the messages we have received. If the Communicator has some way of influencing those groups, notably the opinion leaders within the, then she will increase her chances of success. Education programmes based on the media, such as those aimed at farmers in third world countries, are often coupled with group meetings. In the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, propaganda messages were often broadcast into factories or public squares where people would gather together to listen to them. A public commitment before a group to a particular belief or point of view is also more likely to be durable than a private commitment - see for example Alcoholics Anonymous or various religious groups. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Active Participation Janis and King demonstrated that people who participate actively in disseminating a message are more likely to be persuaded by it. Resistance The notion of cognitive responses suggests that it should be possible to inoculate people against a message. For example, when you give people your arguments, you should also give the counterarguments to your position and at the same time provide refutations of those counterarguments. You will thus be providing your audience with cognitive responses which can be generated when they hear those counterarguments. It doesn't matter much whether they remember your refutations or not. The important thing is that they should remember their reactions, namely 'Oh, yes, I remember that that argument's rubbish.' Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Psychologist William McGuire tested this idea further. He selected a number of generally accepted truths such as 'It's a good idea to brush your teeth after every meal if possible' - the sort of thing which few people would disagree with. He demonstrates that attacking such a belief with strong arguments did actually weaken it - for example quoting evidence form the American Dental Association that it was misguided. Having confirmed that such beliefs could be weakened by strong attacks, he went on to see if people could be inoculated. He demonstrated that people who were first subjected to a mild form of attack and then read or wrote an essay refuting it were later able to resist the strong attacks better. (in Atkinson et al., (1990)). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Even forewarning an audience that they are about to receive a message they will disagree with will tend to 'protect' them against it. Inoculation has been used in a school programme in the USA to help pupils resist peer pressure to smoke. High-school students conducted group sessions in which they taught younger pupils how to construct counter-arguments. For example, if they were called 'chicken' for refusing a cigarette, they were taught to answer, 'I'd be a real chicken if I smoked just to impress you.' They were taught to respond to ads suggesting that women smokers were liberated with 'She's not really liberated if she's hooked on tobacco.' It seems simple, but it worked. These schoolchildren proved to be half as likely as their peers to smoke. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Boomerang effect Finally it may be worth mentioning the boomerang effect, where, despite the best intentions of the communicator the message is rejected. I have chosen to list it under 'receiver' since it is clearly the receiver who rejects the message, though the boomerang effect is not solely due to characteristics of the receiver herself. Merton (1949) suggested the following as possible causes of the effect: the communicator, in forming the message, makes false assumptions about, or has misleading data about the audience and therefore misses her target the communicator faces the dilemma of dealing with an audience which is so heterogeneous that she cannot form a meaningful message for all of them nor possibly formulate enough messages to reach all the subsidiary target groups to a receiver who is not fully attending various parts of the message seem to contradict others the examples the communicator uses to illustrate her message do not correspond to the receivers' experiences Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

THE IMPORTANCE OF TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION
Feedback obtained in research and evaluation phases Feedback equates with two-way communication Two-way is arguably The key to excellent practice Two-way is usually lower in the hierarchy of communication channels Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

ACTING ON THE MESSAGE Ultimate purpose of any message The five-stage adoption process: According to Adoption of Innovation Model Awareness Interest Evaluation Trial Adoption Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION
Relative advantage Compatibility Complexity Trialability Observability Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

types of adopters Types of adopters - Innovators - Early adopters - Early majority - Late majority - Laggards Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PUBLIC OPINION WHAT IS PUBLIC OPINION? Is a collective expression of opinion of many individuals bound into a group by common aims, aspirations, needs, and ideals People who are interested or have a vested self interest in an issue Self-interest is one of the common denominator, the other is The Event: Opinion is highly sensitive to events that have an impact on the public at large or a particular segment of the public By an large, PO does not anticipate events. It only reacts to them Unless people are aware of an issue, they are not likely to be concerned or have an opinion Events of unusual magnitude are likely to swing PO temporarily from one extreme to the other. WHAT IS AN OPINION LEADER? Highly interested in the subject or issue, better informed on the issue than the average person, avid consumers of mass media, early adopters of new ideas, able to get other people to act. Formal : elected officials Informal : those having clout with peers because some special characteristics Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

THE FLOW OF OPINION - Two step flow Source – message-channel – message - receiver - Multi-step model source – message – channel – Opinion Leader – message – receiver. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The role of mass media - Agenda-setting theory: people tend to talk about what they see on the 6.00 o’clock news - Media dependency theory: people are highly dependent on the media for information - Framing theory: (journalist oriented) how journalists select certain facts, themes, treatments, and even words to frame a story - Cultivation theory: the new content of mass media can be called as media reality since events are repackaged to be more succinct, logical, and interesting to viewer or reader. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

HOW TO GAUGE PUBLIC OPINION - Personal contact - Media reports - Field reports - Letters and telephone calls - Advisory committee - Staff meeting - Polling and sampling Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PERSUASION What is persuasion? Is an activity or process in which a communicator attempts to induce a change in the belief, attitude, or behavior of another person or group of persons through the transmission of a message in a context in which the persuade has some degree of free choice Use of Persuasion - Change or neutralize hostile opinion - Crystallize latent opinions and positive attitudes - Conserve favorable opinions Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Factors Influence Persuasion's success Audience analysis Source credibility Appeal to self-interest Clarity of message Timing and context Audience participation Suggestions for action Content and structure of messages (drama, statistics, emotional/rational appeal, etc) Persuasive speaking Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

LIMITATION FACTORS Lack of penetration Competing message Self-selecting Self-perception Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PROPAGANDA What is propaganda? It is the deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognition, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intend of the propagandist. Techniques - Plain folks - Testimonial - Card-stacking - Transfer - Glittering generalities - Name-calling Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda "The first casualty when war comes is Truth" -- U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson, 1917 "It is easier to dominate someone if they are unaware of being dominated. Colonised and colonisers both know that domination is not just based on physical supremacy. Control of hearts and minds follows military conquest. Which is why any empire that wants to last must capture the souls of its subjects." -- Ignacio Ramonet "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." -- Winston Churchill (British Prime Minister during World War II) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda It may seem strange to suggest that the study of propaganda has relevance to contemporary politics. After all, when most people think about propaganda, they think of the enormous campaigns that were waged by Hitler and Stalin in the 1930s. Since nothing comparable is being disseminated in our society today, many believe that propaganda is no longer an issue. But propaganda can be as blatant as a swastika or as subtle as a joke. Its persuasive techniques are regularly applied by politicians, advertisers, journalists, radio personalities, and others who are interested in influencing human behaviour. Propagandistic messages can be used to accomplish positive social ends, as in campaigns to reduce drunk driving, but they are also used to win elections and to sell malt liquor. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda As Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson point out, "every day we are bombarded with one persuasive communication after another. These appeals persuade not through the give-and-take of argument and debate, but through the manipulation of symbols and of our most basic human emotions. For better or worse, ours is an age of propaganda.“ With the growth of communication tools like the Internet, the flow of persuasive messages has been dramatically accelerated. For the first time ever, citizens around the world are participating in uncensored conversations about their collective future. This is a wonderful development, but there is a cost. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda The information revolution has led to information overload, and people are confronted with hundreds of messages each day. Although few studies have looked at this topic, it seems fair to suggest that many people respond to this pressure by processing messages more quickly and, when possible, by taking mental short-cuts. Propagandists love short-cuts -- particularly those which short-circuit rational thought. They encourage this by agitating emotions, by exploiting insecurities, by capitalizing on the ambiguity of language, and by bending the rules of logic. As history shows, they can be quite successful. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices: Word Games Name Calling
"Bad names have played a tremendously powerful role in the history of the world and in our own individual development. They have ruined reputations, stirred men and women to outstanding accomplishments, sent others to prison cells, and made men mad enough to enter battle and slaughter their fellowmen. They have been and are applied to other people, groups, gangs, tribes, colleges, political parties, neighbourhoods, sections of the country, nations, and races." The name-calling technique links a person, or idea, to a negative symbol. The propagandist who uses this technique hopes that the audience will reject the person or the idea on the basis of the negative symbol, instead of looking at the available evidence. The most obvious type of name calling involves "bad names." For example, consider the following: Commie Fascist Pig Yuppie Scum Bum Queer Feminazi ultra liberal Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Word Games Name Calling
A more subtle form of name-calling involves words or phrases that are selected because they possess a negative emotional charge. Those who oppose budget cuts may characterize fiscally conservative politicians as "stingy." Supporters might prefer to describe them as "thrifty." Both words refer to the same behaviour, but they have very different connotations. Other examples of negatively charged words include: social engineering - radical - stingy - counter-culture The name-calling technique was first identified by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA) in According to the IPA, we should ask ourselves the following questions when we spot an example of name-calling. What does the name mean? Does the idea in question have a legitimate connection with the real meaning of the name? Is an idea that serves my best interests being dismissed through giving it a name I don't like? Leaving the name out of consideration, what are the merits of the idea itself? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Word Games Glittering Generalities
"We believe in, fight for, live by virtue words about which we have deep-set ideas. Such words include civilization, Christianity, good, proper, right, democracy, patriotism, motherhood, fatherhood, science, medicine, health, and love. For our purposes in propaganda analysis, we call these virtue words "Glittering Generalities" in order to focus attention upon this dangerous characteristic that they have: They mean different things to different people; they can be used in different ways. This is not a criticism of these words as we understand them. Quite the contrary. It is a criticism of the uses to which propagandists put the cherished words and beliefs of unsuspecting people. When someone talks to us about democracy, we immediately think of our own definite ideas about democracy, the ideas we learned at home, at school, and in church. Our first and natural reaction is to assume that the speaker is using the word in our sense, that he believes as we do on this important subject. This lowers our 'sales resistance' and makes us far less suspicious than we ought to be when the speaker begins telling us the things 'the United States must do to preserve democracy.' Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Word Games Glittering Generalities
The Glittering Generality is, in short, Name Calling in reverse. While Name Calling seeks to make us form a judgment to reject and condemn without examining the evidence, the Glittering Generality device seeks to make us approve and accept without examining the evidence. In acquainting ourselves with the Glittering Generality Device, therefore, all that has been said regarding Name Calling must be kept in mind..." The Institute for Propaganda Analysis suggested a number of questions that people should ask themselves when confronted with this technique: What does the virtue word really mean? Does the idea in question have a legitimate connection with the real meaning of the word: Is an idea that does not serve my best interests being "sold" to me merely through its being given a name that I like? Leaving the virtue word out of consideration, what are the merits of the idea itself? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Word Games Euphemisms
When propagandists use glittering generalities and name-calling symbols, they are attempting to arouse their audience with vivid, emotionally suggestive words. In certain situations, however, the propagandist attempts to pacify the audience in order to make an unpleasant reality more palatable. This is accomplished by using words that are bland and euphemistic. Since war is particularly unpleasant, military discourse is full of euphemisms. In the 1940's, America changed the name of the War Department to the Department of Defense. Under the Reagan Administration, the MX-Missile was renamed "The Peacekeeper." During war-time, civilian casualties are referred to as "collateral damage," and the word "liquidation" is used as a synonym for "murder." Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Word Games Euphemisms
The comedian George Carlin notes that, in the wake of the first world war, traumatized veterans were said to be suffering from "shell shock." The short, vivid phrase conveys the horrors of battle -- one can practically hear the shells exploding overhead. After the second world war, people began to use the term "combat fatigue" to characterize the same condition. The phrase is a bit more pleasant, but it still acknowledges combat as the source of discomfort.. In the wake of the Vietnam War, people referred to "post-traumatic stress disorder": a phrase that is completely disconnected from the reality of war altogether. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : False Connections Transfer
You shall not press down upon the brow of labour this crown of thorn. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold! -- William Jennings Bryan, 1896 "Transfer is a device by which the propagandist carries over the authority, sanction, and prestige of something we respect and revere to something he would have us accept. For example, most of us respect and revere our church and our nation. If the propagandist succeeds in getting church or nation to approve a campaign in behalf of some program, he thereby transfers its authority, sanction, and prestige to that program. Thus, we may accept something which otherwise we might reject. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

In the Transfer device, symbols are constantly used. The cross represents the Christian Church. The flag represents the nation. Cartoons like Uncle Sam represent a consensus of public opinion. Those symbols stir emotions . At their very sight, with the speed of light, is aroused the whole complex of feelings we have with respect to church or nation. A cartoonist, by having Uncle Sam disapprove a budget for unemployment relief, would have us feel that the whole United States disapproves relief costs. By drawing an Uncle Sam who approves the same budget, the cartoonist would have us feel that the American people approve it. Thus, the Transfer device is used both for and against causes and ideas." When a political activist closes her speech with a public prayer, she is attempting to transfer religious prestige to the ideas that she is advocating. As with all propaganda devices, the use of this technique is not limited to one side of the political spectrum. It can be found in the speeches of liberation theologists on the left, and in the sermons of religious activists on the right. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

In a similar fashion, propagandists may attempt to transfer the reputation of "Science" or "Medicine" to a particular project or set of beliefs. A slogan for a popular cough drop encourages audiences to "Visit the halls of medicine." On TV commercials, actors in white lab coats tell us that the "Brand X is the most important pain reliever that can be bought without a prescription." In both of these examples, the transfer technique is at work. These techniques can also take a more ominous turn. As Alfred Lee has argued, "even the most flagrantly anti-scientific racists are wont to dress up their arguments at times with terms and carefully selected illustrations drawn from scientific works and presented out of all accurate context." The propaganda of Nazi Germany, for example, rationalized racist policies by appealing to both science and religion. This does not mean that religion and science have no place in discussions about social issues! The point is that an idea or program should not be accepted or rejected simply because it has been linked to a symbol such as Medicine, Science, Democracy, or Christianity. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Institute for Propaganda Analysis has argued that, when confronted with the transfer device, we should ask ourselves the following questions: In the most simple and concrete terms, what is the proposal of the speaker? What is the meaning of the the thing from which the propagandist is seeking to transfer authority, sanction, and prestige? Is there any legitimate connection between the proposal of the propagandist and the revered thing, person or institution? Leaving the propagandistic trick out of the picture, what are the merits of the proposal viewed alone? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : False Connections Testimonial
Bruce Jenner is on the cereal box, promoting Wheaties as part of a balanced breakfast. Cher is endorsing a new line of cosmetics, and La Toya Jackson says that the Psychic Friends Network changed her life. The lead singer of R.E.M appears on a public service announcement and encourages fans to support the "Motor Voter Bill." "This is the classic misuse of the Testimonial Device that comes to the minds of most of us when we hear the term. We recall it indulgently and tell ourselves how much more sophisticated we are than our grandparents or even our parents. With our next breath, we begin a sentence, 'The Times said,' 'John L. Lewis said...,' 'Herbert Hoover said...', 'The President said...', 'My doctor said...,' 'Our minister said...' Some of these Testimonials may merely give greater emphasis to a legitimate and accurate idea, a fair use of the device; others, however, may represent the sugar-coating of a distortion, a falsehood, a misunderstood notion, an anti-social suggestion..." Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

There is nothing wrong with citing a qualified source, and the testimonial technique can be used to construct a fair, well-balanced argument. However, it is often used in ways that are unfair and misleading. The most common misuse of the testimonial involves citing individuals who are not qualified to make judgements about a particular issue. In 1992, Barbara Streisand supported Bill Clinton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger threw his weight behind George Bush. Both are popular performers, but there is no reason to think that they know what is best for this country. Unfair testimonials are usually obvious, and most of us have probably seen through this rhetorical trick at some time or another. However, this probably happened when the testimonial was provided by a celebrity that we did not respect. When the testimony is provided by an admired celebrity, we are much less likely to be critical. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

we should ask ourselves the following questions when we encounter this device. Who or what is quoted in the testimonial? Why should we regard this person (or organization or publication) as having expert knowledge or trustworthy information on the subject in question? What does the idea amount to on its own merits, without the benefit of the Testimonial? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Special Appeals Plain-Folks
By using the plain-folks technique, speakers attempt to convince their audience that they, and their ideas, are "of the people." The device is used by advertisers and politicians alike. America's recent presidents have all been millionaires, but they have gone to great lengths to present themselves as ordinary citizens. Bill Clinton eats at McDonald's and reads trashy spy novels. George Bush hated broccoli, and he loved to fish. Ronald Reagan was often photographed chopping wood, and Jimmy Carter presented himself as a humble peanut farmer from Georgia. We are all familiar with candidates who campaign as political outsiders, promising to "clean out the barn" and set things straight in Washington. The political landscape is dotted with politicians who challenge a mythical "cultural elite," presumably aligning themselves with "ordinary Americans." As baby boomers enter their fifth decade, we are starting to see politicians in blue jeans who listen to rock and roll. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Special Appeals Plain-Folks
During the 1980s, Bartels and James appeared on television in comfortable, farm-style clothing, and, with a folksy drawl, thanked consumers for their continued support. The irony was that these two "regular guys" who pushed wine coolers were actually multi-millionaires -- hardly like you or me. In all of these examples, the plain-folks device is at work. The Institute for Propaganda Analysis has argued that, when confronted with this device, we should suspend judgement and ask ourselves the following questions: What are the propagandist's ideas worth when divorced from his or her personality? What could he or she be trying to cover up with the plain-folks approach? What are the facts? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Special Appeals Band Wagon
"The propagandist hires a hall, rents radio stations, fills a great stadium, marches a million or at least a lot of men in a parade. He employs symbols, colours, music, movement, all the dramatic arts. He gets us to write letters, to send telegrams, to contribute to his cause. He appeals to the desire, common to most of us, to follow the crowd. Because he wants us to follow the crowd in masses, he directs his appeal to groups held together already by common ties, ties of nationality, religion, race, sex, vocation. Thus propagandists campaigning for or against a program will appeal to us as Catholics, Protestants, or Jews...as farmers or as school teachers; as housewives or as miners. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Special Appeals Band Wagon
With the aid of all the other propaganda devices, all of the artifices of flattery are used to harness the fears and hatreds, prejudices and biases, convictions and ideals common to a group. Thus is emotion made to push and pull us as members of a group onto a Band Wagon." The basic theme of the Band Wagon appeal is that "everyone else is doing it, and so should you." Since few of us want to be left behind, this technique can be quite successful. However, as the IPA points out, "there is never quite as much of a rush to climb onto the Band Wagon as the propagandist tries to make us think there is." When confronted with this technique, it may be helpful to ask ourselves the following questions: What is this propagandist's program? What is the evidence for and against the program? Regardless of the fact that others are supporting this program, should I support it? Does the program serve or undermine my individual and collective interests? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Special Appeals Fear
"The streets of our country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might, and the Republic is in danger. Yes - danger from within and without. We need law and order! Without it our nation cannot survive." - Adolf Hitler, 1932 When a propagandist warns members of her audience that disaster will ensue if they do not follow a particular course of action, she is using the fear appeal. By playing on the audience's deep-seated fears, practitioners of this technique hope to redirect attention away from the merits of a particular proposal and toward steps that can be taken to reduce the fear. This technique can be highly effective when wielded by a fascist demagogue, but it is usually used in less dramatic ways. Consider the following: A television commercial portrays a terrible automobile accident (the fear appeal), and reminds viewers to wear their seatbelts (the fear-reducing behaviour). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

A pamphlet from an insurance company includes pictures of houses destroyed by floods (the fear appeal), and follows up with details about home-owners' insurance (the fear-reducing behaviour). A letter from a pro-gun organization begins by describing a lawless America in which only criminals own guns (the fear appeal), and concludes by asking readers to oppose a ban on automatic weapons (the fear-reducing behaviour). Ever since the end of the second world war, social psychologists and communication scholars have been conducting empirical studies in order to learn more about the effectiveness of fear appeals. Some have criticized the conceptualisation of the studies, and others have found fault with the experimental methods, but the general conclusions are worth considering, if not accepting. "All other things being equal, the more frightened a person is by a communication, the more likely her or she is to take positive preventive action." Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Fear appeals will not succeed in altering behaviour if the audience feels powerless to change the situation. Fear appeals are more likely to succeed in changing behaviour if they contain specific recommendations for reducing the threat that the audience believes are both effective and doable. In summary, there are four elements to a successful fear appeal: 1) a threat, 2) a specific recommendation about how the audience should behave, 3) audience perception that the recommendation will be effective in addressing the threat, and 4) audience perception that they are capable of performing the recommended behaviour. When fear appeals do not include all four elements, they are likely to fail. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

During the 1964 campaign, Lyndon Johnson was said to have swayed many voters with a well-known television commercial that portrayed a young girl being annihilated in a nuclear blast. This commercial linked nuclear war to Barry Goldwater (Johnson's opponent), and proposed a vote for Johnson as an effective, doable way of avoiding the threat. In contemporary politics, the fear-appeal continues to be widespread. When a politician agitates the public's fear of immigration, or crime, and proposes that voting for him/her will reduce the threat, he/she is using this technique. When confronted with persuasive messages that capitalize on our fear, we should ask ourselves the following questions: Is the speaker exaggerating the fear or threat in order to obtain my support? How legitimate is the fear that the speaker is provoking? Will performing the recommended action actually reduce the supposed threat? When viewed dispassionately, what are the merits of the speaker's proposal? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Logical Fallacies Bad Logic or Propaganda?
Logic is the process of drawing a conclusion from one or more premises. A statement of fact, by itself, is neither logical or illogical (although it can be true or false). As an example of how logic can be abused, consider the following argument which has been widely propagated on the Internet. Premise 1: Bill Clinton supports gun-control legislation. Premise 2: All fascist regimes of the twentieth century have passed gun-control legislation. Conclusion: Bill Clinton is a fascist. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Logical Fallacies Bad Logic or Propaganda?
One way of testing the logic of an argument like this is to translate the basic terms and see if the conclusion still makes sense. As you can see, the premises may be correct, but the conclusion does not necessarily follow. Premise 1: All Catholics believe in God. Premise 2: All Muslims believe in God. Conclusion: All Catholics are Muslims. This is a rather extreme example of how logic can be abused. The following pages describe others. It should be noted that a message can be illogical without being propagandistic -- we all make logical mistakes. The difference is that propagandists deliberately manipulate logic in order to promote their cause. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Logical Fallacies Unwarranted Extrapolation
The tendency to make huge predictions about the future on the basis of a few small facts is a common logical fallacy. As Stuart Chase points out, "it is easy to see the persuasiveness in this type of argument. By pushing one's case to the limit... one forces the opposition into a weaker position. The whole future is lined up against him. Driven to the defensive, he finds it hard to disprove something which has not yet happened. Extrapolation is what scientists call such predictions, with the warning that they must be used with caution. A homely illustration is the driver who found three gas stations per mile along a stretch of the Montreal highway in Vermont, and concluded that there must be plenty of gas all the way to the North Pole. You chart two or three points, draw a curve through them, and extend it indefinitely." Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Propaganda Devices : Logical Fallacies Unwarranted Extrapolation
This logical sleight of hand often provides the basis for an effective fear-appeal. Consider the following contemporary examples: If Congress passes legislation limiting the availability of automatic weapons, America will slide down a slippery slope which will ultimately result in the banning of all guns, the destruction of the Constitution, and a totalitarian police state. If the United States approves NAFTA, the giant sucking sound that we hear will be the sound of thousands of jobs and factories disappearing to Mexico. The introduction of communication tools such as the Internet will lead to a radical decentralization of government, greater political participation, and a rebirth of community. When a communicator attempts to convince you that a particular action will lead to disaster or to utopia, it may be helpful to ask the following questions: Is there enough data to support the speaker's predictions about the future? Can I think of other ways that things might turn out? If there are many different ways that things could turn out, why is the speaker painting such an extreme picture? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PERSUASION ETHICS Code of ethics to be used by PR practitioners: Do not use false evidence Do not use specious reasoning Do not falsely represent yourself Do not use irrelevant appeals as diversions Do not make false links to favorable values, motives, or goals Do not conceal your purpose or interest Do not cover up consequences Do not use baseless emotional appeals Do not oversimplify complex situations Do not feign certainty Do not advocate what you don't believe yourself Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

THE AUDIENCE FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS
Characteristics of audience that need to taken into consideration Diverse Visual orientation: TV is becoming the most credible info. source Single issues support Emphasis on personality and “celebrity” Distrust of authority and suspicious of conspiracy Internationalization Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Matching Audience and Mass Media
Matching audience and media Print for detail and contemplation Television for emotional impact Radio for flexibility and specific targets Online media for customized information of target audience, usually used as a supplement method of reaching a generally well educated, relatively affluent audience interested in new ideas and fresh approaches. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Building Media relationship Media are busy Editors are proud of independence Trust is earned and easily destroyed Informing media and public is important work Assume stories judged on merits as seen by the editors Continue serving after story idea is accepted. You cannot control the tone of the story but you can influence it by providing favorable angles and additional information. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

HOW TO COMMUNICATE DURING A CRISIS
Put the public first Take responsibility Be honest Never say “No comment” Designate a single spokesperson Set up a central information center Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Provide a constant flow of information Be familiar with media needs and deadlines Be accessible Monitor news coverage and telephone inquiries Communicate with key publics Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Crisis Communication Strategies
Attack the accuser Denial Excuse Justification Ingratiation Corrective action Full apology Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Planning and Executing the public relations’ Campaign.
Because planning is such an important part of public relations, it is useful to understand the different requirements of an event, a campaign, and a program. An event is a one-shot occurrence. It happens in one time frame-an hour, a day, or perhaps as long as a week-and it serves one prime purpose with one or more selected publics. A campaign has at least one thing in common with an event: a specific beginning and ending point. But because those two points are separated by weeks or even months, and because several different events will be part of the process, we call it a campaign. A program is like a campaign in that it consists of several events. But it differs from a campaign in that it has no pre-set and point. A program is put in place because of an anticipated need for continued dissemination of information. The program is reviewed periodically to determine whether its objectives are being met. All or parts of it will be continued as long as there is a need for more communication with target publics. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Drug education, driving safety, blood donation, adoption, nutrition are all social situations that call for a continuing program since complete resolution is out of question. In defining the situation and beginning the planning process, temporary chaos can result if no one defines whether an event, a campaign or a program is in order. The deciding factor may be the types of objectives desired by the client: Communication, accuracy, understanding, agreement, and complementary objectives. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Communication Objectives for an event include: Attendance by a certain number of people. One-time dissemination of information to a target public. Putting something “on the record” for an organization and its publics Gaining press attention. Objectives for a campaign might be: Delivering a positive vote or reaction at the proper time (behavior). Building support for an issue that will be resolved in due courses (agreement). Raising funds for an organization so that it can proceed with growth (behavior). Attracting enough support to guarantee continuance or survival of an organization at critical time (understanding). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Objectives for a program could include: Creating and maintaining a level of support for an ongoing program (understanding) Opening and maintaining contact with other organizations that enable your organization to continue its functions (communication). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Successful organizations also base their actions on a game plan. The process starts with the enunciation of a mission statement. This is an important part of a strategic planning . “Making a fair profit for our stockholders by developing and distributing the highest-quality goods to a national market.” “treating our consumers and employees fairly and being good citizens of the communities where are facilities are located.” Out of the mission statement grows a list of goals-somewhat more specific than the mission statement, but still general in nature and unspecific as to time frame or numerical targets. Goals for the manufacturing company may be “to be a market leader in the small appliance field.” Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Only when a mission statement and goals are in place can the management of an organization move to the necessary task of setting objectives. What makes objectives different from mission and goals is their specificity. An objective should specify the desire effects as specifically as possible. “To increase the number of senators who understand the Leukemia Society of American’s position on research funding from forty-five senators to seventy-five senators by November 1” or “To decrease the number of newspapers in the state that oppose rate reforms for the insurance industry from 60 percent to 40 percent by the first of the year.” Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Once goals and objectives are in place, they can be drawn upon to plan campaigns and programs. Research on the problem or opportunity Action that includes evaluation and planning Communication of the message from organization to publics, and Evaluation of the effects of those messages Grunig’s “ Behavioral Molecule” further broke the management steps into: detecting a problem constructing a possible solution defining alternatives selecting the best course of action confirming the choice by pre-testing behaving by enacting a program, and then returning to the process of detecting whether the program met the desired objectives. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Different Types of Research
PR Planning and Executing the public relations’ Campaign: Select Research Methodology Research can be extensive and expensive (primary), or if the situation warrants, it can involve simply poring over existing information already gathered for another purpose and analyzing the relevance the data have for the current public relations situation (secondary). Different Types of Research Surveys often are performed by opinion measurement specialists, although though increasingly people with college training in public relations are able to prepare, administer, and analyze the data from their own questionnaires. Samples of target audiences must be scientific and random if the results are to be valid. Questionnaires must be constructed carefully to rule out bias and to assure the validity of each item, which involves pre-testing. If done properly, the survey may take weeks to design, test, administer, and analyze-often at considerable expense. Fortunately, new software packages designed for the personal computer make it possible for the researcher to glean a wealth of data, including interesting correlations between various responses on the survey. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Focus group interviews are a marketing research technique that has been successful adopted by the needs of public relations practitioners. They do not yield the strictly quantitative data that can be gotten from a survey. They have the advantage of being open-ended and permitting members of target groups to speak in their own term of understanding, provide their own emphasis, and response to the views expressed by other members of the same group. The focus group interview requires trained moderators and equipments for recording the session. Audio and/or video tapes have to be put in transcript form, and then the transcript must be summarized and analyzed. Sometimes focus group interviews are used as the basis for designing the questionnaires used in survey research, creating a valuable linkage between the two devices and enriching the value of both. The Final Stage of Research is the Analysis of the Collected Information Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Identifying your key publics-those groups that are more likely to seek and process information and to behave in a way consequences on your organization- is a fundamental aim of the process we call public relations management. Once target audiences have been selected, it is important to decide what message each group needs to receive from your organization. Rarely does an information campaign give precisely the same message to each of its publics. That’s because careful analysis shows that each public has a different stake in the organization. A campaign that wants to promote Greek made products it can be spelled out in three different audiences Audience Message Retailers “A made is Greece” label is a valuable selling tool Manufacturers Producing at home is a good business Consumers Made in Greece means quality Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

We have learned to identify key publics and make sure that their information needs are served before we concern ourselves with the so-called “general public.” The campaign or program aimed at the most important publics needs to be fully funded before additional money is spent on programs aimed on secondary publics-a concept explored. If key public have not been identified in the planning stage, there is a likelihood that “a little money will be spent on this, and a little on that”- an advertisement here, T-shirts there, and probably an all-purpose brochure just because somebody says “we ought to have a brochure.” Budgeting must follow the setting of goals and objectives, and it also must follow the identification of key publics. It precedes media selection and message design. If budgeting is done at the wrong point in the process, it is difficult for public relations people to explain their financial needs to management. If on the other hand, the “homework” has been done, management can better understand the request for the Euros needed to accomplish the objectives set for the key publics. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Planning and Executing the public relations’ Campaign: Selecting channels and media During the planning of a campaign or a program, part of the analysis of each key public should include such questions as: Where do members of our key publics get their information? Which media do they rely upon to make decisions about what is important and how to behave? Which channels provide the two-way communication that enables key publics to provide information to our organization about their needs and concerns? Another level of analysis focuses on the characteristics of each medium and their relationship to the campaign or program: Which media allows us to get our point of view across most effectively? Which media are best suited to the information requirements of our campaign, such as the presenting of visual images, the need for two-way communication, or the ability to tell a story in depth? Which media are most cost-effective for this type of information? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Employee Relationship
The first public of any organization is its employees-the people who make it what it is. An organization is "a human community" that needs the contributions of everyone to function and be successful. Many times it appears that management does not recognize this fact. Sometimes managers act as if they are the organization and the others just an impediment. An interchange at the annual meeting of an auto company illuminates the truth of the matter. Α shareholder asked the CEO why funds were being allocated to improve employee benefits instead of increasing dividends. "Because," he responded, "you and Ι don't know how to build cars, and they do!" The situation is complicated by the fact that, in the overwhelming majority of organizations today, the managers and administrators technically are also employees. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Α DANGEROUS ATTITUDE It is easy, and perhaps all too common, to view employees as a cost in a line-item budget determining the price of a product or service. This attitude fosters the idea that the less an organization has to pay its employees, the lower the price of the product or service, and, therefore, the more competitive the product or service can be in the marketplace. Another major change in the employer-employee relationship is automation. The computer radical1y changes the role of the individual in the workplace. The trend is to a downsizing of the work force and to a service oriented economy. This movement creates major reshuffling of jobs and people, with a1l the emotional stress problems attendant on such upheava1 and readjustment. Layoffs and restructuring of organizations also weaken the loyalty of workers-which can affect morale and productivity. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PUBLIC RELATION5' ROLE The public relations function, providing the communications channel between employers and employee groups, is important on both sides of the relationship. Practitioners are called on to participate more or less continuously in four phases of an employee's work experience: The start. For example, recruiting programs or help wanted advertising, orientation sessions, tours, or kits of information. On-the-job working conditions. For example, employee publications, bulletin boards, suggestion systems, training meetings, morale boosters, surveys of attitudes, complaint sessions, feedback mechanisms, teleconferencing. Rewards and recognitions. For example, award programs, implementation of employee participation in civic affairs, staging of political science or economic education events, old-timers' parties, open houses, wage increases or bonuses, promotions, annual reports to employees, and so on. The work stoppage or termination. For example, communications in a strike, layoff, or boycott problem, news about benefits for retirees, a retiree publication, projects to help laid-off employees relocate, or exit interviews. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

RULE5 OF EFFECTIVE ΕΜΡΙΟΥΕΕ RELATION5
Although there are a variety of tools available to accomplish employee-employer communications, three basic principles prevail as guidelines for the practitioner. 1. Employees must be told first. Employees should be the first to be told information affecting them and their jobs; they should be told directly by the employer. The relationship is adversely affected when employees learn from outside sources about matters that affect them. Two-way trust is jeopardized. 2. Tell the bad news along with the good. All too often, organizations exploit internal news channels to report only "good" news, usually complimentary to the employer. That practice wears thin. The tools and the messages lose credibility. Motives become suspect. Employees 1ook to other sources, such as unions, for a more balanced, objective perspective. Revealing good and bad news, openly and candidly, builds trust, common purpose, and productivity. 3. Ensure timeliness. Information important to employees has the same obsolescence as news of other kinds. Getting it out fast and accurately builds dialogue and trust. Delay opens the door to sources with half-truths, distortions, and bias unfavourable to the employer. Delay is the cause of most rumours, and, once started, rumours are difficult to dislodge. 4. Employees must be informed on subjects they consider important. Υears of studying employees' views of communication within their organizations reveals specific items they want to know about-often quite different from what house editors or managements think they want to know about (or ought to be told). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Subjects interest employees
Organizational plans for the future ]ob advancement opportunities ]ob-reIated "how-to" information Productivity improvement Personnel policies and practίces How we're doing vs. the competition How my job fits inιο the organization How external events affect my job How profits are used Financial results Advertising and promotionaI pIans PersonneI changes and promotions Organizational community invoIvement Human interest stοries about other employees Personal news (birthdays, anniversaries, and so οη) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Use the media that employees trust. 1. Immediate supervisor 2. Small group meetings 3. Τοp executives 4. Large group meetings 5. Employee handbook or other booklets 6. Orientation program 7. Regular local employee publication 8. Bulletin boards 9. Annual report to employees 10. Regular general employee publication 11. Upward communication programs 12. Audiovisual programs 13. union 14. Mass media 15. Grapevine (Word of Mouth) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

DESIGNING AN ΕΜΡLΟΥΕΕ RELATIONS’ PLAN
Research, objectives, programming, and evaluation are useful problem solving tools in employee relations. RESEARCH Research for employee relations help to understand the reason for communication, and identifying the employee audiences to be targeted for communication. employee Research Client research for employee relations focuses on information about the organization's personne1. What is the size and nature of the workforce? What reputation does the organization have with its workforce? How satisfied are the employees? What employee communications does the organization regularly use? Are any special forms of communication used? How effective are the organization's internal communications? Has the organization conducted special employee relations programs in the past? If so, what were the results of such programs? What are the organization's strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities regarding its workforce? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Opportunity or Problem Research Α second focal point for research is the reason for conducting an employee relations program. Is a new program really necessary? This question should be answered with care because it justifies the necessary expenditure for a program. Would the program be reactive - in response to a problem that has arisen in employee relations - or would it be proactive-taking advantage of an opportunity to improve existing employee relations? Α survey of employee attitudes may reveal a variety of issues, including: low levels of satisfaction and morale, dislike of the physical surroundings, and/or frustration with internal policies. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Audience Research The final area of research involves precisely defining the employee audiences to be targeted for communication. These audiences can be identified using the following terms: Management Upper-level administrators Midlevel administrators Lower-level administrators Non-management (staff): Specialists, Clerical personnel, Secretarial personnel Uniformed personnel: Equipment operators Drivers, Security personnel Union representatives Other blue collar workers Effective research on employee relations is for understanding of the client's personnel, the opportunity or problem that serves as a reason for communication with the workforce, and the specific identification of the employee audiences to be targeted for communication. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Objectives for employee relations include the two major categories of impact and output. Impact Objectives Impact objectives for employee relations include informing employees or modifying their attitudes or behaviours. Such as: 1. Το increase employee knowledge of significant organizational policies, activities, and developments (by 60% during March and Aprii) 2. Το enhance favourable employee attitudes toward the organization (by 40% during the current fiscal year) 3. Το accomplish (50%) greater employee adoption of behaviours esired by management (in a three-month period) 4. Το make (60% of) the employee force organizational spokes persons in the community (during the next two years) 5. Το receive (50%) more employee feedback from organizational communications (during the coming year) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Output Objectives Output objectives constitute the efforts made by the practitioner to accomplish such desired outcomes as employee recognition and regular employee communication. Such as: 1. Το prepare and distribute employee communications on a weekly basis 2. Το schedule interpersonal communication between management and a specific employee group each month (specify groups and months) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PROGRAMMING Programming for employee relations should include the careful planning of theme and messages, action or special event(s), uncontrolled and controlled media, and execution, using the principles of effective communication. Theme and Messages The theme and messages for employee relations depend on the reason for conducting the campaign or program. Both of these elements should grow out of the opportunity or problem that accounts for the particular program. That is, themes and messages usually grow out of the problems faced by companies. For example, a practitioner working for a company that is moving its facilities and offices to a new building could produce a brochure entitled "ΑCompany on the Moνe." Action's or Special Events 1. Training seminars 2. Special programs on safety or new technology 3. An open house for employees and their families 4. Parties, receptions, and other social affairs 5. Other employee special events related to organizational developments Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Uncontrolled and Controlled Media The use of uncontrolled media in employee relations is usually limited to sending news releases or announcements about employees' Controlled media are used extensively in employee relations programs. The most frequently used controlled media are , voice mail, Web sites, memoranda., publications such as magazines, newspapers, and newsletters addressed to particular groups or levels of employees in larger organizations. In addition to , voice mail, Web sites, and house publications, employee relations programs use a variety of other forms of controlled media, such as: 1. Bulletin boards 2. Displays and exhibits 3. Telephone hot lines or news lines 4. Inserts accompanying pay checks 5. Internal television 6. Films 7. Video cassettes 8. Meetings 9. Teleconferences 10. Audiovisual presentations 11. Booklets, pamphlets, brochures Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Evaluation Impact and output objectives can be evaluated using the same tools of measurement as in other forms of public relations. Follow-up surveys. These yield quantitative measures of the stated objectives. Objectives were also assessed through publicity placement and employee participation in the programs. Again, remember that to be effective and useful to the organization, research - both initial and evaluative - should be conducted by trained, experienced professionals who work for reputable research firms. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Community relations Α neighborhood, town, city, or state is obviously a human community. Like organizations, they require positive interrelationships among all members in order to function smoothly and efficiently. Because a company, hospital, school, or other organization would have difficulty operating effectively in a community that is disrupted or inefficient, it is necessary for them to accept the responsibility of cοrpοrate citizenship. Put another way, all human communities require the mutual trust engendered by positive public relationships in order to function in a reasonable manner. Α community is not merely a collection of people who share a locality and its facilities. Α community is a social organism made up of all the interactions among the residents and the organizations with which they identify. As a social organism, a community can take pride in its scenery or in its high school basketball team; it can be factionalised on the basis of who lives on which side of the railroad tracks, or who is well-off or poor; it can be a heterogeneous collection of suburban residents drawn together only by a common desire to escape living within a metropolitan area. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Traditionally, employers have tended to regard their relationships with home communities as being extensions of their employee relations. The idea was that employees who were treated decently would go into the home communities singing the praises of their employer. In this traditional viewpoint, employers felt that their dollar payroll, their local tax payments, the occasional loan of a facility for a meeting, and the annual contribution to a local organization was enough to satisfy their community obligations. Their attitude seemed to say, "Look what we are giving. jobs, taxes, meeting facilities, and charitable donations." Employers who held this view tended to assume that with little more than a snap of their fingers they would be provided the practical necessities for efficient operations: streets, sewers, water lines, power and telephone, police and fire services, recreational areas, health care centers, schools, shopping centers, residential areas, cultural and religious facilities. The viewpoint tended to say, "These are what we are entitled to in return for what we give. The community owes us these." Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

This attitude has changed. Employers now know that they must have more than a general concern for the efficiency and adequacy of community services for themselves and for their employees. They have learned that they must become involved in specific community decisions and actions concerning fiscal policies; honesty in public offices; attracting new businesses and holding older ones; planning for the future; generating the enthusiasm of volunteers in charitable, cultural, fellowship, educational, recreationa1, business, and patriotic endeavours and that, in general they must apply the collective talents of the organization to the community in which it operates. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

COMMUNITY ISSUES Community relations (CR) work is a dynamic aspect of public relations. If there were no other reason, the changing physical and social makeup of communities would make it so, but there are many other contributing factors. Among them, few people stay in the communities where they are born. Families move not once, but several times. Community communications programs must deal with this constant turnover of residents. Also, employers move. Sometimes they move from a congested central city area to a suburb. When they move, both areas are disrupted. Α manufacturer may move a headquarters or a manufacturing facility from one city to another, mortally wounding the economy of one and perhaps starting a boom in the other. Branches of businesses and institutions are opened in areas of growing population and closed in areas that are shrinking or that are poorly managed. Α new interstate highway bypasses a community formerly dependent on tourists and travelling traffic for its trade. Undesirable elements get control of government in a community. Α community also undergoes change when there is a movement for re form or rehabilitation. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

10 Issues Concerning All Communities
1. Work for everyone who desires it. 2. The prospect of growth and new opportunities. 3. Adequate competitive commercial enterprises. 4. Competent municipal government with modern other services. 5. Educational, cultural, religious, and recreational pursuits. 6. Appropriate housing and public services. 7. Provision for helping those least able to help themselves. 8. Availability of legal, medical, and other professional services. 9. Pride and loyalty. 10. Α good reputation in the area and beyond. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Role of Public Relations
Public relations work on a basic nature is involved in at least these areas of an organization's community relationships: 1. Planning and conducting open houses, or tours. 2. Planning and helping to implement special events such as ground breaking or dedication of new facilities, change in location, anniversaries, reunions, conventions or exhibitions. 3. Preparing publications for distributions to resident groups. 4. Representing the organization in all sorts of volunteer activities, including fund drives. 5. Preparing advertising or position papers aimed at residents or local government. 6. Counselling management on contributions of employees as volunteer workers or board members; arranging for use of facilities and equipment by community groups. 7. Functioning as the organization's intermediary with local governmental, civic, educational, and ad hoc groups concerned with reform, social problems, and celebrations. 8. Issuing news of interest to the community and providing toρ officials of the organizations with information on the status of community relations. 9. Managing the contributions function-giving donations if a corporation, raising funds for a not-for-profit organization. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Community Research Client research for community relations concentrates on the organization's role and reputation in the community. What is its level of credibility? Have there been significant community complaints in the past? What are the organization's present and past community relations practices? What are its major strengths and weaknesses in the community? What opportunities exist to enhance community relations? These questions provide a helpful framework for a community relations program. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Opportunity or Problem Research
Why have a community relations program in the first place? Considering the cost and benefits involved, this is a question worthy of detailed justification. The public relations practitioner should assess problems the organization may have had with community groups and make a searching analysis of community relations opportunities. Many organizations conduct ongoing proactive community relations as a form of insurance against any sudden problem requiring a reactive public relations solution. Audience Research The final aspect of community relations research consists of carefully identifying audiences to be targeted for communication and learning as much about each audience as possible. Community publics can be subdivided into three major groups: community media, community leaders, and community organizations. In conducting community relations programs, it is important for the practitioner to develop contact lists of journalists, community leaders, and organizations. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Impact Objectives Impact objectives for community relations involve informing the community audiences or modifying their attitudes or behaviors. Some examples are: 1. Το increase (by 30 percent this year) community knowledge of the operations of the organization, including its products, services, employees, and support of community projects 2. Το promote (20 percent) more favourable community opinion toward the organization (during a specified time period) 3. Το gain (15 percent) greater organizational support from community leaders (during a particular campaign) 4. Το encourage (20 percent) more feedback from community leaders (during the current year) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Output Objectives Output objectives consist of the efforts made by the practitioner to enhance the organization's community relations. Some illustrations are: 1. Το prepare and distribute (15 percent) more community publications (than last year) 2. Το be (10 percent) more responsive to community needs (during this year) 3. Το create (five) new community projects involving organizational personnel and resources (during this calendar year) 4. Το schedule (five) meetings with community leaders (this year) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Programming Actions) or Special Events Actions and special events most often associated with community relations are: 1. An organizational open house and tour of facilities 2. Sponsorship of special community events or projects 3. Participation of management and other personnel in volunteer community activities 4. Purchase of advertising in local media 5. Contribution of funds to community organizations or causes 6. Meetings with community leaders 7. Membership of management and personnel in a variety of community organizations-civic, professional, religious 8. Participation of management and workers in the political affairs of the community-service in political office and on councils and boards Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Uncontrolled and Controlled Media
In the communications part of a community relations program, the practitioner should think first of servicing community media outlets with appropriate uncontrolled media, such as news releases, photographs or photo opportunities, and interviews of organizational officers with local reporters. The use of controlled media, on the other hand, should include sending copies of house publications to a select list of community leaders. The practitioner should also help the organization develop a speakers bureau, and publicize the availability of organizational management and expert personnel to address meetings of local clubs and organizations. It is also appropriate to target community leaders on a timely basis for selected direct mailings, such as important announcements or notices of organizational involvement in community affairs. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Effective Communication
Three principles of effective communication deserve special attention in community relations programs. First, the targeting of opinion leaders or community leaders for communication is crucial to the success of such a program. The leadership provides the structure and substance of the community itself. Second, group influence plays a substantial role in effective community relations. Organizations exercise varying degrees of cohesiveness and member conformity. The community relations program must cultivate community groups, their leaders, and their memberships. The effective speakers bureau is a primary means for accomplishing this. Finally, audience participation is highly significant. Targeted community media, leaders, and groups can be encouraged to participate in the client's organizational events. Most important, the client should reach out to the community by sponsoring attractive activities. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Evaluation If the objectives of the community relations program have been phrased specifically and quantitatively, their evaluation should be relatively easy. The success of a program should be directly linked to its attainment of the objectives stated at the program's outset. Research for community relations assesses the organization's reputation and its existing and potential problems with the community. Targeting audiences usually includes a detailed analysis of community media, leaders, and organizations. Impact objectives for community relations are such desired outcomes as informing or influencing the attitudes and behaviours of the community. Output objectives consist of a listing of public relations efforts to enhance the organization's relations with the community. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Media relations does indeed make up the core of most public relation programs- in part because of the historical development of public relations as an attempt to control and influence media coverage of organizations. Although the media are critical to public relations, many practitioners become so preoccupied with media coverage that they forget why relationships with the mass media are important. Many practitioners consider the media to be the public for their organization and believe that media coverage automatically means that they have reached and influences a large audience – This is far away from the truth. Media relations occupies a central position in public relations because the media serves as a “gatekeeper” who control the information that flows the publics in a social system. Media workers really aren’t publics in the sense that they are affected by organizational consequences that do not affect other people. But, in another sense, journalists are publics. They seek and process information just like other people, then pass on that information to their readers and viewers. The communication behavior of journalists, therefore, sets limits on the information available for other publics to seek and process. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations The key word to remember about media relations is “relationship”-“a positive, ongoing, long-term relationship with the media.” Many practitioners have bad relationships with the media, in large part because they are guided by the press a gentry or public information models of public relations. An Area of Conflict Journalists feel overwhelmed by mass of press agents and publicists- “flacks,” as they call PR people- who dump unwanted press releases on their desk and push self-serving stories that have little new value. Public relations practitioners, on the other hand, feel that they are at the mercy of reporters and editors who are biased against their organization, who would rather expose then explain, and who know little about the complexities of their organization. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations What Helps and What Hurts Media Relations You will probably find it easier to learn a few principles, however, from which you can derive more specific rules of press relations. Our four models of public relations provide such principles. Develop a brief statement of the company’s position on the topic or issue. The statement should present the situation in a positive light and have the approval of company management. Identify and coach your spokesperson and others who may be called by the news media. Rehearse them to avoid answers that can be taken out of context, and have them practice aloud, converting tough questions to positive points. Never issue a non comment statement Never lie. Discuss positive actions, but stick to the facts. If you don’t know the answer to the question, find out the reporter’s deadline and call back with the appropriate information. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Never repeat the negative. If a reporter asks a negatively phrased question and you repeat the negative words, then you should know that the negative words, the negative impression will survive along after the facts. Positive responses are best. Use transition techniques to give a straight answer to the questions and move the conversation in the direction you desire. Bridge to positive points. Speak in a conversational ton. Avoid jargon, and provide examples or anecdotes to illustrate your points. In television or radio interviews, frame responses in quick bites. Do not provide a lengthy background in order to reach a conclusion. Remain calm, courteous, and cooperative regardless of where the reporter is headed. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Press Agentry Abuses. Most of the abuses of the press that spoil PR’s relationship with the press stem from the press agent / publicity model. Threads to withhold advertising if editors do not use an item, or a promise to buy advertising if they do use it. Calling an executive of a newspaper or broadcast station to pressure his/her reporters Sending reams of news releases with little news value to an extensive massive mailing list of media that have no use of them (very common practice for showing to superiors or clients that we are constantly busy) Taking the attitude that the more releases sent, the greater the chance that they will be used, in the belief that editors use them randomly when they have space to fill. Catering to TV at the expense of print media, in press conferences Sending multiple copies to different departments of the same organization Failing to understand how news media work (deadlines, news values, and beats) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Public Information Abuses Usually the specialist following this model of PR are working as journalist in residence Two of the most common errors of this model are: The jargon error: often they write in a coded language – mostly because their work must be cleared by superiors The Parkinson’s law error: this is the production of press releases to fill the time available. Although there is no need for articles, because of free time the specialist write many articles without news value Two Way Press Relations Both the practitioners of two way asymmetric and two way symmetric models of PR approach their task more systematically, they make fewer errors that alienate them from journalists, and they do more research and planning. There are some conflicts, however, that still result from the asymmetric model because media relations specialists usually try to control coverage of their organization and to limit it to organizational PR objectives. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Symmetric practitioners, on the other hand, think less about controlling the content of information that flows from their organization to the media. Their objective is to open up their organization to the media and to help journalists cover it, in the belief that such openness and assistance will result in more accurate and less biased coverage. Some suggestions for creating effective symmetric media relation are: Send out fewer press releases and rely more on direct contact with journalists, at both their initiative and yours . Be available to the media Call reporters when you think you have a story that interests them (make sure that the story has a local angle or content relevant to the reporter’s publication) Set up interviews for journalists with management or specialists in your organization. Help the reporters to cover your organization – don't try to do it for them. Instead of press releases, send to the media a sheet of one paragraph news tips that they can follow up themselves. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Interview people in your organization yourself and record the interview on cassette tapes. Provide these tapes to journalists so that they can integrate the interview into their own stories. Set up an information storage and retrieval system in which you maintain fact sheets, complete articles, interviews, and background information. Have this data base available to the journalists. Make sure to update the information regularly. Take a chance on the accuracy and responsibility of the news media. The more open you can make your organization, the greater is the likelihood of fair and accurate media coverage Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Media Relations in a Crisis: The three asymmetrical models assume that the flow of information to the media can be controlled. During a crisis, the media become active in seeking info related to the organization. However, the media go to sources other than the organization experiencing the crisis. Research has shown that symmetrical communication is even more important than the predetermined plan during a crisis. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations Some Key points about Journalists Most of us think of journalists as communicators who disseminate information, but they also seek and process information when they cover events, interview new sources, or assign stories. Although we see journalists as active seekers of information, more of their behavior can be described as the passive processing of information – rewriting press releases, routinely covering events or hearings, reacting to the initiative of new sources. If reporters process information more than they seek it, then media relations specialists can influence their communication behavior much more than they could if reporters actively sought information. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations In order for creating a better media relations, an analysis of the journalistic behavior is necessary. Journalistic behavior can be explained in three different levels: Individual Level. The extent to which journalists’ behavior results from their own interests, as well as their biases, values, or ideas. Organizational Level. Organizational factors that constrain the behavior of a reporter, such as assignments given by editors. Institutional Level. The constraints that the larger society places upon a journalist, such as the requirement that a medium be profitable, the perceptions journalists have of their readers, the traditions of journalism, and the unconscious influences that reporters have upon each other. Therefore Press representatives should use different strategies to deal with journalists for each of these levels of analysis. At the individual level, they would try to channel stories to reporters who have either a personal interest in the story or a bias that favors the organization’s position Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations at the organizational level, media specialists would work with editors to get a story assigned to a reporter At the Institutional level, they would stage events and cater to the tendency of one reporter to copy others. The Role of the Media Hypodermic – needle theory assuming powerful; media effects on attitudes and behavior Agenda Setting Theory assuming that there is a strong relationship between the amount of space given to different issues in the media and the importance people think those issues have. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Media Relations A story must be on the media agenda for some time – 3 to 5 months – before people become thoroughly aware of it. Newspapers seem to set the public agenda more than television. Television introduces issues but doesn’t stay with them long enough to affix them on the public agenda. Newspapers do. Not all people pick up personal agendas from the media to the same degree as other people. In particular, the more involved people are with issues, the less the media affect how important these people think the issues are. Involved people actively seek information form many sources. They don’t process passively from the media People with a high need for orientation (uncertainty about a problem) they accept the media agenda more than people with less uncertainty. When people don’t have cognitions about important issues they develop them from the most ubiquitous source of information – the media. Skillful media relations people can get issues of concern to their organizations on the agenda for public discussion, and they can be involved in the discussion when other groups build the agenda – although they don’t control the outcome, they are able to interject the organization’s position and get people’s attention. Evaluation of the Media Agenda Most media relations specialists already use a commercial clipping service so that they can evaluate their work Unfortunately they use clippings in a wrong way Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Investors and Financial Relations
One aspect of financial affairs that increasingly affects the national mood is investor’s evaluations of the corporations in which they have invested. The major measurements are Euros sales volume, profit, the increase or decrease in interest or dividends paid, and whether the price of the stock or bond has increased or decreased from the original purchase price. Other factors include the rank of the company among competitors in its field and what percentage of dividends are paid in comparison with the purchase price. Experts in the financial world who make a living, and sometimes a fortune, by analysing and trading equities for themselves and for customers have to be aware of changing conditions in the money supply, raw materials prices, international monetary affairs, national economies around the world, and much more. They use sophisticated measurement tools such as stock market trend lines, a company' s management capabilities, debt to asset ratio, and several others. Today, with stock market news and international monetary or economic status constantly reported and talked about, public relations practitioners also must keep abreast of these topics. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Investors and Financial Relations : The Publicly owned corporation conceptualised Ιn the business system, as an ideal, the publicly owned corporation's mission, performance, and behaviour represent the consent granted, and the consensus of views held, by all those who have a stake in its financial success. This concept would embrace shareholders, employees and their pension fund, community neighbours, suppliers, and certainly customers. On the sidelines, appropriately, would be those associations and governmental agencies designated to encourage, oversee, referee, or discipline in the name of all taxpayers, or the voters. In this idealization, publicly owned corporations might be seen as instruments of a people's capitalism. In actuality, such a concept is simplistic. Α publicly owned business is created and managed to be competitive with others that sell the same product or service. In order to get started at all, there must be capital or credit and a product or service for which a market is perceived or waiting to be created. Prudent (Careful) use of capital and skill in producing and marketing the product or service become the province of a sma11 group that manages the enterprise day by day. Surviva1 comes first. Beyond that, growth, diversification, and expansion make up goals that fuel ambition and drive all participants. Profit, what's left over after all expenses are paid, makes everything else possible. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Given these realities, it is simply not possible for all those who have a stake in the outcome of an enterprise to take an active part in a forum for major decisions or as links in the decision process. Apart from being largely inaccessible, the stakeholders of a publicly owned corporation are 100 diverse in their self-interests and in their views of what a business should do, except for a few public issues such as quality of environment, to rally and force action. Given the realities, it shou1d not be surprising that profit, and the power it brings, frequently leads to excesses, abuses, and corruption. These bring investigation, prosecution where indicated, and regularly measures to preclude recurrence, in the name of the ultimate public interest. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Investors and Financial Relations : REALITY HAS Α LONG HISTORY
Corporations are not ordained by Mother Nature but are a creation of the state. Until the early 1800s, someone starting a business had no "corporate shield" but put all his or her assets at risk. If the business failed, the owner was personally responsible for all debts to the point of personal bankruptcy. Because this situation discouraged the formation of new business, laws were enacted allowing for the formation of corporations-business entities in which shareholders risk only the amount of their investment. What the state creates it can regulate. Regulatory measures started a long time ago. In addition to regulations in interstate commerce mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the federal government began to institute more stringent (tough) controls over business. In 1890, the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed, aimed at concentration or monopoly within several industries. This act was supplemented by the Clayton Act in 1914, and in the same year, the Federal Trade Commission Act set up a mechanism to keep channels of interstate trade open to competition. The 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s stimu1ated legislative and regulatory actions in the investment area. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

First was the Securities Act of 1933, requiring a corporation to publish a prospectus (a preliminary printed statement that describes an enterprise and is distributed to prospective investors) when it prepares to sell securities to the public. Then came the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, creating the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and dealing with the conflict of interest involved when a corporate official reaps personal financial gain on information not known to the public. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Maturing of Financial Public Relations
In spite of a number of scandals and other problems stemming from over control of many economic areas by the so-called Robber Barons, financial public relations didn't spring up in the 1920s. Publicity specialists such as Ivy Lee and Ed Bernays were called in at that time for their expertise. Financial relations in the 1930s was recognized by employers as a useful communications element, but secondary to the publicity and special events that supported marketing efforts as the economy struggled out of the depression. It gained no ground and earned no particu1ar voice in the decision process during World War II, when the corporate focus was on employee morale to achieve the productivity necessary to arm the Al1ies and on War Bond sales to finance the effort. After the war, with so much pent-up consumer demand to be satisfied, it was hard not to be successful and keep stockholders satisfied, so financia1 relations specialists were not needed. Α financial relations breakthrough came in the 1960s, in a classic situation of insider trading, where a single news release was deemed by a court to be the critical factor in whether the investing public had been misled.. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

At this point of time Corporate growth has become a1most a religion in industry. The means of getting to heaven has involved huge investment in research and technology, diversification of products and services, acquisitions, mergers, conglomeration, and mu1tinationalization. From these actions has come an increasing concentration of corporate ownership among a few thousand very wealthy individuals, investment funds, and banking and insurance interests, both national and foreign. Boards of directors of huge corporations more and more have been woven in a crisscross pattern of a few thousand individuals whose views of the system are similar and whose attitude is dependably reactive when the system comes under criticism of any kind. In the 1970s and 1980s, conditions were not reassuring for the small investor or average wage earner. Inflation helped wages but hurt buying power. Borrowed money for car or home was at high interest rates, mortgaging the future. Available jobs for traditional functions shrank as corporations went abroad for cheap labour and automation displaced people. Savings decreased or disappeared for many. In the latter 1980s, conditions were ripe for the rich to get richer and for the high-rolling risk takers and arbitrageurs to find market manipulation and insider trading irresistible. The mood seemed to be that "anything goes if you don't get caught." Each new rumour of a corporate raid, takeover, issuance of junk bonds, or bit of privileged information spurred speculation. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Black Monday came in October of 1987 (September 2000). It was a rude awakening as the market's Dow ]ones average plummeted some 500 points, taking with it some of Wall Street's big dealers. In the wake, a Tender Offer Reform Act was proposed as an amendment to the Securities Exchange Act of Too little, too late.2 Things quieted down" but not completely or permanently. In 1988, another case made financial headlines when a young trainee in Morgan Stanley's mergers and acquisitions department was alleged to have fed material information to a wealthy Hong Kong customer, who then traded on that information, garnering $19 million in gains. Then for the next several months it seemed each week brought a new Wall street scandal. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

ΑΝ ENVIRONMENT OF STRONG VIEWS
Financial relations presents a worthy challenge to the practitioner. As prime audiences, you have millions of small investors generally resentful of who can "control“ the market (such as pension funds, mutual funds, and other money managers) and leαders of publicly owned corporations, who can make decisions that are helpful or harmful, choosing short-term expedients or long-haul public interest. Then there are the regulators- and the ever-inquiring media, economists, and legislators, who can make and change the rules. The positive views small investors have of the corporate world depend in part from good news such as dividends or appreciation in the value of their investments, optimistic forecasts by corporate and investment spokespersons, and profiles of company leaders portraying them as intelligent, honest, and planning for future success. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Their negative views are formed in part by information in alternative statements about lavish executive salaries, bonuses, and stock options not based on the health or performance of the corporation. Investors read news items about costly indulgences such as private aircraft, executive dining rooms, limousines, club memberships, junkets, all in the name of incentives or customer relations, that are recovered in higher prices for the products or services. And they are not reassured when such free-spending corporations, unable to compete with foreign products, run to the government for protection. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The role of the corporate financial relations specialist or consultant tends to be that of interpreter and mediator between the prime audiences. He or she usually comes on as a moderate or neutral in economic and political philosophy. The position requires skill and objectivity in representing the average investor, the middle-class unsophisticated citizen, while representing private enterprise and conservative views publicly. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

THE SPECIFICS OF THE FUNCTION
The financial public relations role can be summarized as: Communications strategy appropriate to management goals in investor relations. Preparation of public literature, including reports required by law and establishing press contacts. Managing relationships with the financial community, including analyst meetings, tours or visits, and so on. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Among the specific situations posing communications problems and requirements are: 1. Α company goes public, splits its stock, or arranges added financing. 2. Α corporation wishes to make a tender offer to acquire another corporation, to merge with another corporation, or to head off or oppose an unwanted offer. Αn acquisition or merger may result in a change of identity such as name, logo, headquarters location, or ownership. 3. Α timely announcement is needed for significant new products, services, expansion, or acquisition, which might affect the price of the company's stock. 4. Periodic reports of financial results are issued, including an annual report. 5. Arrangements are required for meetings with shareholders and analysts and for public reports of proceedings, including the annual meeting-and, in some enlightened corporations, an employee annual meeting. 6. Special literature is required, dealing with a corporation's philosophy, policies, and objectives; its history or anniversary; its scope, "identity," or "culture.“ ANY of these, however, may also be the subject of advertising. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Government Relations Α major component of corporate public affairs is government relations. This activity is so important that many companies, particularly in highly regulated industries, have separate departments of government relations. The reason is simple. The actions of governmental bodies at the local, and federal level have a major impact on how a business operates. Government relations specialists have a number of functions: They gather information, disseminate management's views, cooperate with government on projects of mutual benefit, and motivate employees to participate in the political process. As the eyes and ears of a business or industry, practitioners spend much time gathering and processing information. They monitor the activities of many legislative bodies and regulatory agencies to keep track of issues coming up for debate and possible vote. Such intelligence gathering enables a corporation or an industry to plan ahead and, if necessary, adjust policies or provide information that may influence the nature of government decision-making. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Government Relations Α Boston University survey showed that 67 percent of the responding companies monitored government activity in Washington through their trade associations. Second on the list were frequent trips to Washington by senior public affairs officers and corporate executives; 58 percent of the respondents said they engaged in this activity. Almost 45 percent of the responding firms reported that they also had a company office in the nation's capital. Government relations specialists spend a great amount of time disseminating information about the company's position to a variety of key publics. Spoken tactics may include an informal office visit to a government official or testimony at a public hearing. Ιn addition, public affairs people are often called upon to give a speech or write one for a senior executive Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Lobbying Lobbying is closely aligned with governmental relations or public affairs, and the distinction between the two often blurs. This is because most campaigns to influence impending legislation haνe multiple levels. One leνel is informing and convincing the public about the correctness of the organization's view point, which the public affairs specialist does. Lobbying, on the other hand, is a more specific activity. Webster's New World Dictionαry defines a lobbyist as "a person who tries to influence the voting on legislation or the decisions of government administrators:' In other words, a lobbyist directs his or her energies to the defeat, passage, or amendment of proposed legislation and regulatory agency policies. Α good example of how the two functions work in tandem is how Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm, responded when it was accused of massive negligence in covering up the financial problems of Enron, the energy company, just before it went bankrupt. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Public affairs specialists for the accounting firm had the major job of reassuring the public and influential financial leaders that the company had the scandal under control and was taking steps to maintain the credibility of the brand name. One approach was a series of issue advertisements titled 'Άndersen will do what is right." At the same time, Andersen hired a number of high-powered lobbyists with good connections to the Bush administration and the House Commerce Committee to assure that the U.S. Congress would not pass legislation that would place more restrictions on the accounting firm and the industry. Andersen's ability to reach key legislators was assisted by its long-term program of political contributions. Since 1991, the company had contributed corporate "soft money" to national party committees. In a ten-year period, the Republican Party received $2.5 million and the Democratic Party had received $859,000. The accounting firm, through its political action committees (PACs), also contributed $146,000 to the presidential campaign of George W. Bush. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR and Campaigning The tools of today's political campaign are many and varied. Constant focus groups and polls continually test messages and determine the "hot" buttons of the voter. Extensive use of modern communications technology such as satellite media tours and video news releases, bulk faxing of background material, and the use of the Internet have greatly expanded message delivery. According to James Perry, writing in The Wall Street Journal: The new media label covers a broad band of new technologies. With satellites, candidates can, and do, hold rallies in several places at once; strategists in different parts of the country meet in teleconference, direct mail gives way to videocassettes delivered door to door; voters with personal computers log on to candidate bulletin boards and call up vast amounts of information. It's an explosion of technology. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Helping the candidates use these tools is another group of consultants and technicians who work to advance the election of their clients-writers of position papers, speech writers, graphic artists, computer experts, photographers, and media strategists. Advance people spend many hours trying to organize events and generate crowds in an age when most people would rather stay home and watch television. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Ethical Guidelines for Political Relations
Here are several ethical guidelines for people working in political public relations formulated by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): 1. It is the responsibility of professionals practicing political public relations to be conversant with the various local, state, and federal statutes governing such activities and to adhere to them strictly. This includes laws and regulations governing lobbying, political contributions, disc1osure, e1ections, libel, slander, and the like. 2. Members shall represent clients or employers in good faith, and while partisan advocacy on behalf of a candidate or public issue is expected, members shall act in accord with the public interest and adhere to truth and accuracy and to generally accepted standards of good taste. 3. Members shall not issue descriptive material or any advertising or pub1icity information or participate in the preparation or use thereof which is not signed by responsible persons or is false, misleading, or unlabeled as to its source, and are obligated to use care to avoid dissemination of any such material. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

4. in avoiding practices which might tend to corrupt the processes of government, members shall not make undisclosed gifts of cash or other valuables which are designed to influence specific decisions of voters, legislators, or public officials. 5. Members shall not, through the use of information known to be fa1se or misleading, conveyed direct1y or through a third party, intentionally injure the pub1ic reputation of an opposing candidate. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Public Affairs in Government
Since the time of the ancient Egyptians 5000 years ago, governments have always engaged in what is known in the 21st century as public information, public relations, and public affairs. The Rosetta Stone, discovered by Napoleon's troops and used by scholars as the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics, turned out to be a publicity release for the reign of Ptolemy V. Ju1ius Caesar was known in his day as a master of staged events in which his army's entrances into Rome after successfu1 batt1es were highly orchestrated. There has always been a need for government communications, if for no other reason than to inform citizens of the services availab1e and the manner in which they may be used. Ιn a democracy, pub1ic information is crucia1 if citizens are to make intelligent judgments about the policies and activities of their e1ected representatives. Through information it is hoped that citizens will have the necessary background to participate fully ίn the formation of government po1icies. The objectives of government information efforts have been summarized by William Ragan, former director of public affairs for the United States Civi1 Service Commission: Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

1. Inform the pub1ic about the pub1ic's business. In other words, communicate the work of government agencies. 2. Improve the effectiveness of agency operations through appropriate public information techniques. In other words, explain agency programs so that citizens understand and can take actions necessary to benefit from them. 3. Provide feedback to government administrators so that programs and policies can be modified, amended, or continued. 4. Advise management on how best to communicate a decision or a program to the widest number of citizens. 5. Serve as an ombudsman. Represent the public and listen to its representatives. Make sure that individual problems of the taxpayer are satisfactorily solved. 6. Educate administrators and bureaucrats about the role of the mass media and how to work with media representatives. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Consumer Relations "Who are the three most important publics?" The answer is "Customers, customers, and customers." If you don't succeed in attracting and then building continuing relationships with them, you'11 be out of business and nothing else will matter. During the rise of marketing as a cure-all in the mid-1980s, this view frequently prevailed in corporations. Hospitals, universities, public agencies, and even churches adopted marketing as a response to the increasing competition for people's interest and dollars. On balance, the marketing revolution was helpful to many organizations-particularly large or very successful companies, which had often forgotten that it is the customer who pays the bill, and to not-for-profit entities, who often treated users of services as a nuisance to their routine, rather than the reason for their existence. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Consumer Relations Ironically, while this trend re-established a key point of public relations philosophy, it sometimes pushed public relations departments into a secondary role to marketing. Α much debated point has been whether public relations is a part of marketing or vice versa or whether they are both essential strategic services and thus equal factors. The question has become prominent because marketing has become a part of organizations that have not traditionally used marketing concepts. Hospitals in particular began marketing their "products" in an effort to gain their share of the health care market. Their patients began making it clear they did not want to be sold health care, and hospitals retreated-putting the function back into perspective. Marketing and public relations share some fundamental concepts. These include analyzing market opportunities (research), selecting target markets (publics / audiences), developing a marketing mix (communication and action plan), and managing the marketing effort (evaluation). Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Consumer Relations The sharing of these concepts illustrates the close working relationship of the two fields. However, public relations and marketing are two different fields. PR reporter illustrated the differences, stating that public relations as a strategy does four things marketing cannot do: Public relations is concerned about internal relations and publics. Public relations cares about non customer external publics and the environment in which the organization operates. Public relations operates on the policies of human nature (what makes the individual tick), whereas marketing focuses on consumer behaviour (purchasing and economics, often expressed ία number-crunching research). Public relations may work to stabilize or change public opinion in areas other than products. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Consumer Relations In the 1990s, the functions have come close together, as demonstrated by the dominant customer relations strategy: relationship marketing. As the name suggests, this approach adopts public relations principles such as personalized, one-on-one dialogue regarding marketing of products and services. The buyer-seller relationship concerns every public relations department and every public relations counsellor. Ideally, their role is to help create conditions of understanding so that the objectives of sellers can be attained by satisfying needs of consumers. As a landmark conference between public relations and marketing leaders concluded, public relations must both help motivate purchases and create a hospitable environment for the organization to sell product and services. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

HISTORICAL BACK GROUND
Starting in the late 1940s, following an almost universal base of hardship during the Great Depression, consumer "wants" were for material possessions, labour saving, convenience, ease, and luxury. Το producers and sellers, these were seen as consumer "needs." In the succeeding decades of increasing prosperity and affluence, it followed that if a product or service could be sold, it "deserved" to be sold. If a desire for it could be induced, it was what the people "wanted." Wants translated with adept interpretation into needs. Α Hula Ηοορ, a Frisbee, a pair of jogging shoes became "needs" for wholesome recreation or health. For product and service sellers, the 1950s were happy times, as they were for marketing, promotion, advertising, and publicity people. The economy was based and dependent on increasing consumption. Trading in one's car annually, building a summer home, discarding clothes for each fashion change, engaging in fads, buying on time with credit cards, maintaining a big mortgage, stocking a basement with appliances, using hair tonics and electric shavers-these were "marks of distinction." Buying was promoted as though it were patriotic. Communications served these times well, especially when television came on the scene to give printed and audio media rough competition. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

In this set of conditions, it was inevitable that sellers would stretch the boundaries of quality, service, and safety in products and services. They would exceed the limits of truth and accuracy in their claims and would abuse the privilege of using the public media. On occasion, through inadequate concern for quality, they would kill and injure some people and alienate many others. Ralph Nader “Unsafe αt Any Speed “ Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Meanwhile, business approaches to the consumer were shifting. "Share of mind" superseded "share of market" for many national product advertisers. Programs spoke more about "benefits" and "value." Publicists were engaged more in concepts to sell "an idea," "industrial statesmanship," "a good company to do business with," the "philosophy" or the "personality" rather than the sheer pleasure of owning the product or enjoying the service. In public relations programming, there was an increasing shift to use of public service hitched to marketing. Today this approach has become the rule: People want to be served not sold. Recipes were provided for home economists; commemorative events were tied to products; dinosaur models went on exhibit; cars were tested by the loan of one to each family in a small town; a blimp roamed over public events, aiding national telecasts. The introduction of a new line of sports equipment endorsed by a celebrated athlete might be accompanied by a personal appearance. On tour, the athlete might sign autographs in stores, be interviewed by local writers on controversial sports subjects, be photographed at bedside in children's hospitals or wards, and conduct free clinics on sportsmanship at a local schoo1. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Rise of Corporate Reputation
In the 1980s, a new rash of crises shared the front page; they involved violence, drugs, greed, pollution, and lack of integrity. Business has adjusted to this situation. Advertising and publicity talk about reforestation, human dignity, education, rehabilitation, and "caring." Projects and speeches focus on safety, health, and the minority, neglected, and handicapped groups in society. There are other problems. Conglomeration and divestiture discolour traditional identities. What happens when Twinkies becomes a product of International Telephone and Telegraph? Multinationalism is another matter. Does anything significant happen in consumer relationships when a company that has proclaimed its "loyal Greek heritage" goes abroad to manufacture because wages are lower? See BALCO Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Role of PR Technically, both marketing and public relations support the sαles function. "Nothing happens until a sale is made," says an old bromide. The difference is that marketing is totally engrossed in selling, whereas public relations is more holistic. It supports sales to customers, but also is concerned with relationships with all other stakeholders of the organization. Originally, public relations supported sales almost exclusively through media publicity, promotional events, and consumer information programs. The objective was to make people: 1. Aware of the product or serνice in the first place. 2. Knowledgeable about the benefits and advantages of the particular product or serνice. 3. Constantly reminded and reinforced in favourable feelings toward the product or serνice. Such activity ties in with advertising and authenticates product claims. Media used are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, features, photos, planned events, sponsorship of sports or musical activities, and many other venues for promotion. These are one-way communication vehicles touting the name and claims of the product or serνice. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Role of PR Although the emphasis on marketing pushed some public relations departments back to this role, the changing conditions of the marketplace also brought forth several new activities such as: 1. Forming user groups (as computer makers did) or customer serνice departments (as some auto makers and utilities did) to personally build customer loyalty. 2. Adopting customer satisfaction programs in which the entire organization is focused on delivering not just a product or serνice but also the quality and personal interactions consumers expect when making a purchase (as retailers, utilities, and brand manufacturers did). 3. Concentrating the publicity and promotion activities on taking customers away from competitors (which the beer and cigarette makers state as their primary reason for publicity and advertising). 4. Protecting the reputation of the product or serνice, and of the organization, in a period of consumer activism, government relations, competitive predation, global marketing, and similar conditions that bring a continual pack of public issues to bear on every organization and industry. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Public Relations Techniques
Ten Effective Public Relations Tactics You are likely familiar with brochures, flyers and web sites. Below are some other effective public relations tactics with which you may be less familiar. Which ones will benefit you depends upon several factors -- your objectives, the size, type and location of your organization, the characteristics of your customers or audience, and your budget. Publicity and Media Relations Media relations includes a variety of methods to contact and give information to the media: news releases, press kits, media advisories, news conferences, press tours, and personal letters or phone calls to editors and reporters. Special Events Events draw attention to your organization or bring people to your place of business. Open houses, fund-raisers, trade shows, awards ceremonies, contests, stunts, receptions, speeches by V.I.Ps., are examples of special events. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Newsletters Publications typically four to 12 pages in length, although some are longer, with short articles intended to keep your customers, clients, members, investors, or donors up-to-date on what your organization and its people are doing. It may also contain advice or other information of particular interest to your audience. News Sheets and Action Alerts One or two page sheets communicating urgent or recent information. The intent is to motivate the reader to take a specific action, such as write a letter to a public official, make a donation, or change a purchasing habit. Tip Sheets One or two-sided sheets containing advice, instructions, or other information of particular use to your customers or clients. The objective is to show off your expertise. These sheets are usually formatted as bulleted or numbered lists. Letters to the Editor and Op Ed Pieces Promote your expertise by writing a letter to the editor or an Op Ed piece responding to items in the news. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Speakers Bureau Arrange to have individuals in your organization speak at meetings of professional and trade associations, service clubs, civic organizations, and community groups Sponsorships If you don't want to organize a special event, sponsor one somebody else is organizing. Or sponsor a local sports team, musical group, or community theatre. Make sure your sponsorship will be acknowledged on advertising, programs, uniforms, posters, or other promotional materials. Charitable Contributions Even though a donation has to be very large to make the news, a consistent commitment to giving back to your community by supporting local charities will do much to enhance your image. Be sure you give to charities that acknowledge donations in their newsletter, annual report, wall plaques, or other promotional materials. Thank You Notes and Letters Directly thanking customers for their business, and donors for their contribution, will encourage repeat business. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Feature articles by and about your company help you explain specific projects, industry trends, etc., while positioning your organization as a leader. News releases keep editors and readers up-to-date on positive developments: business news, technological advances, promotions and new hires, and special events. Company profiles present your company's achievements, capabilities, and leaders in a positive light. Professional seminars and association meetings let you highlight your latest achievements and innovations, share information with colleagues. Business seminars for your customers let you explain new developments, trends, services, and products in detail -- in a setting where you call the shots. Trade shows can be a critical sales forum, let you meet face-to-face with purchasing decision-makers. Internet/World Wide Web services help you establish an early presence within this powerful new communications medium. Crisis management arms you with strategies and tools to deal with unexpected and unwelcome developments. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques : Media relations
Media relations does indeed make up the core of most public relation programs- in part because of the historical development of public relations as an attempt to control and influence media coverage of organizations. Although the media are critical to public relations, many practitioners become so preoccupied with media coverage that they forget why relationships with the mass media are important. Many practitioners consider the media to be the public for their organization and believe that media coverage automatically means that they have reached and influences a large audience – This is far away from the truth. Media relations occupies a central position in public relations because the media serves as a “gatekeeper” who control the information that flows the publics in a social system. Media workers really aren’t publics in the sense that they are affected by organizational consequences that do not affect other people. But, in another sense, journalists are publics. They seek and process information just like other people, then pass on that information to their readers and viewers. The communication behavior of journalists, therefore, sets limits on the information available for other publics to seek and process. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations
The key word to remember about media relations is “relationship”-“a positive, ongoing, long-term relationship with the media.” Many practitioners have bad relationships with the media, in large part because they are guided by the press a gentry or public information models of public relations. An Area of Conflict Journalists feel overwhelmed by mass of press agents and publicists- “flacks,” as they call PR people- who dump unwanted press releases on their desk and push self-serving stories that have little new value. Public relations practitioners, on the other hand, feel that they are at the mercy of reporters and editors who are biased against their organization, who would rather expose then explain, and who know little about the complexities of their organization. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

What Helps and What Hurts Media Relations You will probably find it easier to learn a few principles, however, from which you can derive more specific rules of press relations. Our four models of public relations provide such principles. Develop a brief statement of the company’s position on the topic or issue. The statement should present the situation in a positive light and have the approval of company management. Identify and coach your spokesperson and others who may be called by the news media. Rehearse them to avoid answers that can be taken out of context, and have them practice aloud, converting tough questions to positive points. Never issue a non comment statement Never lie. Discuss positive actions, but stick to the facts. If you don’t know the answer to the question, find out the reporter’s deadline and call back with the appropriate information. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Never repeat the negative. If a reporter asks a negatively phrased question and you repeat the negative words, then you should know that the negative words, the negative impression will survive along after the facts. Positive responses are best. Use transition techniques to give a straight answer to the questions and move the conversation in the direction you desire. Bridge to positive points. Speak in a conversational ton. Avoid jargon, and provide examples or anecdotes to illustrate your points. In television or radio interviews, frame responses in quick bites. Do not provide a lengthy background in order to reach a conclusion. Remain calm, courteous, and cooperative regardless of where the reporter is headed. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations Press Agentry Abuses. Most of the abuses of the press that spoil PR’s relationship with the press stem from the press agent / publicity model. Threads to withhold advertising if editors do not use an item, or a promise to buy advertising if they do use it. Calling an executive of a newspaper or broadcast station to pressure his/her reporters Sending reams of news releases with little news value to an extensive massive mailing list of media that have no use of them (very common practice for showing to superiors or clients that we are constantly busy) Taking the attitude that the more releases sent, the greater the chance that they will be used, in the belief that editors use them randomly when they have space to fill. Catering to TV at the expense of print media, in press conferences Sending multiple copies to different departments of the same organization Failing to understand how news media work (deadlines, news values, and beats) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations Public Information Abuses Usually the specialist following this model of PR are working as journalist in residence Two of the most common errors of this model are: The jargon error: often they write in a coded language – mostly because their work must be cleared by superiors The Parkinson’s law error: this is the production of press releases to fill the time available. Although there is no need for articles, because of free time the specialist write many articles without news value Two Way Press Relations Both the practitioners of two way asymmetric and two way symmetric models of PR approach their task more systematically, they make fewer errors that alienate them from journalists, and they do more research and planning. There are some conflicts, however, that still result from the asymmetric model because media relations specialists usually try to control coverage of their organization and to limit it to organizational PR objectives. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations Symmetric practitioners, on the other hand, think less about controlling the content of information that flows from their organization to the media. Their objective is to open up their organization to the media and to help journalists cover it, in the belief that such openness and assistance will result in more accurate and less biased coverage. Some suggestions for creating effective symmetric media relation are: Send out fewer press releases and rely more on direct contact with journalists, at both their initiative and yours . Be available to the media Call reporters when you think you have a story that interests them (make sure that the story has a local angle or content relevant to the reporter’s publication) Set up interviews for journalists with management or specialists in your organization. Help the reporters to cover your organization – don't try to do it for them. Instead of press releases, send to the media a sheet of one paragraph news tips that they can follow up themselves. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations Interview people in your organization yourself and record the interview on cassette tapes. Provide these tapes to journalists so that they can integrate the interview into their own stories. Set up an information storage and retrieval system in which you maintain fact sheets, complete articles, interviews, and background information. Have this data base available to the journalists. Make sure to update the information regularly. Take a chance on the accuracy and responsibility of the news media. The more open you can make your organization, the greater is the likelihood of fair and accurate media coverage Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations Media Relations in a Crisis: The three asymmetrical models assume that the flow of information to the media can be controlled. During a crisis, the media become active in seeking info related to the organization. However, the media go to sources other than the organization experiencing the crisis. Research has shown that symmetrical communication is even more important than the predetermined plan during a crisis. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations Some Key points about Journalists Most of us think of journalists as communicators who disseminate information, but they also seek and process information when they cover events, interview new sources, or assign stories. Although we see journalists as active seekers of information, more of their behavior can be described as the passive processing of information – rewriting press releases, routinely covering events or hearings, reacting to the initiative of new sources. If reporters process information more than they seek it, then media relations specialists can influence their communication behavior much more than they could if reporters actively sought information. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations In order for creating a better media relations, an analysis of the journalistic behavior is necessary. Journalistic behavior can be explained in three different levels: Individual Level. The extent to which journalists’ behavior results from their own interests, as well as their biases, values, or ideas. Organizational Level. Organizational factors that constrain the behavior of a reporter, such as assignments given by editors. Institutional Level. The constraints that the larger society places upon a journalist, such as the requirement that a medium be profitable, the perceptions journalists have of their readers, the traditions of journalism, and the unconscious influences that reporters have upon each other. Therefore Press representatives should use different strategies to deal with journalists for each of these levels of analysis. At the individual level, they would try to channel stories to reporters who have either a personal interest in the story or a bias that favors the organization’s position Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Techniques: Media Relations - Different Models of PR and Media Relations at the organizational level, media specialists would work with editors to get a story assigned to a reporter At the Institutional level, they would stage events and cater to the tendency of one reporter to copy others. The Role of the Media Hypodermic – needle theory assuming powerful; media effects on attitudes and behavior Agenda Setting Theory assuming that there is a strong relationship between the amount of space given to different issues in the media and the importance people think those issues have. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Highlights of the Agenda Setting Theory
A story must be on the media agenda for some time – 3 to 5 months – before people become thoroughly aware of it. Newspapers seem to set the public agenda more than television. Television introduces issues but doesn’t stay with them long enough to affix them on the public agenda. Newspapers do. Not all people pick up personal agendas from the media to the same degree as other people. In particular, the more involved people are with issues, the less the media affect how important these people think the issues are. Involved people actively seek information form many sources. They don’t process passively from the media People with a high need for orientation (uncertainty about a problem) they accept the media agenda more than people with less uncertainty. When people don’t have cognitions about important issues they develop them from the most ubiquitous source of information – the media. Skillful media relations people can get issues of concern to their organizations on the agenda for public discussion, and they can be involved in the discussion when other groups build the agenda – although they don’t control the outcome, they are able to interject the organization’s position and get people’s attention. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Highlights of the Agenda Setting Theory
Evaluation of the Media Agenda Most media relations specialists already use a commercial clipping service so that they can evaluate their work Unfortunately they use clippings in a wrong way Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing Good writing is clear, concise, correct, and complete Clear: present ideas logically and explain terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader Concise: takes the shortest path to understanding, using words and sentences that are economical – not in the expense of style and grace Correct: follows the rules of spelling, grammar, and syntax. It must be accurate and does not obscure or bend the truth. Complete: does not leave readers unsatisfied or uncertain whether they know all they need to know about the subject. The PR Department must consider the information needs of several different audiences: Managers – memos, plans, announcements, timetables, operating manuals, and guidelines. Remembers that complex information need to be organized and presented in a logical form Employees – Avoid the Jargon, remember that information must be accessible and understandable by everyone Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing Suppliers and Customers Trade Publications Stockholders and Investment Community Community Leaders and Government Officials The News Media Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Selecting the Appropriate Writing Style
PR Writing Selecting the Appropriate Writing Style As a PR specialist you must be familiar with all the available writing style in order to select the most appropriate for the audience that you want to write Business Style: for reports, executive summaries and memos Personal Style: for notes and memos between members of a staff who work together, including those on equal basis as well as supervisors who have an informal working relationship with those they supervise Familiar Style: Used in employee publications and memos intended to build a team and gain compliance with management objectives Trade Style: assumes that the readers are all familiar with the jargon of a sector of the market or the workplace, and thus technical terms and industry norms are allowed Straight – News Style: used for releases to the general news media and to the financial press. Journalistic norms of story organizations, objectivity, explanation of terms, uses of quotes or paraphrase, ethics, and avoidance of libel are followed in preparation of the straight – news story Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing Feature Style: used for articles prepared for both internal and external audiences where the format of the newsletter or magazine calls for luring the reader with a catchy lead, then relating the information in a tone that is more causal and light than one would expect in a straight news story. Legal Style: necessary when crisis confronts an organization and improper statements to external or internal audiences may jeopardize the legal position of the organization. Audience, however, is not the only factor affecting the choice of the writing style. Your style as well may be influenced by your mass medium choice. The Broadcast Media: Use few words, tight your writing and tailor it for reading aloud, make sure to use words that help the audience to picture what is happening Trade Magazines: remember that they have such departments as “trends” and “new products” with standardized forms and style – use them. Commentators and Columnists: understand the idiosyncrasies and make sure to cater to them Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing Regional Media: it may requires a nod to local terminology and shared culture values. Remember that the same subject article may be prepared in different versions for different regions. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing In selecting the Right Writing Style ask yourself the following questions What is the relationship of the target public to your organization? Internal or external? Friendly, hostile, indifferent or unfamiliar? What is the level of expertise of your public? Well informed, partially, or uninformed? What is the interest level of your public? Motivated to seek information and read it? Mildly interested in the topic? Unaware of the need to be informed on the topic? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

What are the style requirements of the medium / channel selected? Straight – news style required? Feature style is an option and may be desirable? Trade or business style required? Special requirements (broadcast)? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing To what style does the subject matter lend itself? Serious, straightforward subject? Human interest angle? To what extent do management objectives dictate the writing style? Personality and style of sources used for the article? What facet of the organization is being featured? Are there legal requirements for the information communicated? What was the style of past communications with the target public? Should the new message strike a new tone? Must the message be consistent with past communications? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Requirements of Public Relations Writing
PR Writing Requirements of Public Relations Writing Maximum Objectivity: The question is “how do PR writers reconcile the need for credibility with the need to be loyal to their employer? It is a matter of keeping the employing organization in mind when gathering the information, and then keeping the editor – and by extension the reader – in mind when organizing the information and writing for publication. Source Review: One of the crucial interpersonal skills a PR practitioner must develop is the ability to take the criticism of a piece of writing from a superior who knows the technical facts better than the writer does, incorporate the necessary changes into the written message, and still maintain the style, interest, and integrity of the words so they will attract media audience. Long – Range Implications/ Consistency: The PR writer must review past articles about the organization, determine how the public perceives the organization or program, and then write a piece that will be consistent with how the writer wants the public to view it. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

PR Writing Achieving Maximum Impact: Simplicity versus Completeness is the dilemma of the PR writers. The PR writer tries to have it both ways by giving the news media a concise and understandable twelve paragraph press release summarizing the story in a way that is readable and interesting. Involving the Reader: You get the readers attention by bringing the story close to home, literally and figuratively. Keep that attention by humanizing the story, which means having people talking. Use quotes from those who are most affected by the program or product your organization is promoting. Evaluating your Writing: Many people think that writing is an art, that it cant be evaluated. Don’t be misled. Only stream–of–consciousness writers fail to evaluate their work. Put your writing aside for a few days and then read it over yourself Have you retained your own message? Do you understand what you want to say? Ask someone else to read it and tell you his/her understanding Remember: Good writing is not merely written; it is rewritten. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

News Releases and Press Kits
Releases serve many purposes and its an excellent tool for achieving publicity Editors depend on releases Routinely, certain columns in almost every paper are put together by pasting our news releases: business promotions, military personnel activities, cultural, sport and entertainment events. Elements of the Standards News release Paper and Typeface: Print on one side only, Double –spacing is standard (triple spacing is not uncommon), try to keep the release only in one page, user a standard clean typewriter face or one of the basic computer fonts, for radio releases make sure to use font size at least 18 – points. News Flag: To make it absolutely clear that the information is intended as a news release, a large single word NEWS in Black or Red and printed in large font (36 in typical) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Release Date: Floating clearly above the text and after the news flag, is the phrase FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (both underlined and capitalized) as well (if you wish) a specific day and time of release For release at 6 pm Friday, Oct 23. In case that you want the release to take place during morning hours you must have an indication such AMS, or AM’s Contact Person: The name address and phone number of the person to contact for additional information should appear in a block near the upper right hand corner of the page. The use of more that one contact names is okay. Serial Number: Many organizations assign a code number to each release (in the heading, under the contact person, or at the end of the first or last page). This code usually indicates the no of release the month and the year as well as the initials of the person prepared the release. Serial numbers serve two purposes: Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The identification of specific releases within organizations that they produce a great number of releases To assist when management requires an audit Headline: to capture the reader’s attention and to summarize the information in the article. The headline should be simple, direct, and written in an active voice. Dateline: start the story with a so called dateline – it is the name of the place where the release originates. This is probably important for editors that look for local names and places. Slug line, Continuations, and End Sign: If the releases runs more than one page then the word “more” should appear at the bottom of each page except the last one. An end sign indicates that there are no more pages. The second as well as the successive pages should be slugged at the top in the following manner Promotion– add one, or promotion --1 Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

The Key Components of the Main Text of a Press Release The Summary Lead: if the editor, and by extension the target audience member, isn't clear about what the story involves and why it is important after the first paragraph, the subsequent paragraphs will never be read. Remember that the opening paragraph tells the story in microcosm, the second paragraph provides greater detail and explains Boilerplate Paragraphs: paragraphs which identify the organization and the products it makes or the services it provides “ The Wyatt Company is an international consulting firm specializing in the areas of human resource, systems, and financial management with 3,700 employees working in 71 cities.” Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Handling Quotes: while a short release containing routinely materials may not call for quotes. When the subject is a new product or service, an organization’s stand on an issue then it is a very good idea, for increasing reader’s interest, to quote material from your chief executive or someone else well known. In fact, quotes permit you to inject passion and opinion into a release that otherwise must be factual in order to appeal to the editors as news. Feature Style: The straight news style is important for unbiased information presented straightforwardly using summary lead to open the story and the classic inverted pyramid organizational structure with facts presented in descending order of importance. The feature style treatment, on the other hand, is considered more appropriate for news about trends, interesting people, and product information that is part of a marketing public relations campaign. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

* Teasers are one kind of feature lead, and sometimes they take the form of question: Why is J.J. moving for the third time in three years …….. * Suspended interest feature leads tell a story in chronological order: M.A. was on time, as usual. Her car pulled out of the driveway exactly at 8 and she was on the freeway by 8:10 …….. * Marketing public relations features often speak directly to the reader in order to involve him or her with the information: Lets face it, you have better things to do with your time than remodel the entire house ….. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Offering Auxiliary Materials The PR department is lucky if a news release is used in its entirety. In order to increase your chances of getting a news release placed the use of side bars and press kits is recommended. Sidebars: are the shorter articles that appears alongside the main article and offers greater detail about one aspect of the main piece. Remember sidebars are not afterthought – while you write a piece you need to keep asking yourself whether some information stand out better in a sidebar rather than the main article. Therefore, you must always ask yourself “what information can I put into a sidebar in order to make the story more attractive to the editor and to my target publics?” Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Press Kits/Informational Packets: It is an extended version of the sidebar which includes a master release, sidebars, fact sheets, biographies, charts, reprints of comments from other media, photographs, and even samples of products. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Broadcast Releases Some of the requirements of the broadcast release are: Type the information entirely in large capital letters to facilitate reading Keep the item to no more than 200 words, which is about one minute of reading time. Use short paragraphs; it may be useful to display each sentence as a separate paragraph. Separate clauses, or the parts of long sentences, with ellipses (……) to give the newscaster an indication of where to pause or take a breath. Avoid contractions, hard to pronounce words, abbreviation, or anything else that may trip the tongue. Provide pronunciation help in parentheses immediately following any unfamiliar word or name. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Do not put names, figures, or other critical information in the opening phrase or sentence. The first sentence should index the story for the listener and catch attention by naming the general topic. Wrong: Deputy director of finance J.J today submitted a E4.2 million budget to city council ….. Correct: It will cost less to run the city next year. A budget of over four million dollars was …etc At the bottom of the release or on an attached page, indicate if the person named in the release is available for phone interview and provide as well the phone number. Also if the source is available for a talk show on radio or TV include a brief note with his/her expertise and availability. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Catering to the Press The press conference should be used when it is clear that it gives to the press an opportunity to question expert sources will result in more meaningful and effective media coverage In preparing a Press Conference you need to consider a number of problems Whom shall we invite? Make sure to avoid embarrassing Silences: possible ways – invite the correct press people, sit a couple of your PR people within the media media to assist the rolling of the conference. Issue the invitation: Make sure that you invite the media people early enough in attending your press conference Don’t forget that even journalists or some media they do behave according a specific code of ethics. Make sure to take their code of ethics into consideration Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Public Service Announcements (PSA)
Where to hold the event? Make sure to check the facilities (audio visual, sufficient water and coffee, phone booths, comfortable seating, tables for writing, displaying handouts and brochures, transportation if necessary) Offer helpful handouts: a one page outline of the covered material to be placed on each chair, a selection of fact sheets on each press table, and a text of the main speaker’s prepared statement to be passed out at the door as reporters leave room Make sure that follow up has been arranged to take care the needs of the media after the conference or the event is over. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Using Radio: PSA If you want to dictate the precise content, time, and date of your message, you need to have an Advertisement A PSA is usually 10,15,30, or 60 seconds long They are generally announcements of public interest on behalf of non profit organizations. They are free of charge because broadcast stations in order to get their licenses renewed they must demonstrate that they have provided the public service of distributing useful information from governmental agencies. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Preparing a Speak The same person who supervises the preparation of news releases and broadcast messages is likely, at any given time, to be working on one or more of the following non media tasks. Preparing the head of the department to give a press release, Rehearsing the president of the firm for a public appearance Making arrangements for a dialogue between the company and any external or internal group. All of the above tasks have one thing in common = the need of someone to prepare a speak on behalf of the company. Speaking vs. writing Differences: the written message is impersonal while the spoken message carries the credibility of the speaker. Enthusiasm, concern, tolerance, understanding, and empathy are all best demonstrated through the verbal and nonverbal act of meeting an audience in person. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Preparing a Speech The speaking situation is flexible and can be altered to fit the response of the audience. With the print or audiovisual message, you fire a shot and hope to hit the target. In a speaking situation, you can make mid-course corrections. Similarities: It must be consistent with other message dissemination. The speaker must be familiar with position taken in written communication and strive to articulate them in a personal style Careful and complete preparation is necessary in order to avoid embarrassment. The speaker must have all the facts straight The speaking situation as the writing situation poses the same “package and delivering” questions for the PR department Is this the best forum for reaching the target audience? Will it help us to achieve our goals? Is it the best use of resources? Should it be reinforced with other channels of communication? Will we be able to measure the effect? Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Preparing a Speech Speeches have the following main purposes: Persuade / defend: present your organization’s point of view and defend its actions. Data should support the views of your organization. Especially in the two way symmetrical model, opposing views should be acknowledged. Inform / Explain: Present information on what your organization is doing and explain the reason for the action Entertain / Welcome: greet guests, represent your organization, and spread goodwill. Background: similar to the inform / explain but without the urgency of the breaking news. Pro-forma: includes welcome speeches, award acceptance speeches, and other occasions where your organization is responding to the needs of others rather than serving its own communication needs. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Necessary steps for achieving good speech writing Adequate planning must precede speechmaking Writing and reviewing it are important group tasks The speechwriter must have access to the speaker Presentation of the speech should be rehearsed to assure that it will have the desired impact. Research: statements about topics should be reviewed in order to know what the main arguments are and what raw materials are available. Make sure to collect information from a number of secondary data sources to assist and increate credibility to your points of view. What’s the Big Idea? After you have gathered the data and before you prepare an outline, you need to ask the question = what is the main point we want to make with this speech? The speechwriter should be able to summarize the big idea of his speech in a single line Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Organizing and Outlining: a speech should be outlined in a way that you organize a term paper or an article. The concept can be summarized by that old saying: Tell them what are you going to tell them; then tell them; and finally, tell them what you told them. Working with the Speaker The writer should work with the speaker on every phase of developing the speech. The length, rhythm of sentences, the choice of words must be appropriate to the individual speaking style The speaker must feel familiar enough to the facts The speaker must have sufficient confidence to the speech in order to give it with conviction The all important introduction A joke is a great way to start a speech If, however, the speech is to be serious in tone, then an ominous opening statement might be appropriate “Athens may be a ghost town twenty years from now….” Intriguing, or little known facts may stimulate the curiosity of the audience Personal history is also an effective devise for opening your speech ‘this is the first time after twenty years that I come back to this town…..” Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

How much to say? No one will get mad at a speaker who made a twenty minutes speech when he was scheduled for twenty five minutes. Delivering the Speech If a manager has to address a friendly and familiar audience then he/she does not need any help from the PR department. The story is different, however, when he/she has to appear in front of an audience that they are not familiar with Therefore, PR department is also responsible for providing coaching, and further helping managers polish their speech through rehearsals Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Using Visual Aids but make sure that you don’t misuse them Make sure to get so9me feedback and evaluation of the speech A Speech evaluation form may includes Date, audience, speaker, evaluator Room was properly set up for presentation Introduction of speaker was clear and adequate Speaker’s dress and bearing were appropriate to occasion Voice level was satisfactory to the audience Speaker established rapport with audience Credibility of speaker was established Eye contact was maintained Over dependence on prepared script was avoided Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Opening section got attention Topic area and main point were clearly established Main points were repeated and emphasized Topic was clearly summarized and point driven home Ending section elicited desired reaction Audience was engaged throughout speech Feedback was acknowledged and corrections made Opportunity for questions was provided Visual aids were properly set up and used Visual aids provided emphasis and clarity Speaker was comfortable using visual aids Audience reaction to visual aids was positive Other suggestions……………….. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Remember if you work for an organization that sends a speaker out every week then it is not a bad idea to establish a speech bureau (list of speakers and their interest / expertise area) Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Preparing a manager for press contact
The spokesperson should take a number of issues into consideration: Be brief – reporters prefer short sentences. Also is a good idea for avoiding paraphrase Avoid being cagey about information. Don’t ask that something be “off the record” – nobody can guarantee it. The ‘no comment’ statement makes the speaker looks evasive If you are not sure about something, instead of pretending to be secretive, tell the reporters that you aren’t sure and that you will find the facts and contact them. Maintain a firm but cordial stance. If the reporters are on a first-name basis with you, then address them by first name too. Don’t show favoritism to some reporters, the other may feel negative Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

Don’t loose your temper. If you threat a member of the press then remember this is a new story for the press. When you are asked negative questions, make sure not to give a knee jerk, defensive response. Remember the two way symmetrical communication model – be honest… Keep calm and try to manage a smile. You are only doing your job and the reporters are only doing theirs. Christodoulakis Ilias, Ph.D

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