Since the development of public relations in the asses, its popularity and significance in the world has grown immensely. Public relations opened up a new way of creating an understanding for a companies, people and products, much different than had been known through advertising. While advertising is a one-way form of communication that costs money, public relations is a two-way communication system that is free and cannot control what people do with it. This form of communication can be crafted via media, such as newspaper, radio and TV.
Therefore, it is important that those working in the business of public relations understand the importance of the messages they need to send and how they need to send them. As a public relations (PR) practitioner, it is most important to understand that the relationship between the practitioner and the media is interdependent. PR practitioners need the media, and the media need them. The media need people who work in the public relations department for a company to finish the story that they’re looking for and communicate that story in a timely manner.
At the same time, hose working in PR need the media to communicate their story accurately and truthfully. This puts their company’s reputation is in the hands of the reporters who work for the media. Therefore, it is important, as a PR practitioner, to build a good, trustworthy relationship with the media in order to assure that their news and stories are not spun to negatively affect their character or social standard. As a PR employee for any company, it is also extremely important to recognize the significance of the way stakeholders are treated.
Stakeholders can be classified as the reporters, media, employees, etc. Stakeholders are very important to companies and those working in public relations and deserve to be treated with the importance they portray and the respect they deserve. Often times, stakeholders are seen as nameless, faceless people. They fall victim to demographic profiling which is not good for companies. Therefore, direct communication with stakeholders is of utmost importance to PR practitioners’ companies or organizations. They are people too, and they see the world through their own personal lenses.
So, they can filter news, stories and information given by PR practitioners any way that their “lenses” choose to. As a erect result, they will report the information to the public the exact way that they filtered it which could spin information against the company or organization and affect their reputation. This negative outcome typically only happens due to diversification of stakeholders when PR practitioners use phrases such as “no comment” when asked about a specific situation regarding their company, person or organization.
This diversification could lead the stakeholder to label their employer as guilty without even having an explanation which is why departmentally AT stakeholders Is extremely dangerous In puddle relations. Many PR practitioners who make the mistake of deprogramming the stakeholder do not understand that there is never one right or wrong answer. Effective PR is situational, and protecting the public opinion should be highly prioritize.
What works well for one company may be a disaster for another, so it is important for PR practitioners to figure out their own situations according to each situation’s characteristics. It is also important to consider how public image will be affected from the decisions made to handle a situation. Public image cannot be compromised for he potential loss of money or significance of law, though they are also both significant, because one can lose in the court of public opinion much easier and much more quickly than in the court of law.
I also find it more important to focus on public opinion in crisis public relations, because in Crisis PR, the situation must be taken care of immediately and responsibly. Money and law can be taken care of after public opinion, because without a positive public opinion, companies would not succeed in making it through whatever crisis they have run into. Given that stakeholders have access to viewers 2417 via mass media due to increasing technological advancements, it is also important for all PR practitioners to understand that there is no such thing as a dead message.
They must always be ready with a solution when needed and approach the media statement permanently. Once their message is sent, it will be available forever whether it be via internet, television or radio. Once something is said, it cannot be taken back. All of these recommendations transcend to all PR situations. I believe that without following these guidelines, companies would fail, because PR is the foundation of any thriving organization.
Examples raised about law and money prove this in that the law can protect a company from losing money to a lawsuit, but that does not mean that the public necessarily thought they were right, thus affecting their reputation. Reputation can also be affected by other example mentioned, such as the relationship with the media, as well as the stakeholders, and always sending an appropriate, timely message to the public. Therefore, PR practitioners should always understand these guidelines in order to protect their reputation, and more importantly, the reputation of their company.
