Chapter 1 & 3: Introduction and Media Relations Campaign.

Why I chose this topic:
In the world of PR, one of the key instruments that determines the success of a company is the right implementation of media relations strategies and tactics. In particular, event campaigns are what navigates the direction of the company. I also find the idea of media relations practices interesting for the fact that it is of a situational nature. For instance, PR practitioners must be responsive and adapt well to the different political, economic and social factors which are unique in each country.


Insights:


It is mentioned many times in the text that PR practitioners around the world are steadily stepping out of the box in innovative ways with the sole purpose of sending their messages across to the public.

This is not news.

However, the approaches and marketing strategies are becoming increasingly unconventional by the hour.

One good example is the eerie and icy-chill-down-your-spine anti-smoking commercials that were once featured in Singapore.

I like to believe that this puts smokers off in some ways. Like a constant nagging at the back of their brains. What can be more convincing than the graphic images of a smoker's infected lungs plastered across tunnels and bus-stop billboards? I think the message pretty clear.


Smoking kills.








Over the years, the anti-smoking campaigns have or had terrific and inventive print and television advertisements. The marketing techniques have broaden with vast creativity. Cigarette packs no longer hold innocent worded warnings but instead, prints graphic and in-your-face images of infected lungs and throats. 


These examples are all strategically placed and designed to encourage a "movement". From the start, every PR practitioner will have to go through a whole lot of research and investigations to find a new and innovative way to convey their message. In a way, this shows that marketers are becoming bolder and are not holding back the facts. They are leaving the conventional way of PR - which is to print what is good and boycotting all the bad.


For media relations purposes, objectives can be informational or motivational. Motivational intends to change attitudes and behaviors while informational objectives are designed to create awareness. In the smoking example given above, it can be said that the objectives of the campaign comprises both informational and motivational since it strives to change attitudes of smokers and seek to educate public. 


The chapter also explains how each campaign has actions which are known as tactics. These actions, are in turn, objectives because it becomes "things that are done to reach organizational goals". In my opinion, this will put media relations as one of the top priorities of PR. 

Chapter 5: Writing Client Prose

Why did I choose this topic?
In the world of PR, whether you are the PR practitioner writing the press release or the journalist receiving it, it is important that your audience receive the message that you are trying to convey. How well one writes is how the professional world views us. Therefore, I felt that this would be a beneficial topic to blog about.

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Information Nuggets to nibble on

1. There are various types of prose that we may be required to write as practitioners within the media. There are news/media/press releases that we, as PR practitioners, may have to write on behalf of our organisation, or as journalists, be required to select a few from a mountain of many, and perhaps re-write them. There are also news stories and backstories, where the latter allows for greater freedom of creativity than the former.
   
   Other types of prose include annual reports, feature articles, personality profiles, and brochures and pamplets, perhaps to be included in a media package. Even members of the public may write prose to be published, such as letters to the editor.


2. Why is it important to know about the different types of prose? Different types of prose have different functions, and therefore need to be written in different ways. One cannot write a feature article or personality profile the same way one writes a news story, or write an annual report the same way as a brochure. Different types of prose have different purposes, and one must use the appropriate style of writing and syntax that is suited for that type of prose.
   
   E.g. News stories have to be factual and objective. The additional embellishments that may be used in a backstory, or the subjective opinions in a feature article or commentary would not be appropriate. Likewise, news releases and brochures have to be written and framed in a way that is tactically advantageous to the organisation that is writing it, since its purpose is to attract readers into reading the content.


3. SPAG: If you can't spell properly, use punctuation appropriately, or structure your words in grammatically-correct sentences, your prose will look clumsy, unprofessional and, in certain cases, convey the wrong message to your audience. Content aside, promotional material needs to be persuasive. Your audience will not be receptive to your message if they cannot understand it, are receiving the wrong message, or do not have a good impression of you and your organisation.

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Thoughts and opinions
I found this chapter to be quite useful, as it covers a wide variety of prose. Furthermore, it introduces each type to the reader, explains its purpose, and elaborates on what is important to have in that type of prose and how to go about writing it.

Chapter 6: Developing Media Relationships Around News

Why I chose this topic?

The title of the topic sounded really interesting to me and I thought it was one of the easier topics to read up (i was unfortunately partially wrong) and to write on. I wanted to look into the media relations side of PR perhaps because I know quite a bit of how the media works through other past modules and it would be pretty cool to know how PR practitioners work their way around to get to the media.

Insights

There are several pointers with regards to the topic that made an impact in my learning.

1. Do not give reporters INACCURATE and NON-FACTUAL information.
   
   -> Reporters rely on their sources for accurate and factual information. If at any point, any informationturns out to be untrue, any amount of trust built will disintegrate and the source will never be used again.
   
   
2. Persistent calling and emailing to reporters/journalists to ask if their press releases are going to be published, build up irritation that causes poor relationships.
   
   -> Scenario: Clients keep pushing for publications of press releases.
   Solution: Build stronger relationship with the client and don't overemphasize the importance of media relationship.
   
   
3. Promising what can't be delivered - one of the easiest way to kill the relationship.
   
   
4. Build strong bond with both media and client.
   
   -> Situation: If media and clients hit it off well and build good relationships, then agents won't be necessary anymore.
   
   
5. Introducing clients to a wider range of media is more risky as relationships take a long time to build (among media, agent and client).
   
   
   

The media has the ability to broadcast and publish stories thus Media Relations practitioners need to know what interests the journalist and find a good story angle for the journalist to write on. It is not easy as different journalists have different ideas. This is strategic relationship building; knowing what your client wants then finding a suitable journalist for to write the press releases.

Media Relations practitioners need to understand the complexity and the relationship with each other in order to successfully influence and persuade at a high level.

In my opinion..

I think the chapter was a little dry at first when the author talked about the media and its politics. The middle parts nearing the back was much easier to absorb and understand. Overall, it was a good read. I think my favourite part was the paragraph beside the picture. I never thought of it in that way and I always thought that finding any journalist would do, so long as they get what the Media Relations practitioners need, done.

*200-300 words is too little to pen my insights down (I still wrote over the word limit anyway).