global discussion. local perspectives.
Modern media is making it ever easier for people to reject things that they don’t want to hear. We can scan and filter out sentiments or information that we find objectionable or which doesn’t fit with our existing world view. But rather than actively assess information before accepting or rejecting it (as proposed by Social Judgement Theory) people seem increasingly to avoid, filter or deny something that they reject out of hand. The phenomenon of...
Back in the 1970s, there was a vision of a paperless office; whilst the futurist, Alvin Toffler predicted increased technology was creating information overload. The reality is that we’re using more paper than ever – alongside an ever exploding volume of online content. I’m sure I could find data to illustrate the trend, but I’m overwhelmed with infographics, slideshare presentations, YouTube videos and a zillion other sources. There’s so much stuff out there (and increasingly...
At a Sustainable Conversations event earlier this week (organised by Kantar Media), I started to think about the impact on both public relations and journalism of ongoing communications changes. In particular, it is clear neither occupation can maintain their traditionally exclusive roles as ‘gatekeepers’ in filtering and controlling the flow of information that is communicated to publics. With anyone and everyone potentially able to express an opinion and be listened to, many of the taken-for-granted...
‘Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge’ – Wikipedia’s blackout protest statement is a reminder of the value and reliance placed on repositories of online information. How many of us turn to Google, Wikipedia, digital dictionaries, social media or online news sources routinely when we want to know something? The English-speaking student population is apparently distraught that its primary place for ‘cut and paste’ assignments is offline for a day. The Digital Natives haven’t been so...
Women are successful in public relations – UK data shows a 64:36 female:male gender split in an industry worth £7.5bn. In particular, young women are attracted to the occupation – dominating specialist degree courses (by 4:1 in my experience) and reflecting the largest demographic group in practice. The secret of their success is often stated as strong communication and relationship building skills – however Romy Frölich identifies this as a “friendliness trap” which stereotypes women...
For an occupation that depends on freedom of expression to operate, it seems there are many who relish nothing more than imposing rules on the practice – and even the conceptualisation – of public relations. First we have calls for a licence to operate, regulation, accreditation or registration of practitioners. Even if you voluntarily join a professional body, there are codes of practice, guidelines, “best practice” mandates and a host of other prescriptive instructions on...
The PRoust Questionnaire provides a quick insight into a public relations practitioner’s interests and point of view, as well as their professional beliefs and values. If you are not familiar with the original 19th-century Proust Questionnaire, please see details at the end of this post. 1. What is your most striking characteristic as a PR practitioner? Being able to gather the real picture of the situation even when the facts tell me the opposite. 2....
It is interesting that the word ‘consultant’ derives from the Latin, consultare, meaning to debate or discuss. That implies its function is to assist in two-way communications – yet, the role of management consultancy is positioned as assisting organizations to improve performance, through logical analysis and development of plans. The focus is more on management rather than consultancy. The history of management consultancy is tied closely to analytical processes and a rational, scientific approach to...
By Philip J Kitchen, Dean, Faculty of Business, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada In the past two decades PR practitioners have become more involved with electronic activities that have allowed them to engage at different levels with clients, media and various online communities. Monitoring online interaction and presence has also become an important practice in addition to more mainstream functions including website development and communication through e-mail. Social media has helped shift the focus...
Whether you call it digital PR, online PR, or social media (SM) relations – public relations practitioners are being told they must enter this “brave new world”, embrace the “revolution” and engage with “new influencers” at every turn. With a religious fervour, the gurus and advocates are now on overdrive in promoting technological solutions to assist organisations in monitoring, managing and evaluating every aspect of their public relations. If your organisation, brand, campaign, or significant...