We have already learnt that as public relations practitioners we have a duty to disseminate information to the media and the readings for this week were very helpful in helping to understand how to do this. I found the section on media ownership in Australia very interesting especiall (because I want to work in the magazine industry), the fact that the Packer empire owns 14 of the top 30 magazines in Australia.
The key points to remember from this weeks readings includes the fact that it is a good idea to become familiarized with the media people relevant to your organisation. I think this is a good point because a bad public relations practitioner would only send out information to generic sources, which would not make a journalist feel as though this information is especially aimed at anybody at all. I also found it helpful to read that it is not in your best interest to simply just release a media release most of the time as production crews and editors of different media must meet different requirements to show a marketable story, such as visual accompaniment.
This week’s readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in the section on constructing media releases, media kits and media conferences. I learnt in this course that these were all good tools for disseminating the information you want but I was not exactly sure of what each entailed. I would have some reservation about trying not to make a media kit to corny or over the top and generic as I could imagine a media kit could feel a bit like a show bag, so I would aim to make it as professional as possible.
The readings on public speaking were interesting but did not really introduce me to any new information.
I commented Nathan Swan's blog this week.
References
1)Chapter 10 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed
2)Drew, S. (2001) Oral Presentations (pp 98-114) in The Student Skills Guide. (2nd ed.) London:Gower.
3)Van Emden, J. and Becker, L. (2004). Speaking as Part of a Group (pp 77-93) in Presentation Skills for Students. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
2 comments:
Alexandra I agree with your point regarding forming relationships with relevant media professionals in that in order to be successful in getting information out through the press it is essential to know the individual tendencies and preferences of journalists to prevent your media releases being discarded before they are even read.
I also found your point about not just sending out a generic release
to every news outlet even if the information is not relevant to them as spot on. It seems that within public relations practice, targeting your publics is extremely important, be it in media relations or aspects of campaign planning.
hi alex,
I had the same outlook as you with the key point from this weeks readings being, familarizing your self with media people that are connected to the organisation that you work in.
Good blogging.
Abby
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