I have observed how some of stakeholders view the university PR department…they seem to believe that PR practitioners add a bit of spin to all the communication messages sent out to, especially the media and the general public.
Sometimes I ask myself if they have this attitude because there is a general perception that the Public Relations industry lies, spins, and manipulates.
Students on the other hand, think that public relations is only about organizing events and all fluffy, unimportant matters. ‘Basically a university can do without this department.’
Having worked in a university for four years, it still surprises me that, the university community trust journalists more than they would trust a university practitioner - perhaps journalists are viewed to be highly skilled than practitioners. Another crucial point is that during crises, PR practitioners will try and avoid sending out messages that might hinder the university’s image and its management, whereas journalists report events as they are, leaving ‘no stone unturned’.
This percerption has always concerned me. When I was reading Aeron Davis book Public Relations Democracy, i realised that like journalists, university PR practitioners since the merger have contributed to an account in which they function as independent guardians acting in the public interest. University practitioners have emphasized the neutral objectivity of the news production process.
Aeron Davis further states that professional values guide journalists towards neutral coverage of issues that are significant to the mass of consumers and therefore tend to act as check on major concentrations of power ensures that consumers get what they want…news that is balanced and broadly reflective of the concerns of the mass citizens. I strongly believe that this applies to PR practitioners as well because university practitioners main goal is to send out communication messages that reflect transparency.
Reference: Public Relations Democracy: Public Relations, Politics and the Mass Media in Britain Aeron Davis, 2002
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I think PR practitioners have to earn the respect not only to be respected because of they are there. To earn the respect one thing they should do is warn the management before things get out of hand and to the media. If things manage to go out of hand they should not be too much protective, they should tell the truth regardless of the consequesses because if they lie and people know that they lie it is not ethical.
However, the communication should be strong before strikes and any misunderstanding happens so as to reduce the tension.
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