Public Relations People Research Articles

Foundation lecture: The hour strikes for public relations

In this, the 17th Foundation Annual Lecture, George Hammond asserts that the skills of public relations practitioners have never been more valuable than they are in this era of specialization. Yet, he says, these skills remain underutilized and poorly understood. To remedy this, Mr. Hammond says, public relations people must be tireless in their efforts to render service in “the best interests of the majority” and must understand how their goals are related to social movements.

Marketing and Public Relations

* Marketing people are increasingly interested in incorporating publicity as a tool within the marketing mix, although this tool has normally been controlled by public relations. * Public relations people are growing increasingly concerned with their company's marketing practices, questioning whether they square with the company's social responsibility. They seek more influence over marketing and more of a counseling and policy-making role. * At the same time, a new corporate function called public affairs has split off from public relations, causing some confusion as to the scope of public relations.

Measuring the bell system's public relations

Public relations is not just a creative act, it is an act of management as well, accord- to James Tirone. Therefore, he says public relations people are ill-advised to claim that they are different and should not fit into the standard procedures of the corporion. Public relations, he says, should meet the same tests of performance as other functions and managers. Because measurement had been standard in Bell System Companies and due to the interest of regulatory commissions in public relations expenditures, AT&T in 1976 began a comprehensive program to develop measurement of public relations programs that could be applied uniformly and nationally to Bell telephone companies. Tirone decribes measurements developed for six PR programs and discusses the problem of implementing measurement in a large, geographically dispersed organization.

Communication theory and the consumer movement

Consumerism, like environmentalism, is one of the most important problems facing Public relations practitioners today. Doug Newsom, in a second study commissioned by the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education defines consumerism and traces the origins of the consumer movement. She then describes a study which revealed three levels of consumer leaders: the con- sumer activists, consumer specialists appointed by government, and business-appointed consumer officers. She then uses a number of communication theories to exPlain the effect of the consumer movement and suggests how public relations people can deal with consumerism.

Views of the purse‐string holders

AbstractCollege public relations people must establish clear images of themselves and their institutions in the minds of those who appropriate their funds.

Comments on "Sailboats and Drilling Rigs" (H.D. Aggers)

Comments on "Sailboats and Drilling Rigs" The authors' interesting review of the case history of drilling in Corpus Christi Bay contains a real message for all of us who are concerned with urban oilfield development. Our industry's situation is very aptly stated by the remark on Page 452, "we do not become concerned or involved with a problem until it faces us in a blind alley", and "when positive actions by the frequently divergent and different interests start converging, there has to be either chaos or treaty." Intelligent and workable regulations are necessary and can be obtained through joint action by oil company personnel, representatives of the people affected and members personnel, representatives of the people affected and members of responsible governmental agencies. It is not sufficient to depend upon petroleum industry information committees and oil company public relations people to adequately inform the general public of the advantages of orderly recovery of petroleum deposits under or near urban areas.

Public Relations Counseling in the Nursing Profession

O NE of America's most widely discussed men these days is The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, hero of Sloan Wilson's current best-selling novel and movie of the same name. While many public relations people feel that this man-of-fiction portrays the real life of the public relations practitioner erroneously, it is not surprising that he has popped up in a book. For the professional public relations man or woman is an increasingly conspicuous figure around the inner council chambers of corporation management, the halls of ivy, the White House, and even the headquarters of state and district nurses associations. As public relations becomes more and more recognized as a valuable tool for furthering the aims of professional nurses, state and district associations are increasingly asking: What should the association expect to get from a public relations counsel? And nurses associations are asking collateral questions: What values or advantages does outside counsel offer over what we ourselves might do? What specific functions should we assign to counsel? What major problems are apt to arise in making full and effective use of his service? These are good questions. To get the answers, we invited the viewpoints of all state nurses associations and, with their permission, of such public relations counsel as they have employed. Public relations counsel were asked, in addition, how they believe a nurse's association with limited budget might make the best use of such service. What should these specialists be expected to do? Thirty-six state and one district association, plus ten public relations practitioners, cooperated by replying fully and frankly to our questions.