Chapter Twelve

1.     What do you think of when you hear the term public relations? What images come to mind? Where did these impressions come from?

When I think of public relations I immediately think of someone releasing a press release for a famous celebrity who has committed some sort of crime, like a DUI, and is trying to make a statement to the public. The reason that this is my immediate image is because in today’s day and time, that’s what many of us see as headlines as soon as we get online or opens a newspaper. I also picture a public service announcement such as “Just Say No” that I was presented as a kid to try and prevent my generation from smoking or doing drugs. Again, these impressions come from my experiences with Public Relations as a child and as an adult.

2.     What might a college or university do to improve public relations with homeowners on the edge of campus who have to deal with noisy student parties and a shortage of parking spaces?

The first thing that I would do to improve public relations with homeowners would be to establish a monthly newsletter from the college or university addressing the homeowners directly. The newsletter would do several things. First, it would educate the homeowners about what’s going on around campus, making them feel more involved with the students and community. Secondly, the newsletter would act as a liaison between officials at the university and the homeowners, alerting them of big events and dates such as home games and festivals that may interfere with parking. I would also make sure that there plenty of opportunities throughout the year for homeowners to attend open forums to discuss their frustrations at the university among other homeowners as well as students and administration.

3.     What steps can reporters and editors take to monitor PR agents who manipulate the news media?

To begin with, reporters and editors can help prevent manipulation by always reporting the truth, without bias. Although this doesn’t always happen, it is an excellent way to combat the sometimes-negative spin that PR agents put on news media.  Another step to take is to create a better relationship between news reporters/editors and PR agents by staying in constant communication and forming more friendly bonds instead of staying media enemies. I would also suggest that reporters and editors who find patterns with PR agents who continually manipulate the news media to do what they do best: report! If a PR agent is doing a bad job at what they do and they are providing false information to the public via manipulated news media, it is the job of the reported and editor to inform the public of the truth.