WEEK 6

RESEARCH IN PR

ADVANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS

KOM 5321
DR. NURUL AIN MOHD HASAN
Why conduct public relations
research?
Research is essential to any PR activity or campaign.
- It is a beginning of a process that seeks to bring a specific objective. E.g. a PR
campaign will not work effectively without understanding who your target
group is, therefore, research is needed for this reason.
Some of the applied/action/practical/informal research:
i. Hendrixs ROPE Research what is the problem, Objectives- set your
targets, Program plan how you are going to meet with your target,
Evaluation post mortem
ii. RACE Research, Action, Communicating, Evaluating
iii. Cutlip, Center & Brooms four-step process
Defining PR problems (whats happening now? situation analysis),
Planning and Programming (What should we do and say, and why? strategy)
Taking Action and Communicating (How and when do we do and say it?
implementation),
Evaluating the programme (How did we do? assessment).
Cont..
Research is an integral part of PR because they offer
i. Communication strategies (e.g. through research you will gain
knowledge and ideas to strategies accordingly)
ii. Counsel on communication problems (e.g. through research you
will be able to psychological understand stakeholders needs and
communicate accordingly)
iii.Educate clients/top management as to the best PR strategies
and actions (with concrete data, it will encourage managerial role in
PR)

Decision making requires solid foundation and data to

support your decisions and actions.
Formal research in public relations
It is a systematic way of conducting research in public
relations which often evaluates data using either quantitative
or qualitative methodologies

Todays practitioner is in a business that demands more than

simply doing informal research

They strive to deliver evidence that the bottom line (the

economic justification) has been enhanced by the activities they
conduct for their organisations.
Major differences between
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
Quantitative Qualitative
Data Collection
Controlled Uncontrolled
Objective Subjective
Systematic observation Random Observation
Data assessment
Can be measured reliably Cannot be measured reliably
Validity can be measured Validity is assumed
Deductively interpreted Inductively interpreted
Outcomes
Description Description
Prediction, control Understanding
 Elements of the Research Process

Deductive thinking (Quantitative) based on available facts.

THEORY

HYPOTHESIS

OBSERVATION

CONFIRMATION
Elements of the Research Process (Cont.)

Inductive thinking (Qualitative) based on what the

researcher deems to be true.

OBSERVATION

PATTERNS

HYPOTHESIS

THEORY
 Qualitative Methods
When should I use qualitative methods?

When variables cannot be quantified

When variables are best understood in their natural settings

When studying intimate details of roles, processes, and groups

When the paramount objective is understanding

 Research is an integral aspect for
the survival of public relations
practice
For many years, PR has been under pressure to prove its
worth (Tench & Yeomans, 2014).
Research in PR means evaluating actions and realities/roles
that PR plays in the organisation.

Research findings support previous concepts.

At other times, research refute (or reject) previous concepts.

Research keeps PR on track for improved professionalism.

 Research in PR implies:

1. Rigour Thoroughness in the most up to date practice,

where your have evidence of the realities through research.

2. Underpins credible practice It shows professionalism

3. Generates confidence among practitioners If practice is

evaluated and understood thoroughly, we can find solutions

make adjustments where necessary why factor is answered.

Issues of public relations research
Isolation and restriction are two main issues.. This is due to:

i. The failure to exchange ideas with disciplines close to PR PR literature

and theories are limited often times using other theories to support
PR research.

For instance, Leeper (2001) stated that the field of public relations has
been in search of a unifying theory, in which many theories apply to PR
but no PR theories.
ii. The conceptual bases of PR in research which often times is too
scientific in nature The most famous use of the word excellence in PR
(McKie, 2001, p77), gives rise to many isolation in research as the word
restricts research to move towards a new development, new thinking, and
new paradigm.

E.g. Tobacco company as a client of PR agency the term excellence in

PR may be questioned. For instance - What excellence or best practice
are you adopting when you are assisting Tobacco company to increase
the culture of smoking in a society and to help increase sales of
cigarrettes?
iii. The 21st century PR research, with new technological advancement
that comes with new attacks and catastrophic scenarios, PR cannot stick
with traditional value-free and neutral scientific observations (McElreath
& Blamphin, 1994, p. 74).

Therefore, new methods that studies the grey areas of PR needs to be

conducted.

More critical discourse analysis can help bring out the richness and depth
of PR profession and discipline because through understanding a specific
neglected community/marginalised minority may help PR practitioners to
plan a more meaningful strategy to communicate to these targeted group.
Updating PR research paradigms
Some current issues and challenges that need to be addressed:
According to a study to understand the willingness of public to express opinions about a
particular issue through both in-person and the social media, 86 percent of people
were willing to have an in-person conversation, but just 42 percent of
Facebook and Twitter users were willing to post about it on those platforms.
Of the 14% of Americans unwilling to discuss a particular issue in an elaborate matter in
person with others, only 3% were willing to post about it on social media.
Another more recent issue highlighted in the IPRM website forum was on the clash of
opinions between journalists and PR practitioners about the importance of building
relationships with the media. Some of the journalists think that building relationships with
them are not necessary and a waste of their time what they want is catchy news
stories. Thats it!

These are some of the new perspectives that may need further research to create new
avenues for PR researchers and practitioners to engage and discuss with.
 WEEK 7
LOBBYING IN PR

ADVANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS

KOM 5321
DR. NURUL AIN MOHD HASAN
Lobbying in PR
When talking about lobbying it is a public relations activity
done by activitists, mostly NGOs. It involves public affairs.
The task is to challenge the current legal/ethical system
governed by a particular nation.
It is public relations from an advocacy (publicly supported)
standpoint.
International perspectives lobbying is predominantly a
Western perspective and it lies to the very core of how
democracy is being practised in the Western world.
Democracy is understood differently, in various levels, in
other parts of the world, including Malaysia.
However, international corporations and NGOs in Malaysia
value some forms of lobbying and often use this for the
purpose to create an awareness.
What is lobbying?

Closely connected to public relations *the use of persuasion

for change in society/nation/community etc.

Lobbying is influencing decisions made by government/

legislators.

It includes all attempts to ensure the view points of an

individual or organisation is represented.

A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence government on

behalf of a special interest.
The goal of a lobbyist
Your ultimate goal when lobbying is to ensure your target:

Is informed about the issue

Understands your position

Becomes convinced that your position is the one they should

adopt
Some questions to ask when taking part in
lobbying

How do we gain government contract, aid or assistance?

Who in government should we liaise with, and why?
Can government promote our products or organisation?
How can we get a Minister to visit us or to support us?
How do we react if a campaign is launched against the
objectives of our company?
What are the ethics and techniques of government liaison?
AWAM lobbies and advocates for improved legislation and policies on gender-related
issues, including rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment. We collaborate with
other womens NGOs for example, through the Joint-Action Group for Gender
Equality (JAG) to give greater impetus to our lobbying and advocacy efforts.
Historically, AWAMs advocacy work has focused primarily on rape. Some of our
achievements together with other womens groups are:
The amendments to laws relating to rape (1989)
The enactment of the Domestic Violence Act (1994)
The amendment of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution to prohibit discrimination
on the basis of gender (2001)
Cont
The idea behind lobbying is to challenge the current system,
to acknowledge and make notice that change in the legal
system is required for a community.

E.g. AWAM is also an active partner of advocacy campaigns on

- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
 WEEK 8
Writing in PR

ADVANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS

KOM 5321
DR. NURUL AIN MOHD HASAN
WHY IS WRITING IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
CRUCIAL/IMPORTANT?
Mass Media
As communication tools are innovated so are new models for
manipulating information
As communication reaches a larger and larger audience, it is
more difficult to manage
As communication reaches a global audience, it is more
difficult to target proximity (nearness in
space/time/relationships)
As communication reaches a global audience, it is more
difficult to identify publics
As communication increases in frequency, the more people
select other messages
Communication challenges of
writing for the mass media
There is a diminishing rate of return on news stories,
especially print
Most people never read a newspaper or magazine from cover
to cover
The chances that someone will see an organisational story,
with the ability to take action, is significantly reduced
There is an increasing rate of opinions overlaid on existing
media stories
The circle of direct communication has shrunk as people get
their news from a variety of secondary sources
The arguments on language usage
in corporate writing
Abrams (1983) views language as a societys most important
privately produced public goods.

Language may be viewed as the mean by which an

organisation communicates its culture to members within the
society in which it operates important to adopt a single
working/suitable language for the entire organisation.
The economics of language: Can it be
measured for its value for an organisation?
Dhir and Savage (2002) describe two approaches used by
economists to empirically measure the value of language:
i. Language is regarded as a means of exchange
- A language is used to suit a given time and space.
- E.g. MNCs outside their home-countries; government
relations; communities in rural areas.
ii. Language is a characteristic of those who use it
- Language becomes an economic liability when it is not
accessible and resulting in contradicting explanations.
- E.g. The use of English in promoting/publicising an
organisation will not reach the rural area who does not speak
the language Or when there is ethnic language being used Or a
community that prefers BM over English.
Writing to impress
The impact and cost of careless errors Bad grammar/Grammatical errors can impact
your companys bottom line/ reputation/ image.
The misconception of spell check -
The most common errors made daily by public relations practitioners
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Top_25_grammar_and_language_mistakes_
10475.aspx
Their vs. theyre then vs. than
Affect vs. effect into vs. in to
Its vs. its accidently vs. accidentally
Striving for clarity for your readership use active writing always (straight to the
point)
It was determined by the committee that the report was inconclusive (passive)
The committee determined that the report was inconclusive (active)
Old Navy T shirts
spot the error?
Victoria Secret lingerie
Spot the error?
The trick is in the details Jaffri
Amin, VP IPRM

The most effective messages prioritise the delivery to

multiple publics
The most effective messages consider how every public will
react to the message
The most effective messages have singular ideas,
supported with facts for specific publics.
If you dont manage the message, the message will manage
you.
Social Media Integration
Social media can assist public relations in delivering
communication

Social media is not the only means to deliver a message direct

to public

Social media requires real time supervision

Differences of writing in the social
media
Traditional Journalists /PR practitioners
Write fact-based commentaries that are reasonably objective
Do not discriminates between the level of expertise/popularity
and insight

Citizen journalists/ Bloggers-

Write some fact-based commentaries, but emphasise advocacy
and special interest
Write sometimes to make friends
Do a lot of discriminating between expertise/popularity and
value insight.
WRITING FOR CORPORATE PR
News releases
The origin of the modern news releases was established since
1907
Original intention to establish a story before other versions
were put out
Press releases later became a tool to generate publicity, suggest
stories, and share announcement
News releases are a preferred method to communicate and be
in contact with the journalists
There is now an increase in emailing releases to journalists
however most organisations still prefer faxing releases
Latest news releases
The modern news releases is much more interactive
It is on an organisations corporate website and allows for
journalists, bloggers and the public to share information
It requires direct information, fast and easy to understand
no jargons or Shakespeare type of language!
YouTube and video clips can also be part of an additional
resources for news releases
In writing news releases, some
criteria need to be checked:
Are all the facts in the story accurate and were they double
checked?
Is there newsworthiness in the writing? 5Ws and 1 H method:
Who,What,When,Where,Why and How?
Is the story complete and in the proper context?
If outside opinions are included, was the story fair and
comments fair?
Was the story told in an interesting way to capture readers
attention?
 Rules when doing Press Release
Headline and secondary headline The headline is crucial to your press release as it
is the first thing that will catch the readers attention. Keep it short, interesting, and
descriptive. Having a secondary headline is a great way to give more information without
taking away from the main headline.
Get straight to the point Press releases are sent to people that are busy, so make
sure the essence of your release is in the first two paragraphs.
Easily quotable Journalists will want to pull parts of your press release to use in their
own stories. Make sure you have sentences that will make an impact when used
separately.
Include a photo Sending a picture along with the press release is crucial as it
personalizes the release and makes it stick out in peoples minds. The picture we included
was able to immediately put a face to the name and hopefully made people want to learn
more about the woman in the photo.
PR WRITING BEYOND GRAMMAR
Planning: Before you start writing, know your objectives,
who your target audience is and what types of outlets youll
be pitching.

Storytelling: Its been said that good stories happen to

those who can tell them. Honing (sharpening) your
storytelling ability will make whatever youre writing
whether its a corporate profile, a press release or a Facebook
updatemore engaging.
PR WRITING BEYOND GRAMMAR
Empathy: Put yourself in the editors/readers shoes and
focus on their interests and needs rather than yours or your
clients.

Context: Help journalistsand their readersunderstand

the broader significance of your story and how it fits into the
larger context of your industry, your community or the
world.
PR WRITING BEYOND GRAMMAR
Flow: Good writing has a rhythm that carries the reader
along like a catchy melody. Pay attention to the way you
transit between ideas, where you put your paragraph breaks
and even the sounds of the individual words and sentences.
Structure: The way you organise a storywhich ideas you
present and in what ordercan have a major impact on
whether an editor hits delete halfway through the first
paragraph or reads it all the way till the end. this is what
makes or breaks your story!
Accuracy: The best writing in the world wont matter if
you get your facts wrong.
 WEEK 9
PR ethics & professionalism

ADVANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS

KOM 5321
DR. NURUL AIN MOHD HASAN
What is the difference between ethics
and the law?
The difference is

Ethics is a social contract consisting of principles which have

been agreed and accredited by a professional organisation or
members of the public. Punishment is in the form of societal
ridicule, mockery of the profession, reputational damage.

Whereas the law is a legal contract which have been stipulated

in the legal acts by a government of the nation. Punishment
will be viewed in court of justice.
 What is ethics in public relations then?
The ethical practice of public relations is all about earning credibility
Credibility begins with telling the truth
Absolute ethics It is what is deemed to be ethical despite what other variables are
out there. or known as utilitarism - i.e. majority rules
Situational ethics - It is about filling in the many gray areas that may not have a
direct and absolute truth/answer (Wright, 2012) i.e. anything goes approach
PR then, must be based on doing the right thing beyond what the organisation
wants you to do this is acting ethically in PR!
E.g.: Should a PR practitioner hide a few information about the organisation to the
editor just to get a space in the media slot? OR should a practitioner be
transparent?
What about managing press conferences in times of crisis? What are ethical values
PR practitioners have to adhere to?
Numerous studies concluded that PR practitioners have a social conscience role
to play and most of the times ethics are not at the same line with how PR is
practised (Fitzpatrick, 1996; Leeper, 1996; Wright, 2012)
Being ethical is not always easy to
do for PR practitioners.

General reputation of PR has been scarred due to peoples

perception that PR is all about gaining publicity,(e.g. spin
doctoring from the American perspectives) all about gaining
organisations economic standing/business development.

Some publics view PR as manipulators of the public mind.

E.g. Tench & Yeomans (2014) states that ethics is
challenging for PR when there is a question on whether or
not PR is an actual profession.
Public relations have often been
accused of:
Withholding information from the public
Directly and indirectly paying for views and opinions
(bribing, giving gifts to the media for a story)
Biased
Distorting the reality (turning the wrong to the right)
Propaganda e.g. biased towards one particular goal to
win the hearts and minds of the people HOWEVER
practising misinformation of the truth.
Promoting products that are detrimental OR have negative
impacts to society/community and industries
Events that are ONLY to gain publicity
 If PR is about publicity, about getting a space
in the media slot, gaining publics interest,
ensuring each stakeholder is happy
(investors, suppliers, stockholders, customers
etc).
How then, can PR practise ethical values?
To sustain professionalism and
being ethical:
PR practice needs to be accredited (officially recognised by
members of the public as a profession/as a strong practice)
E.g.:
i. A collective agreement made by a professional association to list
down responsibilities,
ii. Define standards of acceptable conducts,
iii. Clearly stated and well researched guideline for the profession.

Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM) has clearly stated

guideline for PR professionals. They are accredited, and PR
practitioners are all encouraged to be a member with IPRM to get
accredited and remain in good standards.
Ethical codes of conduct by IPRM
The objective of these codes of conduct is to encourage high
standards of professionalism among PR practitioners, as shown
below:

A member of IPRM must practise professionally and respectfully

with the aim to benefit the general public
A member of IPRM must act truthfully and fairly
PR practitioners must ensure that every information that is
disseminated is the truth
PR practitioners CANNOT influence the mass media in
dissemination of a story or news
PR practitioners must have a strong knowledge about the
organisation that they represent.
 PR ethics is an integral aspect of
todays corporate practice because
In a world where communication technology has become a
dynamic force - a new global community is rapidly emerging
For PR practitioners, the challenge is to build credibility of their
roles in a world where every moves, every actions, every
intentions are judged at a global scale (think social media).
New ways of viewing PR practitioners are needed NOT JUST
for publicity, not just for event planning to gain more profits, and
it certainly no longer about propaganda and campaigning without
long term benefit for the community.
Public relations should be perceived and practised as
communication that contributes to restoring and maintaining
community. Thats what being ethical in PR!
 But how? Some key words for PR
ethics:
A new approach to accountability (Stark & Kruckerg, 2001)
conduct and account for business in a way that is inclusive of
stakeholders meaning transparency in EVERYTHING you in
the organisation.
Increasing value to CSR initiatives.
E.g.: Financial statement does not measure the total effect of a
corporations activities on everybody the bottom line may look good,
but employees may be trading their health for their jobs
(Estes, 1996).

Customers may be buying products that will cause long term side effects
(Sharp, 1996, p. 60).
 As PR educators/practitioners
i. Should encourage ethical values to corporations to provide
accurate and complete information to all publics, including the
communities surrounding the organisations.

ii. A major contribution that PR educators can make is to help

students become interculturally literate among present and
future PR practitioners e.g. train PR practitioners to be
interculturally competent, to be able to adjust and communicate
with each public in a community based on their set values, not yours
or your organisations. Another e.g. is properly ensure that
organisations train interns.
 WEEK 10
PR practices & roles in various sectors

ADVANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS

KOM 5321
DR. NURUL AIN MOHD HASAN
 PR roles and practices in various
sectors
Public sectors:
Emphasis is on Management perception and image building
Promote governments policies, programmes and activities through
promotional planning and strategic publicity
Disseminate information strategically and effectively
Monitor and evaluate media coverage and its effects media monitoring
Customer and members of the public complaints coordinator
Build relationships with both local and global media
Speech writers to ministers/ image consultant
Write ups of press releases, brochures, etc.
The differences between public and private
sectors
Private sector practitioners would normally not write speeches for their bosses

At times press releases are assigned to PR agents especially big MNCs

MNCs and other private organisations main focus is to build relationships with

various publics, in particular, NGOs, Government agencies and the media.

Often times, work closely with other departments such as advertising and

marketing departments for CSR activities and promotional events. E.g. Honda
working closely with Marketing dept for Save the Rhino campaign.

Their campaigns are sales driven e.g. Colgate

Disseminating of information does NOT directly focus on nation building, but is

aimed at increasing the bottom line through reputation building of the organisation.
 However, similarities exist
Both PR in public and private sectors hold to these core
objectives:

1. Building corporate identity. Inclusive of all channeling of

information from organisation to publics with the aim to gain
support from the publics about policies and operations of the
organisation.
2. Face crisis rationally and effectively in order to gain the trust
and confidence of the publics
3. Assist with improving the communities in the nation
through CSR work, and alike.
What makes these two sectors
different is:
Public sector focuses on excellence in services for the
general public

Private sectors PR practice is often related with profitable

gains through how many customers feel confident to buy the
products and be loyal to the organisation based on its
reputation and image.
Culture and organisation
To understand how culture works in an organisation, one must
understand the roots of how the organisation was shaped.
Classical theorists such as Max Weber (1818-1883) and his ideas of
beaurocracy: According to Weber, bureaucracy involves:
i. Clearly defined hierarchy
ii. Division of labour - No team work.
iii. Centralisation look at a pyramid from above. Its central in which
everyone focuses to do work to achieve only one goal profit!
iv. Closed systems
v. Importance of rules
 Can we say now, that organisational culture
is free from classical (bureaucratic) culture?
Despite a shift from bureaucratic organisational forms toward
more flexible, less formal structures bureaucratic control is
still common in many organisations (Mumby, 2013).
As a form of control, organisational bureaucracy exists as a
system of rules, formal structures and enable members to gain
advancement on merit not based on ones contacts and
connections (Mumby, 2013).
In public sectors, this type of organisational structure and culture
is aimed at working together systematically and efficiently.
Some challenges for PR in a public
sector are:
Public relations practitioners working in a bureaucratic
culture restricts their ability to move about freely in their
tasks and roles. too many people to answer to.

Communication breakdown sometimes occur due to

information being lost in the process, making public relations
roles and tasks inefficient.

Practitioners in this culture always end up doing technical

tasks due to the systematic rules and tasks that is already set
by the organisation.
 The movement of corporate culture, which is a change
from bureaucratic control to ideological control, emerged
in the 1980s (Mumby, 2013).
In Malaysia, Mat Tazin and Kaur (2012) suggested that as a
result of the privatisation process in 1980s, PR practitioners
were given more public relations roles that allow them to
grow as practitioners, not just merely administrative roles.
Ideological control can be an effective means of creating an
engaged and energised workforce.
The terms such as team & family are terms used to create
ideological corporate culture.
SEKIAN TERIMA KASIH