Readings: Week 9

I have always thought of newsletters to be type of communication whose effectiveness levels are at polar extremes: if it is done good it will be effective and if done bad, so will be the effect. I’ve always been rather skeptical of newsletters as a form of communication, but I now realise this is only because the newsletters I have received are not effective and do not improve my relations with the company.

Key messages from the readings this week showed the potential of newsletters as an excellent method of communication between a company and its publics and explored how to make an effective newsletter.

Looking at Smartypantz Kidz, this is one area where they could establish their company and name in the wider public. As Inga and Simon currently use little communication techniques to keep in touch with key publics and stakeholders, a simple, quarterly newsletter could easily fill this void. But as far as issues management goes, I feel the newsletter is just no use. Trying to manage a crisis means taking immediate action – definitely not enough time to produce and distribute a newsletter. This is why we have had to look at various other communication tools to be able to reach stakeholders for our plan.

Looking more broadly, the readings have reestablished by confidence in newsletters and seeing how effective they can be if managed, produced and distributed correctly. One of the key points about content would also connect with the chapter in the textbook on media releases –as far as what information needed to go into communication. It’s essential that the right information reaches the intended audience in the right way, otherwise time and money have been wasted on something that had potential to be very effective.

Readings: Week 8

Trying to communicate with the media is such an essential part of public relations, yet the readings have shown me that sometimes practitioners go into it completely unprepared and as a result, are unsuccessful in their mission.

The readings this week covered the ways to most successfully communicate with the media, from content to medium - both of which are essential when trying to get the media's attention. I guess the readings this week were just a confirmation of messages I had already established through studying journalism and PR and working as a journalists. Journalists do get upwards of a hundred media releases everyday and as they don't have the time to go through them, they usually just look at the headline and first par - and that usually decides whether it goes to the bin or stays on the desk.

As far as our group task goes, I think the readings were important in not only recognising the power of the media, but also the power of on-line communication. In our issues management plan, we have focused on communication to be put in place in the event of a crisis. The question that we have had to anticipate in our plan was also "to contact or not to contact" and I think this reading cleared up our approach to contacting the media only when it is appropriate and using specific framing techniques to grab their attention. The reading about on-line media relations was also closely related to our project, as we have included this as a huge part in our plan. Apart from its immediacy and accessibility for all stakeholders, the internet is also a huge tool that would allow Inga and Simon of Smartypantz to share knowledge, ideas and corporate information to all publics.

Connecting and getting through to the media can be one of the most challenging aspects of public relations and it's nice to know we're not supposed to be experts straight away, but there are things we can do to improve our chances.