The Public Relations Handbook The Public Relations Handbook is a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the theories and practices of the public relations industry. It traces the history and devel- opment of public relations, explores ethical issues which affect the industry, examines its relationship with politics, lobbying organisations and journalism, assesses its profes- sionalism and regulation and advises on training and entry into the profession. The Public Relations Handbook combines theoretical and organisational frameworks for studying public relations with examples of how the industry works in practice. It draws on a range of promotional strategies and campaigns from businesses, public and non-profit organisations including Voice of the Listener and Viewer, Marks & Spencer, the Metropolitan Police, the Prince’s Trust, Shell and Centrica. The Public Relations Handbook includes: • interviews with PR practitioners about their working practices • case studies, examples, press releases and illustrations from a range of campaigns from multinational corporations, local government and charities • specialist chapters on financial public relations, business ethics, public relations on the internet and dealing with new technology • over twenty illustrations from recent PR campaigns • a new chapter on the effects of culture on communication. Alison Theaker is Senior Lecturer at Marjon College, the College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth, UK and was formerly Scholar in Residence in the School of Marketing Communication at Emerson College, Boston, USA. She has been Head of Education and Training at the Institute of Public Relations as well as Principal Lecturer and Course Leader in Public Relations at Leeds Business School. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Relations and co-author of Effective Media Relations. 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 11118 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 11150 5111 Media Practice Edited by James Curran, Goldsmiths College, University of London The Media Practice handbooks are comprehensive resource books for students of media and journalism, and for anyone planning a career as a media professional. Each hand- book combines a clear introduction to understanding how the media work with practical information about the structure, processes and skills involved in working in today’s media industries, providing not only a guide on ‘how to do it’ but also a critical reflec- tion on contemporary media practice. The Newspapers Handbook 3rd edition Richard Keeble The Radio Handbook 2nd edition Carole Fleming The Advertising Handbook 2nd edition Sean Brierley The Television Handbook 2nd edition Patricia Holland The Photography Handbook 2nd edition Terence Wright The Magazines Handbook Jenny McKay The Public Relations Handbook 2nd edition Alison Theaker The Cyberspace Handbook Jason Whittaker The Public Relations Handbook Second edition Alison Theaker 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 11118 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 11150 5111 First published 2001 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4RN Second edition published 2004 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2001, 2004 Alison Theaker © contributors for their chapters Typeset in Times by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Theaker, Alison. The public relations handbook, 2nd edition/Alison Theaker. p. cm. – (Media practice) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Corporations–Public relations. I. Title. II. Series. HD59.T474 2001 659.2–dc21 00-065306 ISBN 0–415–31792–4 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–31793–2 (pbk) This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. ISBN 0-203-60074-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-33913-4 (Adobe eReader Format) Contents Notes on contributors vii Preface ix Part I The context of public relations 1 1 What is public relations? 3 Johanna Fawkes 2 Public relations and communications 18 Johanna Fawkes 3 Public relations, politics and the media 32 Ian Somerville 4 Public relations and management 48 Anne Gregory 5 Professionalism and regulation 66 Part II Strategic public relations 81 6 Corporate communication 83 Emma Wood 7 Corporate identity 95 Emma Wood 8 Public affairs and issues management 115 9 Business ethics, public relations and corporate social responsibility 131 Ian Somerville 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 11118 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 11150 5111 Part III Stakeholder public relations 145 10 Media relations 147 11 Internal communications 164 12 Corporate social responsibility in action: corporate community involvement and cause-related marketing 183 13 An introduction to financial public relations 205 Keeley Clarke 14 Public sector public relations 218 15 Consumer public relations 232 16 Business-to-business public relations 249 17 Using the internet effectively in public relations 256 Jo Chipchase and Alison Theaker Part IV Shaping the future 283 18 Changing media 285 19 Research and evaluation – PR grows up? 299 20 Future challenges for PR 320 21 Coping with culture 332 Bibliography 347 Index 360 Contentsvi Notes on contributors Jo Chipchase has a professional background in both journalism and PR. She runs Can- U-Hack-It, a company that provides new media, editorial and PR services to a diverse range of clients; co-runs the UKPress online networking group for communication professionals (www.ukpress.org); and is editorial director of Press Dispensary (www.pressdispensary.co.uk), which offers affordable press release writing and distrib- ution services to small businesses. She has written for numerous publications, covering topics ranging from internet to lifestyle. Jo lives and works on the south coast of England. Keeley Clarke has worked in financial services and financial PR for nine years, having begun her career in the beauty industry. In switching career paths she gained a degree from Leeds Metropolitan University in PR and Spanish. Keeley has worked for several PR consultancies as well as setting up and managing her own. Having sold her share in that business, Keeley is now a consultant and concentrates on northern-based PLCs. Johanna Fawkes is a Principal Lecturer at Leeds Business School, Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU), where she teaches across the undergraduate and postgraduate courses within the School’s portfolio, specialising in mass communications and social psychology. She has also led the Institute of Public Relations Diploma at LMU. Jo began teaching in 1990, at the London College of Printing, after fifteen years as practitioner, mostly in local government and trade union public relations. After completing an MA in Creative Writing at Lancaster University in 1994, she helped develop, deliver and eventually lead the BA in Public Relations at the University of Central Lancashire until 1998. Anne Gregory is the UK’s only full-time Professor of Public Relations and Director of the Centre for Public Relations Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University, the largest department of public relations in the UK. She is also President of the UK Institute of Public Relations in 2004, editor of the book series Public Relations in Practice and managing editor of the Journal of Communication Management. Ian Somerville (Ph.D., The Queen’s University of Belfast, 1994) is a lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. At present he is Programme Leader for the BA Media and 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 11118 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 11150 5111 Information and the MSc Public Relations. His research interests include political public relations and the role of the new media in public relations, advocacy and activism. Emma Wood MA is a lecturer in Corporate Communication and Course Leader (Scotland) of the Institute of Public Relations’ Postgraduate Diploma at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. She is assistant editor of The Journal of Communication Management. Before joining academia she worked in public relations, latterly as assist- ant director of CBI Scotland where she was responsible for the CBI’s public relations north of the border. Notes on contributorsviii Preface When first writing this book, my main aim was to provide a textbook which drew on the UK experience of public relations, having been frustrated during many years of teaching the subject that the majority of textbooks originated from and used case studies from the United States environment. Since the first edition was published, several other excellent textbooks have swelled the ranks of European-based sources. It is also rather ironic that I went to teach in the United States. I wanted to bring together the theoretical and organisational framework of public rela- tions with examples of how it worked in practice. This is not a ‘how to’ book. There are already plenty of books written by experienced PR practitioners which set out the nuts and bolts of writing press releases, producing internal publications and managing campaigns. The first part of this book describes the context of public relations. Johanna Fawkes helps set out the history and development of PR and its role in society. Ian Somerville discusses the relationship between PR and politics that has led to the charge of spin doctoring being laid against the profession. Alastair Campbell’s resignation and the Hutton Report showed how the messenger should not get in the way of the message. Anne Gregory describes the management role of PR and its relationship with other func- tions. Finally, the development of PR as a profession, its entry standards and ethics are described. The second part looks at strategic PR. Emma Wood discusses corporate communi- cation, image and identity. Public affairs and issues management are defined, together with the implications of the rise of pressure groups. Ian Somerville sets the practice of corporate social responsibility against the framework of ethical theories. The third part looks at stakeholder PR – addressing specific areas of the economy. Keeley Clarke gives an updated introduction to financial PR, whilst Jo Chipchase and I examine elements of successful public relations on the internet. Media relations, includ- ing new media, internal communications, community relations and cause-related market- ing and PR in the public sector, for consumer goods and in the business-to-business area are also detailed. Finally, some crystal ball gazing in Part IV examines changing media and how that may affect PR practice. As this edition went to press, the Communications Bill 2003 had just received royal assent. The full implications of that are yet to be seen. The debate about the use of research and evaluation techniques is set out. Future challenges for the 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 11118 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 11150 5111 [...]... and the journalist, the PR and the public, and the public and the journalist, though the feedback via mass media is delayed 24 The Public Relations Handbook It is worth noting that the internet is reducing the gatekeeper role of the journalist, as organisations can post whatever materials they choose on their own website, and create direct links with their key audiences Likewise, the behaviour group... or general media Which of these are public relations? What are the others? 5 How does public relations history help explain the reputation of the industry today? What do you think would improve the standing of public relations in society? Note: Thanks to Alison Theaker for her contributions to this chapter 2 Public relations and communications Johanna Fawkes Chapter aims The previous chapter demonstrates... However, they elaborate these roles so that (A) becomes the advocate, the ‘purposive role’, and (B), the individual or group public, is deemed to have a ‘behavioural role’ This model also shows events in the environment (X) and the response of all the players to those events It is the first to describe the role of the public relations professional so clearly (A) has to gather relevant information from the. .. book Readers are more likely to have an understanding of the subject and an ability to evolve their own definitions when they have reached the end of the book, rather than the end of this chapter In 1976, Rex Harlow scoured through 472 definitions of public relations to come up with the following paragraph: 4 The Public Relations Handbook Public relations is a distinctive management function which helps... rather than what it is Or, indeed, should be L’Etang (1996b: 16) described the attempts to define public relations as largely ‘constructed in an attempt to be all things to all people simultaneously’ Since then, however, there have been many more attempts to capture the essence of public relations The 1978 World Assembly of Public Relations Associations in Mexico agreed that: Public relations is the. .. relegates the other areas to support roles Paul Alvarez, former chair of Ketchum Communications (Wilcox et al 2003: 19) has been quoted as saying that ‘to have credibility, [public relations practitioners] must acknowledge the roles played by other communications disciplines By the same token, other disciplines must realise the full potential of public relations 10 The Public Relations Handbook. .. has paid more attention to the process by which political information reaches the public – very useful material for the student of public relations Persuasion is not, of course, confined to the public sector and two-way asymmetric public relations is probably the most widely used type of PR Most businesses – indeed most public relations – today try to persuade key publics that their goods or services are... builder, the voice of different internal and external publics within the organisation, and the voice of the organisation to those different publics They have to see other people’s point of view 3 Advisory (counselling) This role covers both pro-active PR, such as campaign planning, and re-active PR, such as dealing with a crisis 6 The Public Relations Handbook These functions are underpinned, in both public. .. public relations and the fields of marketing and advertising The evolution of public relations is recounted to give context to the profession Four models of public relations communication are explained, with historical and current examples M ost students – and, indeed, practitioners – are familiar with the problem of trying to explain what they are studying or how they are earning their living: Public relations? ... alter their behaviour to accommodate the needs of the other While the other models are characterised by monologue-type communication, the symmetric model involves ideas of dialogue It could lead an organisation’s management to exchange views with other groups, possibly leading to both management and publics being influenced and adjusting their attitudes and behaviours Communication 16 The Public Relations . The Public Relations Handbook The Public Relations Handbook is a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the theories and practices of the public relations. into the profession. The Public Relations Handbook combines theoretical and organisational frameworks for studying public relations with examples of how the