Discussion Questions from Reading Assignments 4/5/2000
 

Stauber and Rampton, Chapter 11, All the News That’s Fit to Print

1. Have journalists become “stenographers of power?”

2. Stauber states that corporate ownership of newspapers results in a “hog’s heaven” for the PR industry.  Is this the case?  Does this always mean that the public gets less valuable information?

3. Why are news organizations so readily accepting material produced by the PR industry?  What is the result?  Who is to blame?

4. The Rotbart organization that gathers information on more than 6,000 reporters enables PR practitioners to tailor story pitches to the individual reporters.  Why would journalists object to this practice?  Is it ethical?  Why or why not?

5. Why would PR firms want to monitor news coverage for clients?

6. How can PR professionals use overnight surveys to craft a response to media reports?  Can you conceive of a situation where a PR firm might advise a client to ignore a media report that is potentially damaging to the company?  Why would a firm do so?

7. Stauber and Rampton describe Profnet as a service that helps PR firms spin stories their way.  Yet, most universities value having their professors as experts on Profnet.  Why do you think this is the case?

8.  Why do the news media largely fail to report on themselves and the PR industry?

9. Will the Internet era represent utopia providing unlimited information to the masses or will this media technology follow the way of traditional media technologies?  What are the implications of either outcome?

10. Do you see trends that would point us to any conclusions about the future of the Internet and its ability to provide the public information unfiltered by the news media or the PR industry?
 

Stauber and Rampton, Ch. 12, Taking Back Your Own Backyard

1. What would your reaction have been if you had been in the audience that heard the story from Pamela Whitney about defeating an effort to require bitterant to be added to antifreeze at a cost of $.02 per gallon, a move that would have likely saved the lives of several children each year?  Would you have made a statement to the crowd?  Why do you think nobody did?  If you would have stood up and made a public statement, what ethical theory would you use to support your stance?

2. Do NIMBY activists have the kind of power to influence public opinion they are believed to have?

Stauber and Rampton, Appendix 1, PR Industry Leaders

1. See the PRSSA web site for an up to date list of the top 10 PR firms in the world.  Take a look at each of these and be ready to discuss.

2. Are you surprised that PR is a $1 billion business?
 

Stauber and Rampton, Appendix 2

1. Are there ethical problems with the Clorox PR crisis plan, or does it represent a sound communication plan?  How important is PR crisis planning for PR firms representing corporate clients, PR departments in companies, public information offices in government agencies and PR departments in non-profit organizations?
 

And Finally (concerning Stauber and Rampton)

An interesting intellectual exercise after reading and studying a book like Toxic Sludge is Good for You is to try to sum it all up in one sentence.  This process is closely akin to reverse engineering a thesis statement so to speak.  Write one sentence that you think sums up the book.

Now, write one more sentence that sums up the news media in the United States.

And, write one sentence that sums up the PR industry in the United States.

Finally, write one sentence that sums up how the public gets its information in the United States.

Do your assessments bode well for the democratic process or do we have something to fear?

How can PR be used to further the concept of true democracy?

In class we will view a videotape about public journalism.  If all news media in the United States did indeed practice public or civic journalism, how would this affect the public relations profession?
 

Hendrix, Chapter 1, Public Relations in Action

1/ What is a  good definition of public relations?

2/ Hendrix lists four phases of the PR process--Research, Objectives, Program, Evaluation.  Explain and provide examples of each of these.

3/ Hendrix discusses ethics in terms of lowballing, spin, outright lies and coverups.  Explain these terms.

4/ Explain the six types of distortion sometimes found in the practice of PR--hype, minimizing, overgeneralization, categorization, labeling, image transfer.
 

Hendrix, Chapter 2, A Public Relations Process

1/ What is client research?  What is its purpose?

2/ Explain the difference between opportunity and problem research.  What is the difference between a proactive PR program and a reactive PR program?  Can you think of examples of each?

3/ Why is audience identification an important part of the research process

4/ Who would be important publics for ETSU, for Ford Motor Company and for Lego Toys?

5/ What is the difference between nonquantitative (qualitative) research and quantitative research?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?  When would you want to use each type of research method?

6/ What is the purpose of a focus group?  When would you want to use one?  What would it tell you?

7/ What is the difference between impact objectives and output objectives?

8/ Explain informational, attitudinal and behavioral objectives in a PR campaign?  Suppose you are the PR professional representing the Tennessee Coalition for the Preservation of Indigenous Cultures.  Discuss all three types of objectives you might have in mind for this client.

9/ What is the difference between a special event and a pseudoevent?

10/ What is the difference between uncontrolled and controlled media?  Which is more effective?

11/ Explain the nine aspects of effective communication listed on page 36 in Hendrix.

12/ How do PR professionals evaluate informational, attitudinal and behavioral objectives?

13/ How do PR professionals evaluate output objectives?

(Note-We'll cover Hendrix Chapters 3, 4 and 5 next week.)

###