Talking Heads: How Broadcast Media Frame the Public Relations Industry. Samara Rose Litvack East Tennessee State University
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East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 12-2011 Talking Heads: How Broadcast Media Frame the Public Relations Industry. Samara Rose Litvack East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Public Relations and Advertising Commons Recommended Citation Litvack, Samara Rose, "Talking Heads: How Broadcast Media Frame the Public Relations Industry." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1396. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1396 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Talking Heads: How Broadcast Media Frame the Public Relations Industry ____________________________________________ A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Communication East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Professional Communication ____________________________________________ by Samara Litvack December 2011 ____________________________________________ John King, Chair Steven Marshall Kelly Price Keywords: public relations, PR, framing theory, content analysis, broadcast, media ABSTRACT Talking Heads: How Broadcast Media Frame the Public Relations Industry by Samara Litvack Researchers conducted a content analysis to measure framing of the public relations industry in 354 English language broadcast transcripts from the United States, Canada, and Australia from Sept. 1, 2009 to Aug. 31, 2010. The overall tone toward public relations was strongly negative. Mentions reflected one-way forms of communication and mentions of the pejorative term “PR” appeared more frequently than mentions of “public relations.” The profession was almost always mentioned within the body of the broadcast, as opposed to the headline or the lead paragraph. Exploratory research showed 15 shows that included negative mentions 100% of the time. Additionally, 27 shows included zero positive mentions of either term. Of 251 speakers recorded during data analysis, 126 spoke of the industry negatively 100% of the time. American shows were most often negative. Stories about the public relations industry were most likely to reflect public relations as a two-way form of communication. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. John King for his guidance over the last 2 years. Thank you for encouraging me to become involved with PRSSA. The trip I took to conference in Washington, DC, showed me the magnitude of this area of study and opened my eyes to all the possibilities that lie ahead in my career. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to begin research in my second semester of graduate school and to cowrite a paper with you. To say I am proud to be published already isn’t enough. All I can say for that opportunity is thank you. I would also like to thank Dr. Kelly Dorgan for making my first semester of grad school the toughest one of all. Your qualitative analysis course nearly tore me down but I survived, just as you assured me I would. You taught me to be excited about research and all things academic. You continued to support me despite my switch to “the dark side.” Thank you for never accepting anything less than my best. Thank you Dr. Dan Brown for assisting me in almost every aspect of the graduate school process. Without your last minute appointment setting and your forms assistance, I know I could not have successfully finished this program. Lastly, thank you to Micah Briscall, my second data coder. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into but you jumped in without hesitation. You suffered through four rounds of trials and training until we reached agreement and you never once complained. In fact, every time I considered complaining you reminded me of the light at the end of the tunnel. You dedicated your time and energy to helping me with the most important academic project of my life and for that, I will forever be grateful. 3 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………..………..….………………………………….2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………..………………………….………………………………………………..3 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION………..……….….……………………………………………………………….7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW……..…..…………………………………………………………………9 Definition of Public Relations………….……………………………………………….9 Public Relations in the Media………………………………………………………...11 Framing Theory……...…………………………………………………………………….13 Public Relations Campaign for the Public Relations Industry………..…15 Similar Studies………….…………………………………………………………………..18 3. HYPOTHESES AND METHODS………….…….……..………………………………………19 Hypotheses.….….….………………………………………………………………………..19 Exploratory Research…….….….…………………….…………………………………19 Methodology…………………………………………….…………………………………..20 Results and Frequencies…………………………….………………………………….23 Independent Variables………………….……………….….….…………….23 Dependent Variables……………………….……………….….……….…….30 4. RESULTS AND CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS……..……...……………………….….….…...32 5. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS………………...……………………………….….…..36 Limitations……………………………….…….…….……..………………………………..41 Future Studies……………….….……….………………………………………………....41 4 REFERENCES……..……………………..……………………………………………………………..43 APPENDIX……….………………………………………………………………………………….…..51 Appendix A – Frequency of Show…………………………...……………………...47 Appendix B – Frequency of Name...………………………...……………………...50 Appendix C – Show by Tone…..………………………………………………………56 Appendix D – Name by Tone…………..………………...…………………………...60 VITA…………………..……………………………………………………………………………………66 5 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Holsti Formula……………………………………………………………………………………..23 2. Frequency of Mentions by Network………………………………………………………25 3. Truncated Frequency of Mentions by Show……………………………….…………..26 4. Frequency of Mentions by Type of Speaker……………………………….…………...27 5. Frequency of Mentions by Gender of Speaker…………………………………………27 6. Truncated Table of Mentions by Speaker Name…………………………..………….28 7. Frequency of Mentions by Story Topic……………………………………………….…..29 8. Frequency of Mentions by Topic……………………………………….……………………30 9. Frequency of Mentions by Communication Type…………………………….……....31 10. Nation by Tone……………………………………………………………………………………34 11. Topic by Communication……………………………………………………………………..35 12. Gender Effects on Tone………………………………………………………………………..36 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This content analysis shows the potentially harmful effects that broadcast media framing can have on the public relations industry. By systematically examining each mention of “public relations” and “PR” in published broadcast transcripts over a 1-year period, researchers observed severe patterns of negativity and misperception in use of the terms. More often than not, the industry was framed negatively and was represented as using one-way forms of communication, as opposed to the industry goal of two-way communication. Framing theory suggests that media portrayal of a given subject directly affects the public’s perception of that subject. By examining how the media present the public relations industry, it becomes clearer why current negative opinions of the industry exist. Likewise, such research is instrumental in planning and completing a campaign for the industry to educate the public about itself and change public perception. The existing body of literature shows that negative perceptions of the public relations industry often stem from a complete misunderstanding of the industry itself. Definitions of public relations are often vague and frequently attempt to explain the goals of its work as opposed to defining the actual work. Journalists and other “talking heads” who often use the term flippantly to describe reputation management, press agentry, and a number of other subjects that are often used synonymously – and incorrectly – with public relations, compound these factors of misconception. 7 This study identifies the opportunity for public relations professionals to conduct a public information campaign about the industry using their inherent skill sets to show people how this industry works to help them not hurt them. 8 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of Public Relations Since the inception of the industry, when public relations pioneer Ivy Lee’s work was thought by many to be a “mediated communication activity used to reach multiple publics” (Taylor & Kent, 1999, p. 131-132), public relations has struggled to define itself. As Swann (2008) explains, many definitions of public relations speak to the building of relationships with specific groups of people. While these definitions rarely mention the term communication, the concept of solid relationship building implies the need for trust between public relations practitioners and those they serve (p.2). That trust is a common thread among industry definitions but often gets lost in translation by the general public. Swann references a number of definitions that many notable public relations practitioners have assigned to the industry but admits that the lack of a standard, go-to definition is one of the key problems of the field (p. 2). Grunig and Hunt (1984) define public relations as “the management of communications between an organization and its publics” (p. 6). As stated on the Public Relations Society of America website, the definition of public relations has changed many times throughout the industry’s history.