JMC 244: Publicity and Public Relations Fall 2017 – T/Th 9:30-10:50 a.m. • 209 Library • Dr. Erica Salkin From Fortune 500 companies to the neighborhood nonprofit, all organizations seek to control and enhance their public You can contact me at: image. The art of public relations is a mix of solid writing, [email protected] creative concepts, determination, organization and a fair I will do my best to amount of fun. True public relations practitioners hold respond within 24 hours themselves to high ethical standards that set them apart from so-called “spin doctors,” and seek to serve their organizations 509/777-4704 and their audiences with honesty and respect. not ideal for late afternoons or evenings I consider this class a journey we make together – as such, do not hesitate to contact me if you do not feel like you are 113 Lower Lindaman making the progress you wish to make. We are a team, but I have office hours only you know your personal goals for this class. As adults and M/W 1-3 p.m. and scholars, I expect you to let me know if the class isn’t going W 9:00-11:00 a.m., well for you. Make that first step, and together we’ll find the or by appointment right solution for you. Course Objectives The purpose of this course is to introduce you the role and effect of publicity and public relations in the United States. The course has the following objectives: • To introduce you the history and theory behind public relations practices • To examine public relations strategy within an organization • To familiarize you with the tools of a public relations practitioner, including those used to assess needs, develop campaigns and determine results • To explore trends in public relations and the future of the field Throughout the course, students can expect to receive instruction and practical application on the following core topics in public relations: • PR strategic planning • Media relations • PR writing and research • Measuring effectiveness • Event/campaign promotions • Tools and trends in PR Relationship to the University’s and the Department’s Educational Principles: Whitworth University’s Communication Studies Department provides students with the theories and skills necessary for effective communication in diverse contexts. Working within the tradition of liberal arts, the department introduces students to theoretical, historical and philosophical assumptions fundamental to communication scholarship and practice. This course will help you meet these goals by the end of the semester: Demonstrate writing skills required to excel in an entry-level communications-related job and/or graduate school. Students will be able to gather information and present it clearly, concisely, accurately, coherently and creatively to specific audiences. Students will present information both to more formal academic and to mass audiences. Students will demonstrate careful, honest and imaginative work at each stage of the writing process: in generating ideas, gathering and organizing information, and revising their work. Demonstrate critical thinking skills required to excel in the intellectual, professional and personal dimensions of life. Students will be able to apply higher level thinking skills to human communication situations. Higher level thinking skills include: application of communication principles in the classroom and beyond; analysis of the parts, organization, arrangement, relationships and principles of communication; synthesis of parts of communication to produce unique communication messages; and evaluation of communication by making appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative judgments of communication; practice defining, resolving and defending sound ethical decisions. Required/Recommended Resources Patricia Swan, Cases in Public Relations Management: The Rise of Social Media and Activism / Edition 2 AP Stylebook (any recent edition will be fine) Other required readings will be posted to the course site Assignments Law and theory assignments (2@15 points each: 30 points): The first few classes will be spent discussing the history of public relations, legal and ethical concerns and aspects of PR theory that are helpful to practitioners. You will have two assignments that ask you think critically about these elements and contribute to a larger discussion of the impact of PR on modern society. These assignments will be distributed via Blackboard with further details and grading criteria. Case study reflection (50 points): The text we’re reading, Cases in Public Relations Management, gives you a range of examples you can explore to see PR initiatives in action (both planned and reactive). These are meant to be complementary to your class experience – please be sure to keep up with the readings. By mid-semester, you’ll select one of the case studies assigned and craft a 2-4 page response that includes the following: 1. A summary of the situation, including the key players, timing and core facts. (10 pts) 2. A description of the PR action, including main messages and items/tools used. (10 pts) 3. Your opinion on the appropriateness of the PR action. Was it the right move? Why or why not? Be descriptive and use examples. (15 pts) 4. Select one of the key players and describe how you would have responded in that person’s place. If you would do the same thing, explain why. If you would do something different, elaborate. (15 pts) Individual strategy (170 points): In the first phase of the course, as we discuss the core elements of a strategic PR campaign, you’ll build a PR strategy proposal that includes creative, concepts, logistics and assessment. As we’ll discuss in class, it is extremely important that you remain consistent with your message, voice and purpose when you communicate strategically. One element that I will be looking closely for is your ability to take all of these elements and craft them into one strategic and effective plan. Your final plan should be greater than the sum of its parts, and is worth 100 points. Further guidance will be distributed in class. Crisis Communication project (200 points): In small groups, you will create a communications plan for a fictional organization that has just experienced a crisis. You will need to generate: • An overall crisis communication plan outlining the company’s response • An official statement and set of talking points for use at a press conference • A press packet for the conference, including a press release, background fact sheet, corporate bio and any other materials you believe are relevant We will meet the evening of Wednesday, October 25 for press conferences. All students are required to attend. One member of your team will serve as the CEO, using your prepared statement and talking points to speak with the press (who will be present). In addition to the elements listed above, you will also write an individual reaction paper detailing your role in the project as well as an assessment of your teammates. Project element samples and specific grading guidance will be provided in class. Proactive pitch (250 points) and project (250 points): In small teams, you will pitch, complete and assess a proactive public relations project for a real-world nonprofit client with PR needs. You will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from your client and learn more about them. From that meeting, you will develop a specific project pitch that you believe will benefit your client. You will be given a limited budget to work with, but you are encouraged to be as creative as possible with low- to no-cost initiatives. Once your client approves your idea, you will have several class periods to work as a team to make that idea a reality. At the end of this project, your client will return for a presentation on the results of your project. Vocation paper (50 points): The concepts and techniques we’ll cover in this class have career implications, but can be used in a wide variety of ways. During the final three weeks of class, we’ll discuss how PR interacts with vocation. At the end of the semester, you’ll craft a reflective piece that asks you to think about how this course may fit into your vocational goals. A full prompt and grading criteria will be given in class. Total: 1000 points A 94-100% A- 90-93% B+ 87-89% B 84-86% B- 80-83% C+ 77-79% C 74-76% C- 70-73% D+ 67-69% D 64-66% D- 60-63% A note about coursework Assignments generally serve one of two basic roles: to allow you to practice your skills and get meaningful feedback (formative) or to allow you to display your mastery of skills (summative). In this class, you’ll see a mix of formative and summative assignments. Generally, I allocate fewer points to formative assignments – NOT because they aren’t important, but because I want you to use these opportunities to try out new styles of writing and strategy without fear of heavy penalty. Formative assignments come with feedback that you can apply to summative assignments to improve your performance on those higher-point pieces. Some students see low-point assignments as an opportunity to skip work with limited consequence. That is, of course, their prerogative, but in doing so, these students miss the opportunity to fearlessly try something new. These students are also often the most frustrated with the results of their summative assignments. Think of it this way: trying something new and failing spectacularly on a five-point assignment will, at most, deduct five points (0.5%) from your overall grade. You’ll get feedback and the opportunity to meet with me to talk through what you can improve for the future. You’ll apply that feedback and succeed on the 100-point assignment.