English for Students of Public Relations and Advertising. Rendering. Учебное пособие

1In deploying alternative communications technologies, public relations practitioners must be keenly aware of the technological characteristics of various media and select communications media that best match their needs.

2… but assume responsibility for the actual delivery of messages to audiences.

3People are exposed to public relations– sponsored messages through a process of incidental exposure when they read, listen to, or view media as part of their everyday lives.

4When structured correctly, interactive media enable people to take perfunctory actions that can be completed electronically.

5… the onus of delivering the message falls to message sponsors, who must make materials available for people and get materials into their hands through postal mail or package or personal delivery.

6… events are often enhanced through sound amplification and audiovisual equipment and the creation of a conducive atmosphere … .

7However, events are often enhanced through sound amplification and audiovisual equipment and the creation of a conducive atmosphere that engages participation and involvement – decorations, pageantry, music, and sound.

8Many largescale settings are not conducive to making commitments or taking personal actions.

Judging from the title, write three questions that you think this article might answer.

B. READING

Read the article.

Theories of technological determinism suggest that the nature of societies, organizations, and communication is shaped by technologies employed. Marshall McLuhan popularized this notion when he observed “the medium is the message” (McLuhan, 1964, p. 9). In deploying alternative communications technologies, public relations practitioners must be keenly aware of the technological characteristics of various media and select communications media that best match their needs.

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MEDIA STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY

Communications technology should be deployed strategically and in combination to achieve desired outcomes. In 2001, Kirk Hallahan outlined a model of five principal types of public relations media in an effort to identify the most basic types of communications media based on their technological characteristics and uses. Briefly, these include the following:

Public media – Traditional mass media (newspapers, magazines, radio, and television) are operated by third parties that depend on sources for material but assume responsibility for the actual delivery of messages to audiences. People are exposed to public relations– sponsored messages through a process of incidental exposure when they read, listen to, or view media as part of their everyday lives. For that reason, public media represent the best technologies to generate broad public awareness of a topic efficiently, but are not necessarily effective to promote actions.

Interactive media – These computerand telephonebased delivery systems are distinguished from public media by the ability of users to use the technology to control media content and provide direct feedback. Examples include Internet-based technologies (e.g., World Wide Web, e-mail, discussion and newsgroups, and bulletin boards) and automated telephone response systems. Importantly, interactive media depend upon users to seek out information – an involvement level that far exceeds exposure commonly found in public media. When structured correctly, interactive media enable people to take perfunctory actions that can be completed electronically.

Controlled media – Numerous tools that are designed, produced, manufactured, and distributed by message sponsors fall into this category: printed materials, CDs, video brochures, promotional specialties, and so on. Although the technologies vary widely, the onus of delivering the message falls to message sponsors, who must make materials available for people and get materials into their hands through postal mail or package or personal delivery. Unlike the rather superficial and often limited messages delivered in public media, controlled media give sponsors complete latitude to say as much as they want to say however they want to say it. Controlled media are a comparatively costly set of technologies to create awareness and incorporate only limited opportunities for people to act (such as filling out a coupon or form).

Events and group communication – These involve bringing people together in one geographic or virtual (online) location. In most cases, the principal tool used is oral communication where speakers make presentations or engage those in attendance in conversation. However, events are often en-

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hanced through sound amplification and audiovisual equipment and the creation of a conducive atmosphere that engages participation and involvement – decorations, pageantry, music, and sound. Importantly, people at events learn as much from others in attendance as they do from any formal presentations and their lasting impressions are based upon their personal experience. Events and group communications, thus, are most valuable forreinforcing existing beliefs and attitudes. Many largescale settings are not conducive to making commitments or taking personal actions.

One-on-one communication – The last group of public relations tools involves simple techniques and comparatively unsophisticated technologies in which one representative of an organization communicates on a personal level with an individual member of an important constituency or public. One-on-one communications can use oral communication in the form of personal meetings, visits or telephone conversations, as well as written (textual) communication.

Hallahan K. Communication technologies // Encyclopedia of Public Relations / Ed. Robert L. Heath. Volume 1. Sage Publications, 2005. – Р. 164–168.

C. READING FOR MAIN IDEAS

1. People are exposed to public relations– sponsored messages through a process of incidental exposure when they read, listen to, or view media as part of their everyday lives.

This sentence means that:

ausing public media people are gradually influenced by public relations;

borganizations pay public relations to influence people;

cmedia is a means by which people learn messages.

2. Importantly, interactive media depend upon users to seek out information – an involvement level that far exceeds exposure commonly found in public media.

This sentence means that:

aPeople use interactive media because they are subjected to it.

bInteractive media surpass public media on the initial level of interaction.

cPublic media act much more productively on the involvement level.

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3. Unlike the rather superficial and often limited messages delivered in public media, controlled media give sponsors complete latitude to say as much as they want to say however they want to say it.

This sentence means that:

a Messages sent with a help of public media are full and deep.

b Sponsors are limited in their opinions when they use controlled media.

c Controlled media provide opportunities for sponsors to express their ideas freely and successfully.

4. Events and group communications, thus, are most valuable for reinforcing existing beliefs and attitudes.

Which explanation of this statement was not provided in the article?

aEvents and group communication are rather productive on the involvement level.

bPeople communicate during social events thus exchanging information;

cPeople are involved in ceremonies, celebrations and in such a way they learn from each other.

D. LINKING READING ONE, TWO AND THREE

1. Examine the following paragraph that summarizes three articles. Answer the questions that follow.

These three articles taken from the Encyclopedia of PR, dealt with the impact the technology has on PR work. All the articles describe how new technologies change the way PR practitioner works, participating in a wide range of activities, conducting research, package and distributing information. In the articles it is mentioned that technologies bring mostly positive effects not only on PR practice but in the life of organizations as well, but negative impact can also be seen.

a.Is there a main idea sentence in the summary?

b.Does the summary use the exact words from the articles, or new words?

c.Compared to the three articles, how long is the summary?

PREPARING AND WRITING A SUMMARY

A summary contains the essential information from a text or article. In a general way, writing a summary can help you check if you have under-

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stood or remembered the main ideas of any reading passage. More specifically, summarizing information from textbooks and coursework is an essential tool in studying for examinations in American universities. Being able to write a summary is also a necessary skill when gathering information for research paper. Finally, summarizing facts and opinions is important for business presentations, work meetings, and conferences.

The list that follows outlines the steps for writing a summary.

1.Identify the main ideas.

2.Decide what you are going to leave out. Include only the most essential details.

3.Reorganize the ideas in a way that makes your points clear. You do not have to follow the order of the original text.

4.At the beginning, include a sentence stating the subject matter of the summary, where the original text came from, and/or the original author’s name.

5.Use your own words. Do not copy from the text unless you use direct quotes and quotation marks, or indirect speech.

6.State only the author’s opinions and not your own.

7.Make sure your verb tenses are appropriate and consistent when you use reported speech.

8.Make the summary short, not more than 25 percent of the original text and, in many cases, much less.

9.Be sure to edit your work. Polish it to make the language flow smoothly.

Judy L. Miller. North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing. Advanced. Longman, 1998. –

P.200–201.

2.Write a sentence summarizing the paragraph that follow. Remember to use your own words.

1. Most organizations, including the public relations units within them, now use mainframes, workstations, and personal computers connected in local area networks (LANs) for a wide range of activities, including accounting and data processing, database management, and word processing and graphic production. Computer networks are used for management reporting and for work group collaboration (e.g., using groupware and group decision support systems [GDSS] software). As result, hierarchical structures have become flattened and reporting relationships splintered. Work production itself has recentered around computer screens. Similarly, many organizations and functions have become decentralized. Work units in dispersed geographic locations and individuals working in remote locations

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(e.g., telecommuters) share information via wide area networks (WANs) in real time. (Article 1)

2.The advent of every new technology brings important changes to how public relations is practiced. The advent of printing with movable type, books, newspapers and magazines, the telegraph, photography and new illustration reproduction technologies, the typewriter, the telephone, the motion picture, radio, and television have altered the nature of advocacy, promotion, and persuasion over time. “New” communications technologies, such as the Internet, brought yet further changes. (Article 1)

3.Interactive media – These computerand telephone-based delivery systems are distinguished from public media by the ability of users to use the technology to control media content and provide direct feedback. Examples include Internet-based technologies (e.g., World Wide Web, e-mail, discussion and newsgroups, and bulletin boards) and automated telephone response systems. Importantly, interactive media depend upon users to seek out information—an involvement level that far exceeds exposure commonly found in public media. When structured correctly, interactive media enable people to take perfunctory actions that can be completed electronically. (Article 3)

4.Edward J. Lordan suggested that communication technologies primarily have influenced how practitioners conduct research and then package and distribute information. Research includes access to a wide range of electronic intelligence gathering sources, including the Web, proprietary databases, and specialized research software used in surveys and content analysis that improves monitoring situations and enhances the ability of practitioners to assume the role of a true manager versus merely a technician. Packaging includes the more sophisticated production and archiving of materials in digital formats by using word processing, database, graphic design, and electronic presentation software. Distribution covers the digital dissemination of information through the Internet, voice and text messaging, facsimile, and satellite uplinks and downlinks in addition to traditional systems. (Article 3)

PRONUNCIATION

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or preventing it from becoming worse. As a result, nonprofit organizations provide not only welfare services but also social, educational, and cultural services. This category of organization is also called not-for-profit.

The nonprofit sector has a significant impact not only on quality of life, but also on the economy. In 2000, over $200 billion in donations from individuals, corporations, bequests, and foundations were collected to serve a variety of community needs. This sector may be the fastest-growing sector in the United States economy, with over 1.6 million nonprofit organizations in existence. With their focus on issues such as education, culture, religion, social service, environment, and health, nonprofit organizations are an important part of both the economy and community life. Involvement in such organizations has long been characteristic of American culture. Researchers such as Harvard professor Robert Putman have suggested that the number or density of such organizations is predictive of a region’s economic health, governmental efficiency, personal happiness, and faith in public institutions. Statistics indicate that the number of nonprofit organizations continues to grow, with as many as 50,000 new charities created in recent years. Times of economic growth encourage the development of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit organizations are developed within local communities to meet specific local needs such as an animal shelter or boosters to support the local marching band. They exist along with those organizations defined as regional or national, such as the American Lung Association. Included in the nonprofit sector are hospitals, schools, museums, homeless shelters, research centers, youth groups, symphony orchestras, houses of worship, and health organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.

An effective nonprofit organization will focus on gaining the appropriate public attention, public concern for its mission, conviction that the organization is bringing about effective change, and commitment to involvement and donations. These objectives are achievable through an effective public relations approach.

PUBLIC RELATIONS FUNCTION

The public relations function in most nonprofit organizations includes creating awareness and acceptance of the organization’s mission; communicating effectively with key publics, including employees, volunteers, the community, those served by the organization, and the media; developing, maintaining, and monitoring the organization’s issue area, organizational policy, and public policy relevant to the organization; and maintaining the organization’s reputation with donors. This means that the communication

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function will include media relations, publicity, issues management, public affairs, speech writing, publications, promotional writing, and, at times, crisis management.

Leeper K.A. Nonprofit organizations. Public relations research // Encyclopedia of public relations / Ed. Robert L. Heath. Volume 2. Sage Publications, 2005. – Р. 578–579.

D. READING FOR THE MAIN IDEAS

Answer the questions.

1.What do nonprofit organizations concentrate on?

2.What is the use of nonprofit for a community?

3.What objectives can be achieved through an effective public relations approach?

4.How do you understand the function of public relations in nonprofit organizations?

5.Enumerate what the communication function of public relations includes.

E. READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Explain what Harvard professor Robert Putman means saying that the number or density of such organizations is predictive of a region’s economic health, governmental efficiency, personal happiness, and faith in public institutions.

F. RENDERING

1.Think and write what you personally think about the information in the text.

2.Write a short paragraph conveying the main information concerning the topic “Role of public relations in nonprofit organizations activities” based on the text above.

Reading 5.2

PHILANTHROPY

A. PREDICTION

List three topics that you would expect to read in this text. After you finish reading, check to see if your predictions were correct.

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