Internal pr techniques:

Any one organisation will use only those methods which suit it best. Much depends on the nature of the organisation, its kind and range of workplaces.

• House journals;

• Noticeboard;

• Videotapes and closed circuit TV;

• Radio station;

• Ideas box;

• Induction literature (For new staff, the story of the organisation, how it works, and the family tree of management and functions can be told in an introductory booklet.);

• Visits by management;

• Staff events (Parties, anniversary dinners, picnics and sports tournaments— which include families and friends);

• Exhibitions and displays.

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CASE STUDY: HOUSE RADIO

The famous example of employee relations improvement was United Biscuits, who had the problem of job satisfaction among factory staff, mostly immigrants, in noisy factories where conversation was difficult or impossible. The solution was to have a large number of loudspeakers at points where the radio could be heard, above the noise of the machinery, by very small groups of workers. The radio programmes were produced by the company's own radio station and included news bulletins, sports results, record requests and personal messages. The company had nine factories in London, Manchester and Glasgow, hundreds of miles apart, and the programmes were relayed by British Telecom landlines. Today, local radio programmes have replaced the company station.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.com

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Lesson 7. UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEWS MEDIA

Text A Studying the Press

Text В Organization of Publishing Houses

Text A Studying the Press

"Knowing about the media— knowing how to work with each medium, produce content for each, meet the deadlines for each, write in specific style, and address each medium's audience— is a major part of many PR practicioners' job. Practicioners respon­sible for dealing with the media and media gatekeepers must build and maintain relationships of two-way respect and trust." Effective Public Relations by S. Cutlip, p. 299

It is necessary to understand how newspapers and magazines are published and how radio and television programmes are produced. This can be done partly from the outside by researching publications and by analysing broadcast programmes. Visits to publishers, printers and studios are also very important. Very often, better understanding of the media can be achieved by telephoning journalists and editors and asking them questions about the latest deadlines for stories. This is all part of the PR manager's continuous job of finding out. If the PR practitioner cannot find out, he or she will make mistakes such as sending a news release to a publication after it has been printed.

Here is the summary of what the PR practitioner needs to know about the press:

• The editorial policy — the journal's philosophy and the kind of material it prints. For example, does the newspaper regularly print brief details of business appointments?.

• Frequency of publication — daily, weekly, twice weekly, fort­nightly, monthly, quarterly, annually.

• Copy date— what is the last date or time to supply material for the next issue? This depends on frequency and printing process.

• Printing process — with what technology is the journal being printed?

• Circulation area — is it international, national, regional, urban or suburban, and in the case of regional press — what part of the region does it cover?

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•Readership profile— what type of people read the journal — sex, jobs, special interests, nationality.

• Distribution method — book store or newsstand (retail), sub­scription (mailed), free newspaper (door-to-door), by request.