Influence of responsiveness,accessibility, and professionalism on journalists’ perceptions of Southwest Airlines public relations

This longitudinal study presents the results of three biennial surveys of key national journalists who routinely report on Southwest Airlines, a company widely recognized for its extraordinary public relations efforts. Synthesizing data garnered through relationship, utility, and perception scales as well as robust open-ended responses, the results support and advance media relations best practices. Ultimately, data confirm that practitioner responsiveness and accessibility to reporters are the keys to ensuring that journalists maintain positive perceptions of Southwest Airlines’ public relations. The results provide an instructive case study and recommendations to corporate public relations practitioners for cultivating favorable media relationships through a commitment to dialogic communication principles.     

PR gets personal: A framing analysis of coverage before and after a source's criticism of the media

Public relations practitioners emphasize the importance of positive source–reporter relationships, but what happens when sources are critical of the reporters who cover them? Using framing analysis, this study examined newspaper coverage both before and after a source's personal attack on the media and found few differences in how the reporters covered the source of the attack. Results from this study suggest a single, public outburst from a source may not be enough to create backlash among members of the media.     

Korean practitioners and journalists: Relational influences in news selection

This study investigates how source–media relationships influence perceptions toward news selection from the public relations practitioners’ viewpoint in Korea. The results show that Korean public relations practitioners who perform formal media relations believed that journalists would select news stories based on journalists’ media routine principles, such as using government sources. In contrast, Korean public relations practitioners who perform informal or monetary media relations believed that journalists would select news stories based on journalists’ extra-media factors, such as personal relationships with public relations practitioners.     

Dropping the ball on media inquiries: The role of deadlines in media catching

Deadlines have always played a significant role in the practice of public relations, especially the media relations specialization. Public relations textbooks and practitioner handbooks encourage budding practitioners to learn how and when journalists, broadcasters, and Internet authors work so that they may pitch story ideas to them appropriately. Even though media catching, an emerging trend in media relations, reverses the traditional direction of story pitching, deadlines are still critical for this new media relations approach. Through a content analysis of 2802 Help-A-Reporter-Out media requests, this study examines how deadlines vary among media outlets engaging in this new media relations story. Statistically significant differences provide insights for public relations practitioners as to how they can best utilize the service to compete for media placements.     

Revisiting gendered assumptions of practitioner power: An exploratory study examining the role of social media expertise

The purpose of this exploratory study was to expand upon previous literatures in public relations power, and fill the need for more scholarship regarding practitioners’ perceptions of social media work, power, and gender. Findings from a survey of PRSA members showed that there is a gendered difference in power perception between males and females regardless of their PR roles or level of experience, but social media expertise was perceived equally between both genders. We argue that while social media expertise may serve to reduce a gendered power divide in public relations, continued critical exploration of social media and gender inequality is necessary.     

Identifying the best practices of media catching: A national survey of media relations practitioners

Web-based services, like Help-A-Reporter-Out (HARO), that allow journalists to send content requests to a multitude of public relations agents are becoming more popular among media relations practitioners. The purpose of this study is to examine how practitioners are using HARO and to measure success rates of media placements against the proposed best practices of “media catching”. An online survey (n = 110) was conducted of members of Public Relations Society of America who identified themselves as working in media relations. Analysis revealed five best practices that had a positive significant correlation to journalist response rates and placement success rates. The results also indicated what media outlets practitioners preferred to reply to using the HARO service. As more practitioners are integrating media catching services in their daily routine, it is important to ensure they are employing best practices in order to develop and maintain positive working relationships with journalists.     

Socially distributing public relations: Twitter,Haiti, and interactivity in social media

Social media and communication technology have shifted the power of communication from public relations practitioners to social media users who may not have a recognized role or defined interest in an organization. What results is a social model of public relations in which traditional public relations responsibilities are distributed to social media users, and which depends on interactivity, legitimacy, and a user's social stake. This study explores social public relations through a qualitative analysis of user involvement on Twitter regarding relief efforts to support Haiti following the 7.0 earthquake that hit Port-Au-Prince in January, 2010. This analysis of Twitter posts also expands understanding of interactivity online and demonstrates social media user fulfillment of public relations objectives.     

Social media use, perceptions of decision-making power, and public relations roles

Public relations practitioners in this study who were more frequent users of social network sites and social media tools reported greater perceptions of their own structural, expert and prestige power. Forty of 115 members of a PRSA chapter responded to the survey request. In terms of day-to-day practice, the sample matched national samples of practitioners, with manager and technician questionnaire items loading on the exact same factors as in prior studies. However, those enacting predominantly manager roles did not differ significantly from those enacting predominately technician roles in social media use. This study points to the need for future research to examine more closely the use of social media in the daily roles of public relations practitioners.     

Organizational contingencies,organizational blogs and public relations practitioner stance toward publics

Public relations practitioners in this study who perceived social media (e.g., blogs) to be a normal part of their organization's day-to-day communication were less likely to choose an accommodating stance toward a key public than practitioners in “low-tech” conditions. Forty-three practitioners with a mean of 14.5 years professional experience participated in a 2 × 2 (contingencies for dialogue × technological orientation of organization) experiment. The data reveal a disconnect between the potential relational benefits of social media and the stance public relations practitioners in this study chose when social media were introduced as a regular part of their working environment.     

Social media, societal culture and Israeli public relations practice

The aim of this study is to explore Israel's societal culture as an environment with which public relations practice has to align. It asks whether Israeli public relations practitioners use social media elements, how do they perceive these elements and what do they think about their future? A web-based survey revealed that Israeli practitioners generally are willing to use and gain experience with social media elements although this usage is still in its initial stage.     

Development of professional roles in the practice of public relations in Chile

Using survey responses of 577 public relation practitioners, this article examines role conceptions in Chilean public relations, as well as the effects that different individual and organizational factors have on their professional worldviews. The results show that how Chilean practitioners perceive their roles can be grouped into four different types: the long-term strategic, the short-term technical, the passive-complaisant, and the active-vigilant. In general terms, Chilean public relations practitioners distance themselves from the passive-complaisant role, giving greater importance to the other three. The findings also reveal that gender, education level, job commitment, perceived autonomy, organization type, and geographical location are the factors that better predict Chilean PR professional roles, while hierarchy level and organization's reach do not directly affect their perceptions.     

Identifying key influencers of Chinese PR practitioners’ strategic conflict management practice: A survey on contingent variables in Chinese context

As the first quantitative test of contingency theory in China using an online survey, this study examined the influence of each of the over 80 individual contingent variables as perceived by Chinese public relations practitioners. Individual characteristics as related to conflict management as well as political–social factors were identified as the most influential variables. By forming influential contingent factors and exploring the dimensionality of these factors using factor analysis, the results of this study suggested structural stability of the contingency matrix. Further, the effects of gender and types of organizations were tested on how Chinese practitioners perceive these influences in their public relations practice. The findings provide insights for both practitioners and researchers on how to strategically identify and combine the most influential factors in effective and ethical conflict management in China.     

Perceived professional standards and roles of public relations in China: Through the lens of Chinese public relations practitioners

As the first quantitative examination of perceived public relations professional standards in China using an online survey, this study was designed based on the standards of professional standards inventory Cameron, Sallot, & Lariscy (1996) constructed and tested among practitioners in the U.S. The survey results suggest six dimensions of perceived standards of professional performance: (1) role and function in organizational strategic planning, (2) sufficiency in professional training and preparedness, (3) gender and racial equity, (4) situational constraints, (5) licensing and organizational support, and (6) participation in the organizational decision-making team. Four dimensions of public relations roles were also identified by the survey participants: (1) brand promotion facilitator, (2) public information specialist, (3) media relations counsel, and (4) conflict management expert. Primary practice area was found to affect how Chinese practitioners perceive the six clusters of professional standards and the four identified public relations roles. These findings provide insights for both practitioners and researchers on how Chinese public relations practitioners view public relations as a profession and how the profession currently holds its professional standards in China.     

Professional competition and cooperation in the digital age: A pilot study of New Zealand practitioners

From early on, competition between professions has been identified as a major factor in the process of developing public relations as a profession. This paper updates consideration of the influence of inter-profession disputes by examining the interplay between public relations and advertising in the digital age. It attempts to assess how new technologies, especially social media, affect the relationships between them, with particular reference to two aspects: whether social media increases, or decreases, professional cooperation (or competition); and who takes charge in the new communication environment. In researching these issues, which form an important part of the professionalization process of public relations, the paper examined documents and online publications, and undertook interviews and a survey of public relations practitioners in New Zealand. The findings suggest that the responding public relations practitioners were not able to take advantage of the social technology in order to leverage their professional status and improve their position within the organization. In addition, it seems that while advertising and public relations are still looking for ways to benefit from social media, both are still in a process of adaptation.     

An exploratory study of transformed media relations dimensions after the implementation of an anti-graft law in Korea

The Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, which went into effect on September 28, 2016, strictly prohibits gift giving to journalists, thereby making a traditional media relations practice in Korea illegal. A survey of 342 public relations practitioners revealed that providing monetary gifts, performing formal responsibility, building informal relationships, receiving paid media coverage, and giving and accepting informal support were found to be significant subdimensions of media relations. After implementation of the anti-graft law, public relations practitioners expressed a belief that the practice of providing monetary gifts would shrink the most and that performing formal responsibility would experience the most growth. The formal responsibility factor was significantly positively related to support for the new law and public relations ethics, while giving and accepting informal support was negatively linked to public relations ethics. Paid media coverage showed a positive relationship with public relations practitioners’ perceptions about difficulties of increasing outputs of media relations. Finally, this empirical study shows how new external regulations arising from implementation of the anti-graft law can affect the personal influence model of media relations in Korea.     

Public perceptions of public relations

Public relations has been portrayed in the media in a consistently negative manner over several decades, providing images that may become part of public perceptions. Perceptions about public relations affect the perceived credibility of the profession and influence whether people see public relations as valuable to society. Second-level agenda setting and cultivation theories purport that mass media contribute to beliefs about social reality by creating a cumulative, general consciousness upon which assumptions and judgments are based, suggesting that public perceptions about public relations would match media portrayal. Results of a telephone survey found public relations is perceived more positively than media portrayal would suggest. Respondents viewed public relations as an important activity that benefits society by providing information and disagree that it is damage control, an attempt to hide or disguise something, or a non-substantive activity. However, public relations is associated with publicity, media relations, and the attempt of an organization to advance its own agenda.     

The portrayal of public relations in the era of Ivy Lee through the lens of the New York Times

Public relations has and, it appears, always has had an image problem. From public relations’ protohistory, through the rise of the publicist and press agent, the history of the relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners remained rocky. Using the New York Times as a lens, this study seeks to examine, through a qualitative framing analysis (N = 106), how public relations was perceived and discussed by one of its most important audiences, the journalist, during the early years of the twentieth century. The study found that while the tasks and media used in the practice of public relations as framed by the Times may be accurate, the cultural context of the early 20th century called the very “doing” of public relations into question.     

How female practitioners in Moscow view their profession: A pilot study

This pilot study investigated how female public relations practitioners in Moscow, Russia perceived their profession. The findings suggest that perceptions of public relations as a service-oriented profession are deeply rooted in the patriarchal tradition of the Russian society. In addition, results demonstrated that Moscow female practitioners articulated both advantages and disadvantages of viewing public relations as a service-oriented profession in Russia.     

Vision and state health department public relations practitioners: Prepared to lead?

Visions are important to organizational effectiveness. Although providing vision has been identified as one of the behaviors that best captures organization-wide public relations leadership, little public relations research has focused on vision. Similarly, state health departments have drawn little interest among public relations scholars even though states are a central part of the nation's public health system. This study addressed the perceptions of the top public relations professionals at state health departments concerning vision and their involvement in the visioning process. The practitioners were nearly unanimous in their belief that organizational visions are important. However, results indicate that some top public relations practitioners at state health departments are not prepared to make optimal contributions to the visioning process. In order to take full advantage of opportunities to serve as organization-wide leaders, public relations practitioners should seek out information about visioning in order help chart their organization's future and enhance their careers.