Social Utility Theory: Guiding Labeling of VNRs as Ethical and Effective Public Relations |
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| Authors: | Michelle L. M. Wood Michelle R. Nelson Lucy Atkinson Julie B. Lane |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota;2. Department of Advertising , University of Illinois , Urbana-Champaign;3. School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
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| Abstract: | Social utility theory suggests that labeling video news release (VNR) source material is the ethical decision (Wulfemeyer & Frazier, 1992 Wulfemeyer, K. T. and Frazier, L. 1992. The ethics of video news releases: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 7: 151–168. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]), yet the persuasion knowledge model predicts that the effectiveness of VNRs will decrease as people become aware of this PR tactic (Friestad & Wright, 1994 Friestad, M. and Wright, P. 1994. The persuasion knowledge model: How people cope with persuasion attempts. Journal of Consumer Research, 21: 1–31. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Our study found that positive and negative effects were heightened when subjects read about VNRs and viewed a labeled VNR in a newscast. These subjects were most likely to recognize the VNR story source and least likely to perceive the story as credible. Neither reading nor labeling affected evaluations of the VNR message or featured company. |
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