In this unit we discussed the difference between public relations, marketing and advertising. Additionally, we learned about public relations in healthcare and nonprofit public relations. Public relations is conciliatory and concerned with fostering mutual understanding and valuing relationships. Marketing is aggressive, competitive, hyperbolic and focused on selling. Advertising is the purchase of media space or time to promote a product, service or viewpoint. My reaction to this material was that it was enlightening and provided a different perspective of public relations outside the frequent discussion of crisis communication. One thing that stood out to me was the five basic response strategies, which are denial, distance, ingratiation, mortification and suffering. These…

In this unit we covered public relations jobs, interview tips and ethics. Advice on impressive resumes and cover letters were given to ensure we are impressing the future employer. During an interview, this unit advised the reader to ensure you are making a great impression on everyone in the office. Additionally, this unit discussed how public relations professionals handle ethics. The first ethics role is organizational values and the second ethics role is ethical counselor to management.  My reaction to this material was it was very informative and provided crucial tips on doing well in an interview. One thing that stood out was the curriculum vitae, which is a summary…

In this unit we discussed the tools and techniques public relations practitioners use. A traditional news release is the most popular and commonly used publicity tool, which follows the inverted pyramid. Pitch letters request that journalists attend a particular event to cover a story. Next, some publicity techniques are media tours and television talk shows. Media tours build rapport and grab the attention of journalists through paid trips and touring media outlets. Television talk shows are considered the best publicity technique through the use of early morning, daytime or nighttime talk shows.  My reaction to this material was that it was very interesting because I watch these publicity techniques, so…

In this unit we learned about stakeholders, segmenting and global audiences. Stakeholders are people who have an interest in an organization and can either influence or be influenced by an organization. Segmenting is dividing the market into groups of people who have similar characteristics in certain key product related areas. Next, global audiences relate to high-context cultures, low-context cultures and deterritorialization. Deterritorialization is the severance of social and cultural practices from their place of origin.  My reaction to this material was it was different from past units because it introduced the communication strategies of other countries. One thing that stood out was the discussion of Chinese culture and how they…