Public Relations
Part 1
There can be no denial of the fact that Public Relations has emerged to be one of the most important domains of study and work in the recent years. For comprehending the intricacies of the domain of work, one needs to reckon that PR can be categorized as per the specific areas of work. It can be opined that Media Relations is the most intriguing type of Public Relations among the various areas of work. Media Relations requires professional skills on the part of any individual to execute his or her duties in the best possible manner. An individual who is involved in Media Relations of any company or organization would require communicating and dealing with the news media. The interaction can be triggered by the need of seeking publicity for the company or organization, or simply responding to the queries of the reporters regarding certain issues.
Since the opinion or message that is communicated to the press has the potential of being disseminated among the masses of the society, the individual who has the responsibility of handing the Media Relations has to be extremely seasoned in dealing with the press. The job profile is no doubt very challenging. But, it also involves a lot of exposure. The person concerned with the contextual work would need to have prowess in his or her communication skills. He or she should be able to project a positive picture of the company or organization that is represented. Also, the job requires having a good amount of confidence as well. Apart from communicating with the press, a person employed in the domain of Media Relations has to be competent in setting up a mutually beneficial and professional working relationship with the gatekeepers as well as news gatherers.
The person involved needs to establish him or herself as a very credible source of information. The person should make others believe that the information provided to them is factual and sans any error at all. The information that is communicated to the news media might not find media coverage every time. Nonetheless, the trust and confidence of the news gatherers and gatekeepers has to be retained over the span of time for best outcome in the domain of work. A person who is responsible for Media Relations has to be skilled in scheduling press conferences or writing press releases. The person can be held directly responsible for the manner in which a brand gets portrayed in front of the media and the larger section of the society through the media coverage that follows.
As such, it is not at all hard to understand how important this type of Public Relations is for the establishment and growth of any company, organization, or brand. In a globalized world where dissemination of information is the key to success, utilizing the power and outreach of the media to advance the cause of the organization or brand is an enormously challenging thing indeed. So, while there are certain other types of PR as well, the domain of Media Relations gets most attention and importance. In the emerging field of PR, Media Relations can be hailed as the way of the future.
The prowess and experience of a PR executive who deals with Media Relations of a company can lead to a rapid development of the organization by proper use of media as a tool of communication and information sharing. On the other hand, the failure of this area of work can lead to a negative impact on the functioning and success of an organization. Public perception can be created in the most effective manner through the proper use of media and communication.
Part 2
The journal article titled, "Twitter for crisis communication: lessons learned from Japan's tsunami disaster" written by Adam Acar and Yuya Muraki highlights the paramount role of social media in combatting a situation of crisis. The article has been published in the International Journal of of Web Based Communities in 2011. The article brings in a new perspective about the efficiency of crisis communication as it meshes the omniscience of social media platforms in the modern world with the messages that are disseminated during or after a major crisis. As such, it would be right to say that the article makes the readers understand how the new technologies can be used to reach out to the maximum number of common people in the wink of an eye without any hassles. Also, the article explores the opportunity of neutralizing the negative impact of any medium that can transform the communicated message.
The scholarly article is based on an online survey that was executed by the authors of the paper. The authors reached out to many users of the social networking site, Twitter, two weeks after the Great Tohoku earthquake that was followed by the devastating tsunami in Japan. It needs to be reckoned that Twitter is one of the most popular mediums of modern day communication. The paper elucidates how the social media platform is used for crisis communication during times of natural disasters that have the potential to cause harm to the lives of innumerable people in a geographical region. Thus, the contextual article explores the domain of the Internet in ensuring effective and immediate communication in times of crisis. The effectiveness of the platform of communication for the purpose of public relations can be comprehended by analyzing its importance as a medium for dissemination of messages to the common people of the society. Moreover, it becomes conspicuous that various barriers to communication are undermined when messages are disseminated through social media platforms. The utility of hash tags, RTs, and word-of-mouth dissemination can be comprehended by going through this article.
While the article is effective in portraying the importance of social media for the domain of public relations, the authors of the paper could have indulged in a more in-depth analysis of the scenario. Moreover, use of statistical representation could have made the analysis easier for comprehension to the readers. Nonetheless, the article sheds light on the scope of crisis communication in the era of technological boom and the omniscience of the internet and social media. The paramount role of technology in human communication can be gauged through the depiction of the specific crisis situation in Japan. The depiction of the specific crisis situation can be taken as a microcosmic representation, and the effectiveness of social media in other such cases of disaster can gauged to be the same. As such, it would be correct to say that the article in context is helpful for knowing about the effectiveness and possibilities of crisis communication in the modern times.
The article titled, "Twitter for crisis communication: lessons learned from Japan's tsunami disaster", can surely be recommended to someone who wishes to delve into the domain of public relations. The article can be effective in providing a nouveau perspective of crisis communication. Also, the analysis and recommendations that have been penned by the authors of the article can be useful for comprehending the dynamics of social media usage for communication. While crisis communication is a challenging and complicated area of study related to public relations, the article can be quite enlightening and intriguing to read indeed. A proper reading can inspire professionals to use social media in the most effective way for reaching out to the masses. Also, academicians can further explore the viability of social media usage during crisis situations.