FAST fashion has shifted the way in which the fashion industry works. There are many elements that make it ‘fast’, the customer’s decision to buy a garment, the production line, next day delivery and even how often the item of clothing is worn for. This produces the thought of how ethical fast fashion can really be.
Over the Black Friday weekend, brands under the Boohoo Group PLC, such as Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal, offered discounts as high as 99% off, meaning you could buy items for 5p. In what circumstances can this be ethical? Who is suffering for the company to charge this little? Fast fashion companies reduce costs as much as they can during the production line by using poor quality clothing and paying workers below minimum wage.
To no surprise, customers were still jumping at the chance to pay so little for multiple items, it’s a deal like no other. At that moment you may not necessarily think about the implications the low costs create. It also gives people the opportunity to buy clothes they may not usually be able to afford, and that is completely fair. However, it is an ongoing issue in the fast fashion industry that their production is not ethical.
For the factory workers employed by fast fashion companies, the pay they receive is not usually sufficient. Boohoo Group PLC and Missguided have multiple factories in Leicester that employ mainly migrant and temporary workers. In 2018 an exposé by the Financial Times found that workers in the city were paid £3.50 an hour, which is half of the minimum wage for a 16-18-year-old. This is even worse in developing countries, in 2019 Statista reported that Ethiopian garment workers received the lowest monthly wage of $26[1].
The impact of fast fashion on the environment is also a cause for concern. The clothing industry is the second highest polluter of clean water, according to the Institute of Sustainable Communication[2], mainly from toxic chemicals being dumped by fast fashion retailers. Most clothes are made from oil-based polyester which has now overtaken cotton as the main fibre in clothing. Fast fashion also uses lead salts to colour clothing because it is cheaper but not particularly safe for you or the environment.
For such an unethical industry, fast fashion continues to thrive. High-street brands such as H&M and Topshop have to compete with the availability that fast fashion provides, they’re now classed as ‘fast’ in their own way. H&M receive new merchandise on a daily basis, so they are providing new items to you very quickly.
I also spoke to a few friends about why they find it hard to shop with more ethical, sustainable brands, with most saying it’s about the range of garments they offer. A lot of sustainable brands don’t produce plus-sized clothing, and charity shops quite often have a small range of men’s clothing. This has encouraged them to shop at these fast fashion companies that offer everything they could need. You also find the problem that sustainable brands can be expensive and for a lot of people that isn’t ideal. I know as a student I like to keep things cheap.
We have seen the ethical issues behind fast fashion, and I think we will always be aware of this. However, because of the growth of the industry, and the lack of choice elsewhere, we are being steered into the direction of fast fashion brands. I have no doubt that we will continue to shop with these brands until we can find a cheaper, more varied ethical way of shopping. Until then, I personally don’t think we should feel overly guilty or ashamed for shopping fast fashion.
Instagram has been in uproar this week, once again furious about an issue that’s been sweeping the sneaker industry time and again: ‘WE DON’T NEED WOMEN’S EXCLUSIVES. WE NEED INCLUSIVE SIZING’.
The streetwear and sneaker industry is renowned for being male centric, we only have to go into Newcastle city centre with shops like END. and the newly opening SIZE?, to see this inequality. Although arguably everything is ‘unisex’ in their stores and they hold a small female range, however, they are obviously male centric passing off size inclusivity by providing men’s XS in their ranges, a men’s XS is in no way the same as women’s.
But what does women’s size inclusivity have to do with PR?
EVERYTHING.
There are copious articles being written, from Vogue to Title magazine, declaring the problems with sneaker drop’s size inclusivity. Whilst Nike attracted a great amount of positive earned media in the summer when they announced the Virgil Abloh x Air Jordan would drop exclusively for women, this positivity was only damped when they announced, following male outcry, that they would instead drop the Jordan in all sizes.
Size exclusivity can be great for a companies’ profile and market image, fewer sizes meaning less availability creating a stir for their product. If something is scarce more people want it to become a part of the perceived exclusive club.
Surely, however, for any brand, whether big or small, by introducing size inclusivity they are showing themselves as brand engaging in two-way symmetrical communications with their consumers. Listening to what your consumer wants can only be a positive start.
It appears these companies are not researching the market enough; women are sneakerheads too! For example, Rebecca Hydahl, a female sneaker collector from Denmark has nearly 150, 000 thousand followers. Companies have a readymade base for influencer marketing on Instagram which they are not taking full advantage of.
I am aware I sound somewhat negative and as though there is no inclusivity for the female market; there have been some big leaps already taken however, time and time again, women’s drops are just pastel versions of the same design; it is just not enough. Give the girls what they want, increase your public outreach and listen to your consumers.
Engagement with and delivering for your consumers is the only way successful way forward.
In a lockdown 2.0 Britain, August almost seems hundreds of years ago; almost the golden age of this century like year, life was good but in retrospect was it just the calm before the storm?
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of August was Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme announced on 8th July: a £500 million subsidy for the UK’s hospitality industry, providing 50% off meals throughout August every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The scheme was expected to bolster the £130 billion hospitality industry by drawing back nervous Britons to the hustle and bustle of normality.[1] Although at the time, the scheme seemed like the lifeline we all needed, now it is being blamed for the recent spike we have seen in Covid-19 cases which is not surprising as two weeks after the scheme ended virus cases had more than tripled from the figure taken on 1st August.
The scheme was an example of two-way asymmetric communication: an imbalanced communication that persuaded people to change their behaviour. Through offering 50% off meals the government were able to persuade customers to change their behaviour and start going back to restaurants after lockdown. Although customers benefited from the scheme as they were saving money, the main benefactors here were, meant to be, the government and economy as people were once again putting money back into the hospitality sector.
From a PR point of view, it seemed like it would be a clear success. In terms of reputation bank this felt like an almost fail safe for the Conservatives, what could possibly go wrong? Through an atypical nudge theory, they were encouraging people to leave their houses, through the promise of discounts and money saving after a bleak economic period. They were saving jobs and businesses by increasing footfall by supposedly tenfold. This was meant to be a saving grace for the industry. But was it enough?
Like a lot of Public Relations campaigns, Eat Out to Help Out employed Dietrich’s PESO model in its marketing. Foremost, as it was a government scheme it had a lot of Paid and Owned media produced by the government, for example there was a lot of information regarding the scheme on the gov.uk website including free promotional materials for every restaurant and café taking part, as well as information about how to use the promotional content within the business. Secondly, the scheme was proposed by Rishi Sunak within the House of Commons which attracted the first swathe of earned media. Earned media was extremely important in the campaign and that’s obvious as it’s what we most remember, for example, the press were invited to events where Conservative MPs were in restaurants serving on providing us with the now recognisable image of Sunak waitressing in
Wagamama’s. The campaign received a lot of press attention and news coverage, whether good or bad, if you now type into google ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ it delivers 4,310,000,000 hits. Furthermore, shared media provided a lot of promotion for the scheme through restaurants marketing the scheme via their own social media. Many venues still have a highlight on their Instagram for the scheme and some eateries, such as Bill’s and Yo! Sushi, chose to extend a ‘spin off’ of the offer throughout September.
Despite all this, figures now show the scheme only had a marginal impact and 66% of businesses still reported a fall in sales between July and September of this year.[2] New findings are also showing that the crowded restaurants of august are to blame for the spike of COVID-19 cases throughout the country, causing people to now feel betrayed and confused about the scheme.[3] Moreover, the hospitality industry has become the Conservatives scape goat with the 10pm curfew being imposed causing many hospitality businesses to lose half their earnings every day. Almost comically the images used to market the campaign of Sunak serving on in Wagamama’s have now be used throughout social media in response to the shambolic CyberFirst campaign. Unfortunately, the scheme obviously didn’t do enough for the Conservatives reputation bank as they have once again become a national laughing stock, leading many people to now view the scheme not as a PR triumph but instead a societal disaster.
How many of you think about how your name is written on your bank cards? Probably not many. For the LGBTQ+ community, this thought is there every time they make a purchase. Not having a name that represents your true identity can lead to judgement and questions. This is why Mastercard developed their True NameTM initiative which allows you to put your chosen name on your bank card, without going through the process of legally changing your name.
In week 2 of the MCH8065 PR module, we looked at two-way symmetrical communication and any examples we could find. Initially I didn’t know whether this campaign would come under two-way symmetrical communication, until I looked into it further and found Mastercard’s previous work with the LGBTQ+ community and NYC pride.
A quote from a spokesperson for Inter-LGBT, suggests that this initiative has been developed from requests the LGBTQ+ community themselves, “this initiative reflects the request of trans persons: the recognition of their gender and name by a simple declaration”.
The concept itself was not just an idea Mastercard came up with. The Defenseur des Droits [a concept in France] had been requesting since 2016 that banks should adapt and take into consideration first names. This stemmed from a recommendation made by the Defenseur des Droits, which is an institution in France that focuses on people’s rights.
The supporting quotes and endorsement from the LGBTQ+ community support the view that this initiative has elements of two-way symmetrical communication as it implies that Mastercard have worked with people’s suggestions to develop a mutually beneficial initiative.
Alongside True NameTM, Mastercard have worked on other campaigns such as Acceptance Street in New York, and #AcceptanceMatters. Both of these adding to their ongoing commitment to the community.
More information on the initiative can be found at:
We are just a few weeks into teaching on the MA in Media and PR at Newcastle – and times have changed. Students and teachers alike are getting used to online learning and the challenges and opportunities that brings about.
But one thing has not changed – and that’s the early discussions around what public relations is and what it isn’t – and the million dollar question – is Grunig’s excellence model of 2-way symmetrical communication a reality or just an aspiration?
This semester, we have been making good use of weekly consolidation hours with students to debate these issues and the online discussion forum has never been busier. So I thought it useful to share some perspectives from our new students. Generally, the view is that 2 way symmetrical comms, remains an ideal. Here is what some of our students said:
Zinyi suggests 2 way symmetrical communication can be found at a local level, particularly within internal comm where open door discussions allow for balanced conversations to share experiences. “This is a win-win communication model for a strong collaborative organisation. But …. there is no ideal model of risk communication, only more satisfactory realistic choices.”
Lara believes symmetry is achievable but is difficult. Firstly, it would force some companies to switch their culture and values into a totally new arrangement, where the focus should be on customer-orientation rather than the product/service, production or sales orientation. Secondly, whilst Web 2.0 and social media made it easier for PR and organisations to listen to their publics without so many interferences or mediations, there are too many people talking and requesting different things – which makes it much harder for PRs and organisations to accommodate everyone’s demands. And finally, it is much wider if we think not only about customer’s needs but take into consideration all kind of publics of each organisation.
Lara cited an example of Netflix in Brazil which started to add Harry Potter movies to its catalogue following requests from customers – although this decision could be reversed! She also talks about the need for diversity within senior management and board level in large institutions – and until that is achieved then symmetrical communication with less represented publics remains an ideal.
Tongtong mentioned difficulties with measuring and evaluating PR outcomes in his view that symmetrical communication is an aspiration. If we take quantitative measurement into consideration, it will be easy to judge. This standard depends on the ratio of earned benefits of each side in the 2-way communication. If the ratio is 50 to 50, it absolutely can be a perfect symmetrical communication, otherwise it’s asymmetrical. Take diplomacy as an example, there is usually a more developed and powerful region or country relying on its power, whatever economic or military, etc., forcing the other to compromise and accept the less benefit.
Jiayi offers an optimistic view and says: “2-way symmetrical communication can be a reality. We are now living in an age of advanced information technology, we have lots of online and offline platforms to gather information as well as share our voices. If organizations or companies always try to “manipulate” their clients or customers, people will find out one day. For example, tweets talking about bad services and cunning marketing strategies of a company can be viewed by thousands of people and even more. In a long term, the reputation of that company will break down and it will be rather difficult for the company to find a place in market. With that regard, if companies want to survive in severe competition, the better choice is to build balanced relationship with their customers and truly listen to them.” That sounds a lovely, but perhaps quite idealistic perspective.
And Jinai’s view: “I used to agree with this model, but it’s almost impossible to achieve because everyone has a different view of the world, there are hundreds or even thousands of interpretations of the same information text. How can we make sure that everyone’s understanding is exactly the same? At the same time, this model also reminds me of the “information cocoon” theory in communication. It may lead to more and more closed information and greater differences.”
Certainly, some food for thought with those closing comments.
The art of abandonment: how to kick start your academic year and stand up to the challenge
By Ramona Slusarczyk
Fear not: the title of this entry, taken from Dante-esque Hell, is just a tease – that’s how evil I am! – but what I really want to say is this:
Shyness, embarrassment, and anxiety are natural responses to public speaking, which, according to some surveys, is feared more than death, spiders and heights.
After years in academia, I very much prefer public speaking than spiders, no matter how cute they are.
The bad news is that throughout your studies – in both our online and offline sessions, you’ll have to speak in front of other people. A lot.
And then some more.
You’ll meet clients. Experts in the field. You’ll lead some sessions.
Our students, braving through a crisis press conference.
Blunders happen to all of us, yours truly included
No one likes to look like a fool, but the positive side is that all of us have similar fears and we all fail every now and then.
To prove my point, I’ll share the most embarrassing job interview anecdote (you can’t use it against me though) – and not just for any job, but for my most-dreamt-of and craved position of a university lecturer. Read: high stakes, weeks of preparation, and new formal clothes (obviously).
Understandably, I was nervous. Understandably, I was anxious. Unexpectedly, I was sick from food poisoning the evening before (side lesson: don’t do your final job interview prep over dinner out; the restaurant staff may try to poison you).
Having spent most of the night in hospital pleading with doctors to make me feel better – ‘I have a dream job interview in the morning!’ – I arrived at the university (it wasn’t Newcastle) with a green face, fluttering stomach, and sweaty hands.
To explain my state to the interviewing panel, I uttered a half-hearted warning about the said restaurant. Without batting an eyelid, the programme director said: ‘Are you warning us, Ramona, that you’ll be vomiting on us during the interview?’
Ha.
But the worst part was when one panel member asked me how I’d explain the difference between PR and advertising to students – something they usually struggle with at the beginning of the academic year (don’t feel bad about yourself if you do unless you’re at the end of your studies!).
I’d like to say that my mind went blank from stress (and hunger, and exhaustion). I think that actually would’ve been better than what it started projecting.
At such a crucial moment, my unsubordinate brain decided to get stuck on a quote I got from one of my research participants who cracked an old joke in response to my question about his perception of PR – the following cartoon illustrates his views:
DO NOT use this comparison
in your essays.
The only thing whirling in my head was that humorous – if not entirely inappropriate – parallel between first- and third party endorsement (something we will discussalong the conceptof trustA LOT) but I was clearheaded enough not to voice it; I doubt whether the panel would have appreciated it. Maybe they’d have been amused. Impressed – not so much.
Instead, I asked the interviewer to allow me to revisit the question a bit later and we moved on with the interview. I relaxed, the conversation flowed, and I went back to the PR vs. Advertising question – we’ll discuss that distinction a lot during the course of your studies, so bear the suspense!
But!
At the age of 29 I got my first lecturing job at an Australian university! Champagne!
It happened only because:
1. I was overall well-prepared,
2. I planned how to handle different/difficult questions,
3. I revisited the question and thus didn’t miss the opportunity to show my expertise.
And this is how I want you to think about your classes whether online or on campus: do your homework – do the readings and make notes and think what you’re going to say.
Keep your eyes on the prize: make the most of your time in our sessions and —
Very often, students worry: what if my answer is wrong aka what if I make an idiot of myself?
My answer is: SO WHAT.
Is it going to matter in twelve months’ time? No.
In three months’ time? No.
Are you being assessed on giving wrong answers in our sessions? No.
No?
Those sessions are like a playground: you can test your ideas and we can debate why they work. Or why they don’t.
Pause, look around, take a breath. Gather your courage.
We are all learning.
It’s perfectly normal to get things wrong – it’s part of the learning process – but when you don’t take those opportunities and wait until you submit your paper via Canvas, then it’s too late to make any amendments and amends!
Eyes on the prize aka abandon yourself to experiences
Let’s go back to the beginning of my studies: early 2000s, University of Wroclaw, Poland. In the second year of my BA in Journalism and Communications, I chose a PR module as my option and that was it: I loved the module, the principles of strategic planning, the storytelling, the ethics of the profession… Everything!
It was love at first sight (seminar).
I wanted to develop my writing skills, so I wrote for the university’s weekly, got an internship at a magazine publishing company – I won’t tell you how many rookie mistakes I made there! – and then spent the summer working at a PR agency.
Fast-forward to my MA studies in Media and PR at nowhere else, but Newcastle University – I am a graduate of the same course you’re just about to start! – where I chose a practical module which required students to design and execute PR campaigns for local businesses.
The experience was petrifying – I had to pitch ‘our’ story to the local media, like, actually phone journalists and promote our client’s initiative – but it taught me how to be resourceful and that most practitioners in the communications industry are very, very nice people (I also learnt NOT to start a press release with ‘yesterday’ – do make a note of that!)
My younger, student-self at the backstage of a fundraising event with our client.
So, here’s my tip for you: do get involved in anything the University offers, and most opportunities are accessible both to the domestic and international students.
Take our project-based assessments seriously: they can serve as a showcase for your future employment and they can be extremely rewarding – see the result of the Pencil Case Project campaign our students ran as volunteers at the University:
[<iframe width=”932″ height=”524″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gj3RfJwO6iI” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe> – if the vid is possible to embed on Canvas]
What our students did was sometimes glam, including a fundraising gala at beautiful Kew Gardens in London.
Currently, our alumni are running a fun social media campaign – check it out by clicking on #peelorpay
Eyes on the prize: language challenge
My acceptance letter left me in tears of joy, but I wasn’t eligible for a student loan, so I had to self-fund by keeping a full-time job and studying part-time
Remember my love for storytelling and writing?
Even though I scored 7.5 in ILETS test and received an unconditional offer, I was dying from anxiety at the prospect of studying in English – studying in English ON THE MA LEVEL!
Like most of international students, I sat the additional language competency test and I passed, but I still attended workshops at what is known now as INTO because I wanted to become as fluent as I was in my mother tongue.
And here comes advice that may seem extreme, but it’s the best piece of advice I can give you:
Stop reading. Stop listening. Stop talking.
Stop all those things in your mother tongue.
Not forever, but for the course of your studies. You’ll never forget your language and you won’t lose your accent; I promise.
What you’ll gain is invaluable: you’ll become confident at expressing your thoughts in speaking and writing without the need to translate. Is it easy? Absolutely not.
But it’s totally worth it.
What I did was this: I stopped reading and writing in my native language. That’s it. I knew my vocabulary and the command of Polish was great because I read a lot. So it was obvious to me that the only way to develop my language skills was to do it in English only.
Immerse yourself in the language and culture
And accept that you’re not going to understand everything and that’s fine.
The first novel I read in English was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It’s a beautiful story of two Afghani women and I got the plot, but vocabulary-wise…
Maybe I understood two-thirds of the words because otherwise I’d have to stop reading every few minutes to consult a dictionary and would’ve been extremely frustrating (apologies to Mr Hosseini for missing out on a lot of his brilliant narrative!).
This is obviously not ideal, but you can (and should) revisit your readings. The key point is to try to understand in English and in English only. With time, it’ll become comfortable. I promise.
The worst thing you can do is use an online translator or a running translation as you listen to us talking. I can hear you saying: ‘but I won’t understand everything.’
That’s why preparing for all sessions is key: if you do the readings, you’ll be ready to take part in discussions which will clarify your understanding of the ideas inEnglish and connect the dots as we talk about the things you’ve read and beyond. You’ll enjoy yourself and you’ll be amazed at your progress.
I’ll say it again: eyes on the prize – and did I mention preparing for all our sessions?
Prep with courage, prep as if there was no tomorrow, prep as if your marks depended on it (and they do). And in English only please.
This entry is all about courage to test oneself and experiment and can only end with a decent, fun challenge for you:
How did you feel when you got your acceptance letter? What are your first impressions of Newcastle, the University, your peers?
Have you got yourself into an embarrassing situation already?
By Laurel Hetherington, Lecturer in Public Relations
I’m writing this the week before induction and thought you might all be interested into what goes into preparing for your arrival from the teacher’s point of view – a lecturer’s lament if you like.
We’ve all been preparing our videos and sways and when you meet me, you will soon realise that I’m a true digital immigrant – a term all you digital natives will come to know in the coming weeks.
The basic theories and concepts of PR do of course stay the same, although there are new interpretations of these constantly coming through. What does change is the application of these concepts in current and recent situations, so that we can help you to understand some of these, sometimes complex concepts, by applying them to what is happening in the real world.
For example, I am writing this on the day that Cineworld has just announced it is temporarily closing all of its cinemas in the UK and the US. We can discuss this in the internal comms lecture in 8065 ( how were the employees told about this – very badly handled!), the implications for the share price dropping by 25% in one day in the financial lecture – what does that mean to all the financial stakeholders? How will it affect their overall reputation – a key theme in 8065. And so on and so on – and by the time you get to Ramona’s crisis lectures in 8060 in semester 2, they may well be back in business or may have hit the wall like so many others in the leisure and hospitality sectors.
We are always looking for generic case studies and examples that will interest you all, so goods and services that we all use or buy are very popular, we don’t like anything too niche or too specialist an interest.
We’ve also got to change the method of our delivering our lectures to you, at least for this semester, which brings its own set of problems. If I am standing in front of a large lecture group I can get feedback – good old two way communication as Grunig & Hunt, (who you will get to know very well on this course) advocate as the ideal. I can see the expressions on your faces, feel the mood in the room and listen as I walk amongst you and appreciate if you are coping with or struggling with the mini questions that we set in class, and then can adjust my session accordingly. It’s all going to be very different this year.
But we are looking forward to seeing you all very much. We’ve missed all our students; I only had six dissertation students over the summer plus my two PhD candidates to keep me company. So it will be great to meet you all, whether on line or on campus. And do spare a thought for me please if the technology doesn’t work as well as it should, and please please please follow the guidelines on online etiquette, otherwise I shall end up talking to myself if no one turns their camera on!
Seven weeks into lockdown and I appear to have developed something of a routine. It goes something like this – wake up, mint tea, think about what’s for tea, do some work, think about tea, walk dogs, make and eat tea, chat with friends and family, watch TV or listen to music, go to bed. Repeat.
Of course, the days when I get to walk the dogs in the
morning are like little victories, flicking two fingers at the pesky virus and
its lockdown rules. I’ve also been able to exercise more, get out on the bike
and even a few 5k runs – great when I have miles of largely deserted beach and
dunes at my doorstep.
Social media has, of course, become even more of a dominant influence cementing its reputation as a two-faced security blanket/anxiety trigger. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) has largely disappeared, as really there’s nothing to miss out on anymore, I’ve even forgotten all about football.
What has been encouraging is to see how the PR/comms
community has come together to share insight and perspective on the good and
bad of how the crisis is being managed and strategized. There really is a
treasure trove of analysis, case studies and secondary sources that all PR
students should have in their search engines on speed dial!
Of course, our very own visiting professor Stephen Waddington
is leading the way with his regular analysis and lockdown letters on the Wadds blog. Stephen’s output has been
impressive over the last few weeks with his posts not only acting as meaningful
and important analysis but also a pause for reflection over what we can learn as
people and society. Stephen’s reflection on Covoid brand
conversations should be one of the first stops for any PR dissertation
student looking at how brands have used the pandemic to manage reputation.
I continue to be impressed by PR Academy, edited by Richard
Bailey, with its more scholarly tone and useful guides to the theories and
concepts which guide comms. Richard’s briefing on the PESO model was a go
to teaching tool for me this year. Recently the Academy’s content has understandably
focused more on crisis – check out these crisis book
reviews – and its league table of student blogs #bestPRblogs is always a
timely reminder that I need to encourage our Newcastle students to blog more.
Watch out PR Academy, Newcastle is coming for you (that’s really hard to say as
a Sunderland fan!).
I’ve always enjoyed PR
Moment for its blend of light and dark industry perspectives from those working
at the coalface of comms. In particular, its regular Good
and Bad PR feature is a great source for practice case studies and
campaigns. And of course, there’s PR Week
which offers the latest UK industry news, albeit behind a paywall.
On Facebook, the marketing,
media and PR community of practice has emerged in the past few weeks as the
go to resource for engagement and conversation, particularly around Covoid
comms and messaging. Again, it’s been developed by Stephen Waddington, with some
impressive metrics – more than 300 members and dozens of topics on everything
from Captain Tom’s fundraiser to mainstream media distraction. The group is
helping to shape how practitioners and academics are making sense of the
strategy as we emerge into new ways of living and working – which leads me to
my closing thoughts.
I’ve had a number of conversations with colleagues this
week, including with the parent of a prospective student, about how PR and
comms. will fare from the crisis. There’s a strong sense that the sector could
emerge stronger and with new found respect. Perhaps even with New Zealand
president – and PR graduate – Jacinda
Ardern as its knight in All Blacks armour!
Generally, PR and comms was ‘relatively’ thriving pre-Corona compared with other media sectors, particularly journalism. The pandemic has, however, put an immediate dent in that with commercial organisations understandably putting a hold on budgets and recruitment.
But one of the positives is that clear comms. is
coming to the fore during the pandemic and is what people value. That’s being
recognised widely, and while not practiced by the UK government, my hope is
that the sector will emerge with increased credibility as organisations recognise
the importance of clear and consistent comms and messaging. Ultimately that may translate to greater recognition
for PR with organisations supporting within their teams internally and
externally.
Well, what a week it was. Induction Week has been an gone and now we look forward to learning all about Public Relations.
Around 150 students have joined the MA programme – that’s more than ever before – and it has been great to meet some of you over the last few days.
Thanks to those of you who joined us for our trip to Tynemouth – the weather may not have been great, but the mist certainly made for an eerie morning!
So, now we are into teaching and most of you have made your option choices. Don’t worry if you are still to choose or if there are issues with timetable clashes. These are common in the early weeks and things will begin to settle down soon.
I look forward to seeing you all again on Friday for the first of our PR Theory lectures!
IT’S that time of year when the reality of teaching and learning starts as students join the PR programme.
Whether you are a student on the Masters PR programme, or joining the Introduction to PR module, which are the key books, texts and articles you should be familiar with? PR@Newcastle has asked the teaching team and some of the UK’s leading practitioners which texts they view as essential to understanding PR and global communications in 2019.
Jonathan Ward
Without a doubt, the book I would recommend is Tench & Yeomans’ Exploring PR. It’s the core text we use through the programme and supports both the compulsory and optional modules. Exploring is written very much with the student in mind, with excellent analysis, case studies and activities to enhance understanding of theory in practice.
There’s a new edition out in the coming months edited by our visiting professor Stephen Waddington and including a chapter written by Jonathan and Ramona. For now, you can pick up a copy at the Uni library or even better, try to get your own copy.
Others to consider would be Rethinking PR by Moloney and McGrath. There’s a new edition that has just been published by Routledge offering a critical perspective of PR and communications.
For students new to the concept of strategic planning, Anne Gregory’s Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns: A Strategic Approach PR In Practiceis an essential 12-point practical guide to effective management of any PR campaign or programme. Published in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and supported by numerous case studies, the latest edition discusses critical aspects of PR planning including the role of PR in organisations; research and analysis; objectives setting; researching target publics; defining strategy and tactics; timescales and resources; evaluation and review.
My second recommendation is Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street, Kara Alaimo (September 2016). To contextualise PR practice within different countries and cultures, Kara Alaimo’s Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street addresses vital cultural differences practitioners have to consider in their approaches to planning and the management of public relations programmes globally. Packed with prominent case studies from Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa, this book demonstrates how to adapt and implement PR strategies across the private, NGO, and government sectors to deliver highly impactful projects within intercultural context.
This book is the outcome of research by Lloyd and Toogood in the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. It provides an overview of the history of PR and the contemporary PR industry, focusing on its changing practice in the digital age. However, the book is primarily based on the interviews of experts and does not engage with much existing literature. It should be read in conjunction with other key authors’ works on PR.
Stephen Waddington
Business of Influence, Philip Sheldrake (April, 2011). Philip Sheldrake sets out an innovative model of organisational communication as a result of the internet and online networks based on six primary influence flows in his book The Business of Influence. Sheldrake’s influence model plots six flows of communication between an organisation and its various publics. It overlays neatly onto Grunig’s Excellence model.
The Cluetrain Manifestoby Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger (November, 1999). We continue to be surprised by the changes that the Internet is having on the business of public relations and organisational communication. We had plenty of warning. The Cluetrain Manifesto by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, and David Weinberger foretold everything we know today. It is organised as a set of 95 theses organised and put forward as a manifesto, or call to action, for organisations operating in Internet-connected markets.
Anne Marie Lacey
Award-winning practitioner and CIPR Young Communicator of the Year Anne Marie name dropped our own visiting professor Stephen Waddington with her choices. Both of Stephen’s books with Steve Earl – Brand Anarchy and Brand Vandals – offer an insight into the impact social media has had on PR and marketing communications. She also agrees Wadds on Sheldrake’s book – I always refer to his ‘Six Flows of Influence’ when teaching.
Thanks to those of you who joined us for our trip to Tynemouth – the weather may not have been great, but the mist certainly made for an eerie morning!