Is Public Relations Institute for Southern Africa's (PRISA's) Definition of PR Correct?)

Is Public Relations Institute for Southern Africa’s (PRISA’S) Definition of PR Correct?

By Andrew Bishop Mkandawire (AB Deevado)-MC Yr 4

4^th May, 2012 Share World Open University-BT Campus

The Public Relations Institute of Southern African (PRISA) - Institute for Public Relations & Communication Management is the professional body which represents the interests of public relations and communication management professionals in Southern Africa.

PRISA according to (www.saaci.co.za) defines Public Relations as the management, through communication, of perceptions and strategic relationships between an organization and its internal and external stakeholders.

Therefore by understanding this definition it can be argued that the PRISA’s PR definition really expresses the principle of professional PR because it caries major components that public relation indeed does. However evidence will be attached by relating this definition of public relations to those of Institute of Public Relations (IPR), the Mexican Statement which erupted in 1978 from an International conference of public relations held in Mexico as well as the Arens PR definition.

The PRISA’s PR definition has the following components.

Management tool, Public relations is a management tool. This is because all levels of management from strategic or corporate, to tactical and operational, depend on proper communication. The organization's marketing, human resources, stakeholder relations, and mapping all depend on public relations communication function. The PR programs and activities are not spontaneous, haphazard, or impromptu they are planned, organized, controlled, implemented, and monitored for proper assessment of its effectiveness.

For example during planning, problem situation, the costs, tools, strategies, tactics, type of campaign, type of staff, type of equipment necessary, objectives are all identified before organization stage comes in.

Communication of perceptions, the business may be perceived differently by groups or individuals who are all direct or indirect interests of the business. At most good perceptions will help enable the business communication mechanism to succeed.

For example, when the organization's image is good, the positive response of its stakeholders becomes manageable usually with the drive of undoubted success. Press releases, sponsorship programs, press conferences, attitude surveys, marketing education, are all welcomed with attention and desired support. This can enable the business to know what its customers want and don’t want. This position in business is very important because it helps to offer what the market wants and possibly educate the market why it is necessary to adopt news products if the business has introduced the new one as Unilever is advertising the new Lifebuoy bar soap with Yvonne Tchakatchaka as the advert testimonial. It was also public relations function that changed perception through PR Transfer that leads to making publics adopt electronic typewriters and computers and abandon manual typewriters through market education.

Only the business which shares good and positive perceptions with its stakeholders do face fewer difficulties in communicating with them. However, this position is highly helped with the function of business research which is the ‘planning, collecting, analyzing of data relevant to business decision making and the communication of the results of this analysis to the management’, (Guler & Gani 2004 p. 02).

And finally, Strategic relationships between internal and external stakeholders is another component the PRISA’s PR definition has. This component states the strategic relationship between the organization and its stakeholders. This relationship cannot just strategically exist without mutual understanding and possible benefit. This relationship is not a mere relationship but with specific functions no wonder the ones involved in this strategic relationship are grouped into different categories under that term stakeholder. 

There are three types of stakeholders. Internal; these have a direct influence on the day to day operations of the business. They constitute employees, customers (usually existing than that potential), stockholders like shareholders or owners of the business. Connected; these are calm with fact that they do not have direct influence to the day to day administrative activities of the business like to execute pressure of competition. But surely play a very important part in ensuring the survival of the business is guaranteed. For example, insurance companies, banks, security companies. And External; these have direct influence of the business and they execute a lot of competition that brings threats and opportunities when the business weaknesses are solved with positioned strength. Examples of these groups are consultants (financial, research and development, marketing, advertising, public relations), customers, competitors, government, investors, community, etc.

These groups need to be approached strategically so that long term relations continue to mutually benefit them (the organization and the public). In short, the business cannot operate without them and these stakeholders cannot access products and services in absence of the producing firm.  

An extended understanding of PR as a definition can be supported by (Jefkins 1998, p. 06) who argues that PR is ‘the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and a mutual understanding between an organization and its publics..

In this IPR definition, there are related issues to that of PRISA’s.

PR is ‘the planned and sustained effort, this supports that Public relations are a managerial tool. It is not done haphazardly but it is planned with the objective of sustaining its communication activities that create value to both the organization and its publics.

The purpose of PR is “to establish and maintain mutual understanding”, this is an effort to ensure that the organization is understood by other-publics-and that the relationship created through the process of understanding and to be maintained is not for nothing but the mutual understanding that has a reflection of mutual benefit.

And the Mexican Statement holds Public Relations is the  ‘art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders, and implementing planned programs of action which will serve both the organizations and the public interest’ (Jefkins 1995, p. 08).

This definition has extended subjects that actively play an important function in an organizational setting but revolving around the two components of PR being a management tool as well as a communication function to the organization.

It opens by exposing that PR function is both an art and science-meaning the effort to chose or select a program, generation of objectives, and communication messages, just to mention a few, depend on PR practitioners skills and understanding while the actual implementation of the Pr programs, assessment of goals and objectives, evaluation of research or tactic effectiveness depends on scientific approach. 

And PR since uses research scientific techniques can predict the consequences of every communication message sent to the public or any campaign conducted. Because it is a management tool, it counsels the corporate management on public relations issues or and communications programs ranging from human resources, marketing, finances, production, and lobbying of government and export trade. PR also implements its programs that aim at servicing the organization and the public interest-benefit. 

Public Relations can be a profession that has produced a thousand definitions describing what it is. For example, in 1976 the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education in The USA, 65 of its professionals sifted through 472 different definitions, (Baran 2002). Efforts to define PR will never extinct but all tastes of the definition will revolve around the Management tool and the Communication function.

For example, PR definition of marketing educator William F. Arens (1999) has two major components of Management and Communication. The definition argues that ‘PR is the management the function that focuses on the relationships and communications that individuals and organizations have with other groups (called publics) for the purpose of creating mutual goodwill’, (Baran 2012 p. 308). 

In short Arens, PR definition revolves around the management and communication functions as the three definitions above have specified.

Therefore, PRISA’s definition has the PR value of the practice. Due to this, it can be accepted that it is a right Public Relations definition.

 

REFERENCES

Baran, SJ 2002, Introduction to Mass Communication, 2^nd Edition, Boston: Mc GrawHill

Guler, O & Gani, AS 2004, Business Research, Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd

Jefkins, F 1995, Public Relations Techniques. 2^nd Edition, Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann

Jefkins, F. 1998. Public Relations FrameWorks, 5^th edition, Harlow: Pearson Education

‘Southern African Association for the Conference’ 2012, PRISA Public Relations Definition, Viewed 27^th February, 2012, http://www.saaci.co.za/content.asp?pageID=349

Which other PR topic would you like to get discussed? Leave a comment.

Qualities of a Good Photographer and a Picture Expected from a Good Photographer

Qualities of a Good Photographer and a Picture Expected from a Good Photographer
 

By Andrew Bishop Mkandawire (AB Deevado)-MC Yr 4

4^th May, 2012 Share World Open University-BT Campus

Photo-Journalism which can be defined as a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story and that it is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism (www.en.wikipedia.com), demands photo-journalists to conduct themselves with full standards of the profession.

This reasoning automatically requires journalists to have specific qualities for them to manage the job. Some prominent qualities are discussed as follows:

They need to have expertise; this represents the ability to use the necessary photography equipment like still and digital camera, dark room and printers. This expertise helps to achieve photojournalism professionalism.

For example a digital camera will demand the photographer to have knowledge of the MODE and MENU functions. The Mode function has Auto which automatically selects settings, Manual which allows to select settings yourself , Special Scene (SCN) which allows to take pictures in rare occasions like during the night, indoor, snow and fire works and the Movie which has standard and compact options (www.photography.about.com).  When these issues are known and learnt when using a digital camera, the photographer surely will come up with good pictures.

They need to have ability to research; photo-journalists who are assigned to take pictures from an event need to visit the place before the event commences. This helps to identify better positions that will accommodate them to get desired pictures. It is awkward to get a blurred or shaded picture or that has no focus in terms of content because the crowd was shrouding the focus of the camera to get a subject intended photographed.

In professional journalism this is called Reconnaissance although it is common to broadcast journalism sector. According to (Fourie 2005, p. 394), ‘It is a detailed inspection of the outdoor location where the video (photos) will be shot. Inspection of the actual location will determine the shooting script. It will also provide answers to some of the following questions: Is the location accessible for the camera? Is the natural light from the right direction? Can the camera be placed close enough to the subject?’

They need in interpersonal skills; these skills help in a number of ways. For example, photographers need good relations with the police, fire fighter brigade, security companies just to mention a few. These people rush to places where new events have occurred. Photographers in journalism need to take on the scene or fresh pictures of how exactly the event or the scene looked like before possible efforts were put to control the negative effect flow. For example, before the fire brigade begins to extinguish the fire the photojournalists need to take informative pictures until subsequently efforts of controlling and finally extinguishing the fire can get managed. Such collection of sequential pictures with cut lines for example, can tell an essay picture story or without captions can tell a sequential picture story. However in many occasions in journalistic writing pictures accompany news stories.

Therefore interpersonal skills can put the photographers to an advantage of getting necessary pictures including fresh ones because there will be good relations with picture sources.

They need to be accurate fair and balanced; other photographers are editors of pictures. They need not to alter the authenticity of the picture but it can be edited to improve its appeal using computer picture editing software like Adobe Photoshop for example. This can avoid ethical and legal implications.

For example, ‘…courts have consistently recognized that photographs can be intrusive and have shown a high degree of willingness to prevent the publication of photographs, taken without the consent of the person photographed but which the photographer or someone else sought to exploit and publish. This protection extended to photographs, taken without their consent, of people who exploited the commercial value of their own image in similar photographs, and to photographs taken with the consent of people but who had not contented to that particular form of commercial exploitation, as well as photographs taken in public or from a public place of what could not be seen with the naked eye, then at least with the add of powerful binoculars…’, (Carey et al 2007, p. 132).

The above quote shows that taking of photographs for specific use like commercial purpose or news need consent. This is ethical as well as legal. And efforts not to alter the image are a position of accuracy. These issues are crucial if breached are civil or criminally punished by courts. For example, taking a picture and publishing it without the consent of the subject can invade privacy right. Privacy right takes many forms including trespass, defamation, trademarks, and confidence. Trespass can be argued differently but Crone (2002) describes that trespass to land or property may be claimed in a variety of situations. Any person entering on to another’s land to observe him or to plant a listening device will be guilty of trespass.

They need to meet deadlines; this could be seen as the most crucial part in the profession of photojournalism particularly when taking pictures that chase timeliness of event being covered. Photographers need to supply assigned photos to photo-editors on time to match with copyeditor and publisher’s time to publish the newspaper. 

They need to come up with captions; nice captions help to make the picture tell a good story. It is not easy to come up with good caption but it only demands practice and experience. When photographers are able to give captions to their pictures they help to lessen the job for photo editors. 

Cutline styles vary greatly in newspapers. ‘Most cut lines are placed underneath pictures’, (Harris et al 2002, p. 197)-Able to tell a story with pictures

They need to have ability to learn; photojournalism is interesting because it has history and advances in the profession. It was firstly improved by dry plates, then still camera like 35mm Single Lens Reflex and 35mm Compact. Then later by a digital camera of which the modern one has the movie mode function. Even the picture editing has shifted more from analogue to digital. Instead of darkroom media houses are using computer softwares to edit pictures like Adobe Photoshop, Picture Magic Editor, and Canon Picture window. All these need someone’s docility to know and practice them. Photojournalists need to be innovators who are flexible to move with pressures of technology. But this does not mean dumping old systems of picture management.

And when a photo-journalist posses such qualities, it is possible for such a person to take good pictures.

The so called good pictures which can be expected from the photographers will need to have the traits discussed below.

A picture has to communicate. ‘A photograph can communicate general information very quickly…Photo may communicate emotions as well as facts. It informs and expresses’, (Levin 2001, p. 175).

This information communicated reflects what happened though it may depict the specific side of the whole event or pat of it. This helps to give picture of what the event was like.

It has to provide credibility. Credibility is believability. A picture has to position an event to be more real or true. This helps people to trust the news as they relate the facts told and the illustration of the picture.

A picture has also to provide visual appeal or entertainment. Pictures work like visual magnets. They draw readers into the story. This provides the ability to let the readers read the entire story. In some aspects the same visual appeal can entertain readers. This helps to arouse interest in reading the whole story. This also works to make the story memorable. A good picture helps readers to memorize story facts. This is therefore necessary as it can help the newspaper to sell only with the appeal the pictures are giving to the readers.

Finally, the good picture has to provide life to a story. For example, mugshot which is a photo that shows only the head and the shoulders of the person provides life to a story. Readers tend to believe the subject attached to the story if real. The vitality picture provides helps feature stories, literally works like fiction stories seem to be real. Even some feature stories that express author’s opinion when accompanied by a picture they look like the pinion expressed is real. To news stories this simply adds life to existing facts.

Therefore it can be argued that it is a must for photojournalists to possess good qualities in their profession and they are expected to take good pictures that can be published, at most pictures that can tell a story.

 REFERENCES

Carey, P et al 2007, Media Law, 4^th edition, London, Thomson

Crone, T 2002, Media Law, Oxford, Focal Press

Fourie, PJ 2005, Media Studies: Content, Audiences and Production, 2^nd Volume, Lansdowne, Juta Education

Harris, J et al 2002, Complete Reporter, Boston, Thomson

Levin, M 2000, Journalism, Chicago, National Textbook Company

Masoner, L 2012,  Major Types of Cameras - SLR and Point and Shoot Cameras: An Introduction to the Two Main Types of Cameras Available Today, Viewed 4^th April, 2012, http://photography.about.com/od/cameratypes/a/PointAndShoot.htm

‘Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia’ 2012, The history of photojournalism, Viewed 4^th April, 2012,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photojornalism

           

Importance for Photojournalists to have Broad Understanding of the Functional aspects of Photography in Newspaper Production

Importance for a Photojournalist to have a Broad Understanding of the Functional aspect of Photography in a Newspaper Production

By Andrew Bishop Mkandawire (AB Deevado)-MC Yr 4

4^th May, 2012 Share World Open University-BT Campus

It is indeed necessary for a photojournalist to have broad understanding of the functional aspects of photography in a newspaper production. It can be argued that the major reasons for a photojournalist to hold this position is To know how to take a good picture and/or to have power of choosing right picture, To have ability to edit, To know how to tell a story using photographs, To know where and when to use a picture, To know functions of photographs, To know ethical and legal boundaries and implications, and To know and maintain qualities of a good photographer for achievement of professionalism.

To have power of choosing right pictures and/or to know how to take a good picture is to have ability to take a picture that will communicate, that will provide credibility, that will provide visual appeal, and that will provide vitality to a news story.

 A good picture has to communicate. ‘A photograph can communicate general information very quickly…Photo may communicate emotions as well as facts. It informs and expresses’, (Levin 2001, p. 175).

This information communicated reflects what happened though it may depict the specific side of the whole event or pat of it. This helps to give picture of what the event was like.

A good picture has to provide credibility. Credibility is believability. A picture has to position an event to be more real or true. This helps people to trust the news as they relate the facts told and the illustration of the picture.

A good picture has also to provide visual appeal or entertainment. Pictures work like visual magnets. They draw readers into the story. This provides the ability to let the readers read the entire story. In some aspects the same visual appeal can entertain readers. This helps to arouse interest in reading the whole story. This also works to make the story memorable. A good picture helps readers to memorize story facts. This is therefore necessary as it can help the newspaper to sell only with the appeal the pictures are giving to the readers.

Finally, a good picture has to provide life to a story. For example, mugshot which is a photo that shows only the head and the shoulders of the person provides life to a story. Readers tend to believe the subject attached to the story if real. This is in feature in literally works where fictions stories accompanied by pictures seem to be real. Even some feature stories that express author’s opinion when accompanied by a picture they look like the pinion expressed is real. To news stories this simply adds life to existing facts.

The tendency of having ability of choosing right picture, and/or, to know how to take a good picture for publication, extends to enabling the ability to tell a story using photographs.

To have ability to edit does not mean to alter the originality of a photograph. There are many editing tools and techniques of photo editing. Cropping which is the process of selecting the best part of the photo to print; and Sizing which is the art of enlarging or reducing a photo to make it fit into a certain space on the page are common editing techniques of a photo.

To know where and when to use a picture in a newspaper demands knowledge and practical functionality of understanding aspects of photography. For example, not all news stories and feature stories need picture accompaniment. In hard news stories, only stories that have great impact or those that involve prominent people in society can appeal more to the people by providing them with pictures.

To know functions of photographs is another aspect that can reflect photographer’s knowledge of aspects of photography. A picture plays a number of functions. Some of the functions include to capture attention, to provide information- pictures that stand alone to give readers a situation at a glance- pictures tell a million stories, to provide entertainment—these are pictures that humorous or lighthearted, to establish links with readers (i) give readers a sense of being there (ii) pictures share readers feelings and reactions (iii) pictures invoke memories of past and expectations and experiences, to acting as a layout device- pictures help in layout and designs, and to pictures establish an identity.

To know ethical and legal boundaries and implications is to be accurate, fair and balanced when taking and using pictures in newspaper publication. Photojournalists who also edit pictures need not to alter the authenticity of the picture, but a picture can be edited to improve its appeal using computer picture editing software like Adobe Photoshop for example. This can avoid ethical and legal implications.

Being accurate, fair and balanced is also taking photographs with consent. Taking of photographs for specific use like commercial purpose or news indeed needs consent. This is ethical as well as legal. And efforts not to alter the image are a position of accuracy. These issues are crucial if breached are civil or criminally punishable by courts. For example, taking a picture and publishing it without the consent of the subject can invade privacy right. Privacy right takes many forms including trespass, defamation, trademarks, and confidence. Trespass can be argued differently but Crone (2002) describes that trespass to land or property may be claimed in a variety of situations. Any person entering on to another’s land to observe him or to plant a listening device will be guilty of trespass.

For example, ‘…courts have consistently recognized that photographs can be intrusive and have shown a high degree of willingness to prevent the publication of photographs, taken without the consent of the person photographed but which the photographer or someone else sought to exploit and publish. This protection extended to photographs, taken without their consent, of people who exploited the commercial value of their own image in similar photographs, and to photographs taken with the consent of people but who had not contented to that particular form of commercial exploitation, as well as photographs taken in public or from a public place of what could not be seen with the naked eye, then at least with the add of powerful binoculars…’, (Carey et al 2007, p. 132).

To know and maintain qualities of a good photographer for professionalism can be achieved if the photojournalist knows functional aspects of photography. Some of the qualities that the photojournalist needs to have are:

Need to have expertise; this represents the ability to use the necessary photography equipment like still and digital camera, dark room and printers. This expertise helps to achieve photojournalism professionalism.

For example a digital camera will demand the photographer to have knowledge of the MODE and MENU. The Mode has Auto which automatically selects settings, Manual which allows to select settings yourself , Special Scene (SCN) which allows to take pictures in rare occasions like during the night, indoor, snow and fire works and the Movie which has standard and compact options (www.photography.about.com).  When these issues are known and learnt, when using a digital camera the photographer surely will come up with good pictures.

Need to have ability to research; photo-journalists who are assigned to take pictures from an event need to visit the place before the event commences. This helps to identify better positions that will accommodate them to get desired pictures. It is awkward to get a shaded picture or that has no focus in terms of content because the crowd was shrouding the focus of the camera to get a subject intended photographed.

The research done to analyze viability of the place for journalists before the actual event occur in professional journalism is called Reconnaissance although it is common to broadcast journalism sector. ‘It is a detailed inspection of the outdoor location where the video (photos or images) will be shot. Inspection of the actual location will determine the shooting script. It will also provide answers to some of the following questions: is the location accessible for the camera? Is the natural light from the right direction? Can the camera be placed close enough to the subject?’ (Fourie 2005, p. 394). 

Need to have interpersonal skills; these skills help in a number of ways. For example, photographers need good relations with the police, fire fighter brigade, security companies just to mention a few. These people rush to places where new events have occurred. Photographers in journalism need to take on the scene or fresh pictures of how exactly the event or the scene looked like before possible efforts were put to control the negative effect flow. For example, before the fire brigade begins to extinguish the fire the photojournalists need to take informative pictures until subsequently efforts of controlling and finally extinguishing the fire can get to pass. Such collection of sequential pictures with cut lines for example, can tell an essay picture story or without captions can tell a sequential picture story. However in many occasions in journalistic writing pictures accompany news stories.

Therefore interpersonal skills can put the photographers to an advantage of getting necessary pictures including fresh ones because there will be good relations with picture sources.

Need to meet deadlines; this could be seen as the most crucial part in the profession of photojournalism particularly when taking pictures that chase timeliness of event being  covered. Photographers need to supply photos assigned to photo-editors on time to match with copyeditor and publisher’s time to publish the newspaper publication. 

Need to come up with captions; nice captions help to make the picture tell a good story. It is not easy to come up with good caption but it only demands practice and experience. When photographers are able to provide captions to their pictures they help to lessen the job for photo editors. 

Cutline styles vary greatly in newspapers. ‘Most cut lines are placed underneath pictures’, (Harris et al 2002, p. 197)-Able to tell a story with pictures

Need to have ability to learn; photojournalism is interesting because it has history and advances in the profession. It was firstly improved by still camera like 35mm Single Lens Reflex and 35mm Compact. Then later by a digital camera of which the modern one has the movie mode function. Even the picture editing has shifted more from analogue to digital. Instead of darkroom media houses are using computer software to edit pictures like Adobe Photoshop, Picture Magic Editor, and Canon Picture window. All these need someone’s docility to know and practice them. Photojournalists need to be innovators who are flexible to move with pressures of technology. But this does not mean dumping old systems of picture management.

It is therefore no stranger to learn that it is important for a photojournalist to have broad understanding of the photography in newspaper production. This even helps to sell newspapers just because of visual appeal apart from using pictures to tell a story.

REFERENCES

Carey, P et al 2007, Media Law, 4^th edition, London, Thomson

Crone, T 2002, Media Law, Oxford, Focal Press

Fourie, PJ 2005, Media Studies: Content, Audiences and Production, 2^nd Volume, Lansdowne, Juta Education

Harris, J et al 2002, Complete Reporter, Boston, Thomson

Levin, M 2000, Journalism, Chicago, National Textbook Company

Masoner, L 2012,  Major Types of Cameras - SLR and Point and Shoot Cameras: An Introduction to the Two Main Types of Cameras Available Today, Viewed 4^th April, 2012, http://photography.about.com/od/cameratypes/a/PointAndShoot.htm

‘Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia’ 2012, The history of photojournalism, Viewed 4^th April, 2012,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photojornalism