As part of my New Media and PR module I have sucessfully completed my first slidecast. This slidecast explores how social media is posing a threat to traditional media in 3 aspects. Click on the play button to discover the three aspects. Positive criticism appreciated.
Me [woman] and Public Relations
PR happened to me by chance. I was in a events company before joining a PR firm. I get a call from my best friend askin,”Gunjaaa wanna work together. Just come for an interview tommorow.” I thought nothing is wrong in giving a shot. Next day – got ready,looking crisp in my formals,with documents in one hand n bag in another hand I walk in a place called Percept Profile. Waiting for the VP to arrive, to take my interview, I was asked to sit on a comfy chair near a GLASS WALL. Through it all I could see was girls and ladies running around the office. I said to myself, “Oh My God…no guys in the office…there must b real good bitching sessions in this office !”. Finally I saw a gentelmen entering the corridor who was going to take my interview. “Phew !!!” I heaved a sigh of relief.
The debate ‘ women will always work in the PR industry but will never run it’ proded me of my office interview day. Returning back to the class debate, ahhhh what a heated debate that was…both the team members where ready to pounce on each other. I enjoyed the session. The concourse of the debate,i felt,touched various issues. From discriminating gender qualities to handling of PR jobs to attitudes affecting the workplace.
When Michaela was jotting the qualities of man and women, I felt like I am dicephalous.Because I was thinking from both the ends how a guy n a lady behave at the workplace and specially in PR. I had taken a quiz ages ago to know if my brain is male or female and the results where that my brain posses traits of both male and female. But that was ages ago,so I decided to take this test once more. I bumped across BBC’s SEX ID test.
Went through this 6 part test and the result was the same. My brain can judge on spatial,verbal,logical,emotional,systemising the way both male and females may do. So that means I think from all the angels !!!
I took this test for one purpose. When we say that PR is a profession for females, I guess we should think about it once more. If my thinking abilities are both of male/female…so does it mean I am not fit for this job ? A particular profession I believe has nothing to do with one’s gender. Just because more females take up this profession, one cant say that it is for females. I am a staunch believer of – that a particular job should be defined by one’s MERIT and not their gender.
Well yeah its a debatable topic but I believe in this phhilosophy…if some one [including the third gender] has to excel in some field they will excel any how. U just need to have that passion within to excel in it.
Filed under women and pr
BRAND OBAMA: 10/10
Its 1.30 am and its 14th FEB…. Wish u all a Happy Valentines Day!! If you look the other way round even the date 14th Feb is branded….VALENTINE’s DAY. 
Thousands of people around the globe have blogged about brand Obama and now its my turn.
Rama and my American mates had put up a very good presentation on brand Obama. This presentation coming from the Americans and one Obama enthusiast was a piece of honesty. They were totally into it. Specially Stacy sporting that Obama family batch on her. They where the proud Americans that day.
It seemed to me that they did not have enough time to practice the presentation but as I saw, it was near to perfection. As the presentation touched on important points like short history of Obama and the Obama brand build up, I felt something was missing. Since my graduation days I was hammered with the idea of ’ BRAND LOGOS SHOULD BE UNIFORM THROUGH OUT THE COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN ‘ and ’BRAND CONSISTENCY’. I asked myself – Did Obama really used one logo throughout the campaign? Didn’t his communication strategy team have any other sub logo or something like that. Surfed the net and yeah I got this template -
Brand Obama fulfills the 5 critical approaches to contemporary political communications.
Now this is what I call THE BRAND STRATEGIST’s brain work. The consistency is maintained by the blue semi circle ‘rising sun’ and the stripes below that. Just have a look - the way his team has played with the logo to reach out wider auience. No wonder…majority of the American hearts stand up for OBAMA!!
My favorite logo is the WOMEN FOR OBAMA. Which is your favorite…post comments!!!
Filed under Brands and PR
cant force myself to log blog
Hiya…due to ill health I missed on blogging…will be posting on new media and PR ethics in coming few days.
good nt…cya..
Filed under new media PR media conversation
An ethical dilemma …continued.
I will try and not use the academical material in this post as I want to express what I learned in the class about PR and Ethics subject and how do I see it from my window. Hope I convey what I want to express here. Apologies for not mentioning any quotes from Toxic Sludge is Good for You, Ethics in PR or Grunig and other academic scholars.
Coming back to ethical decision making in a workplace, the video asked us to take the 4 question test. But there are other celebrated models of ethical decision making which can detangle us from the ethical dilemma. I stumbled upon on PR Ethics website ,by Amanda Holt, which makes life easy for people who want to understand PR & ethics. She discusses various theories of ethics in PR and their application.
One of the application is the Potter Box Decision making model. I am convinced with this model as it gives a systematic approach to behave ethically. It aims at prioritizing the values and publics which are most vital in a given situation at that time. This model can be linked to Cognitive Theory. What would you choose – Right action or Right outcome ? Will it be Bentham’s Greatest good for the greatest number or Kent’s Notion of duty and the moral imperative to do the right thing. I leave that up to you !
As the lecture was progressing, I thought that what is the diffrence left between a PR professional and a barrister at the end of the day? They have a common goal – PROTECT THEIR CLIENT. Apart from a PR practioner is not called a lawyer !!
My confidence shaked for a minute – should I ask or should’nt I? I guess some one was thinking what I was. My class mate asked the same question. And viola…here I was. My thought process was on the right track.
The key diffrences between a lawyer and a PR practioner are as under -
- Lawyer represents the client legally
- Jury is the public to be addressed by the lawyer
- A lawyer speaks professionally on behalf of the client.
Hence, a PR practioner can not be a lawyer!! My head space was now clear and ready to move ahead.
Filed under public relations ethics
An ethical dilemma !
“Can PR ever be ethical ?”; ” Is paying for media coverage ethical ?”;” To what extent you will go to protect your client’s ” ? Have you faced any of these questions whilst on the field or off the field. I guess you have.
In my class every week we discuss some of the sizzling PR topics.PR and Ethics is one of the bead in this string.
Ethics, the word in itself is enormous and complex. Michaela says that ETHICS accounts to literature as old as two thousand years old ! Every day you and me make ethical/unethical decisions knowingly/unknowingly.
A simple exercise given in the class brought many issues related to ethics in light. A runaway trolly car is hurling down a track where there are 5 people. They will be killed if you dont flip a switch to change the track. Changing of the track will kill only one person. The BIG QUESTION is Should you flip the switch? If the 5 people to be killed are criminals what do you do? This was quite a dilemma. The main arguement which rose was of quality of life to be saved in the above scenario.
Will bribing the media to gain coverage be ethical ? I will say YES and you may say NO. In this situation I want to get my client in the lime light but you argue saying that bribing is not the way. Here, you are being honest to your conscience as you view bribery as corruption.
The collision of one’s honesty,integrity,responsibility, respect and trust with others in the workplace is rampant while practicing PR. But this should not stop one from making ethical decisions and practice what is best for your client. Though every one views practice of public relations by their own means and ways, you can watch the below a simple video which explains how to make ethical decisions at workplace by asking 4 uncomplexed questions.
Filed under public relations ethics
“I hope everybody in the world will get an American passport one day. Then this world will be quiet.”
My thirst of knowledge on spin and propaganda did not end with the previous post.
I came across a documentary named Control Room – Propaganda of the Iraq War.
This movie portrays the propaganda and spin played by the American military during the Iraq war in 2003. Its not at all biased as you get views of both sides. As my Arab friends mention that they trust Al Jazeera over any other new channel holds true.According to Internet websites this movie broke all the US box office records.
This movie pretty much identifies with what I had learnt in the class of war propaganda and PR.
This is an 1hr25min movie which has 3 main important characters to look up to.
First is Lt.Josh Rushing.
Lt. Josh Rushing
Second is Samir Khader
Samir Khader,Senior Producer,Al Jazeera TV
Third is Hassan Ibrahim
I am not going to sit and review this movie just for one simple reason – You need to watch the movie by yourself and understand the inticacies of the propaganda and spin. The movie has a coherent flow of the events during the war. This makes it SIMPLY SIMPLE to grasp the content.
I just want to mention my 10 favorite lines from this movie. This linees are not orchestrated but travel directly through the heart of the speakers.
1. “You can not wage a war without rumours,without media,without propaganda. Any military planner plans for a war. If he does not put media, propaganda on top of his agenda, he is a bad military. “
2. ”Do I have the right to kick you out of your own house and move in there myself ?”
3. “Message of AlJazeera is to educate Arab masses on democracy, respect of other opinions, the really free debate, no taboos and everything should be dealt intelligently and openness while trying to shake up the rigis societies. And tell them – Wake up. You are still sleeping.There is a world around you. “
4. ” What are these people preparing [a stage outside CentComm] a CentComm concert or something? CentComm Blues! “
5. Best interview excrept.
Josh Rushing [JR]: We believe that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction [WMD] to use against us.
Hassan Ibrahim [HI]: When?
JR: What do you mean WHEN? [confused looks]
HI: When did they used it against you?
JR: They have the will to use it against us.
HI: That means Saddam Hussain said that they have WMD. Now that is news to me!! [gives a surprised laugh]
6. ”Are any US journalist objective of this war. The word objective is a mirage.”
7. “I hope everybody in the world will get an American passport one day. Then this world will be quiet.”
8. ” Yankee doodle went to town riding there on Monday, 1000 people living there, killed them all by Monday.”
9. ” On the other side of the wall we keep on saying NO SPIN. I catch myself doing it most of the times.”
10. A BBC reporter was surrounded by Iraqi kids. They where chanting ” Allah il am Bush”. The reporter happily reported that they cheered Bush. Where as that particular phrase means “God damn Bush, God damn Bush”
Go ahead and take out some 1hr25 minutes of your buzy schedule to watch this documentary.
I assure, you will not be disappointed.
p.s: Apologies for any typo errors.
Filed under War Propaganda
