Amber Mullins Blog: November 2011

Little Coverage for the Biggest Protest

7:34 PM

Occupy protests have been popping up all over the U.S. since September, and have been making front page news ever since ... all except the original: Occupy Wall Street. Since the break out of the protest, there has been little media coverage addressing the concerns and actions of the original protest, and this, no doubt, has been leaving the “Wall Street-ers” a little more than frustrated. The purpose of the protests, all along, have been to get their voice out there about be heard. And well, how can that be possible when the media coverage you’re aiming for is ignoring you?

Many protests that followed suit after Occupy Wall Street have been doing a decent job in staying the media’s eye, so where did they go wrong?

Occupy Portland has been the most heard about protest, for me at least. It seems like every week, a new story is being written about the protestors’ behavior and their interaction with the police. Several are getting arrested due to their lack of cooperation, and it seems like the Twitter world is keeping track of their every move.

Recently, Seattle made news for its pepper spray incident. An 84-year-old woman was sprayed with pepper spray after the protests got out of control. This caused the police monitoring the Occupy protestors to face a small amount of scrutiny for their excessive force used to control the crowds.

And even Dallas as has become a talked about protest. Though they have been the least aggressive of the three mentioned, Dallas protestors have been given media coverage not only through local news stations but through website articles. Most articles talked about the impending eviction of the group of protestors before the news finally broke that on Thursday, Nov. 18, they were finally evicted and as many as 18 protestors were arrested.

So what was Occupy Wall Street doing wrong?

They were the creators of the movement, and have finally learned that its scandal that causes their branch to be recognized. 20-year-old Brandon Watts is officially the face behind the Occupy Wall Street protests. On Tuesday, the police found themselves in another battle with the protestors, injuring Watts in the process. By Friday, his face, bloodied from the struggle, was front page news for the Daily News and Metro newspapers. Finally, the coverage that they seek was being granted.

While all branches of protestors have, without a doubt, clashed with police officials across the country for their pickets and stances, the ones earning the most media coverage are the ones where police brutality seems to be at its most extreme. With Seattle, the 84-year-old was the story, not so much the teenager and priest that were also pepper strayed during the riot. It’s about finding that “extreme” situation. And Occupy Wall Street finally found it in Watts. The coverage of his face, covered in blood, is the very definition of a riot gone too far. And that is how to get your name out there.

While I know it wasn’t the intent of the protestors the make national coverage that way, it does define what it might take to make your branch heard over the rest. When there are several protestors spanning the U.S. standing for the same thing, police opposition isn’t going to be enough to make your branch and their issues national news. Instead, there needs to be that bigger “incident” that gives that branch their time to speak on their own personal stances.

Well, Occupy Wall Street, now is your chance.

Sources:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/occupy-wall-street-finally-gets-face-bloody-153643148.html

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/17/84_year_old_dorli_rainey_pepper

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/us-protests-dallas-eviction-idUSTRE7AG1PE20111117

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Déjà Vu: A Story of History Repeating

9:39 PM

Two stories are strikingly similar but more than 30 years apart. Before Jerry Sandusky and the Penn State scandal, there was Donald Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was a Red Sox clubhouse manager, who like Sandusky, was involved in a series of child sexual assault cases that were ignored for years. Unlike Sandusky, even when the assaults came to surface, Fitzgerald did not generate nearly as much media coverage as the Penn State scandal has today.

Why?

While the Boston Red Sox are most definitely a notable team, Donald Fitzgerald was not. Because of this, even as the scandal broke it did not garnish much attention. There was no one that rallied against the team’s inaction or even against Fitzgerald. There was no one that really even knew the name.

The two stories are the same, but the big key difference has become the media coverage surrounding the scandals. This goes to show how big of an impact the media can have on an exploding controversy.

Fitzgerald’s story, in some cases, is worse than Sandusky’s. There were several victims, some as young as the age of four. In this case, one of the victims even stepped forward, informing Vince Orlando, the home clubhouse manager, of the abuse. The result was that it was the boy, not Fitzgerald, who was fired. Two sources came forward afterward, admitting that they’d seen Fitzgerald with boys in the shower, and like with the Penn State scandal, it was reported to the team instead of the police.

So what is it exactly that makes this story any less newsworthy? Being that it was a scandal in the 70s and was less heard of at the time, I would think the scandal and news coverage would have been bigger. But as stated above, it was pretty much non-existent. And because of that, so was the scandal.

Jerry Sandusky was a house hold name because of his work alongside Penn State legend, Joe Paterno. Donald Fitzgerald had the loyalty of his co-workers and the team’s executives, but was nowhere near the “celebrity” status of Sandusky. And there lies why the Penn State scandal became much more talked about.

The media is looking for a story that will turn heads. As if child abuse is not bad enough, the story becomes “juicer” when the abuse story involves a notable figure. And even in the 70s, when these types of stories were almost unheard of, Donald Fitzgerald just wasn’t notable enough.

The media, in cases like these, have become a double-edged sword of sorts. For the right scandal, the media can raise enough awareness and public interest to ultimately cause officials, who have ignored the accusations in the past, to finally take action. However, if the scandal is not big enough, the lack of media interest can cause the abuse to continue much longer than it needs to. Finally, Fitzgerald was fired for the accusations, but was 72 years old before charges were even brought against him and ultimately never even served a jail sentence. The repercussions could have been much more appropriate a lot sooner had the media sought after the Fitzgerald story like they did with the Penn State scandal.

All in all, in the case of these two stories, the media can sometimes make or break the justice that is served.

Source Links:

http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201111/another-era-and-another-sport-sex-abuse-scandal-still-inflicting-pain-today

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/09/jerry-sandusky-scandal-seven-key-players-in-the-penn-state-abuse-case/#jerry-sandusky

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Public Relations and Ethical Codes

11:17 PM

The PRSA Code of Ethics has become sort of a guideline for amateur and seasoned Public Relations (PR) professionals alike. The purpose is to ensure complete fairness throughout the profession and to make difficult ethical decisions a little easier. In today’s world, determining an ethical decision from an unethical one is not always crystal clear. On top of the theories that can deem a decision or action ethical or not, there is also the PRSA Code of Ethics.

First, there is the “free flow of information” provision. This code says that accurate and truthful information should be always considered when serving the public interest. It is supposed to make decision making easier, and is at the very core of what a PR professional is supposed to do. They are hired by clients, but ultimately, they work for the public.

Next is “competition.” This provision basically talks about the importance of healthy and balanced competition. Competition is essential in promoting fairness among the public. Monopolies not only hinder competition and drive inflation, but the power given to the driving company can encourage them to not act ethically.

“Disclosure of information” encourages open communication. This, I think, ties into the first provision, too. Open communication between the public and the client will ultimately instill trust. The public will trust the client when they know they are being told all of the facts accurately and truthfully.

Then there is “safeguarding confidences.” This could be a tricky provision as it states that confidential and private information need to stay between the PR professional and the client to ensure trust between the two. This provision can conflict with the disclosure of information when the “confidential information” is something that the public might need to know.

“Conflicts of interests,” I think, is one of the most common dilemmas that a PR professional will face. It is important again to avoid these conflicts so there can be trust between the client and the PR professional.

Lastly, there is “enhancing the profession.” This provision states that is the professionals job to constantly work to strengthen the public’s trust in the profession. This is one of the most important codes because as with the first provision, this, too, is basically what PR is all about.

As with all the codes, trust is the main theme. It’s important for there to not only be trust between the client and the PR professional, but also trust between the public and the professional or client as well. Each code is important in their own right as each code further re-enforces that trust between either the client or the public.

And despite the changes in the PR, whether it’s shifting to more online and social media tactics or staying steady in traditional Public Relations, trust is the key component not matter what. That will never change. The job of the PR professional is to instill trust, and create that two-way relationship between the public and the client.

The PRSA Code of Ethics is a good tool to access when decision making can potentially compromise that trust. I’ve said this before, but to me, a PR professional plays the middleman between the client and the public. Their entire job is to instill trust, and make the client’s goal appealing to the public. This is where ethics can come into play. In order for the PR professional to “sell” the client to the public, possible tactics that could accomplish this can easily be deemed as “unethically.” And as tempting as those tactics may be, it’s the PR professionals job to also look to the PRSA Code of Ethics and take the right action accordingly.

Sources:

PRSA Code of Ethics

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Social Media Release: And Why They’re Better

10:51 PM

Once upon a time, a Public Relations (PR) professional relied solely on black ink and paper to issue a client press release. These press releases would mark an announcement or expansion of a product or company, an event or other organizational happenings that were considered to be “news worthy.” With the rise of social media, however, and two-way interactivity, the scope on press releases expanded. A social media release is a “web-based” press release that not only provides all of the details of a regular press release but also allows for that interactivity in which this generation of “internet dependents” has become accustomed.

A social media release includes a headline, subhead (if applicable), overview, body, any relevant facts, contact information and a boilerplate as with a regular press release. The differences between the two are social media releases also provide media links such as videos or photos. Often times Twitter and Facebook links are provided along with a Twitter message built into the release for automatic “re-tweeting.” And two-way interactivity is gained through the ability to either bookmark, comment or share the release.

The advantages of a social media release over a traditional print media release seem obvious. Unlike with a traditional press release, a social media release can not only speak to journalists but also consumers and bloggers. They are optimized for search engines because of the ability to add tags, and they are easier to pass along and share over the Internet. A social media release also offers more visually pleasing elements with a little more flexibility in the format of the release.

In a traditional release, the format is pretty standard and archaic. There are paragraphs of facts and text that explain the purpose of the release. A journalist usually needs to read the entire release to gather all of the facts, and this can be tedious.

In a social media release, the content is not only more engaging but the facts provided are “scannable.” A journalist does not need to read the entire release to figure out what the PR professional is asking of them. Also, as mentioned earlier, a mix of multimedia is provided to help engage the consumer, journalist or blogger. And though the formula with a social media release can also be standard, there are a few different layouts that cater to that formula. This allows for a little differentiation between the styles of a social media release.

Another advantage of a social media release is it can evolve with the change in social media. The social media websites that were popular when the first social media release was created are no long the main sites utilized in today’s media release. This will almost certainly be the case five years from now as well. And a social media release is flexible enough to flow with that change. It really has become the most functional form of a press release when so much of PR can be done over the web and through social media anyway. And over time, the social media release has the ability to banish the traditional release completely. It will, without a doubt, become the “new” traditional release as more and more PR efforts are taking place online as well.

Sources:

http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/why-you-should.php

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/04/social-media-release-must-evolve-to-replace-press-release113.html

http://socialtraining.wetpaint.com/page/Social+Media+News+Release

http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you/

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