Have PR and spin undermined trust in politics?

Is PR responsible for the lack of trust in politics? A debate discussing the motion “PR and spin have undermined trust in politics” was held few weeks ago at University of Westminster. Kevin Maguire, political editor of the Daily Mirror, and Sheila Gunn, spokesperson for John Major spoke for the motion while Lance Price, former Labour ‘spin doctor’ and Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of the PRCA were debating against it.

One of the reasons pointed out for the motion was that political PR professionals were in control of the information flow which gave them the power to establish the agenda of political conversations. Spin doctors refused to speak to journalists who asked hard and complex questions or had different opinion about a given subject. As a result the political focus of the news has shifted toward the convenient side stories which aimed to keep the audience engaged without providing it with precise and valuable information about the important issues concerning it. Political PR practitioners were accused for trying to divert the public attention away from the actual problems in the political system and issues concerning the government in power.

Lance Price, speaking against the motion, argued that the power to enhance or destroy politicians’ reputation is in their own hands. Even the most experienced spin doctor would struggle to gain public support for a candidate who is not popular or respected amongst the electorate. Trust in politics is measured by the success of the political activities and the ability of the politicians to keep their pre - election promises. The public perceptions are also affected by the desire of the media to provide its audience with sensational news about the political life in the country and the media rivalry which stem from the emerging of the twenty- four hour coverage.

Many aspects of the political process should be considered in order to understand which factors have played a major role in shaping the public opinion about politics. Political PR professionals have part in the process of losing trust in politics, but they are just the tip of the iceberg of a much more complex social issue.

What are the differences between traditional and new media

New media is a phenomenon which has changed many aspects of our everyday communication habits. But what is the importance of new media for the business and what advantages or disadvantages does it give to the PR practitioners?

1. Message spread
The potential of new media to reach wider audience in a short time presents a significant advantage to the PR practitioners. The ability to share information on the social media platforms make users endorsers of the message and help PR professionals reach wider audience.

2. Control of the message
Unlike the traditional media where PR practitioners have control of the message, new media gives everybody a voice. The positive side of this is that PR professionals could receive instant feedback from the audience and evaluate its engagement with their activities.

3. Niche publications
New media gives PR professionals the opportunity to reach specific audience which is more likely to be interested in the service or product they want to promote.

4. Space
While traditional media limit the message volume social media provide PR practitioners with the chance to communicate their message on many platforms increasing in this way its reach.

5. Visual representation
New media allow PR professionals to use diverse range of visuals to make the message more appealing to the audience and impel them to share it.

6. The message stays in the public eye for longer
The information could stay forever in the web space. People interested in the company activities could always find information about it which is a major advantage for the PR professional.

7. Time limit
The twenty four hour news coverage is one of the positive sides of new media. PR practitioners could provide the audience with information at any time and keep in touch with it.

8. Accelerate word of mouth
The ability to make a message or a video viral is one of the most appreciated characteristics of new media. In this way the public become one of the most powerful endorsers of our message.

9. Online communities
The characteristics of social media motivate people to connect with other people who have the same interests which strengthen their sense of community and belonging. From PR professionals’ point of view the ability to find and reach these groups facilitate the communication process and allow them to target more specific publics.

10. Reach of the message
If Facebook were a country it would be the fourth biggest country in the world. The readership of the newspapers is steadily declining and the majority of young people don’t even have a television, so in the future new media will have even greater impact on the PR professionals’ job.

Privacy on the web

What is the cost we pay for our online activity? Are the social media platforms we use really free? The false sense of privacy on the web impels us to share our views, thoughts and feelings with the world. But how do corporations and the business make profit from people’s increased social media presence?

When we create our social media profiles we share our details which are then used by the business to send us marketing messages that suit our interests. As social media has become an integrated and important part of our lives these targeted messages are likely to capture our attention and influence our choice of services and products. We no longer need to spend hours searching for books that might be interesting to us - the Amazon recommendation system does this for us. Our social media activity is used to persuade customers to buy the recommended book because people tend to believe that if many users with the same interests liked a product, they are going to like it too. Without our knowledge and consent we become endorses of the message and we help companies sell their products. This is just one of the many examples that could be given.

Social media presents many opportunities to the companies to direct their advertising and marketing messages at a very specific audience. The information about the audience sex, age, area, interests, hobbies and work allow them to promote a product to the right customers which save them a lot of money on advertising in traditional media. That is why Facebook (or any other social media platform) database is priceless for the big corporations.
No matter how useful and fascinating social media is everybody should bear in mind that it has a dark side. We pay a price for our addiction to the social media platforms by voluntary making valuable information about ourselves available to the companies who wish to reach us.

NGOs vs Corporations

Non – governmental organisations are usually committed to a social cause which aims to change people’s attitude and behaviour towards a problem or a social issue. The nature of the NGOs activities often oppose them to the corporate and political sector which result in tense and difficult relationships between those sectors. The corporate stance on transparency is one of the issues that causes contradictions between the third sector and the representatives of the corporate business. NGOs embrace the role of a guardian of the public interest which allows them to establish more open and trustful relationships with their publics. On the other hand corporate communicators often struggle to gain the public trust because even when the corporate behaviour is accountable to the public the intentions behind their actions are always open to doubt.
The partnership between the corporate and the third sector could be beneficial for both sides. Social responsible initiative undertaken by the business could improve and bring about positive change in the organisation – stakeholders relationships. Working side by side with organisations from the third sector may result in an increase of the public trust and enhance the business reputation. From NGOs point view the effective cooperation could help them spread the cause message and ensure financial support for their activities.

Social media secrets revealed

If you have ever wondered how far do social media bring about change in the public relation industry watch this video.
It will answer the following questions:
What is social media?
What are the sociological and cultural concepts behind social media and what is their relevance to PR?
How do the agencies use social media?
What are the benefits to the clients?
What are the negatives to the client?