chapter 04 seitel pr11e

7/29/2019 Chapter 04 Seitel Pr11e

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4-2Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Public opinion is an elusive and fragilecommodity.

It can take years to build credibility andnurture trust, but only minutes to destroy it.

Individuals and companies in the public eyecannot afford to tarnish their reputations.


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The best public relations campaign cantbuild trust when reality is destroying it.

In the 21st century, public opinion is acombustible and changing commodity.

It is difficult to move people toward a strongopinion on anything, and harder yet to movethem away from an opinion once it is formed.


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The heart of public relations work lies ininfluencing the public opinion process.

Most PR programs are designed to:1. Persuade people to change their opinion.2. Crystallize uninformed opinions.3. Reinforce existing opinions.


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To understand: What public opinion

is How it evolves from

peoples attitudes

How it is influencedby communication


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Experts have created dozens of definitions.

Public relations pioneer Edward Bernayscalled it a term describing an ill-defined,mercurial, and changeable group of individualopinions.


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A public signifies a group of people whoshare a common interest in a specific subject.

Opinion is the expression of an attitude on aparticular topic.

When attitudes become strong enough, theysurface in the form of opinions.

When opinions become strong enough, theylead to verbal or behavioral actions.


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Opinions

Actions

Attitudes


9/244-9Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Attitudes are evaluations that people make

about specific problems or issues.

Their conclusions may not be connected toany broad attitude on a given subject.

An individuals attitude may differ from issueto issue.



Personal Cultural Educational

Familial

Religious Social class Race

Attitudes are based on many characteristics:



On any given issue: A small percentage expresses strong support. A small percentage expresses strong opposition. The vast majority doesnt care much.

This muddled middle represents the greatest opportunityfor public opinion change.


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We tend to avoidinformation that is

opposed to our own

point of view.

We tend to seek out

information that isconsistent with our ownpoint of view.



People have a range of opinions on a certainsubject, anchored by a clear attitude.

Although it is seldom possible to change thisanchor position, communicators can workwithin this range, or latitude of acceptance.



The bottom of thehierarchy contains basic

needs, which must first besatisfied before movingupward to higher needs.

PR practitioners must

know their audiences andcorrectly target theirlevels for effectivemessage design.



Attitudes can be changed in one of two ways:

When we are interested and focused enough on a

message, we take a central route to decision making.

When we are not engaged with a message, we need to

take a more peripheral route to decision making.

Can you think of some persuasion settings

in which this theory might apply?



Persuasion is perhaps the most essentialelement in influencing public opinion.

Persuading is the ultimate goal of the vastmajority of public relations programs.



Radical organizer Saul Alinsky says:

People only understand things in terms of their ownexperienceIf you try to get your ideas across toothers without paying attention to what they haveto say to you, you can forget about the wholething.

To persuade, you must cite evidence that coincideswith peoples own beliefs, emotions and expectations.



FactsGood PR programs always start with research: the facts.

EmotionsWe can think, but we also respond to emotional appeals.

Personalizing

People respond to personal experiences and stories.

Appealing to youPeople want to know, Whats in it for me?



Opinion is highly sensitiveto important events.

Opinion is determinedmore by events thanwords.

At critical times, we aremore sensitive to theadequacy of leadership.

Once self-interest isinvolved, opinions areslow to change.

People are able to formopinions more easily ongoals than on methods to

reach those goals. If people in a democracy are

provided with education andaccess to information, publicopinion reveals a hard-headed common sense.



Organizations mustunderstand that credibilityis a fragile commodity.

To keep public support, theymust operate with theimplicit trust of the public.

In the 21st century, winningfavorable public opinion isntan option its a necessity.



For anyone concerned about public opinion, it allcomes down to managing reputation.

Reputation is gained by what one does, not by what

one says.

The practice ofreputation management alignscommunications with an organizations character andaction.



Organizations must beempathetic to broader society

and its needs.

Although reputation is difficult

to measure, it is a tangible

asset. Managing reputation isa frontline public relationsresponsibility.


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General Betray Us and the Great Gray Lady

Review this case on p. 70. As a class, discuss:

What are the implications in terms of the credibilityofThe New York Times discounting the MoveOn ad?

How would you assess the Times reaction to thecontroversy?

For more information on this case, go to:http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05

E1D61E31F935A1575AC0A9619C8B63
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1D61E31F935A1575AC0A9619C8B63http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1D61E31F935A1575AC0A9619C8B63http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1D61E31F935A1575AC0A9619C8B63http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1D61E31F935A1575AC0A9619C8B63http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1D61E31F935A1575AC0A9619C8B63

chapter 04 seitel pr11e

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