Politics and PR
By Brittany Robinson
This past year has been a whirlwind for politics and the American People. From the election of the first African American president to the fall of our economy, public relations is as important now as it ever has been.
Throughout our public relations studies at Gaylord College, we have always been taught to respond in a timely manner. In the words of Mr. Mossman, OU's Media Relations Director, "If you respond too quickly you might not have all the facts and say the wrong thing. If you wait too long, your going to look stupid and not prepared ."
My example of how correct Mr. Mossman is in this statement goes hand in hand in crisis management and how public figures need to address issues quickly.
On March 24th, President Obama held a press conference addressing the war, his current budget proposal and other pressing issues such as the current economic situation. After giving his speech, President Obama opened the floor for reporters to ask questions. CNN Reporter Ed Henry asked the President why he waited several days to go public with his outrage over the AIG scandal. President Obama's response was, "I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak." Also, many found that there was a look or glare given to Mr. Henry after that statement.
This particular example shows that the media will keep any person or company in check on the timeliness of their responses and actions. When I heard this my immediate thought was that this was exactly the type of thing we learn in public relations. This just happens to be a concrete example with a high power individual that demonstrates the importance of planning for a crisis or responding to an issue in a timely fashion.
3 comments:
PR is a very imporant when it comes to politics. I couldn't agree with you more on the concept of timeliness and perception. Especially with the most recent election of President Barack Obama, Americans need to understand how PR ties hand-in-hand with government and the response time it takes to address issues, similarily to crisis siutations in PR.
You're absolutely right. PR is crucial in politics. (Says the guy who needs it to stay that way for job purposes.) Just look at the massive press office. The most recognizable person in the administration not names Barack or Joe Biden is Robert Gibbs, the press secretary.
Great post Brittany. I think PR and politics goes hand-in-hand. Many do not realize that all of these press officers actually have a degree and tremendous amounts of background in PR. I like how you tied in Mr. Mossman's quote to all of this. He is absolutely right, and this statement is something we ALL need to keep in our heads. Saying the wrong thing can be awful and saying something to soon without enough facts to back it is can also be bad. Political officials see this everyday, and we all need to realize what good and/or bad we can do.
Good job:)
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