Social Media and Public Relations

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Table of Contents

Introduction
What is media bias? Find examples
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Public relations (PR) refers to the process of presenting information to the public by an individual or an organization through appropriately managed channels (Henslowe 34). It involves dispensation of information in different forms such as blogging, educational websites, and social media by.

Companies use PR to market themselves to the public through persuasion. They convince investors, employees, stakeholders, partners, and the public to hold a certain viewpoint about their services or products, leadership or management system (Henslowe 36). Activities that are commonly associated with PR include awards, invitation to address conferences, and collaborations with the press on projects that affect the welfare of the public.

How has Wikipedia (celebrating 10+ years) affected PR practices?

Many PR firms use Wikipedia to provide information to the public. However, there have been criticisms of bias in the information given by both individuals and organizations. Wikipedia’s celebrations have reiterated their effort to provide the public with accurate and unbiased information (Henslowe 33). Wikipedia has revolutionalized PR practices because of its unique model of presenting information. It allows people to edit offensive, inadequate, or biased information (Duhe 26).

However, there is conflict of interest in cases where clients contract PR firms to edit certain information on their behalf. In addition, Wikipedia has streamlined the process of information delivery on the internet because it allows individuals to add or delete unwanted information (Duhe 27). This has increased the possibility of obtaining accurate and reliable information on the internet.

Moreover, verification of information by editors improves the accuracy of information. Wikipedia has established policies that control content on their website (Duhe 28). This ensures that individuals do not manipulate information that they publish at their own will. In addition, their guidelines on conflict of interest ensure that clients do not misuse the website by adding biased information that is directed towards their competitors (Duhe 31). Wikipedia has affected PR practices significantly.

How has social media changed the PR field?

Social media has changed the field of public relations immensely. It has changed how people gather and share information, and how they communicate. It has increased the speed of gathering and sharing information (Nelson par5).

For example, PR professionals have access to loads of information that help them to solve a variety of problems. Companies can collect information from customers about a certain product or service through social media. For instance, Twitter and Facebook are important resources used by companies to collect vital information that help them to develop plans and strategies.

It has also changed the dynamics of journalism. Journalists and PR professionals can easily obtain information online without necessarily going out in the field (Breakenridge 62). Moreover, with the advent of social media, information became readily available online. People can share information easily because it is fast and reliable. Information is gathered firsthand from targeted people instead of secondary sources.

What is media bias? Find examples

Media bias refers to the action of forcing a certain viewpoint on people by giving distorted or misleading information in order to promote a certain ideal (Ruschmann 41). As such, media bias is exhibited by either print or digital media companies. An individual journalist rarely exhibits it. Media bias is a common phenomenon in journalism because of differences in views, opinions, and interpretation of information. An example of media bias is the exclusion of viewpoints of a certain story covered in the media.

The media may incline towards one side of the story and as a result give information that supports their viewpoint. The media has been accused of bias in almost every instance it gives information to the public. However, presenting all the views on a particular topic of discussion is difficult because people approach issues and synthesize information differently (Ruschmann 41). Therefore, it is difficult to present all viewpoints without excluding some.

For example, minor political parties in the United States express their concern that the media focuses its attention on the two major parties: Democrats and Republicans. This constitutes media bias because they have a right to be heard and represented by the media. In addition, the media ignores their viewpoints on matters that are important to the public and instead concentrate on the viewpoints of the two major political parties (Sloan and MacKay 56).

Conclusion

Public relations refer to the process of presenting information to the public by an individual or an organization through appropriately managed channels. It is used by companies to create organizational images that portray them positively to the public. The media has played a significant role in changing the PR field.

It has increased speed of information gathering and sharing. In addition, it has changed the way people communicate. Media bias is one of the challenges of PR. It involves presenting information that leans towards one side of certain situations while neglecting other sides. For example, the media focuses attention on major political parties and neglects minor parties. Media bias is common in political and religious circles.

Works Cited

Breakenridge, Deirde. Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional. New York: FT Press, 2012. Print.

Duhe, Sandra. New Media and Public Relations. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. Print.

Henslowe, Philip. Public Relations: a Practical Guide to the Basics. New York: Kogan Page Publishers, 2003. Print.

Nelson, Kristin. Social Media: Shaping Public Relations since 1970. 10 Oct. 2012. Web. <http://platformmagazine.org/2012/10/11/social-media-shaping-public-relations-since-1970/>.

Ruschmann, Paul. Media Bias. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print.

Sloan, William, and MacKay Jenn. Media Bias: Finding it and Fixing it. New York: McFarland, 2007. Print.

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