THE ROLE OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION IN PUBLIC SPHERE AND THE INFLUENCE OF WORK OF THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS IN PARTICULAR SECTORS
The role of Public Relations (PR) and Public Communications officers has transformed from supportive to the strategic function, building on sustainable and effective operations in all three sectors (Fawkens, 2012, pp.3-20). While some may think that the role of public communication is to handle emergencies, the strategic goals of this function are much wider (Lattimore et al., 2012, pp.354-358). Among others, some of the vital tasks of PC include the development and implementation of the public image strategy, media relationships and social media control and outreach events in different sectors to raise, improve or develop the image of the organization that the work for (Sommers, 2009, pp.35-46). Moreover, contemporary vision of public communication role outlines its contribution to social capital creation. In this sense, mass communication should aim at building trust in groups and between individuals, provide information and create the norms of society (Taylor, 2010, p.9).
Recent Media Issues Overview
Medical Marijuana Legalization Background
The discussion around the legalization of marijuana on the social level as well as or medical purposes was on top of international agenda for the past 5 years. With the legalization of sales and personal use of cannabis in some of the locations in Latin America, such as Uruguay, the international community received a new push for a debate on the topic. Following the recent legalization of medical marijuana in Australia, the topic received further attention and feedback in public and private sectors as well as attracted debate in NFP segment. The complexity of the issue lies in the variety of effects, which cannabis has on the human body and brain. While international communication strategy, as well as local media, draws a lot of attention to the potential harm of the plant use, it is widely used for medical purposes in the country and accepted by the medical professionals. The truth is that the effects of marijuana are still to be explored and demand a serious research on the long-term influence of the plant even for medical reasons. With over 400 different chemicals in its composition, the research is "too young" to clearly understand all the consequences of continuous marijuana usage (Zdanowicz, 2016).
Stakeholders and Challenges
Marzook (2016) argues that the legalisation of Marijuana is a purely commercial governemnt decision, which want to benefit from hgiher drug sales and questions the ethical side of the decision. Another article by Roy (2016) provides an independent insight into the issue and outlines the discussions in scientific and busines circles with regards to the bureaucratic approach of the gvernemnt to handling the issue and implementing the policy.
Based on the review of the articles, it was possible to receive the insight of the governemntal,NFP and private sectors on the issue, s the stories represent opinions of the governemnt officials, freelance journalists as well as NFP organizations talking on behalf of affected individuals. The authors of the articles do not represent the orgnizations directly, but cite and reference the parties, directly involved in the issues.
PR Activities Contributing to the issue
There are several PR activities, which surely had influence on the debate
The Influence on Debate
The core challenge for the private and public communication professionals is twofold: A) to change public opinion and transform the issue from status quo, where private and public sector media message was that possession of marijuana is a criminal offense; B) radically change the core message to the wide public, which previously was defining marijuana as the drug with highest potential for abuse and harmful for human health. That said, delivering the mass communication strategy to the wide public is the task for all three sectors, and the strategy on marijuana legalization PR is a good example to illustrate this collective responsibility. Additionally, the complexity of the communication will demand the use of various communication channels and techniques, from direct advertisement, framing stories and artifacts to reverse advertisement (Baran and Davis, 2012, pp. 105-112).
Media Effects Theory
Media effects theory draws on the comprehensive concept of how and in what ways the media affect human behavior. There are several types of effects: direct, limited and indirect. Under direct effect, the theory understands the mediacentric and transmission approaches, generally outlining the strong and negative impact of media. A limited effect is an audio-centric approach and diffusion, which focuses on the ways audiences use the media to satisfy personal needs (Narula, 2006). Finally, indirect theory suggests that while there are various effects of media on the audience, these influences are generally incomplete and slow, rather than quick and direct. The case of Marijuana legalization illustrates the applicaion of the theory through direct media channels, where the expression of personal opinion of journalists and personal stories of people, who are directly affected by the situation, such as in the article by Roy (2016) and Zdanovics (2016) help PR professional form public opinion and perception of the issue.
Agenda-Building Theory
Agenda-setting theory suggests that media's role in communication is not limited to telling people what to think in a broad perspective, but also outlines the direction of the public thought, drawing the path of perception of specific issues and items, communicated in a message. In other words, media can shape the top-of-mind presence regarding a particular issue on its agenda. The theory also suggests that the information flow is cyclical and with the new cycle the "old" topic becomes irrelevant, giving space to "new" message and losing its influence on the target public (Narula, 2006). When it comes to the analysis of the Marijuana Legalisation issue, it is evident that the private sector is trying to place the issue on top of the general public agenda with the aim to put pressure on the government with regardsc to more efficient decision-making process. At the same time, the agenda of NFP sector is different, where the main focus of PR activities is on the ethical side of the question and corporate sponsorship.
Framing Theory
Framing Theory is linked to agenda-setting but expands further to focus on the essence of issues, communicated to the public. Essentially, framing is a way to understand how public, readers and user think about the issues. The core concept behind the theory is that public communication professionals make media focus on the certain event first and then place this event in a context of meaning. Public sector professionals actively use advertisement to rpomote the issue and attract and prepare the public for the new policy (Roy, 2016). Corporate Philantropy is another PRhips approach, evident in Marijuana case in Australia, which helps to maintain focus on the agenda with positive media agenda. There are two primary frameworks for communication, natural and social, which aim at helping individuals to process and interpret the data.
Practical Application in Different Sectors
Differentiation between these public groups constitutes an important part of communication strategy within all three sectors, as it affects the communication tactics and channels, chosen to deliver a message (Grunig, 1992, p. 45-64). The example of the marijuana legalization debate and communication issues outlines the practical application of communication theories and draws on the complexity of the role of public communication officers in public, private and not-for-profit (NFP) sectors. The common challenges that public communication professionals face in all three sectors include media attention, laws and regulations, brand recognition, politics and employee engagement and evaluation (Liu, 2012, p.388). At the same time, working for different sectors as a public communication professional is a unique experience.
The Public Sector
Public sector is the primary stakeholder in the Marijuana Legalisation issue. The role of the governemnt is to implement and communicate the benefits, considerations and important changes related to the issue. The purpose of public sector bodies is to work for public good. The role of PR (PR) professionals in the public sector is threefold, build on effective media strategy and channel with private and not-for-profit sectors as well as wit direct audience, citizens, and social groups. Agenda-setting is critical for the public communication professionals. Ryan Bloxton sheds some line on the different challenges that the organizations face working with PR, marketing and advertisement in a public sector. First of all, public sector builds upon the complexity of developing relationships between the policy delivery and management of the politics. This comes along with the task to deliver on major projects and infrastructure commitments and managing constantly changing environments. Ryan's view seconds the challenges, outlined in the Marijuana's legalization example, where implementation of the policy has to be aligned with internal and external politics of various stakeholders and change management is the key for marketing (Taylor, 2010,p. 8-10).
The example of Marijuan issue and the messages from the PR professionals, outlined by Roy (2016), demonstrates that the government sector works closely with marketing and advertisement agencies from private area, which places a number of concerns with regards to information security, compliance, and ethical considerations, which build on the agenda of communication professionals in the public sector.
The Private sector
As the purpose of the private sector companies is to generate value to the stakeholders, brand image is the major concern for the companies (Sommers, 2009). It is possible to argue that the work for PR in private sector allows professionals to get involved with a wider range of issues, as the purpose of organization is to build on the shareholder value, allowing to choose the projects, which build on expertise and are of interest to specific communication and PR company or professional. The articles, analysed on Marijuana case, demonstrate the different focus and agendas which professional in private may have on the issue. Some of the major challenges are to build on comprehensive and transparent communication channel with the client and trust, irrespectively if PR works for the government or together with NFP to raise the concerns of the other side. This involves actual brief from the clients, dealing with limited information and change in organizations, building relationships with stakeholders to raise the influence and "get the job done" and, surely, the financial viability of the PR, marketing and communication projects.
Not-for-profit Organizations
The role of communication professionals in NFP sector goes beyond fundraising, social media practices and donor relations (Liu, 2012). The public message can be transferred through a variety of tools and techniques, but is challenged by the limited budget. According to Allice Collings, PR professionals in NFP sector are involved in a wide range of activities from communication and marketing to advertisement (UTS, 2016). The Insight Communications, as an example, work with a wide range of NFP and commercial organization to in cultural sector and community involvement. The definition of the NFP sector, given by Allice Collins allows understanding of specificity of PR role in this area. NFP sector has a twofold purpose: exist for public benefit and is solely charitable. That said, the core activities include delivering service to a community, advocacy and building social capital, while generating funds and fulfilling the specific mission of the organization in the sector. The challenges of the NFP sector is to build on extensive communication campaign with a very limited budget. This means that to “ensure that the community service Announcement in Australia to appear on airthe ad gets an airplay, you need to make sure that its appealing to whoever is making a decision” (UTS, 2016).
Conclusion
Public communication professionals in contemporary political, business and social environment have to address several major issues. While public, private and NFP sector organizations have different strategic goals and purposes, the research of the experiences and challenges of the organizations in all the three sectors, outline the role of public communication professionals has yet more in common. The role of PC can be summarized as the expert prescriber, facilitator of the communication process and problem-solving process facilitator (Liu, 2012, p.388-389). With that in mind, the theoretical background, provided in agenda-setting, media effects and forming theories provides a reasonable ground and tools to approach the communication process in all the sectors.
References
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Marzuk B., 2006. Marijuana Legalisation. Are Queenslands Possible New Drug Laws Dope or Not?. SBS News [Online]. Web 10 June, 2016, http://www.sbs.com.au/comedy/article/2016/04/19/are-queenslands-possible-new-drug-laws-dope-or-not
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