Public Relations Final Exam Junker

If you worked for a PR agency and were hired to assemble a crisis management team for a big company like Boeing or Target or Ebay, who would you assign to the team?

all of the above; the CEO, a designated crisis manager, a technical expert, legal counsel

According to data from 2018, about 88 percent of the public relations industry in the U.S. identifies as white. What does this suggest about the public relations industry?

all of these answers

According to Aristotle, there are three main approaches to persuasion. Which one, used frequently in advertising and political campaigns, typically works by telling a brief story that makes us feel emotions like sympathy, fear, resentment or joy?

appeals to pathos

In Cialdini's Six Principles of Persuasion, liking is the principal that people are persuaded by those they like. When people are persuaded in this way, what are they doing?

using the peripheral (heuristic) route of processing information

The Exxon Valdez oil spill is a good example of how coverage of a crisis can follow a predictable narrative.Which character types are typically found in that typical narrative framework?

villains and victims

What is advertising value equivalency (AVE)?

way of assessing monetary value of news coverage for your organization

B2B communication refers to what kind of communication?

when businesses communicate with other businesses

In a nutshell, what does corporate social responsibility refer to?

when corporations avoid wrongdoing and also actively promote community welfare, social justice or sustainability

Of the many skills and competencies important in public relations work, being able to write well is near the top of the list. What are the three main objectives that typically drive public relations writing?

writing to inform, persuade and engage

Identify the PRSA definition of public relations

A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics

The fallout from a self-inflicted crisis can have ripple effects on associated businesses, organizations and clients. What current case, which we devoted some time in class to discussing in real-time, is a good example of this?

Ad executive Stan Richards' comments that an ad was "too Black" for his client's "white supremacist constituents"

Businesses and organizations sometimes choose to communicate using owned media and sometimes through earned media. What is an example of communicating via earned media?

After pitching the idea to local news, a broadcast news piece about your company's community revitalization efforts airs on the evening news

We covered two famous crisis cases in class. One was an example of how not to do things. One was an example of how to do things. Which was the good example?

Tylenol product tampering case in 1982

Which of the following headlines is an example of a trend piece (a form of soft news)?

U.S. Hospitals Targeted In Rising Wave Of Ransomware Attacks, Federal Agencies Say

What official style guide do PR professionals rely on to help them keep their writing simple and consistent?

Associated Press Stylebook

From a PR perspective, why are traditional news sources like newspapers, news sites, TV news and radio important?

Because coverage in these media can add credibility and increase reach

Besides having clearly stated ethical guidelines, what can companies do to ensure ethical business practices are followed?

Both of these answers: "create an ethical culture" and "integrate ethics into the institutional structure"

Overwork, short-term thinking, lack of oversight with partners, conflicts of interest, cross-cultural differences and lack of transparency. What do these items refer to?

Common reasons for ethical lapses

If you worked for the World Wildlife Foundation and were developing a plan to increase public awareness of the threat to biodiversity in urban areas, which of the following research methods would be considered a primary research method?

Conducting focus group interviews with urban residents on the topic of biodiversity

CATNIP is an acronym for narrative frames common in news media. What do the C, T and N stand for?

Conflict, Timeliness and Novelty

Arthur Page is associated with the two-way symmetrical model of public relations. Which of the following is NOT one of his seven principles?

Delay your response, deny uncomfortable facts, discredit your opponents

Which theory of persuasion studies how people adopt attitudes, ideas or behaviors in five steps, including Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Trial and Adoption?

Diffusion Theory

Let's say you work for the Elsa and Anna Ice Block Company. In your CSR effort to help combat global warming, you've switched from diesel-fueled delivery vehicles to an all-electric fleet. Which of the following headlines would be best for your news release announcing this switch?

Elsa and Anna Ice Block Co. to keep it cool with electric trucks

President Trump owns a big business and the decisions he makes as president could affect its success and benefit him and his family financially. In turn, some people, interest groups or nations may seek favors from the president by doing business with the Trump brand. What are these scenarios examples of?

Ethical and professional conflicts of interest

True or False. According to Terry Hemeyer, in a crisis situation, it is advisable to say "no comment" when you don't know the answer to something.

False

Let's say you work for Edelman PR and represent Dell Computers. A recent investigation has revealed that exposure to Dell's new line of uranium-plated laptops has been found to cause brain damage and organ failure. What advice would you give to Dell?

Have your CEO respond immediately, recall all affected products and vow to remedy the problem

In what ways was the Boston Tea Party a public relations event?

It was led by an interest group, the Sons of Liberty, planned the event to rally support for independence

Journalism and public relations overlap significantly. What is a major distinction between them?

Journalism serves the public interest and PR serves the interests of the organization/client and the interest of the client's publics

In her lecture on CommTech, Brittany Paxman broke things down into four key uses for the new tools of communication technology. What are those four uses?

Managing content, managing relationships, gaining insights and managing workflow

If you worked in PR, what would NOT be a good tip for working with independent news media?

Never take "no" for an answer and lavish reporters with gifts in exchange for positive coverage

When public relations practitioners work for churches, child-welfare advocates or philanthropic foundations, what area of the employment sector are they working in?

Nonprofit sector

What was the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide?

Office of the Catholic Church established in 1622, early example of the institutionalization of public relations

Which of the following is an example of the two-way symmetrical model of communication as defined by Grunig and Hunt?

Participating in a townhall meeting to explain to stakeholders why you want to build a factory in their community and to hear their concerns about it

What were the "Fireside Chats"?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's weekly radio addresses, broadcast directly to the American public

One of the major challenges of the digital age, especially more recently, is the spread of misinformation and proliferation of conspiracy theories and online conspiracy cultures. What recent conspiracy culture has become part of the daily news cycle, especially in the news cycle of partisan politics?

QAnon

In public relations, there are problems, and then there are crises. How is a public relations crisis defined?

Situation that interferes with normal operations, and jeopardizes image and bottom line

If you were doing some proactive planning in your communication job for the Ambidextrous Squirrel Preservation Society, what might you do to improve your chances of getting news coverage?

Spread disinformation about about the health effects of vaping, which is a growing problem in the squirrel community

What are the two main roles of public relations professionals?

Technician and Manager

How can organizations build their reputations as trusted thought leaders by working with independent media outlets?

The "offer the media" answer and the "write op-eds/commentaries" answer

What does Aristotle's rhetorical triangle refer to?

The elements of persuasion

Latent problems are faced. Change is accelerated. Early warning systems are identified. Competitive benefits are discovered. If this sounds like something you've heard before, it's because you have. What else do you remember about these little bitty sentences?

They describe some of the potential positive outcomes of a crisis

Name an important reason that the PR industry grew so rapidly after World War II

Thousands of former employees of the Office of War Information entered the workforce

The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion posits that people process information in what ways?

Through peripheral (heuristic) and central (systematic) routes of processing

The following are objectives of the hypothetical campaign we discussed in our class on planning. -- To increase positive attitude among Hispanic leaders.-- To host exhibits by local Hispanic artists.-- To host an annual event showcasing the art of Hispanic grant winners.-- To increase Hispanic attendance to the museum by 20%.Based on these objectives, what might you assume is the larger goal the organization is trying to achieve?

To build good will and relationships with Hispanic community

Why did the U.S. government partner with Disney in the 1940s?

To create short films to promote the war effort

If your boss at the Ambidextrous Squirrel Preservation Society asked you to create an integrated communication campaign, what would you do?

Use a variety of tactics, from paid advertising, to social media contests, to in-person events, to traditional media, to personal outreach with key influencers

In an ethical dilemma, when you adopt a solution that does the greatest good for the greatest number of people, you are applying a philosophy known as

Utilitarianism

What does latent public, aware public and activepublic refer to?

Ways of identifying stakeholder groups and their degree of engagement

What is the main difference between hard news and soft news?

While they can be about the same topics, hard news is considered breaking news

Which of the following accurately describes the gender gap in public relations agencies?

Women make up 70% of PR workforce but only about 30% of upper management

Cognitive linguist George Lakoff says that if you examine political rhetoric, you will find that Republican candidates often position themselves as "stern fathers" while Democrats often position themselves as "nurturing mothers." Both these figures could be understood as types of heroes. What sort of research method did Lakoff likely use to identify these patterns?

a content analysis of narrative archetypes that appear in campaign speeches and campaign ads

When a business creates a separate organization to advocate for the interests of the business, but the business does not disclose its ties to the advocacy organization, what would this organization be called?

a front group

In your capacity as publicity chair for your student organization, The Left-Handed Squirrel Preservation Society, you've been having a hard time building good relations with ambidextrous squirrels (who are neither left-handed nor right-handed but both). They feel alienated from the left-handed groups and from the right-handed groups (And who can blame them?). In an effort to make them feel more appreciated, you decide to invite them to a block party featuring performances by Lizzo and Willie Nelson. Despite the killer entertainment, the ambidextrous squirrels fail to RSVP in the numbers you had hoped. You decide, therefore, to win their trust by reaching out to the neighborhood hedgehogs, as they are highly respected by the entire squirrel community. In this example, what kind of public do the hedgehogsrepresent?

a moderating public

Let's say you work for the Elsa and Anna Ice Block Company. Your company has taken on a major corporate social responsibility initiative to support action on climate change. The initiative is called Save the Icebergs and you're co-sponsoring a youth climate summit during the month of January. Which communication tactic would be best for announcing the initiative?

a news release

Which of the following is written just like a news story, using the inverted pyramid structure?

a news release

A public relations plan developed for the long term is called _________.

a standing plan

What mass media theory does this statement illustrate? Media coverage of climate protests may or may not influence the public's opinion about climate change. But that coverage will definitely influence the public's opinion about the importance of the issue itself.

agenda-setting theory

The proliferation of misinformation has been a growing worry for the media, the PR industry and more. What's the big deal?

all of the above

What is NOT a good tip for preparing message copy for public spokespersons?

avoid analogies and metaphors in favor of legal and technical language

When you hear the term "bot" in the media these days, it's not typically a positive story. Why?

bots are fake social media accounts that can be used to sew disinformation or create falls impressions

Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are based on the idea that corporations should do more than increase market share for stockholders. They should also be good __________.

citizens

The growth of industry in the late 19th century spurred the need for businesses to prioritize public relations as an essential management strategy. What type of conflicts, exemplified by the Ludlow massacre, did PR help manage?

conflicts between companies and employees (i.e. big business and labor)

Studies have shown that when "quality and price of a product [or service] are deemed equal, social purpose has consistently been the leading purchase trigger for global consumers." This finding is evidence of the value of what?

corporate social responsibility

In response to a privacy data breach, what is a common tactic for communicators when managing the crisis?

create a website that addresses frequently asked questions about the breach

Among the issues of concern for public relations in the cyber age, this one has spawned its own practice area to combat this problem and to develop effective responses to it. What is this problem?

cyber-security breaches, also known as data breeches

It has been said that Google can predict a flu outbreak in the U.S. faster than the Centers for Disease Control simply by examining the search history of Google users. What is this research method called?

data analytics

Which of the following fits with the characteristics of good public relations writing?

editing and revising according to Associated Press style

In most cases, which public is most important to a company or organization?

employees

The First Amendment is important to public relations because it_______.

established the right to free speech and a free press

Whenever there is a mass shooting, a public debate often follows over how the issue itself ought to be defined. Those who support gun control often try to define it as an issue of public health and safety. Those who advocate against gun control often try to define it as an issue of individual rights. This struggle over the terms of the debate illustrates what media theory?

framing

According to the textbook, the U.S. population is roughly 60 percent white, 19 percent Hispanic, 12.5 percent Black, 5.5 percent Asian and 3 percent other populations. This is the baseline for understanding how specific publics and stakeholder groups compare. Based on your study of traditional publics in Ch. 4, which of the following stakeholder groups do these numbers describe: 84 percent white, 7 percent black, 6 percent Hispanic and 2 percent Asian American (Hint: this group is also primarily affluent and primarily older than age 45)?

investor publics

People who work in PR read a lot of news from many sources. This helps them identify social trends, political concerns and important events that could affect an organization or its stakeholders and even become a crisis. What is this activity sometimes referred to?

issues management

Let's say that a PR practitioner for a corporation chooses not to go public with certain news out of fear that it may affect the stock value of the company. What's this called?

it's called failure to disclose information, a form of deception, and it is unethical and illegal

The "seedbed years" describes the first wave of modern public relations. The earliest agencies, starting in 1900 with the Publicity Bureau in Boston, focused on countering negative publicity. These early practitioners did not have college degrees in public relations or previously work in public relations departments because there were none. What profession did these early practitioners come from?

journalism

If a PR agency hired by a toy manufacturing company is doing its "due diligence," it is probably doing a good job of what?

learning from key publics, researching relevant products or services, and understanding client goals

If demographics describe things such as class, gender, age and race, what do psychographics refer to?

opinions and attitudes

If you were looking for reliable public opinion data on media use among various demographic groups or public opinion about political affiliation or religious beliefs, which of the following sources do you think I would most likely recommend?

pew research center

What is a SWOT analysis?

planning tool for assessing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a company or organization

This public relations model is sometimes referred to as the P.T. Barnum approach, made famous by the founder of Barnum and Bailey's Circus. Which model is it?

publicity model

The digital age has been the cause of, and solution to, many PR problems. What is one of the biggest challenges for crisis communicators in the digital age?

responding effectively in an instantaneous news cycle

What does ROI stands for?

return on investment

What is the research technique that uses existinginformation generated by others?

secondary or library research

One reason we are such a politically divided nation is because the new media age has made it very easy to find and consume media that align with our beliefs and to avoid media that do not. What's this phenomenon called?

selective exposure (or confirmation bias)

Your company has an ethical approach that attempts to make as many stakeholder groups satisfied as possible. But you also go the extra mile to ensure that those in the minority are treated equally by doing things like providing sign-language interpreters at your annual charity auction (without knowing whether any attendees are hearing impaired) and wheelchair accessible facilities for all your buildings (not just the ones where employees are known to need them) and gender-neutral bathrooms to accommodate those of any gender or sexual identity. What theory of ethics would these be examples of?

social justice theory

Ideally, the objectives of public relations plans should be _____.

specific and measureable

When UT President Jay Hartzell Fenves delivers his State of the University address, his communication team will help him craft a speech that will speak to the concerns of current students, alumni, faculty, the Board of Regents and all Texans. What term describes all of these groups?

stakeholders (i.e. publics or stakeholder groups)

Which of the following is true of strategies versus tactics?

strategies refer to the rationale behind a planned course of action

Patagonia has been recognized for being a leader in ethics. Which of the following are actual examples of how they have either decreased harm or actively promoted good?

switched to organic cotton in their products and led efforts to reduce water use

The specific actions called for in a public relations plan are known as_______.

tactics

What of the following are good reasons for including an evaluation section in a PR plan?

the "improve for future efforts" answer and the "to show upper management/client" answer

Which social movement inspired other social movements for its two-pronged strategy for advocating change? (hint: One strategy was by challenging laws in the courts and the other was by leveraging public opinion via protests and boycotts)

the Civil Right Movement

In the 10 Commandments for PR writers (a slide in some lecture I've probably given at one time or another), what does it say good writing should avoid?

the anwers with "passive voice" and the answer with "jargon and fluffy adjectives"

CATNIP stands for Conflict, Audience, Timeliness, Novelty, Impact and Prominence, all of which are qualities of what?

the newsworthiness of a topic, event or story

Despite the fact that voters often bemoan the lack of attention given to issues in political campaigns, studies show that voters often respond most strongly to superficial campaign ads and political stories that appeal to emotions and values. What route of cognitive processing is at work in this latter scenario?

the peripheral (heuristic) route

In Brittany Paxman's lecture, she reviewed 12 key findings of the Dialogue Project. Globally, people from the countries surveyed said politics, race/ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation were the most difficult topics to have respectful dialogues about. COVID-19 was not mentioned as one of them. Why?

the results were mixed, with some nations saying that COVID brought them together against a common threat

Which of the following publics are LEAST likely to vote?

those aged 18-24

People in public-relations roles are sometimes understood to be boundary spanners. What boundaries are they spanning?

those between an organization's leaders and its stakeholders, and across different stakeholder groups

In the digital age, it has become more common for news releases to include bullet points beneath news release headlines. What is the purpose of these?

to provide newsworthy supporting facts

What is B-roll?

unedited video footage made available to the media