PR COM 421 CHAPTERS 1-9

In 2012, the Public Relations Society of America reached a common definition for public relations. Which of the following represents the winning definition?

"Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics."

Before public relations practitioners can earn the respect of management and become trusted competent at one of the following

: writing speaking listening promoting or counseling advisors

Today, about ________ of the practitioners in corporate public relations departments report to the chairman, president, and/or CEO.

50 percent

Which of the following describes the coordinated management of meaning theory?

Communication is a complex, interconnected series of events with each participant affected by the other.

What type of interview occurs when a select panel of experts is exposed to repeated waves of questionnaires?

Delphi panel

Professor Everett Rogers predicted the unprecedented ________ of the Internet as a communications vehicle that spans cultures and geographies

Diffusion

Recalling "A Question of Ethics" in Chapter 2, what was the major lesson behind the Facebook-Google controversy?

Do not mislead the public, and always disclose your clients.

The "Tylenol Murders" case involving the Johnson & Johnson Company provides a prime example of how NOT to practice public relations in a crisis.

False

The American Management Association adapted the following definition of public relations: "Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between employees and upper management."

False

The R-P-I-E model of public relations stresses the element of implementation.

False

What do Ivy Lee's proponents cite as one of his biggest contributions?

He counseled clients that positive public relations begins with performance.

What was one major contribution made by public relations counselor Harold Burson?

He emphasized marketing-oriented public relations.

Which of the following is one of the best reasons why corporations should aggressively practice public relations?

It helps them to communicate their products and positions.

Why is it important for public relations professionals to read and understand the news?

It informs them of what journalists write, comment, and blog about.

How can we best characterize the nature of communication in the 21st century?

It is a public relations phenomenon.

Regarding public relations as a profession, which of the following is true?

It is not yet a full profession like accounting or medicine.

Why is it obligatory to begin any public relations campaign with research?

Managers want proof that what we advise is based on logic and clear thinking.

What did a 2014 Gallup poll reveal about the state of ethics in journalism?

Nearly one-third of Americans rated the honesty & ethics of journalists poorly.

From the statements below, which one BEST describes the current state of ethics in government?

Politicians seem to be losing more ground in terms of trustworthiness and ethical values

Which of the following statements apply to the practice of public relations?

Public relations cannot succeed if an organization's actions are unethical.

Which societal force has joined public relations to revolutionize the way organizations and individuals communicate with key publics around the world?

Social media

Public relations professionals who support the primary business of the organization are in ________ positions.

Staff

To truly be the "interpreter" for management philosophy, policy, and programs, who should the public relations director report to?

The Chief Executive Officer

Why were World War I and World War II significant in public relations history?

The government used public relations techniques to mobilize public opinion.

What is the major weakness behind the two-step flow theory of communication?

The mass media is only one of many factors that influences people.

Constructivism suggests that knowledge is constructed. Which of the following statements is NOt true under constructiviam

The sender should transmit or dispense information and expect receivers to act on it

Why do most executives tend to be uncomfortable with interviews?

They are not used to being put on the spot.

A comprehensive public relations plan clearly states tactics against which objectives can be measured and evaluated.

True

In John Marston's R-A-C-E model, the key component is action.

True

Some critics contend that the most horrific scandal in the history of the Roman Catholic Church is their handling of reports about priests accused of sexually abusing parishioners.

True

Sophistication in technology and the media's use of it have led to fulfillment of Marshall McLuhan's prediction that the world would become a "global village."

True

The exact definition of public relations still perplexes many professionals in the field.

True

The heightened stature of public relations can be seen in the increased desire of companies, nonprofits, governments, religious institutions, sports teams and leagues, and arts organizations to communicate their stories.

True

There are many different definitions for public relations, and each one is valid.

True

Imagine that an employee is fired for committing an illegal act. The employer accurately explains the cause for the firing in an e-mail message. The court agrees the content of the e-mail is true; yet, it rules that the employee was libeled. Which longstanding belief would this ruling challenge?

Truth is a defense against libel.

The first question to ask before engaging in a media interview is:

What purpose will this serve the organization?

Public relations can best be described as ________.

a continually evolving social science

Which type of random sample do journalists use to elicit ideas and points of views from people on the street?

a convenience sample

John D. Rockefeller Jr. was widely attacked when ________.

a dozen women and small children were killed in the Ludlow massacre

What is the MOST important benefit that interviews provide?

a personal, firsthand feel for public opinion

First and foremost the public relations practitioner is

a professional communicator.

To comply with the SEC's overriding concern for investors, what are public relations practitioners allowed to do?

act only on public information when trading securities

In John Marston's R-A-C-E process, the key step is ________.

action

Planning for a public relations program is important, but principally a program is assessed in terms of its ________.

actions and performance

Advocacy for the public relations practitioner can mean all of the following EXCEPT ________.

advocating for one's employer, regardless of their position

The overriding concern of the SEC is that ________.

all investors have an opportunity to learn about material information as promptly as possible

To effectively communicate with a public, it is important to recognize that ________.

all publics have their own special needs and require different types of communication

As the "conscience" of an organization, public relations practitioners should ________.

always remember to ask, "Are we doing the right thing?"

One type of e-fraud is known as "click fraud," in which ________.

an effort is made to register multiple clicks to get a higher search engine ranking

Public relations agencies can be characterized as having which of the following perspectives?

an outside looking-in perspective

While public relations is a 20th-century phenomenon, its roots are ________.

ancient

In considering that "a reporter is a reporter," media-savvy public relations practitioners know that ________.

anything they say to a journalist is fair game to be reported

For any public relations initiative, research should be applied ________.

at all phases of a program

The government affairs function of public relations deals with ________.

behavioral beliefs

Which of the following dictates public relations objectives and strategies?

business objectives

Principles developed by Ivy Lee in working with the press on behalf of business included ________.

commitment to present his client's point of view honestly, accurately, and forcefully

For the public relations function to be equal in stature to other management functions, which of the following is essential?

commitment to set realizable objectives

Among the primary forms of public relations research, ________ often reveal differences in the ways management and target audiences view communications materials, media, messages, and methods.

communication audits

A communications audit is designed to help an organization determine ________.

communications needs, policies, practices, and capabilities

The spiral of silence theory suggests that

communications that work well depend on silence and nonparticipation of a huge, silent majority

The fundamental mandate of public relations is ________, and its focus is ________.

communications; building relationships

Which of the following is a type of unobtrusive method of data collection?

content analysis

In the eyes of clients and managers, the most essential public relations task is ________.

coordinating interviews for their executives with the media

One area of law that is particularly relevant to public relations writers centers around ________.

copyright

The umbrella term to describe slander and libel is ________.

defamation

Broadly defined, research is a means of ________.

defining problems and evaluating solutions

To be successful, a public relations professional should be predisposed to ________.

disclose rather than withhold information

The "golden rule" prescribes ________.

doing that which demonstrates loving your neighbor as yourself

Which of the following principles lies at the heart of the ethical practice of public relations?

doing the right thing

Savvy individuals and institutions must recognize the importance of ________.

effectively interpreting the institution's philosophies, policies, practices, and views to the public

Which of the following distinguishes the R-O-S-I-E formula from other formulae that summarize the PR process?

encompasses a more managerial approach

When copyrighted material is used for purposes of criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research, what does it constitute?

fair use

In public relations research, the most frequently used type of convenience sample is the ________.

focus group

Which principle established in the U.S. Constitution often leads to conflicts between lawyers and public relations practitioners?

freedom of speech

Understanding and following the letter of copyright laws is critical to practitioners, especially in dealing with ________, because some of these professionals retain the right to copyright their work.

freelance writers

Which major trend below is contributing to the evolution of the practice of public relations in the United States?

heightened public awareness and media sophistication

During the years immediately following World War II, the public held corporations and their leaders in ________.

high esteem

The future credibility of the public relations profession and those who practice it will depend upon ________.

how carefully they observe and apply the principles and practice of ethics

Knowing that there is no such thing as an "off the record" statement to journalists, media-savvy public relations practitioners should remember that ________.

if they don't want to see something in print, they shouldn't say it

To the public relations practitioner, secondary publics are ________.

important, but less important than primary publics

Which of the following involves researchers delivering short questionnaires to people they approach in shopping malls or retail outlets?

intercept interviews

The two-way communication model for ethics ________.

is based on collaboration and allows for listening and give-and-take

Two essential properties of a random sample are that its selection ________.

is based on equality and independence

The responsible advocacy model of ethics ________.

is based on ideal of professional responsibility

Sponsored content, or sponsored journalism, has raised a new wrinkle in creating online publicity because ________.

it has blurred the lines between earned publicity and paid advertising

The strength of the public relations field stems from ________.

its roots in democracy

The essence of corporate social responsibility is to ________.

manage business processes so there is a positive impact on society

Print media remains an important medium for public relations professionals because ________.

many journalists at newspapers and magazines still use news releases

Every public company has an obligation to deal frankly, comprehensively, and immediately with any information that is considered ________ for a decision to buy, sell, or even hold the organization's stock.

material

In the 21st century, the value of public relations education is evident in ________.

more than 200 journalism or communication programs offering a public relations concentration

The cardinal rule for dealing professionally and ethically with media is to ________.

never lie

The cardinal rule of public relations is to ________.

never lie

A major premise in American law is that ________.

not all speech is created equal

What are the three media categories with which public relations practitioners work?

paid, owned, and earned

Which of the following would NOT be in a four-part skeleton of a typical public relations plan?

professional standards

Reviewing the list of public relations functions found in Chapter 1, it is obvious that ________.

public relations practitioners work with many diverse publics

A major difference between public relations and marketing or advertising is that ________.

public relations promotes an entire organization, including its people, products, and services

Which of the following are internal communication duties performed by public relations professionals?

reaching personnel through the intranet, newsletters, and meetings to convey company news

The enlightened self-interest model for ethical practice is based upon ________.

realizing that an organization does well by doing good

A principal contribution to the field of public relations made by Ivy Ledbetter Lee was ________.

recognition that the public needed to be informed

American experimentation with public relations techniques began around the founding of the ________ when ________.

republic; colonists tried to persuade King George III that they deserved the same rights as subjects in England

The SEC in 2000 adopted Regulation FD, which ________.

requires companies to widely disseminate any material announcement

Which of the various ethical models in your text does PRSA endorse?

responsible advocacy

If journalists were to follow the code of ethics published by the Society of Professional Journalists, they would ________.

seek the truth and report it

Social media has created new issues with employee relations, and also increased the number of employers ________.

seeking access to social media to monitor activities

Which of the following is NOT among the broad categories of tasks performed by public relations professionals?

setting corporate policy

According to the Copyright Act of 1976, an "original work of authorship" has protection from the moment the work is created in which of the following fixed forms?

songs, including words and music

In the S-E-M-D-R and S-M-R models the S and M respectively stand for ________

source; message

Of the types of random sampling used, ________ sampling is a procedure that surveys different segments of the targeted population.

stratified random

Public relations professionals who encode a client's message must understand all of the following EXCEPT ________

that "spinning" the message may be necessary at times

Which of the following dictates overall business objectives?

the broad environment in which the business operates

Twisting messages to create the impression of positive performance is ________.

the definition of spin

Publicity and press agentry today are often considered to be the same thing, thanks to ________.

the first public relations firm called the Publicity Bureau, which specialized in general press agentry

Agency specialists enjoy some advantages over in-house public relations professionals, including ________.

the higher regard management has for them over inside practitioners

Professional practitioners who understand the "management interpreter" perspective of public relations recognize ________.

the importance of communicating organizational policy accurately and candidly to the public

The PRSA Member Code of Ethics 2000 provides ________.

the industry standard for the professional practice of public relations

From theoretical research in communications, we have learned that ________.

the most persuasive communication comes from multiple sources of high credibility

Owned media can best be described as ________.

the new media channels that organizations own and operate

Which of the following trends have most drastically changed the work of public relations practitioners?

the rise of social media

Professor Marshall McLuhan has become known for predicting ________.

the world would become a "global village"

If public relations practitioners expect to receive support from management for a proposed program, they should expect to share which of the following?

their data that helps pinpoint which messages are most effective with targeted audiences

Public relations practitioners should maintain a healthy knowledge of current events MOSTLY because ________.

they may need to put that knowledge to work for a client or employer

Working in today's world of paid, earned, and owned media, which form of publicity typically remains the most valuable?

third-party endorsements

In a society overwhelmed by communications, what is the communicator's main challenge?

to cut through communications that come from many sources to deliver an argument that is persuasive, believable, and actionable

Typical goals for communication include ________.

to inform and persuade

Which of the following is MOST critical to the communication process?

to make oneself understood by others

What is the cardinal rule for public relations practitioners?

to never, ever lie

Which of the following is NOT among six requisite "attitudes" an effective public relations practitioner should have?

to project a healthy skepticism

One of Edward L. Bernays's biggest contributions to the field of public relations was ________.

using approaches that drew upon insights from the field of psychology

According to "the content is the message" theory

what the message says is most important

Earned media can best be described as ________.

winning third-party endorsement from objective journalists

Where did he term propaganda originate?

with Pope Gregory XV, who established a college in 17th Century Rome to spread the word about Catholicism