Lectures (6) PDF

UNIT 11 : WRITING FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS1 Structure 11.0 Introduction 11.1 Learning Outcomes 11.2 Importance of Communication in Public Relations 11.2.1 Identifying the Stakeholders 11.2.2 Identifying Communication Channels 11.3 Communication with Internal Publics 11.3.1...

UNIT 11 : WRITING FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS1 Structure 11.0 Introduction 11.1 Learning Outcomes 11.2 Importance of Communication in Public Relations 11.2.1 Identifying the Stakeholders 11.2.2 Identifying Communication Channels 11.3 Communication with Internal Publics 11.3.1 Segmenting Internal Publics 11.3.2 Employee Communication 11.3.2.1 Genesis of Employee p y Communication 11.3.2.2 The Content of Commu Communication m nica cati tion o to Employees 11.3.2.3 V Internal Various Media for Int ter Communication e nall Co Commun nic icat ationn Communication 11.4 Co ommunnicatio with ion wi ith Publics h External Publiccs 11.4.1 11..4. IImportance 4 1 Im ce ooff Me porrtance Media Medi External d a in Exte Public ernaal Pub Relations blic Re elatiions 11.4.2 How 11..4.2 Ho H Does w Do D Public es Pub bli Relations lic Re R the elattions Fitt in th Scheme he S ch hem Things e e of Thinngs for Media" Medi Me dia" a"" 11.4.3 11.4. 43 WWriting ng for tthe riting h Me he Media edia 11.4.3.1 11.44.33.1 Various Vario V ious Kinds ds of Press Kinds Releases Presss Releas ases ases 11.4.3.2 Fact Factors tors ffor Writing or Wr W itin Effective ng Ef ffective Pr Releases Presss Re Rele leas leases ases 11.4.3.3 11. 1.4. 3.33 Structure 4.3. r ctture of a News Sttru ews Release New R lease Re 11.4.3.4 11.4.3..4 Press Prress Handouts Haand ndouts ts 11.4.3.5 1 4.33.5 Press 11. ss Notes Pres ess Notess 11.4.3.6 11. 1.4. 3.66 Rejoinders 4.3. Rejoinde ders de 11.4.3.7 Style 11.4.3.77 St yle l Considerations 11.4.3.8 Feature Writing 11.5 The New Age Media in Public Relations 11.6 Let Us Sum Up 11.7 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers 11.8 Further Readings 11.9 Glossary 11.0 INTRODUCTION Communication plays an essential role in effective public relations. To say that communication is the nervous system of an organisation, will not been an exaggeration. Public relations facilitates the Àow of communication in its desired form between the organisation and all its stakeholders. Unit 11 Writer : Prof. Jaishree Jethwaney 237 Practice of Public Relations The stakeholders for any organisation can be broadly divided into two, viz., the internal stakeholders and the external stakeholders. To achieve the organisational goals, the PR practitioners need to work on the trinity: namely, audience, message, and medium for effective communication. To quote the Public Relations Association of America (PRSA), “Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually bene¿cial relationships between organisations and their publics.” 11.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES After working through this unit, you should be able to: Ɣ Understand the importance of communication in PR Ɣ Gain the skill of writing for internal publics Ɣ Formulate the writings for external publics Ɣ Know thee nuances of writing for media 11.2 IMPORTANCE IMPOR RTA ANCE OF OF COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION IN IN PUBLIC PUBLIIC R RELATIONS ELA ATIONNS As expl explained lained ed iin n thee In Introduction ntrooducction of thiss U Unit, nit, ttwo-way wo-w way a ccommunication omm muniica c tionn i essential is esssen ntial forr pub public blic rela relationsand laationsa sand sa nd w written rittten com communication mmunnicaati t onn iiss esp especially peciially signi¿cant. sign si g i¿¿caant. The Th type he ty communication ype off co omm m unicationn anaand the d thhe selection of the tool depends on the stakeholders sta holderss whom akeh h m it is who is intended inte intend ten ed to to address. addres ad esss. es 11.2.1 1.2.11 Identifying 11 Iden ntify Stakeholders ying the St S ak keh ehoolde ders de The Th he sstakeholders e oldeers or the target audience can be de¿ned as those critical takeh eh groups gro gr ou of oups of people peopple uponn whom whhom restse ts the res he success the suucce uccess of cess of ann organisation. organ rgan anisisat is on. It atio at It is iimportant mpoort the r ant for th practitioner he PR prar ctiitione o ¿nd nerr to ne ¿nd where wheere tthe he vvarious he ario ar uss sstakeholders ious io take takehhold ke ders are ar llocated, re lo what cated, w h t thei ha their expectations ir ex exp pectctat ctatio ns aare ions io re ffrom rom m th organisation, thee or org gani nisa ni sati sa tion tion,, an on andd wh why the organisation is dependent upon them. Every organisation deals with a variety of stakeholders that can be broadly divided into two two, namely internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders broadly comprise of employees, shareholders, and families of employees. External stakeholders encompass policy makers, opinion leaders, competitors, professional bodies, special interest groups, media, customers (industrial, wholesalers, dealers, consumers), potential employees and the public at large. An organisation has certain communication obligations towards its stakeholders which need to be articulated by the PR practitioner. The public relations function serves as a link between the management and its different stakeholders. It must ensure responsibility and responsiveness in policy and information to the best interests of the organisation and its stakeholders, and in this process, communication gains great signi¿cance. 238 11.2.2 Identifying Communication Channels Writing for Public Relations In order to reach out to a disparate set of audiences, the public relations practitioner needs to identify the most suitable media vehicles they can access. Some of the media for internal and external target audiences (TA) include the following: Media for internal Target Audiences (TA) The media for addressing the internal audiences broadly includes, interpersonal communication, brainstorming, house journals, video, idea boxes, Intranet, social gatherings, etc. Media for external Target Audiences The media used to reach out to the external audiences, encompasses mass media, conferences, exhibitions, meets, Internet and the selective media, etc. Check Your Progress: 1 Note:1)) Use Usee thee space a e below for you sppac you answers. an nsw wers. 2) Compare are your C mpar Co u answers yoour swers with answ sw wiith those hosee given th giveen at at the th end end off this unit. unnit. 1. List stt the vvarious List ario arious stakeholders u stakeho Public holderrs in Publ ho Relations. lic Re R lationss.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2. Discuss Diiscusss the various communication variious comm mmunnicatio cchannels on ch ls ffor annels different orr dif ffe target ferrentt tar rgett audiences audiencees in Pub au Public Relations. blic Re Relati tiions. s s............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11.3 11 1.3 COMMUNICATION COM MMUNICA ATIO ON WITH INTERNAL IN NTERN NAL PUBLICS PUBLICS As we have discussed, discussed internal stakeholders broadly comprise employees employees, shareholders, and families of employees. 11.3.1 Segmenting Internal Publics As in case of the external publics, internal stakeholders are also diverse; so the public relations practitioner needs to understand the complexities before deciding on the content and channels for transmitting the messages to them. Audiences are often segmented on the basis of their demographic pro¿les and psychographics. An organisation that looks like a composite unit from outside is but a bundle of complexities from within. When looked at carefully, people who work in an organisation are divided by gender, age, educational quali¿cation, hierarchy, location, salaries, and attitudes. At a social level, they tend to be divided by caste, religion and color. Public relations has to win over all these divisions and diversities, which other departments may or may not be 239 Practice of Public Relations suited to do. Sitting with HR (Human Resource) desk would give data about the entire workforce immediately. Lyn 6mith opines that while working on communication strategies, it would a good idea to remember the following: Ɣ Front-line staff prefers to hear the news straight from line managers. Ɣ Creative and specialists are generally sensitive people, so should be handled sensitively. Media needs to be selected carefully to reach out to various stratas of employees. 11.3.2 Employee Communication Employee communication is about managing relationships. There is always a tussle, especially among the marketing, HR and public relations departments, as to who would handle employee communication. As employees are very important stakeholders of an organisation, it is better if department the PR departm men handles e t ha and ndles employee communications. communication Employee commu m niica cati tioon can be through various media, such as magazines, blogs, vvideo ideo ideo conferencing, o con nfereencncining, bbrainstorming, raiinst ra stor st o mi or events, ming,, ev ven nts, idea ts iddea boxes, e boxoxes es, an es and st ooff nd a host other chhanneel. IItt is ann are channel. ea iin area n wh whic whichichh the maarkettin ingg or marketing o HHRR ddepartments epaart r me mentss do nott possess nece po essar necessaryary expertise. exxperrtisse. 11.3 3.2..11 Genesis 11.3.2.1 Gen nesis i of Employee Employ Em o eee Communication oy Communi om icattion 0icha 0 i ael C. B 0ichael raandonn cited Brandon cit ited three thr hree ee major major phases phaase sess of employee emp mployee communication comm com unicatio mm on bu ut didd nnot but ot sp specci¿cally label speci¿cally labe beel them. Lyn Lyyn 6mith has adapted these as follows: Staage O Stage ne (pre-1960): One (prre-19660) 0):: In thi his ph hi this phasa e, tthe phase, he ppredecessor rede re d ceess de ssor o was was a industrial indus ustr us tria triall ia rellation o s, the on relations, h goa he o l was to imp goal mpro mp rove ro improveve eemployee m loye mp yeee mo ye morarale ra morale;le; thee em le emph phas ph asis w as emphasis as oon was n inndivi vidu vi d al oorientation individual rienntation and n ssolidarity; olid dar ariity; y; the aattitude tttit i udde wa wasas wa warmrm andd ppersonal; erso soonal; aandd the an th he focus foccus was w s on people. wa S St Stageage Tw ag Two (mid i 1960s-1980): 1960s0s-1 0s - 98980)0)): Here Heree tthe he ppredecessor rede re dece de cess ce ssor ss orr w as jjournalism; was ourn ou rnal rn a is alism; m; the he ggoal oal w as to deli was l ver ne deliver ews; th news; he em the emp phas asiss w as emphasis as oon was n ffacts; act c s; tthe ct he oorientation rien ri ennta t tioon w as was towaw rds reportin wa towards ing; thee aattitude reporting; ttiitu tt itude ud w ass co was cooll an nd sskeptical; nd and kept ke ptic pt i all; an ic andd th thee focu ffocus ocuus wa w wass oonn events. Stage Three (late 1980s): During the current phase the predecessor is marketing; the goal is to implement strategy; the emphasis is on the organisation; the orientation is towards aiding the management; the attitude is business oriented; and the focus is on strategic objectives. 11.3.2.2 The Content of Communication to Employees The pertinent question to ask before one decides on the various channels of communication is what to communicate. In fact ‘what’ (content) would determine ‘where’ (channels) to communicate. The PR department should ideally have a small cell within it that would handle internal communication. The choice of people in this cell should preferably fall on ‘peoples’ persons, in other words, those with great communication skills and understanding of human psyche. Experts suggest that the senior management should ¿rst be encouraged to think about what needs to be communicated. A video or a house journal should be seen as a tactic in strategy, rather than a strategy in itself. 240 An ideal employee communication should have a mix of stories related Writing for Public Relations to the organisation and employee achievements, namely how the organisation is doing, the challenges of time, competitive edge, expectation from employees, futuristic plans, awards won by organisation, etc. For employees, motivational stories on people who have made a difference, stories of courage and grit, their achievements in areas beyond work such as sports and culture, etc. would ¿nd enthusiastic readers because such stories concern the people they know personally. It is important to include the achievements of their family members, especially children, and devote some space to employees’ written contributions in the journal or their skills like photography, sports, artistic abilities etc. All like to see their names in print; how well the piece is written really does not matter, but the feeling behind it does. Employee communication media include house journals, video magazines, interpersonal communication, brainstorming, fun days, employees’ blogs etc. While taking the decision on the choice of the media, h meediaa, the public relations professional will have to consider the: Ɣ most mo effective ost effec media ectivee med edia iaa Ɣ most ost eef¿cient mo media f¿ccientt medi f¿ diaa di Ɣ most credible mosst cre mo redi re dibl blee media As discussed discuussed earlier, d ea er, it iiss import arlier important rttant to know o kno ow thtthee ta target arg rget audience et aud udie ud ncee tthreadbare ienc hreaadba bare re so o that th the communication he comm m unniccat mm a ionn is decided i dec cid d kkeeping i ed n iin eepiing n view the ddemographics emograph phiics and ph psychographics. pssychographihics hi cs.. 11.3.2.3..2.33 Various 11.3 o s Media Variiou Mediia forr Internal nal Communication Inttern Com mmu m nication on Employee E pl Em ployee communication ee com mmumuni niccationn can ni really an bee a rea ally ssatisfying atisfyingg pa r ooff th part public thee puubl b ic relations rela rel tion la ns jjob ons ob but it is at tthe same hee sam me time ti qquite uite ddemanding. management emanding. Thee manage g ment n and an nd th those wh affected whoo are af affe fect cted cte byy th communication the commmunicat would a ion woould ju judge udg dgee an anyy go of uup goof p severely. severe rely re There ly. Th ly T ere are no ttwo w vviews wo iews tthat publicrelations, hat public crelationns,, ooff wh which whic ichh em ic employee mpl ploy oyee oy ee communication co omm m unic icat ica io at on is a ppart, art is a to art, management top manageme function. meent funct ctio ct ionn. T io Therefore, hereefore fore great re, gr reat ea caution aand n an nd a balancingg acaactt iiss required to ensure that communication is not seen as a mouthpiece of the management.management At the same time, time the aim of the communication is also to reÀect the management’s perspective and ethos. Internal communication often requires designing and producing media materials, which broadly include a whole range of employee magazines, ¿lms, AVs, instruction materials, safety manuals, bulletin boards, etc. What medium is the best for which message and vice-versa are eternal questions that constantly haunt professional communicators. The range of media for internal communications is immense but not all organisations use all channels. It depends on how much importance the organisations give to the functions, location of the projects and the interest the team takes in the activity. Induction Literature/Information Kiosks When new staff members join a company, it takes them time to get accustomed to the organisational culture. Good companies make all efforts to help new 241 Practice of Public Relations entrants feel comfortable through various means, which may include a welcome letter, an induction training programme, through literature or an interactive medium, such as a CD ROM/DVD, an electronic information kiosk, and Internet. All these media are aimed at informing such employees on how the organisation works, on its hierarchical structure, the decision making process, its product range, locations, etc. House Journals A house journal is the most popular channel for employee communication. However, not all journals are interesting from the perspective of employees’ interest. Bringing out a nicely packaged journal with coloured pictures is no guarantee that the journal would be popular. The basic aim of a house journal is to provide employees with a communication forum through which they can not only get informed and motivated but also participate in. A journal that has the company’s CEO on various pages is often touted by the employees as ‘His Master’s Voice’ and thus is not respected. On the other hand, a column n on th CEO’s thee CE C O’s interfaces with the employees on the issues that concern them would theem w oulld in all probability be appreciated. The PR head is ideally th eeditor thee ed itor tthee jo o of th jjournal. urna nall. na House jjournals ournnals comcome me in n vvarious ous sshapes, ario e aand hapees, sizes es n pperiodicities. nd erio io odiciciti ities ess. Th The twoo popular popu po however p larr sizess hoowevver aare tabloid re tabl and tthe loid an magazine he mag size. gazinne si izee. WWhile most hile m house ost ho ousee journals jour complimentary,some urrnalss are com mplim menttaryry m aare y,soome re nnominally om priced. minaally priceed. IItt wo would w b a ggood uldd be oodd idea tto id o writee ‘f‘for internal for in circulation’ nternnal ci circ r ulattio cover i n’ on thee covver ooff the he house jjournals; ournnal als; the th statutory he sta information atuutoryy innformation mu must m published st bee pub blished each year and the copies of the th journal, urnal, aass st he jour sstipulated, ipulated, mumust submitted. s be subm suubm b itted. Registered journals get some postal ostal ddiscounts. po iscouuntss. A house housu e jo us journal ourna n l can co na cover cove er to topics topi cs iin pics pi n a nu number numb mber mb er ooff ar areas, rea s, ssuch eas, uch ass tthe uc h he oorganization’s rgaani o ’s achievements, n zation on m ntts, fful¿llment achieveme me ul¿l ul ¿llm ¿l lmen lm e t ooff tar targets, arge ar gets ge future ts, fu ts futu plans, turee plans tu ns,, hu ns human huma mann ma interest inte tere ere stories, rest sto t ries,, social news, employee contributions, etc. The mailing list to mayy encompass ma compasss employees, enco oyeess, ddistributors, employ oy isstr t ib bututorrs, aagents, gent ge nts,, oopinion nt pinion pin on makers mak ers and aker er nd other an othe ot herr he eexternal xtern publics. nal publics bottom–line s. The bo bottom om––lin om inee ffor in house orr a ho housuse jo us journal urnnal is tthat jour ur hatt it m ha must satisfy ust sati us isfy the he nneeds th interests eeds and innterests of iits ts rreaders. eaade Human derrs. Hu Huma iinterest an in teerestt sshould houl ho ulld be tthe he ggoverning overnninng ov principle for ststories. tories. Too many uninteresting ¿gures and technical details are unlikely to interest readers. The steps for publishing a house journal: Planning: The ¿rst step is to develop a concept that serves the organisation goals the best. The decision about the size, format and periodicity may be taken after brainstorming session with the team and the management. The popular formats are tabloids and magazine. While obtaining the management’s approval, a format must be decided and the approval presentation should ideally include suggested titles, masthead designs, some page dummies, suggested paper, and an indication of the expenditure envisaged. Organising: Organising is all about putting together a network. Once the management’s approval has been obtained, the public relations head must organise the staff to get the job going. The greater the frequency, the greater the need for staff. 242 Depending upon the size of the PR department at the corporate of¿ce and Writing for Public Relations availability of PR staff at projects, proper networking for news gathering should be made. In the absence of regular staff, it is advisable to develop a band of “freelancers” for writing. It is a great feeling to see one’s name in print. The employees will jump at the idea. Discretion, however, should be used in selecting the right people for the job. The immediate step is to work out a strict schedule for collection, writing of stories, production and printing. Publishing: A professional PR practitioner plans several issues ahead in addition to the one being worked on. As an editor, the PR practitioner must inculcate the habit of reaching out to people and places. It is not possible to write interesting editorials, cover stories and human interest write-ups while sitting glued to the corporate seat. Every good house journal should have a de¿nite “personality” and that is the responsibility of the PR man. In order should to bring out the publication on time, one shou involve uld inv nvol olve as few executives as possible in the clearance of text/copy. Distribution: Distributi tion on:: A journal jo ournal lo loses lose value sess its va se valuluee if it do lu e not rreach does eachh the targeted hee targgeteed ppublic time. ubllic on timme. T The he quickest qu s aand uickeest most nd thee mo economical ost econ nom omicala mea al means ans ppossible ossi s ble mmust usst bbee se selected electeed reach ed too rea ach oout readers. ut to thee reaade d rs. S Some organisations ome organ an nisattio distribute i nss disttrib bute ththe journal he jour rnal att tthe place he pllacee off work, wo ork, while whilee otothers the herss mmail ail it to eemployees’ ai mplloy oyees’ homhomes. o es. Th The ob obvious obvi ous aadvantage viou dvaantag agee off the latter lat attte means t r me m that ans is tha at the popotential potent reader ntiial re ead e is relaxedd at hhome a er ome an aandd can read re journal ead the jou urn leisurely. nal leieissureely Also, l. Al A so, th the fa family members y meme bers can have access to the publication. puubl b icattio on. Feedback: Feed e baack ed c : APR APPR practitioner prac pr actitioner mustt ap aappreciate prec pr te tthe e iate he iimportance mportat nce of feedback. In order to ta ke the ppublication make ma ubli ub licaation ppopular, tion opular a , it is ne ar nnecessary make ake itt rreader cessarry to mak eaade ooriented. derr orie r ent nted d. Organised Orgaani n seed feedback throu through o ghh a quest ou questionnaire stiionnaire ssurvey st couldd bee uundertaken urvey co nder nd erta er taakeen to o examine ex xam a ine th eextent thee ex tent te nt tto o wh which ememployees mployees are ssatis¿ed atis¿ed dwwith ithh th it publication. thee pu publbllicat ic tio ionn. shorter The shhor orte questionnaire, t r the questionna nair naire, the higher the response. In fact, a one-page ir questionnaire should h ld suf¿ce. suf¿ce &ORVHG&LUFXLW,Q±+RXVH7HOHYLVLRQ In-house TV is a great medium in linking up a scattered audience in an of¿ce and township. Many companies telecast addresses by the CEO to employees and their families during times of crises. The interim management at Satyam uploaded a video on its Intranet to address the concerns of employees. The video was later shared with the news channels also, to inform people at large about the management’s initiatives for the thousands of employees. Employee Blogs This is a newer strategy but is catching up fast. 6un 0icrosystems promotes employee blogging, with its CEO, Jonathan Schwartz, taking the lead. It is said that thousands of netizens visit the blog. The blog was created ‘to improve’ both communications with the public and collaborations with attitude developers and programmers who author third party applications 243 Practice of Public Relations for Sun’s systems’. Today, 3000 out of 32,000 Sun employees are active bloggers. Southwest Airlines encourages its employees to blog as it believes it to be another communication tool, which can be handled without incurring any additional cost. Employees were skeptical in the beginning but not anymore. According to company sources, the site has had more than 200 posts and 4000 public responses in about nine months. Many of those who wish to share their experiences and their concerns, etc. access ‘Nuts about 6outhwest.’ According to analysts, some new companies have adopted blogging more rapidly than those that have been on the scene for long. Some of the companies that have adopted blogging include Infosys, TCS, Rediff, Milagrow, HCL, Cleartrip, Gridstone, Fritolay, and Naukri. Idea-Boxes The concept of idea boxes is to create a channel through which the management enc encourages n ourragees employees to submit innovative ideas in various areas of activity. activitty. y The he mmanagement anag gemmen discusses e t di discussse the ses th iideas he id eas and rerewards rewa w rds thos those ose which ccan an bbee impl implemented. lem mentteded. Ideaa bo boxes oxees aare re pplaced lacec d in variouss pla ce places acess tthroughout th roughhout tthe he oof¿ce and f¿ce an nd the empemployees plo l yeees can drop n droop in their heir iideas n th deass on isiissues suess that thhat a mamay include, ay inc clude improving d , immprov systems oviing syste ems andd pr processes, rocessses,, oorr ev even ven pu put ut inn ththeir heirr ccomplaints. com laiints. Wh mp When hen ssifted aand ifteed an d seseen see closely en close ely this me medium ediuum hhelps elpps el ps too trtrackk employee empl em perceptions loyeee pe erceeptionsns oon various n vaari riou ous issues, us is issue areas es, areas off ttheir area concerns, heeir con once cern ce ns, aand rn nd thetheir h ir he possible po ossib contribution ble conntr t ib bution to inninnovations. novata io at ons. Shop-Floor Sh Floor Discussions hop-F Disscussio ons Shop-Àoor Shhop-À -Àoor discussions discus can u sions caan be ggreat reat re morale at m boosters, oralee bo boos oste os ters ters,, bo rs both fforor eemployees mplo mp loyees lo ess aand n nd managers. m anaagers. T The ddiscussions he di scussion can be oon onns ca many n ma m nyy ssubjects ubjeect rrelating ctss re lati la ng tto ting ti work, o work rk,, ta rk targets, targ rget rg ets, et s or issues isssues that t at crop th r p up suddenly. Motivating employees is an important task cro forr mana fo management nagement na n and ppublic rrelations ublicc relaela l tion ons ca on play cann pl ay a vvery pla eryy sisigni¿cant sign gni¿ gn i¿ca i¿ c nt ca n rrole olee by ol coining c inin co motivational ng motivati messages. t onal m essaages. The s. T he mmanagement anag anagem ag emen em often entt of en ofte complains teen co com mpla mpla lain inss abo in aabout boutt ththe he lack motivation ck of motivati tion i on th the part he pa rt ooff th par rt the employees he emmpl p oy oyeees anand nd foforms form rms it rm itss ow pperception ownn perc ercrcepttioon about b reasons the reason o s for this. It is important to partner with employees in day on to day work and brainstorm with them when ¿nding solutions to a problem. Bulletin Boards A bulletin board in an organisational context can be described as a channel for the continuous Àow of news and messages concerning employees. They come in various sizes and shapes; some look mundane while others are well designed. Bulletin boards have a ¿xed periodicity. They are generally placed at the exit gates of the shop-Àoors, but can also be seen inside the assembly lines. Apart from circulars and notices, bulletin boards have become a sought- after medium by production heads for motivating employees to reach the production targets. Displaying shift-wise production details on bulletin boards also encourages competition among different shifts. A corner of the board can also be set aside for social news relating to employees and their family members. 244  Writing for Public Relations 11.4 COMMUNICATION WITH EXTERNAL PUBLICS We have discussed that external stakeholders encompass policy makers, opinion leaders, competitors, professional bodies, special interest groups, media, customers (industrial, wholesalers, dealers, consumers), potential employees and the public at large. The media for communication encompasses mass media, conferences, exhibitions, meets, selective media, etc. The organisation chooses the media and tools for the communication depending upon their size, capacity and requirements. 11.4.1. Importance of Media in External Public Relations Today media is all pervasive. It has become a vital source of information for people. Media has become the intermediary through which most of the public relations is achieved. Be it the costumers, policy makers, the opinion leaders, the competitors, professional bodies, special groups, media has its reach, hence media relations becomes an esseessential ent n ial pa part r of public relations. Scheme 11.4.2 How does Public Relations Fit in the Schem Things me of Thing Media? ngss forr Me M diia? The raw w material materiial for o media med diaa is information informaation that a comes at commes from froom various vari va o s sources riou soourrces andd wwhat hat tthe reporters he rep eporteterss ggather a her on at o theirr own own. n. In other n otheer wwords, media orrds, medi depends ia deepennds both bo t oon oth primary n pr rimarry anand secondary nd second ndary da nd ddata. Reporters taa. Rep rters ssometimes port rt om metitimees mamay use ay us se oone ne ssource c inn ¿ling ourrce ¿llin their ingg thheir story orr mul multiple sources u tipple so ul ourrces ffor making or ma mak king iinvestigative nvvestiigattive stories.