Chapter 12. Chapter 12

Media Literacy Activity: What’s Happening Now in the Public Relations Industry?

Media Literacy Practice Activity
brightgreen
true
true
You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Media Literacy Activity:
What’s Happening Now in the Public Relations Industry?

Activity Objective: In this activity, you will apply the critical process to help you discover the most recent developments in the public relations industry. You’ll also begin to become familiar with industry trade sources—the same sources that media professionals use.

Let’s get started! Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.

Reviewing the Critical Process

Developing a media-literate critical perspective involves mastering five overlapping stages that build on one another. Let’s review the critical process you’ll be using below:

Description: paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study

Analysis: discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage

Interpretation: asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings

Evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages

Engagement: taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment

Description

  1. Read these industry trade journals to get a sense of the most recent news about the public relations (PR) industry. (Your school’s reference librarians should be able to help you access industry trade sources.)
  2. Look at the Web sites of industry trade associations and professional societies like:
  3. Take notes on topics that have multiple stories or mentions in the current year.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

Question

+2KEgrdGIcL7GTjOGb57JEdYKX4I6Jt0Sgostc2mQbM35AuMf7F0rDgSflFCyzOXUw76Pj2olA2uvwYtO3oMeNmZI7d67l0DvNu8AlL70XQQXb/nSBC0/lD85FTub29cMV+qVFip4NrWlVndr+2UWdLKqnMotBK326vh8E45HMNadq9UF+xnZjoMpEHsBfmEFeP99ZqrQoL6SebLx/THQHMF5738CkthacY3jopJLNgt9lImjNQL3KEIRSAkcU0sqpqBJ9WCP8fWg7LFbv2lJdSjKF70/w0rup9xDkDbBzJjFbE012U37fhVYW+gj8m31btG33SPgnPAs2gIHN6HpQ==
_feedback: Your response has been accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Analysis

Next, look for a topic or issue that has received significant attention on trade sites and from trade journalists in the current year. Choose one specific trend or pattern in the news about public relations.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

Question

9IE0jsL96G59YzhNf1rAaEvkWpLQA5Izvi+DobObRiVFZzcZnAsgj9OdQsw02tCdMzpfYUvRaBuy4+OmYL76wu+Oz8vzxlMWWqBmiTRBrcfY2IgSouoMhKHrjwcf1bWHWQ2DyGjqKWL78SxctqA6x7rBzH8=
_feedback: Your response has been accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Interpretation

Using the following questions, let’s dig deeper into that trend you identified to interpret your findings in relation to the public relations industry.

Use the space below to answer the following questions.

Question

pD0gqLL6q6FHC9r0j4s+u+ov6kE+p7Ri8auqA21LmlhWiS3vmUWX2cVR81VTVGABmmkB78pVsEMzKKNLU84nJlxKqvjCO1vy5ilCZVql9tVv9tJsoNApN4DCjR002yIhT+D46Q== fFS4RkD5r5AJ1cXvBopBISdedCATtw8qhpTnL5ADexSDFu6AehTnG05xs6XgJ6ERiCDUknoDKuBRB5QFFkE+/S98YDs= XcCyBUg47IXg4yUjz/LpXzfPXoFJfR0WpsYN4YemCYabss7e5sNi232RZSQDXNA3krs6aqulgeof0vEzuy/WujJshz121EHQu4fHkVz2hMEy+sCKHrlUlw== 18NiLPao/w/U+JBO0mx2xXYFX5w2xTI+2alQvIbtwCoNIABrT2ENc1oYfqXU7CTGdP8m4r+vXqt5oxhC/oYVOl69OXfKHAJHRyQegKVcfuk= TfgwB+hKl7ZIKnauJQcWgKGoZEpQkvXXydVDsdFbMcozgJBsnZivP1L1iciBh67DepWk1V2zFNFHhBjviZmbmxDSjyppcpareifH1gtmVpjt7f8Uk6YJ+rM/H0BF7AmOjPtS5rvm4OimMTeevZLFi9e8fGYtY9GX8hHLoQ==
_feedback: Your response has been accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Evaluation

Next, assess the trends and forecast of the public relations industry as good, bad, or both.

Use the space below to answer the following questions.

Question

0BnQEqGMRDBH1VkpYXLO7uE390wdmkHB3VdBPpFUIp2lA8+FUDpjvkyjIhKF63XF+EtjJFwcfaunzMtYGeq9LL6fYoItkzWv6TFGzGTEZP7Ujfixx/kIMD+V8xbNxkJud/+exM7x2UJ1HptWPuyJqfavJGDimUfpqrkF9ZAfaobKaFWf ItFuYkx+gHFS7sJJN2ipgtkrrKLrqhlRoIuIG1xabakrhXP3ijC3KmxHcWfFIKGrxaRbToK2mbS88XNNW3AGtePyZIU/njHw
_feedback: Your response has been accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Engagement

Let’s take action! Moving forward, use what you have learned to engage with the public relations industry. Here are a few suggestions to get involved:

  • Consider posting your views on social media, creating a petition, contacting PR professionals to see what they think of your interpretation and evaluation, or going to a PRSA or PRSSA event if any are held nearby.
  • If your college or university has a PRSSA chapter, go to a meeting and consider joining the chapter.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

Question

6SpyaqYJnsNV4UxREys909rPBXkZtyv8Zr7vltFIwuNtiPAHcKtSHK82zN8fKdn5kfW8HRTp/V2lIWqahoTqqJZX8lAoWlo6WcSccQMHZerBEK5BtLir7Vm23H6x8wEE48GPev59vDLXDcM1
_feedback: Your response has been accepted and will be graded by your instructor.