Blog Number 4: Commenting on two Classmate’s Post

While my blog solely focuses on public relations in the entertainment industry and where we would be without entertainment, today I would like to branch out and see where we would be without blogging and also taking a look at PR campaigns in America and around the world. Public relations is constantly surrounding us. Reading my classmate’s blogs has allowed me to gain a wider understanding about ethics and research in the many different fields of public relations. By reading the thoughts of my classmates I find myself questioning and exploring more ideas in the world of public relations.
Steph Ferris’s blog, PR Research Blog, focuses on blogging as a form of public relations. She explains, “Companies are starting to use blogging as a form of research.” Steph goes on to write that cast members of TV shows are even blogging about their own show. What better way to make fans connect even more with their favorite TV stars? In Steph’s second blog post about ethics in research she examines a good question. Should bloggers follow the same code of ethics as PR professionals? I agree with Steph when saying that some ethics should be had but blogging shouldn’t be held to the same superior standard as the code of conduct that journalists follow. Blogging is supposed to be about freedom of speech and isn’t meant to be a formal article published in a magazine or paper. In my opinion the world of blogging was made to allow people to express their feelings without worrying about whether they are being judged. The blogging world should be free of judgment and bloggers should be able to write whatever they choose whenever they choose unless of course they are threatening, or putting someone else in harm or danger.
Mara Yamnicky’s blog, PR Campaigns Across the Globe, focuses on public relation campaigns around the world. Mara writes, “In a recent study found in this UK edition of PR Week, PR professionals were said not to place much emphasis on measurement of their campaign results. In fact, in a poll of 100 large companies, 55% of the companies believed the proportion of a PR budget that should be spent on measurement was only between 1 and 10%.” This baffles me that PR professionals in the UK do now want to spend the time on measurement in a pr campaign. Measurement is extremely important to a campaign and something PR professionals should always be expected to do. As I continued to read Mara’s blog titled, Research Results: Causing confusing in the Universal Language of the PR Campaign, she explains that many PR practitioners do not want to measure their results, don’t know how or don’t want to put the time and effort into it. I think that these people need a wakeup call because to get the results that are needed measurement should be taking place.

Research Results in the Media

The entertainment industry and media feed off of research results. The audience’s feedback is essential to determine the direction in which the entertainment industry takes something. They may decide to take into consideration the audience’s opinion, ignore it, or even manipulate it. The game of manipulation may be what makes the entertainment industry so appealing and exciting. An example of manipulation in the media took place in July when the finale of “The Hills” aired. In the final minutes of the episode Kristen Cavallari says goodbye to Brody Jenner and then the backdrop rolls away, the cameras came out, and Jenner was standing on a Hollywood lot surrounded by the crew. The audience immediately went into shock and controversy broke out. The show was fake. Most people should have known from the beginning that it was fake, but based on twitter and Facebook many fans were distraught that it was all a lie. The show creator, Adam DiVello, states, “You always want to leave the audience wondering what happens next.” DiVello knew he wanted the finale to go out with a bang and to make people talk. The only way to do that was to show the world that the show was really just a joke. From research results DiVello must have known that many people believed the show was real and decided to awe them with the truth. However, the show now deals with huge scrutiny from its fans. They seemed to still try to manipulate the audience when asked whether it was all a joke or if some of it was real. Answering this question Brody Jenner states, “It was up to the fans to decide what had been real and what hadn't.” This goes to show that you should never believe what you see or hear on television. Most reality shows are scripted. Do you think that the entertainment industry manipulates research results to gain more publicity? I do!

Is wearing a meat dress ethical?

In 2001 the International Public Relations Association launched a campaign to reduce the unethical and illegal practices in the relationships between the media and public relations practitioners. I completely agree with each standard and code of ethics that the IPRA states and believe that this campaign is the best way to get the word out about ethics in public relations. IPRA’s campaign is now known to more than 100 countries, by 50 national and international public relations associations, and by 250 thousand practitioners worldwide. In my opinion this campaign will give IPRA a great reputation that other practitioners and associations will try to uphold to. Relationships will be built and trust will be gained to IPRA from this campaign because most people in the field understand the importance of ethics. Without ethics one cannot trust and build stable relationships.


However when it comes to ethics in the entertainment industry, I question whether they care about trust and building stable relationships. It seems as though a lot of celebrities care more about getting noticed in the media to gain more fame. Do their public relations practitioners agree or even encourage these actions? For example at the 2010 VMA’s Lady Gaga wore a meat dress clearly with the intent to gain publicity. She achieved her goal in gaining publicity, but People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was very critical of her wacky use of meat and found it to be extremely disrespectful. PETA states, “Meat represents bloody violence and suffering, so if that's the look they were going for, they achieved it.” Was this ethical of Lady Gaga to wear this dress or did she finally go too far? Would you risk a relationship with another organization just for publicity? I know I wouldn’t. One thing for sure is that Lady Gaga will never be seen in a PETA campaign.

Focus of my Blog!

Have you seen the juicy brand new show called “The Spin Crowd” on E!? Or maybe you’re a fan of “The City” and saw Whitney Port’s encounter with Allison Brod (a big pr firm in NYC) on the final episode! Public relations is booming in the entertainment industry from public relations in magazines to reality television shows! Even your favorite celeb has a public relations practitioner selling their image. One thing for sure is PR is here to stay in the entertainment industry.
Are you wondering if these reality PR shows are exactly what they portray themselves to be while not on camera? Are you curious if Kim Kardashian created and produced the show “The Spin Crowd” for her own publicity? Well I am and this is why my blog’s focus will be on public relations in the entertainment industry! I have always loved the entertainment field. As a little kid you could find me interested in the latest on E! News or listening to the hottest new songs on the radio!
Every time I hop into my car and turn the radio on I hear breaking news about another celeb heading to the slammer! How are we supposed to ignore PR entertainment when we can’t get away from it?
This summer I had an internship in the public relations department of a theater in Baltimore City. One of my required projects entailed that I look at the company’s Facebook page and discover the kinds of people who have taken an interest in the company. This is how we decided what kinds of people the public relations department should market towards. The articles we read for our first assignment pointed out that social media has a huge impact on PR.
I will leave you with one final question: what would entertainment even be without PR?