Blog Critique

After having a read of Felicity Threadgate's blog, I gained a stronger understanding of this weeks readings, in particulary the Gower article. She formed a similar impression of the article to me, to by reading it her ideas reiterated the points discussed in the article, creating a clearer idea of what Gower tried to convey.

The points on globalisation and what determines the role of a PR practitioner stood out to both of us, and Felicity explained the significance of the issues clearly and distinctly. It was a useful read and put things in a better perspective for me.

Here's the comment I left on her page:

Well Felicity, you certainly read your readings. You focused almost entirely on the Gower article, but I can see why.
I agree with your comments on Globalisation. Although not explored further in the article, the points that Gower raised are quite pertinent and in my opinion accurate.
Also, the point Gower makes that "who defines our role determines how public relations will be practised" stood out to me as well.
You gave an in-depth description of your impression of both the article and the chapter, and reading actually reiterated the issues and helped me getter better grasp on the content. I agree with your stance on all of Gower's points that you mentioned, and you made your thoughts clear and distinct.
Well done, and thanks for helping me understand!

Chapter one

Chapter one of the Public Relations textbook (Johnston and Zawawi) helped to define what Public Relations is, and the reasons for its pertinence in contemporary society. This was obviously a great place to start, as an informed understanding of PR allows me to recognise the roles of PR practioners and the skills they possess. It also explored its relationship with advertising, promotion and marketing, as well as career paths and the various trends that reoccur in PR.

I quickly realised that I encountered PR more often that would have initially thought. Just in my day to day life I carry out or am at least involved in things such as event management, minority and community relations, despite often being on such a simplistic scale. Although I'm still skeptical of PR practitioners in many respects, it's clear that PR goes far deeper than mere spin-doctoring, and can often have many positive outcomes, for all parties involved. But, as the textbook explains, "growing cynicism about messages also makes publics harder to motivate or influence".