w4m: Speaking For Those That Cannot Speak

Writing to Persuade- Speaking For Those That Cannot Speak

By David Piggott

In 2011 people have more rights than at any other time in human history. With these rights great things have happened; an extension of freedom of expression, equality, education, and beliefs. Greater liberty should encourage people to think about their lives in greater depth. The concept of “life” can be considered on many different levels, from the biological to the spiritual, from the past to the present, from the individual to the many... but what about from the start?

In 2009, 189,200 abortions were carried out in England and Wales. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 states that, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”. The European Convention on Human Rights states that each human being has a “right to life”. The question is; when does a human life begin? The two main arguments are that life begins from the moment of conception or from the moment that a baby could theoretically survive outside the womb.

I have chosen to believe that life begins at conception; the reasons for this are both scientific and personal. As with any moral and ethical situation, both the scientific and the moral conscience carry weight. Which one has greater influence on the argument is down to the individual.

Many medical professionals agree life begins at conception, therefore, according to the Declaration of Human Rights terminating that life is akin to murder. Yet we have set in place laws designed to protect our citizens from harm?  Why not the unborn?

Even if people do not agree that life begins at conception then they cannot object to the fact that the seeds of life have been planted and are growing. To set arbitrary limits on when a life becomes a life is a dangerous path. Does life begin when there is a heartbeat? Or when there is the possibility of brainwaves? Or when the child leaves the mother’s womb?

Within the last 10 years abortion rates have risen. This leads to the conclusion many people have not used contraception despite government and charity campaigns encouraging them to do so. Looking at these two things in conjunction, the link could be made that abortion is now seen as a form of birth control. This is a dangerous idea as abortion is a serious medical procedure with potential side-effects and negative outcomes that could be avoided if contraception were used in the first place.

The possibility of adoption has been a viable option for many years and yet is often discounted due to the emotional heartache involved. One has to ask the question, would someone feel more emotional pain if they were to terminate the life of a child or if they were to see that child adopted into a stable home? It’s completely understandable that a child is a responsibility and, for whatever reason, some might not be able to cope with that responsibility. But for every person that can’t there is someone that can.

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Word count: 500 

w4m: My definition of Public Relations

Definition of Public Relations

By David Piggott

Public relations can be defined as a trade; a discipline in which the goal is to communicate with the desired audience. The communication must seek to inform the audience and encourage understanding of and prompt desired behaviour towards a subject. Public relations requires its practitioners to be adaptable and flexible, aiming to reconcile the goals of the client(s) and the wants/needs of the audience.

A key defining feature of public relations is that it is not impartial in its work. It works to provide the best outcome for the client that utilises the service. It functions primarily through the media as this is often the most appropriate and effective means of communication with audiences, publics and stakeholders. However, public relations can be found anywhere that its audience goes, from the internet to town hall meetings. To achieve the desired outcome, public relations uses many tools; from media releases, publicity stunts, and creating dialogue through social media, to lobbying, opinion polling, and setting up bodies and pressure groups (to draw attention to and influence opinion in line with the interests of a particular client).

Public relations has its roots in both war propaganda and psychology although the term itself did not come in to use until the mid twentieth century. Nessmann (2000) argues that European P.R. can trace its beginnings to the systematic news office of Frederick the Great (1712-1786) and Napoleon’s mobile printing press that he employed to send favourable stories back from the front during military campaigns.

Ivy Lee (1877-1934) is considered to be the first widely recognised P.R. practitioner. He was a publicity agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad and advocated that businesses reach out to a dubious public, who were sceptical of their legitimacy and goals. Lee believed that without the support of the public, business’ would not be able to function in the way that they wanted. Lee was one of the first to introduce press releases, keeping journalists up to date with news.

Edward Bernays (1891-1995) is widely believed to be the “father” of modern public relations. He took many of his ideas from his uncle Sigmund Freud, adding a psychological dimension to the role of P.R. Bernays believed that people followed a “herd instinct” and felt manipulation was necessary to control a society he regarded as irrational and dangerous. He began his career as a press agent, his main client being the opera singer Enrico Caruso.  In 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson engaged Bernays to set up the Committee on Public Information in collaboration with others. This body worked to influence public opinion towards supporting American participation in World War I. He is famous for many P.R.campaigns including Torches of Freedom on behalf of the American Tobacco Company (using the woman’s liberation movement to encourage smoking among its female followers) and working for Proctor & Gamble to convince people that Ivory soap was medically superior to other brands (using sculpting contests to draw attention to the brand). For some, he is most synonymous with the work of the United Fruit Company, using political propaganda to destabilise and overthrow the democratically-elected government of Guatemala. It is thought that the term “banana republic” originates from this campaign.

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Word count: 530

Review of Myc Riggulsford Sessions - 10/11 January 2011

Having come in to the sessions a day late and behind schedule, I was first struck by how welcoming Myc was. Any nervousness quickly subsided when I began writing notes on foreign press releases which was the topic that Myc was covering at that point. Due to the way in which Myc explained things, I was quickly able to grasp what he was saying and its import. Britain and America have traditionally been seen as the hubs of the public relations industry, therefore it is easy to assume that the writing style and procedure of the UK and the US is standard to other countries. Myc explained that this was not the case and spoke about how in the “romance” countries it is not acceptable to use the same word twice in a media release, even when talking about the same object. This tallied with my perception of French and Spanish culture.

The next topic of discussion was writing a feature and the different narrative styles that can be used. This was particularly helpful as when I am writing, it is beneficial to have an idea of style and tone. For example, in scientific stories, Myc talked about writing in a “thesis” style which fits the academic background. He then went on to discuss other narrative styles and talked about the fact that features are decided a long time in advance, so it’s important to have an idea of how the story will read. Myc also covered Sunday newspapers and press embargos.

During the break, Myc came and spoke to me about what was covered the previous day. He was very friendly and open and spoke about his vast experience. When I had a question on “astroturfing” in the UK, he was able to answer it comprehensively.

In the afternoon session, Myc spoke about planning a P.R. campaign, pitching to a potential client, and the importance of a pitch document. With his guidance we were able to draw up a comprehensive list of tasks and responsibilities relating to the pitch document. One area of interest that Myc covered was budgeting, telling us that approximately half the campaign fee would be for man hours and half would be for material cost. This gave us perspective on budgeting realistically.

After the main task of pitching for business from a quarry in Flushing, which my group won, I asked Myc about how a campaign’s effectiveness can be evaluated. He talked about how this was currently a “live” issue, as new methods have arisen and the credibility of Advertising Value Equivalents has declined. From his own perspective, with his experience, he could tell whether a campaign was successful or not. This backs up what I have always thought, P.R. is a mixture of art and science: the science of working out what people are thinking and saying and the art of talking to them.

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Word count 480