Public Relations Practice and CritiqueNMGT 2120 The New School

Spring 2012

Spring 2012, NMGT 2120A, CRN 6592Time: Tuesdays, 4:00 - 5:50 p.m. Room: 715 in Johnson/Kaplan Building, 66 West 12th Street, NYC

Instructor: Bonnie McEwanEmail: BonnieMcEwanNYC@gmail.comPublic Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniemcewanTwitter: @MakeWavesBonnieOffice Hours by appointment

Course Description

The course begins by defining "public relations" as it is currently practiced, within the context of dynamic social media, a rapidly changing publishing environment and high consumer expectations. We will discuss the differences and similarities between public relations and propaganda and examine the ways that public relations influences human behavior, for good and ill. Students will investigate the steps that go into developing, executing and evaluating a successful PR campaign, and will have opportunities to build their own skills in the core techniques.

Course assignments will focus in two main areas: 1) critical analysis of news stories, media coverage and popular public relations initiatives, and 2) developing individual skills such as writing for multiple formats, crafting strategies and message platforms, pitching story ideas to journalists, using Twitter and other social media and assessing the ROI of PR efforts.

Readings will be assigned from the required course textbook as well as supplemental materials distributed in class and through the university's e-reserve service. There may also be required screenings of films and/or broadcast programs and guest speakers as appropriate.

Course Outline

Date Class Topic Assignment Due Reading for this Session

Week 1, January 24 PR: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly None L'Etang, Chapter 2 Discussion + Assignment for week 2

Week 2, January 31 PR as a Management Function + The Define PR (1 paragraph) L'Etang, Chapter 3Stages of a PR Campaign -- Lecture

Week 3, February 7 The Public Sphere & Why It Matters None L'Etang, Chapter 5 Lecture + Assignment for week 4

Week 4, February 14 The Media Landscape: Types, Roles, Issue Tracking (1 page) L'Etang, Chapter 6Power & Technology --Discussion

Week 5, February 21 Propaganda: What It Is & How to Spot It None L'Etang, Chapter 8 + Stauber & Lecture Rampton, "The Art of the Hustle

and the Science of Propaganda,"in BlackBoard e-Reserves

Week 6, February 28 Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility + Mid-Semester Student Evaluations Center, et. al., "Standards, Ethics &distribution of take-home midterm, due 3/20 Values" plus Nike Case Study, e-Reserves

Week 7, March 6 McMAP (McEwan's Media Advocacy Process) None Antoniotti, "Analysis of One Kalamazoo Lecture w PowerPoint (posted in BlackBoard following class) Campaign," in Resources on BlackBoard

[SPRING BREAK. NO CLASS ON MARCH 13]

Week 8, March 20 Organization Communications: Guest Speaker Midterm Due (3 pages) L'Etang, Chapter 9David Eng, VP of Public Affairs, Lower EastsideTenement Museum + Assignment due 4/3

Week 9, March 27 The New PR Frontier: Sustainability -- Lecture + None McKenzie-Mohr, et. al., "Fostering Distribution of Final Project Guidelines Sustainable Behavior," e-Reserves

Week 10, April 3 PR Gets Personal -- Discussion Social Media (3 online posts) L'Etang, Chapter 10

Week 11, April 10 PR Skills Inventory -- Exercise + Discussion Submit Final Project Topic for Approval Noneof Final Project Guidelines

Week 12, April 17 Crisis Management, Then & Now -- Lecture None Center, et. al., "Crisis Management," + Hurricane Katrina Case, e-Reserves

Week 13, April 24 PR Evaluation Techniques -- Lecture + Discussion None McEwan, "Working Press: An Analysis of Media Coverage on Low Wage Work, Resources on BlackBoard

Week 14, May 1 PR Goes Global -- Discussion + None L'Etang, Chapter 11Soundbite Assignment, to be completed in next week's class

Week 15, May 8 The Two-Sentence Take-Away Final Projects Due + NoneSoundbite Assignment Due

Learning Outcomes

1) Students will be able to distinguish between objective news coverage, ethical opinion or commentary and propaganda. (Weeks 3, 4, 5, 6)

2) Students will be able to identify the four main parts of a public relations campaign and recognize the components of each. (Weeks 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13,)

3) Students will be able to identify the core skills required for successful public relations practice and will have attempted each through course assignments and discussions. (Weeks 2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 15)

4) Students will recognize the relationship between management and public relations, as well as the ways that relationship changes in relation to time, current events and technological advancements. (Weeks 1, 2, 3, 9, 12, 14)

5) Students will be able to critically assess media content, taking into account the political, economic and social influences upon that content and forming their own, more enlightened point of view. (Weeks 1 through 15)

Assessable Tasks

1) Class Participation: Students are expected to complete assigned readings prior to each class session, attend all classes and participate fully in class discussions. This counts as 20% of the final course grade.

2) Short Assignment 1: Write a succinct, one-paragraph definition of public relations. Due at the beginning of class on January 31. This counts as 10% of the final course grade.

3) Short Assignment 2: Identify an issue that has been in the news during 2011. Track the "news arc" (the way that the issue has been reported) of the story over a period of at least four weeks. Describe in a one-page paper the trajectory of the story during the period covered. (From whose point of view was the story first presented? Was there an opposing point of view? Did coverage change over time? How did it change? Why do you think it changed?) Due at the beginning of class on February 14. This counts as 10% of the final course grade.

4) Short Assignment 3: Choose three different social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, LinkedIn, NY Times blog, HuffPost article, New School blog or list serv, Yelp, Google+, Amazon reviews). Engage in any type of exchange appropriate to the outlet, such as commenting on an article or blog, establishing your own account or posting a question. Record the URLs of your three examples and submit them in the form of an email pitch to the instructor. Tactics for pitching journalists will be discussed in class prior to the time of this assignment. Due before the beginning of class on April 3. This will be 10% of the final course grade.

5) Midterm Take-home Exam: Answer three questions of your choice from among six possibilities. Completed exam should be approximately three pages in length, will be distributed on February 28 and is due at the beginning of class on March 20. The midterm is 20% of the final course grade.

6) Final Project: The final project may be in any area of public relations that is selected by the student and approved by the instructor. It may take the form of a classic research paper, a video or audio production, a media analysis, graphics and images, social media initiative, opinion piece, speech or unusual creative format. Ideas and guidelines for projects will be discussed in class; a list of project ideas is attached to this syllabus. Topics for final projects must be approved by the instructor no later than April 10. Projects are due at the beginning of the last class on May 8. The final project counts as 20% of the final course grade.

7) Soundbite Assignment: Called "The Two Sentence Takeaway." Each student will prepare a soundbite no longer than two sentences (approximately 10 seconds) highlighting the most valuable things they will be taking away from this course. Students will share their takeaways with one another during the last class session on May 8. The takeaway counts as 10% of the final course grade.

Final Grade Calculation

Short Assignments 1, 2, 3: 10% eachMidterm: 20%Final Project: 20%Class Participation: 20%Two-Sentence Takeaway: 10%

Course Policies

AttendanceThe New School adheres to a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding absences and requires all credit students to attend every class. Any unexplained absence will adversely affect your grade If a credit student has more than two unexcused absences, the grade will be lowered. If a credit student misses two consecutive classes, the university requires the instructor to notify the Coordinator of Academic Student Services.

Class ParticipationClass participation is an essential part of class and includes: keeping up with reading, coming to class regularly and on time, contributing meaningfully to class discussions, and active participation in group work.

Late Assignments Papers and projects that are turned in after the due date will be penalized one-half grade. Assignments turned in more than one week after the due date will be penalized a whole grade. The instructor will not accept assignments more than two weeks after the initial due date.

Extra-Credit The course format offers ample and varied opportunities for students to demonstrate their mastery of the course content (see Assessable Tasks above). Therefore the instructor will not accept additional, student-proposed assignments for extra credit.

Delays and Last-minute AnnouncementsIn rare instances, the instructor may be delayed arriving to class. If s/he has not arrived by the time class is scheduled to start, you must wait a minimum of thirty minutes before leaving. In the event that the instructor will miss class entirely, a sign will be posted on the classroom door. To avoid inconvenience, students are advised to check the Announcements section in the course's BlackBoard area after 12:00 p.m. every Tuesday before class. The instructor will post last-minute schedule changes here.

IncompletesThe instructor rarely gives incompletes and will consider doing so ONLY if a student has a serious, ongoing medical problem or a documented emergency within his/her immediate family.

Plagiarism or cheating of any kind in the course of academic work will not be tolerated. Academic honesty includes accurate use of quotations, as well as appropriate

and explicit citation of sources in instances of paraphrasing and describing ideas, or of reporting on research findings or any aspect of the work of others—including that of instructors and other students. These standards of academic honesty and citation of sources apply to all forms of academic work: examinations, essays, theses, computer work, art and design work, oral presentations, and other projects. The New School adheres to a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in an F in the course at the discretion of the instructor and in accordance with the University's policy on plagiarism (see Student Handbook). Students should purchase A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker, available at most book stores, for information on proper citation format. 

Required Reading

Public Relations: Concepts, Practice and Critique by Jacquie L'Etang. ISBN: 978-1-4129-3048-2 (paperback). Sage Publications, 2008. Available at amazon.com, http://amzn.to/tIJno3 for $35.40 new and $27.55 used. Also available at abebooks.com, new or used in hardbound or paper, from $28.05, and from Barnes&Noble.com, new or used in hardbound or paper from $28.00.

Several readings in e-Reserves on BlackBoard and in the Resources section on Blackboard, as noted in the Course Outline above. See the attached Course Bibliography for details.