Texas education reporters' and university public relations directors' perceptions of public relations, occupations, and news values /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1991.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to examine how Texas university/ college public relations directors and daily newspaper education reporters compare in their perceptions about public relations functions, occupational status, and news value orientation. Questionnaires were mailed to public relations directors at 74 Texas colleges and universities and 50 education reporters in cities where those institutions of higher education are located. A response rate of 91.9% was achieved for public relations practitioners, with 88% for reporters. Results indicate public relations persons and education reporters agree on some issues, but a large disparity still exists. The researcher concluded that journalists are beginning to realize the public relations practitioner is a worthwhile contact who can help them in their reporting of higher education news. Public relations persons are aware of the journalists' needs for information and are striving to be of assistance. Concerning occupational status, neither the journalists nor public relations practitioners ranked their own group or the counterpart group very highly. However, the gap between the two groups is narrow, compared to previous studies. Journalists and public relations practitioners agree somewhat in their rankings of eight news values, but public relations persons are much more accurate than journalists when predicting the other group's news values. The public relations practitioners seem to know how the journalists think. Journalists think of themselves as being very dissimilar to the public relations persons; but, in actuality, they are not. The researcher concluded that further interaction and two-way communication are needed in order to achieve understanding and teamwork in spreading the news about education innovations and issues. This becomes even more important as such issues as accountability, public trust, and funding become more prominent and need to be disseminated to the widest possible audience. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Educational Administration." |
| Physical Description: | ix, 104 leaves ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |