ADVOCACY AND OPINION-3.pptx, issue management, position

Advocacy and opinion

1. ADVOCACY AND OPINION

2. Class objectives To apply concepts of issues management in various writing activities To prepare and write advocacy pieces such as position statements, letters to the editor, op–ed commentaries and guest editorials, issue advisories , proclamations and petitions.

3. A. Issues Management The continual attention to how the organization is affected by its external environment is known as issues management. Identifying an issue : The PR practitioner has two roles to play in the early stages of managing an issue: identifying pending issues that can be expected to affect the organization anticipating the likely and eventual emergence of issues.

4. A. Issues Management Assessing issue: This step involves further research as you more fully investigate the particular issue. In the analysis stage, you will look at the issue from two points of view: From the organization’s perspective : What are the causes of the issue? What is the likely impact, especially the potential for harm? What are the options for dealing with the issue? From the public’s perspective : Is this an issue of interest to people outside the organization? What is its likely impact on them?

5. Freewriting Freewrite for five minutes on the following topic: In what ways do you think a public relations practitioner can help an organization identify and deal with issues affecting its success? Then discuss this with your classmates .

6. A. Issues Management Communicating the Position : practitioners will define various levels of publics to be considered as they plan a communication program for issues management. some publics should be notified before others. For example, you might inform stockholders by mail of a corporation’s formal position rather than having them read the news in the financial media. organizations generally should present a new position to employees before it is communicated to consumers, especially if the position requires the cooperation of employees to implement

7. B. Position statements Position statements are presentations, usually in written form, reflecting the considered and official position of the organization. Position statements may be given directly to members of external key publics such as donors, investors, colleagues, community leaders and so or they may be distributed to media representatives. Content analysis on effective opinion pieces shows that they generally position the issue within a wider context of interest to publics and readers.

8. Example of position statements https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/official-position-statements/

9. How to write a position statement Provide the background of the issue ( explain the issue, its significance, history, current status and projection) Give the position of the organization ( State the organization’s opinion, supporting arguments, refuting opposing argument) Conclusion : ( give recommendations as well as citations especially if you are writing academic documents)

10. Organizational statements Two other types of writing are related to position statements—official statements and contingency statements. Official Statements . Official statements are generally brief proclamations by an organization’s leadership about timely issues that involve the organization Contingency Statements . Contingency statements, also called standby statements, may be written to prepare the organization for various potential situations

11. Letters to the editor Most publications—newspapers, magazines, journals and an increasing number of newsletters—take seriously their responsibility to provide a forum for their readers. Letters Generating Publicity Organizations sometimes use letters columns to call attention to activities that did not attract the attention of news reporters. Letters Correcting Errors : When mistakes happen, organizations sometimes look to the letters column to redress errors in the way a publication reported about the organization. Letters advocating for a cause : public relations writers often use letters to the editor to present their opinion on matters of importance to a publication’s readers. To be effective with this type of letter, try to link your cause to an issue already on the public agenda.

12. Op-Ed Commentaries and Guest Editorials In addition to letters, most publications also provide space for longer and more prominent opinion pieces that present the viewpoint of a person not affiliated with the publication on issues of interest to readers The writer’s task is to think like an editor, selecting a topic of interest to the publication and its readers. Write articles that are significant, local, balanced, timely. The writing itself should be crisp and concise. The public relations practitioner preparing an op-ed piece will review what the publication usually publishes, writing the position statement accordingly.

13. Issue advisory Though similar to a position statement, an issue advisory deals with emerging topics of immediate concern to various publics. When an organization finds itself in the midst of a public relations crisis, it should adopt the one-voice principle . This generally means designating one organizational representative to serve as the public spokesperson. The one-voice principle is reinforced by communicating with internal publics—reminding them of the background of the issue, apprising them of the significance of the issue, informing them of the organization’s position and equipping them with information that will reinforce the public position

14. Proclamation Occasionally, public relations writers are asked to prepare a formal statement commemorating an event or issue to be published over the signature of a governmental or other official In matters outside the governmental arenas, proclamations sometimes are issued by officials such as union leaders, religious prelates and organizational executives. As formal declarations of an organization’s opinion, proclamations usually follow a strict format. Background of the issue is presented by a series of “whereas”paragraphs hat build the case, providing a logical base from which to launch toward a conclusion, and a “therefore” or “be it resolved” paragraph that makes the official statement.

15. Petitions Petitions are a hybrid of advocacy letters and proclamations, prepared for many people to sign. intent of petition writers is to draft a resolute statement—often a request or demand—that will accomplish two purposes: (1) gain the support of people who will sign their name to the petition and (2) ultimately be accepted by the person or organization receiving the petition

16. Summary To apply concepts of issues management in various writing activities To prepare and write advocacy pieces such as position statements, letters to the editor, op–ed commentaries and guest editorials, issue advisories , proclamations and petitions.