Municpal Public Relatons Municipal Public

Municpal Public Relatons

Municipal Public Relations

WHAT ARE PUBLIC RELATIONS?

The term public relations can mean different things to different people. Many people have a negative understanding and image of public relations based on what they have seen in or heard from the media. Many people associate public relations people as those being attached to celebrities and entertainers. Public relations specialist or publicists are generally the ones that do damage control after an unflattering event has happened to the celebrity. They try to maintain the image of the person to the public and some feel that this is not always done truthfully. Bowen says that when some of us think of public relations, we picture the character of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. This character is a publicist, but she is mainly seen attending parties and such for celebrities. Bowen says that we never see her doing the grunt work required of a real publicist such as working with statistics and other pertinent information (2009). Because so many of us are glued to our television sets after a long day at the office, this is how most of us form our opinion on various topics and public relations and publicists is one of them. We judge this profession chiefly on what we have seen in the media.

However, the entertainment industry is not the only industry that makes use of public relations. Public relations are a part of many large businesses and nonprofit organizations and many are surprised to discover that public relations are an important part of government. When it happens in government, it is called municipal public relations. This may be intentional and as a way to intentionally let the public know that public relations in government is not the same as the field of public relations that most of us think we are familiar with.

The municipal public relations lines may have been blurred with the most recent race for the presidency. With all of the media attention given to it and especially Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, these two government officials were transformed into cultural icons right before the public's eyes. We can thank the media and to a certain extent, their publicists for making this happen. Each candidate had to be seen in a favorable light and each candidate was no doubt coerced and coached by their publicists and others on what to say about the issues and about their opponents in order to maintain a positive public image.

The most recent presidential campaign could serve as a reminder to some that public relations are the same no matter what arena it is used in. But, if we take a step back and focus on the smaller issues within government instead of the bigger ones like presidential campaigns, we discover that municipal public relations is for the most part entirely different from what most of know in our minds is public relations. Municipal public relations may have some similarities as public relations, but the focus is on making sure proper and pertinent information is relayed to the public regarding government agencies, programs and institutions so that they can make sound and informed choices.

II. MUNICIPAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

Wheeler states that municipal public relations is a product of the post World War II era to fulfill the need of providing citizens information as well as gaining their participation. It is an organized attempt, he says to influence the way that the public thinks so that they will act in favor of municipal government (1956). Wheeler's definition of municipal public relations is almost in sync with how the public views the role of public relations. As an attempt to manipulate the public's opinion on various issue and to sway that opinion towards how the municipalities would like us to perceive it.

Although there is some truth to Wheeler's opinion, a positive light must be shed on the meaning of public relations as it relates to municipalities. Henry Nadig, a public relations director for the New York Regional Plan Association wanted to professionalize the concept of municipal public relations, so in 1948 he created the Association of Municipal Public Relations Officers (AMPRO). Forming this association was not easy for Nadig because at the time many municipalities viewed public relations as a waste of tax payer's money (Lee, 2008). The opinion of public relations seems not to have changed much from as much as sixty years ago. The fact remains that government entities exist to serve the public and because of this the public needs to be able to easily access information that is pertinent to their situation. Government departments with programs such as educational, health and others need a central location where everyone can get the information they need.

To be able to disseminate information efficiently to the public, Congress established the Federal Information Centers (FIC) in 1966 and it is still in existence today. Lee says that the Federal Information Centers are intended to improve citizen relations with the government; perform marketing to help increase the utilization of public sector services and products; and it serves as a medium to answer questions regarding the federal government (Lee, 2004). Usage of the Federal Information Centers by the public has increased from its inception and in today's world of evolving technology the Center now has its own website. The website now lists the center's name as the Federal Citizen Information Center which is appropriate (http://www.info.gov/). The website is relatively easy to remember as well as navigate. The Website has a myriad of information available to the public and is extremely useful.

III. PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES

The Federal Citizens Information Center's website would be a good model for any local municipality to emulate. All of the topics on the federal website may not be applicable for a local website or they may be applicable but on a smaller scale. In the case of providing information for a fire service organization, specific guidelines should be outlines in advance of launching the website so that the individual managing the fire service organization not only knows what his responsibilities are, but so that he also knows what information should be included on the website that would best inform the citizens.

The basics of public relations, no matter what sector and what type of organization, consists of several things. There will be a need for press releases, press conferences, and image surveys. The fire-service organization manager handling public relations for this type of organization must be aware of each of these components and how they each should be handled so that the transfer of information to the public is optimal.

Press Release

It is understandable that with a fire-service organization press releases will be necessary. If new programs are instituted, or changes to existing programs are made a press release may be the best and simplest form of communication. The information released to the press can also be made available on the organization's website for the citizens.

Press Conference

Press conferences are held for various reasons. Usually, if something major has happened a press conference is necessary. In the case of a fire service organization a press conference may be necessary to do damage control if the organization appears to have failed in some of its duties. Press conferences do not have to be associated with negative occurrences, though. Sometimes organizations may hold a press conference to announce information that will cause the organization to gain media attention to bring awareness to the organization. In the case of a fire-service organization, a press conference could be held to announce the filling of a high position within the organization, or an announcement could be made such as the organization giving away free smoke detectors on a certain day. This is something that would most certainly bring positive awareness of the organization.