PUBLIC RELATIONS IN CULTURAL CENTRES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

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This paper has been written to systematize theoretical and practical knowledge in the analysis, planning, defining and implementing the development strategies of public relations in cultural institutions, namely in the cultural centers for children and youth. The first part of the paper examines the phenomenon of the need to build successful public relations in the field of culture as well as designing special communication strategies in cultural institutions for children and youth. Definitions of public relations in culture and the importance of communication skills with different target groups in children’s cultural centers are emphasized in terms of internal and external public relations. For successful positioning in the public and creation of a long-term reputation, cultural institutions must have communications strategies in order to create wider (national and international) support for their programmes. Strategic planning of public relations in the nonprofit sector and culture leads to the development of specific communication strategies for each target group, whose significance is discussed in the second part of the paper. For cultural institutions for children, the important target segment are the children themselves as a target group with very specific characteristics, and therefore it is necessary to develop specific communication strategies for them, which, in addition to entertainment and attractiveness, should also have a pedagogical dimension. A public relations manager in a cultural and/or educational area differs from a PR manager in other areas because animation activities are aimed at children and youth. Educational public relations and animation activities aim to create a new audience and arouse interest in a specific work of art and activities of an institution, but also fulfill a higher purpose: they encourage development of cultural needs and gaining of cultural habits.

PR AND THE MEDIA: THE PERSONAL IMAGE AND MEDIA MODELS

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New multi-media are efficient tools for those who want to create an image print in the public. Quantitative dimension of one’s presence in the media is the main popularity indicator. The media image is a model to imitate and to look up to. Contemporary identity has almost been reduced to image and image itself is only the “wannabe” picture sent to the public through the media. The media which address most of our senses are those that catch more of our attention and affect our attitudes and behavior more intensively. Contemporary society is using the media to create personality brands. The media space is expending every day with new internet platforms. Our society is developing new media technologies and investing significant amounts of money into creating new media faces. Possible danger of socializing negative images and phenomena is obvious. While a member of an ancient tribe was drowned into the group identity of the community, a modern man fails to notice his resemblance to his ancestors who were trying to please the Nature. On the other hand, the New Millennium men are trying to draw all the attention to themselves so as to become noticed and successful in overcoming their loneliness and anonymity. The models, idols and stars are all fitting into the new category of media heroes meant for public as objects of identification and projection. These are just new cultural icons promoting identification with the media-created images in spite of degrading personal and cultural identity. Still, the zone suitable for launching these fictional identities is limited by individual will and capacity of media consumers for selective choices and preferences.

NEW MEDIA IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

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In the era of the Internet, time is a new measure: in contrast to what is new in the real world, when seen through the prism of the Interenet, new media can be part of history. The term “new media” even now has a different meaning in relation to the time when it appeared and when it related mainly to the Internet. Public relations have also taken on the new media seeing in them a potential for easier, faster, and more efficient achievement of their goals. An increasing number of organizations have recognized the new media as a breeding ground for achieving their goals, so that there was an overload on the market of new media, and it has become very difficult to be recognized for your value and quality. The advantages of using new media in PR are overcoming the physical limits, in multicursality, speed and price. Communicating through new media involves a significantly higher number of message recipients as there are no space and time restrictions. In these circumstances, in addition to standard public relations activities in conferences, reports, letters, fliers, dinners and socializing events, online public relations fulfill the function of public relations in general if they fulfill the company goals. Otherwise, they create a negative impression and the company has no prospects of having successful relations with clients.

INFLUENCE OF THE PR SERVICES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ON THE EDITORIAL POLICY OF ONLINE EDITIONS OF LOCAL PUBLIC BROADCASTERS

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The paper explores the extent of influence of the services for public relations of local governments on the editorial policy of the online editions of local public broadcasters, namely the two radio stations of Radio Bijelo Polje and Radio Tivat. For this paper we set up a special code sheet with categories whose analysis will show how public relations affect the editorial policy of the mentioned media. The analysis refers to the period from the May 1st to May 31st, 2013. We have used a quantitative and qualitative method, the content analysis method and the comparative method. We have also explored how these media handle the press or media releases distributed by the local government. Also, we have explored the sources of information of these media, if the local governments had just placed a formal content, and whether any concealed impact of local governments on the local media was detected. The local governments of Bijelo Polje and Tivat are identically structured so the paper explains how they work and how they use the local media. Knowing that both local authorities have services for public relations, we have explored the scope of their activities and responsibilities accorded to them by the municipal regulations.

PUBLIC RELATIONS OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA

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Funds available to public service broadcasters have shrunk all across Europe and the world economic crisis is not the single reason behind this. PSM (Public Service Media) have lost a good portion of public support and there lies the second most important reason. There are fewer opportunities to preserve this sort of the media in contemporary societies, caught in the middle of clashes and impoverished. And this is not a problem solely for the employees of such usually widely staffed systems of the national television and radio companies. The stakes are much higher, affecting cohesion of the European society. This article presents an analysis of the major trends in the funding of public services and their positioning, asking why they are not allowed to be viewed in a better light? Why do they seem to restrain themselves from PR activities?

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CLARIFICATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOURNALIST AND PR: ACCROSS THE BARRICADE

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Journalistic involvement in the media in general, unfortunately, decreases on a daily basis. If journalism is sinking into depression, seems to be the main question. The inertia of the press has opened big doors to the “novice” PR experts who are always ready to forward large quantities of information. The objective is to reflect on what has unfortunately become a new (fictional) journalistic genre i.e. the form of press release. In the post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina it was possible for a new bulletin to last for 70 minutes, 55 of which were received press releases. These press releases have been sent by parties, representatives of women’s associations, unions of veterans and various OCSs. These usually offer one-sided information, accusations against others, while the right to hear the other side, in this case, does not exist. The question is how to separate their communications (press releases sent from certain public institutions or organizations) from releases which mostly offer accusations against another political party or reactions to an event or events that have nothing to do with our activities. How to wake the journalists from their lethargy, which they seem to enjoy to a certain extent? Many things have changed in recent decades as we have arrived at a point where 60% of all published information is nothing more than a mere PR product. The next question would be – Where did journalism disappear? Or better said – where have the responsibility of journalists and their commitment gone? The education system is important. In our region, only the first steps are taken towards an institutionalized education of the PR experts, and as for the education of journalists, a good analysis is definitely required. Journalism does not have to be endangered. It can go forward, but with a little more effort and professional responsibility. And with a more evident desire to cooperate with “those across the barricade”.

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON JOURNALISTS AS A CAUSE OF MEDIA MANIPULATION

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The paper treats the issue of economic and political influences on journalists and the media institutions. Autors’ thesis is that public relations managers of political officials are the true rulers in the communication process. The media employers and journalists are most exposed to the economic and political pressure and influence by all those who use the media for their own interests. The paper has searched the articless of the Code of Ethics of Journalists in Serbia regarding veracity of reporting and independence of pressure, which are often violated in everyday journalistic practice. As there are many mechanisms of manipulation used by Public Relations agencies representing commercial clients or building images of political parties and their officials, authors have concluded that their influence is often stronger than the journalistic ethics and the rules of professional conduct in the media, which currently makes them true rulers of the communication process and leave the public and the society vulnerable to manipulation.

POLITICAL PR ON THE SOCIAL NETWORK FACEBOOK DURING EASTER HOLIDAYS

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Political marketing during election campaigns seems to be an everyday reality for an average citizen in Serbia. The Internet used to be considered as a bastion of freedom, different from traditional, controlled media. However, social networks have changed this – it’s getting harder to isolate from politics. Voluntarily or not, we see political messages online just as we see them on TV, billboards or in the press. Not only in commercials, politicians also speak from their Facebook pages to their fans – because politicians have become celebrities, the stars. Exposure to political messages is relevant in forming public opinion, but the manipulation gets more hidden, especially during traditional and religious holidays like the Easter. It’s easier to access people during leisure times and politicians tend to present themselves as “one of us”. We researched the type of activities of political parties on Facebook and we proved that, even though the style of campaigns may vary among parties, their political PR follows the same rules as in the traditional media.

POLITICAL PR, MEDIA AND SPIN DOCTORING

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Along with political organizations and the citizens, the media are also participants in the political communication. The phenomena of the influence of the media and the influence on the media are obvious. Political stakeholders need to use the media in order to make sure that their messages are transmitted to the targeted public. So, in time, politicians become more and more of actors striving to present themselves to the public in their best possible light. The executors of the propaganda activities are not only propaganda experts who shape the propaganda messages but also the technical staff who ensure that the propaganda messages are transmitted to recipients through information technologies – they are spin doctors as well. “To spin” (to turn, to roll, to rotate), and so a “spin doctor” – an image consultant, a political consultant, but also a person who is skilled and trained to manage information and manipulate the mass media; spin control – dressing of the information, public announcements, event directors and information dispensers. The term “spin doctoring” refers to a set of activities: defense of journalists, approval or disapproval of interviews, instructing those who give interviews on what to say or not to say, as well as commenting of the stories and journalists’ writings and underlying specific sentences and interpretations. Spin doctors claim that they only accelerate the process of expanding specific news and information. Spin doctors have a lot in common with a special media councilor – a person in charge of media releases and public relations. Spin-doctoring is the art of “plotting” the strategies of public relations to give the news a desired direction of interpretation.

MACEDONIAN SPINNING OF BORIS

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The issue of PR impact on the editorial policy of the media is the same as the question “What is older: the egg or the chicken?”, especially in the subject region and in terms of transformation from “snatch privatisations”, through transition and “buddy capitalism” towards embracing neoliberal economic spirit and (quasi)democracy. All of this is reviewed from the aspect of what has been happening in the Republic of Macedonia lately. On the one hand, we have the violent attempt of Macedonian Government to force through their media spokespersons passing of the Media Act as eligible, Euro-desirable and highly imperative, while on the other hand the Macedonian Association of Journalists use their last diffused efforts to try to promote and implement the idea of self-regulation of the media. In such circumstances, when PR not only obviously, but also forcefully influence the editorial policies of the media, the victim is not only the public itself but also, on the short run, the PR practitioners themselves. This raises the question of whether the PR business has its own professional ethics and should PR practitioners uphold it, or serve as a spinning tool like in the example of “spinning Boris”?