Glossary

Analysis
A detailed examination of something. In public relations, analysis means examining the internal and external environment that impacts on the organisation, or research results. See situation analysis.

Annual report
An official publication that deals with the organisation's performance for the previous 12 months, usually the financial year.

Backgrounder
A narrative usually written about one topic that extends the information published in a media release.

Brochure
Printed material about a particular topic in booklet form. Often used as a collective noun to describe leaflets, pamphlets, and booklets.

Budget
A list of items needed for public relations plans that shows how much each costs, or how much income will be derived from the item.

Business
Usually what organisations do; a series of things that an organisation, or an individual, needs to deal with.

Checklist
A planning tool that identifies the tasks that need to be undertaken to implement a project.

Conflict
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Is your information about a controversial subject?
Does your organisation have a different view of an issue than others? Have your researchers discovered something that is different from accepted current knowledge?

Consultancy
A business that provides public relations services, sometimes also known as an agency. See consultant.
Consultant
An external public relations practitioner engaged by the organisation to work on a specific project or to provide advice.

Context
the circumstances relevant to something under consideration (must be seen in context). out of context without the surrounding words or circumstances and so not fully understandable. (The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary, 4th ed.)

Controlled communication
A message delivery strategy that utilises tactics that are an organisation's own publications or other material that cannot be changed or filtered by others.

Defamation
An act, usually written or spoken words, that attacks a person's good reputation.

Desk research
Research that practitioners can do from existing published sources like reports, historical data, the media, official files, and websites.

Dominant coalition
The most senior group of decision-makers in an organisation. Membership of a dominant coalition can vary according to the issue being addressed, or a particular operational focus.

Editor
The executive in charge of a news organisation; the head of a section of a news organisation, e.g., the Finance Editor; the person who prepares written material for publication.

Entertain
In a speech, to amuse an audience.

Environmental scanning
A process of identifying, analysing and interpreting internal and external social, political and economic factors that impact on an organisation's ability to pursue its business.

Ethics
1 the science of morals in human conduct. 2 a moral principles; rules of conduct. b a set of these (medical
ethics). (The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary, 4th ed.)

Evaluation
The process of reviewing whether a public relations plan achieved its goals and objectives.

Exhibition
A large event at which organisations from a range of industries display their products.

Fact sheet
A set of factual data about an organisation's product, person, event or issue, usually in hard copy form.

File note
A written record of a conversation or a meeting that is filed for future reference.

Financial year
The 12 months from 1 July to 30 June.

Five Ws and H
What, When, Where, Who, Why and How questions that help to determine what needs to be included in a media release.

Flyer
Usually a single sheet of printed information for wide distribution.

Formal research
Either qualitative or quantitative research that is normally commissioned through an external commercial market research company.

Formative research
Formal or informal research conducted before a public relations plan is written and which is used to inform
the situation analysis.

Goal
A broad statement of what the organisation hopes to achieve and which reflects the organisation's business strategy. Goals deal with reputation, relationships or tasks.

Human interest
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Does your information relate to interesting, human things about people?

IABC
International Association of Business Communicators.

Implementation
The phase of a public relations plan that describes how and when tactics will be implemented.

Inform
In a speech, to clarify, instruct or demonstrate a point.

Informative communication
A message delivery strategy that utilises tactics that only provide information.

Input
The formative research used to write a situation analysis.

Interpersonal communication
A message delivery strategy that involves tactics that mean communicating directly with people, for example, face-to-face in a meeting.

Interview
An event at which a journalist asks someone questions, usually on a one-to-one basis.

Issue
An internal or external factor that has an impact on the organisation's ability to pursue its business.

Journalist
A professional who works in the news media. Not all journalists are reporters; some are editors and sub-editors.

Launch
An event, or action, that marks the beginning of a project.

Leaflet
A small publication of several pages.

Libel
A published, unjustified statement about a person that harms their reputation.

Matrix
A grid that shows in a graphic form how the parts of something, or activities in a public relations plan, fit together.

Media analysis (or media content analysis)
The process of analysing the contents of articles in the print and electronic media to identify how the issues they discuss might impact on the organisation, how the organisation has been reported, and what others are saying about the organisation.

Media conference
An event at which journalists have the opportunity to ask a representative of the organisation questions about an issue or a media release.

Media monitoring
The regular scanning of the print and electronic media for articles of interest to the organisation. Most organisations contract one of the commercial media monitoring agencies to do this work.

Media alert (or advisory)
A short media release to advise the media of an event, usually a day or so before it occurs.

Media kit
A pack of material about an organisation, usually in hard copy but often published on a website.

Media release
The supply of information on issues and events to the media, usually in written form. See Richard Stanton (2007), Media Relations, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Meeting minutes
A record of the discussion at a meeting.

Memo (short for memorandum)
A short written note about a specific point, usually for internal purposes.

Message
Information given to target publics to create awareness, or build credibility, or persuade them to take action that is favourable to the organisation. Messages can be informative or persuasive.

Message delivery strategy
A communication method to reach target publics.

News release
See media release.

Objective
A precise and measurable statement of what the organisation needs to do in order to achieve a goal. Objectives deal with changes: raising awareness, building acceptance, and convincing publics to take action that is favourable to the organisation.

Opportunities (see SWOT analysis)
External conditions that will assist an organisation to achieve its goals.

Outcome
A measurement that shows whether a public changed its knowledge, attitudes and behaviours as a result of a public relations campaign. Achieving outcomes is the most important part of a public relations plan.

Output
A measurement of the frequency with which a program's tactics were used.

Outtake
Measurements of what a target public does with a tactic. That is, they might remember a message but take no action as a result of it.

Question and answer sheet (also Q and A sheet)
A set of questions and answers about an organisation, product, event or issue written by a public relations practitioner for the media and other target publics and usually produced in hard copy form. The questions are usually those that the practitioner thinks journalists might ask. Sometimes also described as 'frequently asked questions'.

Persuade
In a speech, to convince a target public to adopt a point of view or to take a particular action.

Persuasive communication
A message delivery strategy that uses tactics designed to persuade people to a particular point of view or to take action.

Planning worksheet
A planning tool that helps to identify what information needs to be included in a media release, a speech, or other material. For a media release, a planning worksheet includes identifying the news lead, or main point, of the release.

Practice
A noun that describes the professional work of public relations people.

Practise
A verb that describes the action of doing public relations work.

Practitioner
A professional who does public relations work.

PRIA
Public Relations Institute of Australia.

Press release
See media release.

Profile
A narrative article about a senior person, their role in the organisation, biography and achievements, sometimes based on an interview with the person.

Prominence
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Can you relate your information to a well-known person?

Proximity
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Can you 'localise' your information by linking it to a particular community?

Public relations
The deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation (or individual) and its (or their) publics.

Public relations strategic plan
Describes how an organisation will achieve its communication goals and objectives.

Qualitative research
Research that is concerned with finding out people's attitudes and opinions.

Quantitative research
Research that reports results as numbers.

Rarity
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Does your information relate to something that is not commonplace? Is it the biggest, smallest, fastest, slowest, cleanest, dirtiest, oldest, youngest?

Reflection
Thinking about information you have read, or your experiences, to analyse what you have learnt.

Relationship
A connection or association between people or organisations.

Relevance
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. How does your information affect people's lives, incomes, health, relationships, and entertainment choices? Does it pass the 'Who cares test'?

Reporter
A journalist who reports the news.

Reputation
What is said about a person or their behaviour; how others regard a person.

Response sheet
A tactic for giving a detailed answer to a single question, usually in the context of managing an issue or crisis.

Significance
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Does your information affect a significant number of people? Why and how?

Situation analysis
The first part of a public relations plan in which a practitioner analyses the communication issues facing an organisation, and assesses the results of formal and informal research.

Submission
A detailed written argument supporting the organisation's views on an issue or proposal, usually for an external inquiry. Sometimes submissions are required internally to support an application for an increase in a budget, or other resources, or to seek approval for a proposed course of action.

Strategy
What organisations and individuals do to achieve goals, usually over a long term. Like many terms used in business and other areas, strategy is a military term. See message delivery strategy.

Strengths (see SWOT analysis)
Characteristics of an organisation than can help to achieve its goals.

Sub-editor
A journalist who assists the editor to prepare material for publication.

Summative research
Formal or informal research conducted at the end of a campaign to assess effectiveness.

SWOT analysis
An analytical tool that helps to classify an organisation's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats from
formative research findings.

Tactic
A public relations tool; the activities that target publics actually see or hear or experience. Examples are displays, media
releases, meetings, publications, speeches, and events.

Talking points
A short summary of important points about an issue that help executives in interviews with journalists, or in giving
speeches.

Target public (or often 'public')
The people at whom public relations messages are directed.

Task
Something that needs to be done to implement a plan.

Timeline
The length of time taken to complete a task.

Timeliness
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Is it literally 'new' and are you releasing it at an appropriate time?

Think tank
An organisation that employs specialists to research and comment on important public issues.

Threats (see SWOT analysis)
External conditions that could prevent an organisation from achieving its goals.

Trade show
A special event at which a group or organisation representing a particular industry, or trade, display their products.

Trendiness
A factor in deciding whether your information is newsworthy. Can you relate your information to the latest trend, fashion, food craze or to popular entertainment?

Uncontrolled communication
A message delivery strategy that involves tactics like media releases that can be changed by others.

Venue
The place where an event is held.

Weaknesses (see SWOT analysis)
Characteristics of an organisation that might harm its ability to achieve its goals.

Worksheet
See planning worksheet.