Fallen from Grace: Mike Vick

     Mike Vick, just saying that name is going to evoke a different reaction from just about everyone you ask.  After serving 2 years in prison on dog fighting charges Mike Vick returned to professional football and is still a polarizing figure.  Many hate him for the cruelty he displayed through his underground dog fighting ring, while countless others also view him as a reformed man.  Vick took several actions to attempt to improve a horrendous public opinion.  

     The first of which was he tried to change was the attitudes of the public through focusing on the educational aspect of attitudes.  After getting out of prison, Vick appeared on numerous television programs speaking out against the actions he took in dog fighting.  He became an advocate for teaching about the horrors of dog fighting and was often a guest speaker on the subject.  Through the very story alone the public learned how rampant illegal dog fighting rings were in America.  By using himself as an example, Vick succeeded in teaching younger people the wrongs he had committed and how much he regretted what he had done.  Ultimately, Vick shed a light on the subject through his own follies, and has done all he could to discourage such behavior. 

     Vick also influenced the public through “events, rather than just words” as Seitel described in the text.  Soon after his release from prison Vick appeared before congress to lobby for passing anti-dog fighting legislature.  On the football side of the story, during Mike Vick’s first season as an Eagle he had a sign in his locker that simply read “Walk the talk”.  According to team personnel Vick worked extremely hard in the film room, studied, stayed late at practice and was extremely supportive of his fellow teammates.  Vick also exploded back onto the NFL scene in 2010, posting career numbers and leading the Eagles to a post season berth. 

The 5 Receiver Biases

1. Stereotypes:
 
     The world is full of preconceived notions directed at certain groups of people.  Perpetuating these ideas is the act of stereotyping, which is the first bias that will be looked at.  Everybody knows common stereotypes, the text mentions the idea of the "dumb blonde" or the "computer geek". Examples of other negative stereotypes include the idea that people of Asian descent are better students, or that men are the "bread winners" of a relationship, both of which are completely false.  Stereotypes seem to create more noise in the communication process rather than assisting in conveying a message. As far as facilitating communication, the text explains how lecturers with glasses are found more believable, and is one stereotype that does actually help a message be received.

2.  Symbols:

     Symbols are a bias that has the capability of having a more positive connotation than stereotypes.  Yes, some symbols have negative connotations, such as the Nazi Swastika, and gang symbols, however, those symbols still communicate a message to the general public.  More positive symbols such as the coexist symbol, the red cross, make a wish also convey messages, just very different ones.  Symbols facilitate communication by representing one's beliefs with an easily recognizable image.  However, symbols can create noise in the communication process depending on how the general public perceives that symbol.  A common example of symbols sending the wrong message was back in 2008 when the media made a story out of Barrack Obama not wearing an American flag lapel.  The symbol (or lack of) took the focus off of what the President's agenda was, and focused on another subject, muddying the communication process.

3. Semantics:

     Semantics largely holds a negative idea with the public.  Semantics implies possible poor word choice.  One term can hold many different meanings, take for example the word crash.  If someone spoke about a crash today, that term could apply to an automotive accident, a falling stock market, or attending a party uninvited.  Semantics hinder the communication process by making messages unclear due to the fact that words can have different meanings.  Semantics can assist the communication process if handled correctly and the right words are chosen. 

4. Peer Groups

    Peer groups can simply be described as peer pressure.  Human beings naturally conform to those around them.  Examples of these peer groups can be seen in the shape of fads, trends, and generally how human society functions.  We are extremely social creatures, and long to fit in with another group of people.  Peer groups can greatly influence the attitudes of individuals, and helps facilitate the communication process by creating a "bandwagon" for people to jump on.  Using peer groups on people who are "immune" to peer pressure will most likely instigate a negative response, thus hindering the communication process.

5. Media:

     Media is king, end of story.  When dealing with communication, the media is unmatched at relaying a specific message with a certain agenda.  The news is the biggest business on the planet, because who controls the media controls the masses.  One way to look at the media bias that stories are shaped and prioritized to make them look more important than other events happening in the world.  On the note, a CNN viewer will likely scoff at the views of a FOX political analyst and vice-versa.  Media helps communication by sending large amounts of people information that is tailor made to send the message they want the public to hear.  At the same time the general public knows the media will contort stories to fit their interests, therefore people may discredit the source. 
     

Does the field of public relations need a publicist?

The field of public relations does need a publicist, simply from the fact that not all companies are capable of performing PR tasks as well as a trained professional may be capable of doing so.  By hiring a third party publicist, they acquire a valuable asset who's sole purpose is to make sure the right messages are being sent to the general public.  While hiring a publicist is an important function for many companies, not all firms may need to hire one.  Well spoken, tactful managers should have full capabilities to perform PR duties.  However, hiring a publicist would ultimately reduce the risk of public backlash on higher ups in the company.  

Recent PR Issues: Snapchat

In today's society, social media is king.  The world seems to revolve around sites like facebook, twitter, and instagram.  The social media app Snapchat also falls into that category with over 30 million active users reported back in December.  Snapchat, an extremely popular app allows people to send pictures/videos with short messages to each other with a set time that the picture can be viewed.  The app is hugely popular amongst high school and college students, 4.6 million of whom have now had their information stolen in a recent cyber attack.

 That's right, 4.6 million people have had either their phone number, address book (friends and family's numbers), or username stolen from them earlier in January.  The kicker is that all the information was floating freely in cyberspace for anyone to access.   Snapchat isn't the first tech company to experience a security breach, (Sony is a notable example) and has tried to keep in good graces with the public.

The company tried to "get ahead of the problem" by acknowledging that they had an issue with the address book function of the app, and had hired a third party cyber security company to fix the problem.  Three days later the leak became public and has posed a real problem for Snapchat's public image.  Snapchat is continuing to work on the issue, is apologizing for the increased amount of spam users may be experiencing due to the data breach, and most importantly keeping in touch with concerned members through blog posts.

 In all, Snapchat has done an amiable job with the cards they were dealt and will continue to work towards improving the issue.  They also did a good job getting ahead of the issue, rather than an outside source coming forth (implying a potential cover up.) Links are attached if anyone is interested in reading further.

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/15917.aspx
http://www.prnewsonline.com/water-cooler/2014/01/02/snapchat-hack-offers-pr-crisis-lesson-get-ahead-of-the-story/

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