Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

Press Office and Media Relations

Press Office and Media Relations
6
16339
3
First semester
OB
Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish,

Introduction

The course provides an overview of how Works a press office, from a private company, a PR agency, a non-profit or government. It explains in a theoretical and practical way the objectives, the strategy, the various tools for working with the media, spokesperson training and evaluation of the work done. 

Pre-course requirements

No. 

Objectives

- Understand how works a press office, stating objectives and design a media plan.

- Know and use the tools that a press office works.

- Apply the most appropriate tool in every circumstance and with every media.

- Gain confidence in the relationship with journalists knowing and avoiding common mistakes.

- Spokesperson: prepare and give a speach

Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • CN02 - Recognise the textual, graphic and audiovisual expressive and narrative resources used to create effective persuasive messages in advertising and public relations.
  • CN03 - Identify the key stakeholders, departments and professional roles within advertising and public relations agencies, understanding their functions in the design and implementation of communication campaigns.
  • CN05 - Recognise the principal artificial intelligence tools with applications in advertising, marketing and public relations.
  • CN06 - Identify the main models and strategies used in institutional and crisis communication management within the field of public relations.
  • CN07 - Identify emerging trends in digital communication, social media and interactive environments for planning advertising and public relations activities in digital and multi-platform contexts.
  • CP01 - Work effectively in professional advertising and public relations teams, adapting to multidisciplinary and changing environments.Work effectively in professional teams involved in audiovisual production, adapting to multidisciplinary and changing environments.
  • CP02 - Communicate persuasive arguments orally and in writing in Catalan, Spanish and English, demonstrating strong skills in summarising and memorisation.
  • CP04 - Manage creative communication projects in advertising and public relations, optimising technical, material and time-related resources.
  • CP06 - Manage an organisation's corporate image strategically within advertising and public relations, implementing actions to enhance and protect its intangible assets.
  • CP08 - Manage corporate communication budgets and advertising and public relations campaigns, optimising resources and drawing on a broad understanding of the economic context and the advertising and public relations industry.
  • HB04 - Design strategic communication and public relations plans that respond to the needs of organisations across different sectors.
  • HB05 - Use advertising language and narrative techniques to develop persuasive messages for advertising and public relations campaigns.
  • HB06 - Apply the stages of audiovisual production to the development of advertising and public relations campaigns across different media.
  • HB12 - Use specialised English terminology in advertising and public relations.

Learning outcomes of the subject

Students will be able to:

  1. To design innovative public relations strategies for organisations across different sectors.

  2. To develop planning and leadership skills through event organisation and participation in press offices.

  3. To design strategic communication plans for organisations across different sectors, including internal communication.

  4. To recognise the procedures and protocols associated with sponsorship and patronage, as well as the steps involved in managing relationships among all stakeholders.

  5. To recognise the procedures and protocols involved in managing public affairs.

  6. To recognise the procedures and protocols involved in managing an organisation’s communication in situations of crisis and risk.

  7. To recognise the specific characteristics of different platforms and media in order to plan corporate communication and dissemination.

Syllabus

  1. - Press offices: what are, objectives, functions and types.
  2. - Know who you work for and the communication needs of the organization.
  3. - Database of journalists and media.
  4. - Main mistakes with journalists
  5. - Communication tools: press releases, press conferences, press kits, travels.
  6. - Training spokespersons.
  7. - Location and news writing.
  8. - Evaluation of the objectives of the Press Office.
  9. - Online press department and online brand reputation

Bibliography and resources

-      Dictating the News: Understanding Newsworthiness from the Journalistic Perspective. Lynn M. Zoch, Ph.D.

-      Professor & Director, School of Communication. Radford University. Zoch & Supa – Public Relations Journal – Vol. 8, No. 1 (2014).

-      Genres and Processes in the PR Industry: Behind the Scenes With an Intern Writer. Stephen Bremner. International Journal of Business Communication 2014, Vol. 51(3) 259–278.

-      Compensation and Corrective Action as the BP Response to the Deepwater Horizon incident. Williiam Forrrest Harlow and Rachel Martin Harlow. Communication Research Reports. Vol. 30, Nº 3, July-September 2013, pp 193-200.

-      From Press Release to News: Mapping the Framing of the 2009 H1N1 A Influenza Pandemic. Seow Ting Lee and Iccha Basnyat. Health Communication, 28. 119-132, 2013.

-      La comunicación entre gabinetes y periodistas a través de la web 2.0: el caso de meneXtra.com. María José Cantalapiedra González, Leire Iturregui Mardaras, Daniel García González. 2012

-      Usablidad   de las herramientas TIC’S y aplicaciones tecnológicas en los gabinetes de comunicación online. Rosario Puertas Hidalgo, Karina Valarezo Gónzález, y Verónica Altamirano Benítez. 2013

-      Del gabinete de prensa al gabinete de comunicación: La dirección de comunicación en la actualidad. C Cristófol Rodríguez. 2014

-      Los gabinetes de comunicación y su adaptación a la red: la incorporación de la figura del community manager. FS Turmo, JJV Lassa. 2015Comunicación con bloggers. Manual de instrucciones. José Antonio Ritoré Bru. Revsita de comunicación, nº8, pag 30. Febrero 2009.

-      Ortiz, J. (2019). “Pistas para comprender al periodista”, RAEIC, Revista de la Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación, vol 6, núm. 11, 17-23.

-       https://justificaturespuesta.com/como-enamorar-alumnos-palabra-metodo-ted/ (Método TED como hablar en público)

-       Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN1dt_VG9bk

- Ferrigno, Giulio & Di Paola, Nadia & Oguntegbe, Kunle & Kraus, Sascha. (2023). Value creation in the metaverse age: a thematic analysis of press releases. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research. 29. 337-363. 10.1108/IJEBR-01-2023-0039. 

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