RESEARCH REPORT ON PUBLIC SPHERE AND COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS
RESEARCH REPORT ON PUBLIC SPHERE AND COMMUNICATION PROFESSIONALS
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Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268759” 1.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc87268759 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268760” 2.0 Public communication and its impact on the public sphere PAGEREF _Toc87268760 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268761” 3.0 The debate on Covid 19 Vaccine Rollout in Australia PAGEREF _Toc87268761 h 4
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268762” 4.0 Public Communication Theories PAGEREF _Toc87268762 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268763” 4.1 Media Effects Theory PAGEREF _Toc87268763 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268764” 4.2 Agenda-Building Theory PAGEREF _Toc87268764 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268765” 4.3 Framing Theory PAGEREF _Toc87268765 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268766” 5.0 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc87268766 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268767” 6.0 Public communication for an event PAGEREF _Toc87268767 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc87268768” References PAGEREF _Toc87268768 h 9
PUBLIC SPERE ON PUBLIC/ GOVERNMENT SECTOR
1.0 Introduction
Public relations influence activities within the public sphere, thus influencing the formation of public opinion. Public Communication Professionals change the grounds for communication as public relations appeal to the public interest. Governments and private sectors employ public relations and advertising in their communications operations to influence public opinion and conversations. Mass media and social media networks provide a platform where people discuss and deliberate on pertinent societal issues. For instance, In Australia, the government employs public relations and advertisements to steer a positive conversation towards Covid 19 vaccine rollout. Government and the public sector use public relations tools such as public communication professionals and media relations to promote positive attitudes and behaviours towards an activity or product. The research report will discuss the influence of public communication professionals on the public sphere concerning the debate surrounding covid19 vaccine rollout in Australia.
2.0 Public communication and its impact on the public sphereThe public sphere is the primary arena for societal communication; social media networks and mass media form the public sphere’s leading platforms. By definition, the public sphere is a network for communicating information where individuals express different opinions, discuss societal issues and develop collaborative solutions (Garnham, 2020, p. 359). Public communication enables organizations to reinforce their advertising message and significantly influence public opinion about the organization and the product. Public communication changes the way people think as individuals tend to listen to messages coming from a source, they consider authentic and objective (Perse and Lambe, 2016, p. 4). Public and private sectors can employ different tools of public relations to influence the discussions and the opinions of individuals in the public spheres. Due to the trust individuals attach to public relations, Borchers (2012, p. 69) found that public communication tends to influence the quality of discussion and the type of discussion in the public sphere.
Public communication influences the quality of discussions in the public sphere. Individuals in society attach importance to what public communication professionals say, thus forming their opinion about an issue (Monboit, 2011, p. 24). As people engage in discussion in the public sphere, they tend to base their discussion on public communication professionalism discussions. For instance, an influencer working for the government can start a conversation about a government’s contribution to the development of the school; this discussion will impact several individual opinions about governments’ contribution towards education and form the basis for their opinion on the issue in future.
Secondly, public communication influences the type of discussions in the public sphere. In most countries across the world, influencers such as celebrities, scholars, and politicians’ activities and speeches influence the types of discussions on social media networks and mass media (Valkenburg et al., 2016, p. 317). Therefore, private and public institutions can leverage the impact of influencers as tools of public relations to influence the type of discussion surrounding an issue or a product in society.
3.0 The debate on Covid 19 Vaccine Rollout in AustraliaCorona Virus vaccination in Australia began on 22nd February 2021 when the prime minister, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, and the Chief Medical officer officially launched Australia’s Corona Virus vaccination program. However, the country has been slower than other nations globally in vaccinating its population despite being among the countries globally with success stories in fighting against the Corona Virus. The increasing social media and mass media conversation regarding the vaccine contributes immensely to the vaccination front lag (Hanly, 2021). There is an ongoing debate among Australians on the safety of the AstraZeneca jab, the most popular vaccine in the country, following the death of two people who developed blood clotting disorder. The public sector, inclusive of Australian citizens, government officials, health personnel, and the World Health Organisation, have extensively discussed the issue of the safety of the Covid 19 vaccination.
Since the rollout of the Covid 19 vaccination globally, governments and international institutions have taken to the mass media and social media to influence citizens’ attitudes towards the Covid 19 vaccination and the safety of the vaccines (Stobart and Duckett, 2021). Healthcare facilitates providing Covid 19 jabs have displayed the image of prominent people being vaccinated to enhance public relations and influence the type of conversation surrounding the virus vaccination (Hanly, 2021). In Australia, during the countrywide rollout, Prime Minister Mr. Morrison, Chief Medical Officer Proffers Paul Kelly, and Chief Nurse Professor Alison McMillan was vaccinated in the public glare and televised to instill confidence. This was an act of public relations to influence Australia’s opinion about the vaccine and its safety. This form of mass media advertisement aims to influence the discussion on the public sphere regarding the covid 19 vaccination.
Similarly, several governments sponsored vaccination advertisements to encourage Australia to get vaccinated that run on various mass media stations. These Australian government strategies have proven effective; as at the beginning of November 2020, Australia vaccination statistics showed 36.7M doses issued, 17.2 million citizens fully vaccinated, 67.1% of the total population above the world percentage of 39.9% (Attwell et al., 2021, e0245907). People tend to listen to information from a source they consider objective and authentic and refers to their opinions and conclusions in their discussions and decisions. This is a strategy that the Australian government successfully employed to encourage Corona Virus vaccination among its citizens.
4.0 Public Communication Theories4.1 Media Effects TheoryMedia effect theory explains the influence of mass media on the attitude and perception of audiences. Mass media news and entertainment tend to influence the ways individuals and society view different events, activities, and products in society (Perse and Lambe, 2017, p. 7). Media Effect theory explains how mass media influence individuals’ behaviour, physiology, attitude, belief, cognition, and affect (Overland, 2018, p. 7). Mass media played a significant role in Australia’s Covid 19 vaccine rollout through advertisements on the importance and need for vaccination.
Televisions stations run various get vaccinated advertisements to encourage people to get vaccinated. For example, Covid 19 vaccinations campaigns such as “We are almost there Australia. Get Vaccinated. Spread Freedom”, “Before the First Cuddle, book your jab,” and “Before that next trip book your jab” run on various televisions and mass media social network pages to encourage citizens to get vaccinated. Additionally, the government uses mass media to enhance their public communication and encourage Australians to get vaccinated. For instance, the televised vaccination of political elites and heads of health programs meant to encourage vaccination. Media relations are tools for public communication that the private and public sectors employ to influence discussions and opinions in the public sphere.
4.2 Agenda-Building TheoryAgenda building theory tends to explain who builds the media, policy, and public agenda. Professionals in a particular field can influence the topic of discussion regarding activities and events in that field or employ media relations to enhance their agenda (Perse and Lambe, 2017, p. 11). The government of Australia employs media relations to advance its agenda on Covid 19 vaccination. It uses professionals in the medical field to enhance their agenda and influence the discussion on the public sphere. Aside from the various media advertisements and public relation enhancement activities, the government invited health professionalism from international institutions such as Commonwealth to address Australians on the importance of vaccination.
4.3 Framing Theory
Framing theory involves how something is presented to an audience and influences individuals and society’s choice to process the information. It involves framing information, news, or advertisement to convey specific information and influence audience perception (Valkenburg et al., 2016, p. 319). The government of Australia uses media relations as a public relations tool to encourage Covid 19 vaccination; the advertisement by these media companies is framed so that they influence and encourage Australia to seek vaccination. For instance, the framing of the advertisement “We are almost there Australia. Get Vaccinated. Spread Freedom” influences citizens’ perception of vaccination. The advertisement implies that getting vaccinated is a ticket to freedom, an aspect of life to Corona Virus negatively impacted; therefore, this advertisement is likely to grab the audience’s attention and push them to action.
5.0 ConclusionPublic relations significantly impact the quality and the type of discussions and opinions on the public sphere. In Australia, the government successfully uses advertisement and media relations as a public relations tool to encourage its Citizens to vaccinate. Depending on the purpose of the public relations, individuals and companies can employ media effect theory, framing theory, and agenda-based theories in their advertainment and public communicating to influence audience attitude and opinions. Therefore, the effects of agenda building and framing techniques are affected by the public sphere. The covid19 vaccine rollout sector in Australia clearly shows that the government uses its websites and policies to advocate for the vaccination process. Communication professionals can achieve effective communication by providing a better understanding of the public sphere. This can be effective only when all the media effects are covered and embrace the appropriate use of communication devices targeting the public.
6.0 Public communication for an eventThe Coca-Cola company has organized an event held on the first Saturday of next month, 4th December 2021. The event is purposely set for launching the new product that the company has discovered alongside the everyday products they have been producing for many decades. You are welcome to the event because there will be lots of gifts for those who will attend the event as a token of thanks for coming. Affiliated proceeds will all go to charity. The advertisement of the product and the event will be available on all social media platforms and most probably YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and many other platforms. You are only required to like the page of the Coca-Cola company on those platforms. Once again, remember the event date is scheduled for 4th December 2021. Don’t miss out, come all because your presence is valued much by the company. Thank you.
ReferencesAttwell, K., Lake, J., Sneddon, J., Gerrans, P., Blyth, C., & Lee, J. (2021). Converting the maybes: Crucial for a successful COVID-19 vaccination strategy. PLoS One, 16(1), e0245907.
Borchers, T. (2012). Persuasion in the media age (pp. 67-93). Waveland Press.
Garnham, N. (2020). The media and the public sphere (pp. 357-365). Routledge.
Hanly, M. J. (2021). Vaccinating Australia: How long will it take?. medRxiv. Available at HYPERLINK “https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2021/02/04/2021.02.02.21250979.full.pdf” https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2021/02/04/2021.02.02.21250979.full.pdf
Monbiot, G. (2011). The need to protect the internet from “astroturfing” grows ever more urgent. The Guardian, 23, 20-30.
Overland, I. (2018). Introduction: Civil society, public debate and natural resource management. In Public Brainpower (pp. 1-22). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Perse, E. M., & Lambe, J. (2016). Media effects and society (pp. 1-23). Routledge.
Stobart, A., & Duckett, S. (2021). Australia’s Response to COVID-19. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 1-12.
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Walther, J. B. (2016). Media effects: Theory and research. Annual review of psychology, 67, 315-338.
