I am ready, Hello big world!

As my time has come to an end in not only my internship, but my life as a public relations and marketing uni student I look back and see the huge levels of growth I have achieved. This has been academically and as a person. Three years ago I never thought that the end of my university life would have flown past so quickly. The study of public relations has given me a vision on what I want to achieve as a practitioner. During my internship this was just consolidated. These points were as follows:

·      Ethical practice is key. Some situations you are placed in are uncomfortable. The ethical handling of them may not be the easiest, but the long-term benefits outweigh the short run uncomfortable feeling you may have. In three years time will you remember that one Monday morning you were stuck in a sticky situation? You may however remember key ethical situations you handled well, helping your personal development as a public relations officer. Looking back at your career at 50 you would be proud of yourself if you upheld the highest ethical integrity you were able to achieve.

·      Do not write something you would not want your grandmother to read. Yes, as cheesy as this sounds it is a great principle to go by. Every single email you send, media release you write or newsletter publication is out in the public domain for anyone to read. It is stamped with your name on it. With the world becoming ever more tech savvy it is becoming easier for potential employers to find out what you’ve been up to. This goes for the world of social media as well!

·      Pick a career path you will enjoy. This is key to enjoying your job in a public relations role. I have found through my placement that government departments are where I would like my future to be. Health industry would be ideal, but depends what opportunities I am faced with. You will hold a higher level of passion for your work. This ultimately motivates you to put in those few extra hours or write a great strategy or media release.

Overall I feel that doing a public relations internship was the best thing for my future career ahead. It gave my guidance, assertiveness and motivation to what career path I would like to pursue. My confidence levels rose in my ability to implement public relations skills. Before my internship I was nervous to face the “big world”. Now I feel that I am ready for the next stage of my life, including the great career PR will bring.

Good luck to everyone and I hope that your internships were as helpful as mine!

Public Relations in Parliament

So far I am ¾ of my way through my placement here at FHHS. Today I learnt an invaluable lesson from my supervisor. She briefed me on how to deal with contentious issues when raised in parliament. Contentious issues and the handling of them has not been touched hugely on in my studies at Curtin, so I found the information invaluable. I am hoping to work in a similar industry when I graduate, so for all I know in a year’s time I could be dealing with a similar issue.

A contentious issue is often based around a controversial topic. It is often a topic that people may fight over. Due to the industry of my placement this could be based around confidentiality, patient information, difference between public and private health systems or medical practice.

Due to confidentiality reasons and not being able to release specific details, the lessons I have learnt will be broadly summarised as followed:

• Generally the Opposition Leader will raise the issue in parliament. This leaves the General Leader caught off guard, especially if have not being informed by the Department of Health of the issue. The leaders assistant will then contact the Hospital directly requesting information. At this point as a PR Officer you need to do all that is in your power to fix the issue and fix it fast. In most instances this is drafting a response to the allegations.
• TIME IS PRECIOUS. In some cases you have a matter of minutes to draft a response. If a local newspaper has been tipped and is going to print immediately on the story, you need to respond accordingly.  In most instances the journalist has written the story before contacting you (if on a tight deadline). A PR person’s worst nightmare is the local papers blowing the issue out of proportion and including a statement saying you had no response. This causes community panic. Whether the allegation is true or not, it makes the community think it is. Community members begin to doubt what other controversies have they not been informed on. This brings doubt to the health service and what is provides.
• Responses are vital into creating a point of view the journalist writes by. It enables you as a PR professional to angle the story as much in your favour as possible. You can state in your response the facts, then followed by a statement saying “In no circumstances were the initial claims true.” (If viable of course). This dulls down the hype of the article, as the journalist cannot report on confirmed incorrect information.
• Briefing notes are a key tool used by the Parliament Leader. Obviously the situation is not ideal when to leader is caught off guard in session. You must provide as much detail as possible. This is so the leader can report directly on the facts, leaving no details to the imagination of others. Parliament is not the media, and all facts can be supplied to them in as much detail necessary.

• LESS IS MORE. When responding directly to an allegation the media has obtained, it is best to keep your response to minimum detail. Back the claim up with “legal jargon” if possible. Give them official reasoning to why you cannot provide them all the information they are requesting. This way the reporter understands you are not doing this to be difficult, but due to being legally bound. It is not worth breaking a confidentiality agreement purely to give the reporter the information they want.

When being briefed on this topic, I was overwhelmed with information. I never knew that such a small issue could be blown so far out of proportion, to the point where it is raised in Parliament. Whether it is true or false, that has no relation to me as a Public Relations Professional. You need to do the same amount of work, backing up the response to address the claim. I look forward to my last few weeks here at FHHS, to then walk away with a brain full of new knowledge. 

Camera Crew, Photographers, Reporters. No time to second guess myself.

Tuesday was the day I had my first interaction with official film and media crew. For me this is a big step in the PR world. There is only so much theory you can learn about how to deal with media, but my first hand’s on experience proved to be a worthwhile one.

Due to the birth of the new prince, as soon as we arrived at the office at 9am the phones were ringing. Initially it was Channel 7, requesting if we had a baby born around the same time or with any similar characteristics of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s new baby boy. One of the PR officers were placed in charge of dealing with this. We found one baby boy whom was born at a similar time as the prince, but with the exact same weight. After many calls back and forward between Channel 7 and the PR officer, it was established that yes, a story was going to be run on this newborn for the 6pm news. By this time the PR department has also been contacted by Channel 10, Woman’s Day and the West Australian all wanting similar stories. Personally I did not see the importance of the story, more the birth of this boy with similar features to the prince as a ‘fluff piece.’ But none the less this newborn baby was attracting quite a bit of media. It was my job to help control the situation and have the best outcome possible of the full shoot about to take place.  

I took this situation as a great opportunity for me to ask lots of questions to my supervisor. My first question was how the situation was handled. The lessons I learnt were as follows:

• The patient always comes first. It needs to be made clear that their comfort and wellbeing is our number one priority. We are doing the media a favour therefore they need to abide by this. Make clear to the patient that at any stage  they feel uncomfortable the interview can be stopped. We as a public relations officer are there to support the patient acting as a mediator if necessary.
• Usually hospitals do not give ‘exclusive interviews’ (the story to just one media outlet). This is only done by through the request of the patient. Even in that instance it is usually because the media station got in contact with the patient, telling them to request this. In my case, this did not happen. Due to the nature of the patient (just giving birth) we requested that only one film crew and one newspaper crew were to be present at the interview. Due to Channel 7 and the West Australian being the first to contact us, they were given the opportunity. All other media outlets were directed to them to gain footage. Phone interviews could be requested if required. When speaking to Channel 7 and The West, they were made aware that it was not an exclusive interview, and if requested by other stations they were to share the footage obtained.
• Media at no stage are allowed in the Hospital unattended. This is for security and patient confidentiality reasons.

Once this had all been arranged, at 1:30 pm the interview was to take place. Myself and the other PR Officer caught a taxi over to Kaleeya Hospital (a part of the Fremantle Health Service) to meet with the patient and media crew. This was the time where we reassured the patient that we were there for them. At this time we also required forms to be signed stating they were happy to be interviewed and have their photos taken. After this we went downstairs to meet the media.

From there on the day ran smoothly. It was my job on the day to be in the room during interviews, but also accompany the media in and out of the buildings. During conduction of interviews, the PR officer does not do much, rather stand there and act as support if needed. This could be in relation to inappropriate questions asked or the patient getting tired and worn out (wanting to stop). It is the behind the scenes and preparation where a PR officer conducts the most work.

Overall I found this a very rewarding exercise I was allowed to take part in. When the footage was shown on Channel 7, 9 and 10 on the evening news, along with page 7 of the Wednesday 24 July West Australian. I had felt this sense of accomplishment. Despite not actually writing the article I felt very proud that as an Intern PR Officer I has help create this news story. It was not until the day had ended I realised how tired I was. I constantly had to be switched on, remembering the conducts and guidelines that needed to be abided by, acting friendly as possible, but also conducting myself in an assertive yet professional manner.

The hardest part of the day for me was not letting the media push me around. They wanted information and they wanted it fast. They took it upon themselves asking myself and the other PR officer personal questions about the patient before we had even got to their room. We were not allowed to disclose this information to them, so a firm foot needed to be put down, explaining were not allowed to release this. The lady from Woman’s Day was also quite rude due to the lack of time she was allowed with the patient. I pleasantly reminded her that 12 hours ago this woman had given birth, and due to that a small interview was all that was available. The patient needed rest and was doing the media a favour. After being reminded this she was not so pushy towards me and was grateful we provided her with any coverage of the story at all.

Overall from this experience I feel I have gained confidence. One month ago I would not have felt completely comfortable dealing with this level of media. Now I feel I am confident enough to be assertive, pleasant and knowledgeable enough to run a similar situation on my own. My PR perspectives on these situations have also changed. Previously I thought a PR Officer had a more dominant role. But rather it is my duty to act as a mediator in this situation. I allow the media to get the shots they need (if appropriate) whilst monitoring the situation. 

Two weeks in, no slacking about

So after two weeks into my placement, I thought now would be a good time to start my blog. What can I say; these first two weeks have been full steam ahead. I feel as if I have already learnt some invaluable PR techniques I can use once I start my career.

My placement will take me approximately 10 weeks to complete. I am doing it in the Department of Health, South Metro Health Service’s Fremantle Hospital and Health Service (FHHS). I am situated in the Public Relations Office. There are three other ladies on the team, all with different levels of experience. They are all so kind and are willing to pass on their knowledge to me at any opportunity.

What I love about my placement was that on the first day there was no mucking about. I was thrown in the deep end and set to work as soon as I arrived. My first day consisted of drafting the fortnightly e-bulletin that is sent out to all staff members in the Fremantle Hospital & Health services. It consisted of eight pages of any important information or reminders current for the next two weeks.

 I learnt very quickly that deadlines are key and due to working in a government body, there are a number of protocols and approval policies that need to be met. It is not as straight forward as writing an article, then publishing it. Everyone’s work always needs to be proof read by the PR manager (despite level of PR qualification). At Fremantle, this is Claire Harris (whom is also my supervisor). If publishing an online article, it is also sent for approval by the head of South East Metropolitan communications team. It is to be proof read again before a final approval on whether it can be published on the health services intranet. So from my initial draft, two more proof reads, along with two approvals need to be met before publication.

On my first day I was also given the opportunity to shadow one of the PR Officers Anni on an interview and photo opportunity. Mr Murray Louden, Optometrist was retiring after thirty years of service at Fremantle. This was a great experience to take part in. One of the key learning objectives I took out of this was that depending on whom you were interviewing, was the type of approach you took. Due to the purpose of the interview, it was very laid back and more like a general chat with Murray. I also learnt that it was key/ courteous to follow up once the article was written. We sent Murray a copy asking if he was okay with what we wrote, including the quotes used. He approved this so it was then ready to be sent off to step through the many approval stages here at Fremantle. Finally out of this exercise, I learnt that being courteous is key. It builds strong relationships whilst giving yourself a very caring whilst professional name. We also offered Murray the chance for us to send him out a hard copy to his postal address of the final article published in July/August Almanac (hard copy Magazine circulated throughout all staff/general public of the Public Health system).

Overall the first two weeks were invaluable. My writing skills have already improved with every time I write. I am learning to alter my style depending on the audience. I can use a less informal style when writing the e-bulletins, but when writing Almanac pieces, direct structure with minimal, straight to the point language is key. Hopefully these small tips will help in the next few weeks worth of writing projects.