Part IV – Public Relations, Public Affairs, and Media Paper: Organizational Communication Analysis

Remember to use the same brick and mortar business or organization you selected in week one. (Attached is the brick and mortar business i selected)    

Some companies have amazing products, but they don’t always have amazing PR. Sometimes they make mistakes that can sometimes require an apology at best and destroy careers at worst. In this list, there are the top 10 times companies that made terrible mistakes in their advertising or when a CEO said something controversial, and much more. 

List rank and entries:

10. Nestle

9. Ghettopoly Sold by Urban Outfitters

8. McDonald’s McAfrika

7. H&M’s “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle”

6. Pepsi Trivializes Protests

5. Lululemon Founder Blames Women’s Thighs for Pilling

4. Dove’s “Diversity” 

3. Adidas

2. Krispy Kreme

1. Ratner Group      

Write a 1,150- to 1,400-word paper on how your chosen organization could overcome its critical event in the face of the media.

• Using the real-world organization that you researched in week two, describe how the media covered its crisis. Based on that information, how would you expect the media to cover your organization’s crisis?
• What steps must your organization take in order to protect its image and reputation when it is experiencing the crisis?
• Describe the responsibilities of public relations (PR) and public affairs (PA) during your critical event?
• At what point should PR and PA seek legal counsel? Why?
• What is the public’s right to know about the critical event versus what information should be kept private.
• What ethical questions emerge when managing a crisis?
• What are the most effective ways to develop symbiotic relationships with the media prior to a critical event?
• What are the essential responsibilities of a spokesperson? What credentials must he or she possess?
• During interviews, press briefings or press conferences how should the spokesperson handle a reporter’s negative, hostile or “gotcha” questions”?
• What are the risks that your organization may encounter when communicating during a crisis? What would you suggest to mitigate them?

Include at least six references of which four are academic sources. Consider using textbooks/resources that you have used in your degree program. Most textbooks are not academic sources because they are not peer-reviewed.

Format your assignment according to appropriate course-level APA guidelines