{"id":5403,"date":"2015-08-03T15:04:42","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T19:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/?p=5403"},"modified":"2015-08-29T13:43:52","modified_gmt":"2015-08-29T17:43:52","slug":"media-ministry-minutes-how-can-i-build-a-strong-pr-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/media-ministry-minutes\/media-ministry-minutes-how-can-i-build-a-strong-pr-department","title":{"rendered":"Church PR – How can I build a strong PR department?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"88888-628-DrawingHands-One\"
\nBy Daniel Torchia<\/a>
\n@dantorchia<\/a>
\nListen to this whole Media Ministry Minutes segment on this week\u2019s SLHour<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Before building a Public Relations department or reviewing your existing PR function, it\u2019s always a good idea to remember (1) How do I define Public Relations and (2) What are the goals of my PR efforts?<\/p>\n

A definition worth considering <\/b><\/p>\n

My preferred definition of Public Relations goes something like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic Relations is the management function that helps to nurture relationships between an organization and its stakeholders \u2013 groups that can either enhance or constrain the ability of the organization to deliver on its mission. And all of this with the good of society\/all in mind.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

I must give credit to James E. Grunig, Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland. This definition comes mainly from him and his seminal book, Excellence in Communications and Public Relations Management.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a loaded and rich definition. It\u2019s worth meditating on it.<\/p>\n

It all starts with measurable goals<\/b><\/p>\n

Good goals will guide you and all you do. Consider some of these:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Improve relationships with any \u2013 or all \u2013 of my key audience groups<\/li>\n
  2. Convey our true story \/ vocation \/ mission<\/li>\n
  3. Become more responsive to our core audience groups<\/li>\n
  4. Foster a greater leadership team and put them \u201cout there\u201d with greater confidence<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Your options are endless. What\u2019s key, in my experience and opinion, is that they find their inspiration from the above definition of PR \u2013 and that they are measurable.<\/p>\n

    So what can I do?<\/b><\/p>\n

    Here are some ideas on how to build your PR department:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Find experts who are willing to act as mentors and advisors. Consider PR directors at Catholic organizations, dioceses etc. or retirees that have experience in PR. \u00a0Ask if they\u2019d consider helping you with strategy or finding qualified volunteers.<\/li>\n
    2. Establish a solid \u201csource\u201d of potential PR volunteers or interns. Many PR programs at academic institutions demand that students find a co-op placement (for credits). A partnership with your local Catholic campus or vocational school can work wonders.<\/li>\n
    3. Take the time to read about PR from quality sources. Consider Tactics Magazine <\/i>from the Public Relations Society of America \u2013 one of the most insightful journals in the business, or join the mailing list of the Institute for Public Relations (http:\/\/www.instituteforpr.org\/<\/a>).<\/li>\n
    4. Build a team that combines Technicians and Strategists. \u00a0The former have the skills to program websites, write quality content, design a nice poster or organize events, for example. The latter understand the strategy and the overall program management. Both are needed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Once the department starts yielding fruits, your organization might be in a position to consider ways to retain all of the necessary resources to do more. What\u2019s certain: when proper Public Relations programs are implemented, everyone wins and new bridges are made between your organization and the audiences on which your organization depends \u2013 from media to internal audiences and everyone in between.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      By Daniel Torchia @dantorchia Listen to this whole Media Ministry Minutes segment on this week\u2019s SLHour. Before building a Public Relations department or reviewing your existing PR function, it\u2019s always a good idea to remember (1) How do I define Public Relations and (2) What are the goals of my PR efforts? A definition worth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[539],"tags":[527,942,735],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5403"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5542,"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5403\/revisions\/5542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saltandlighttv.org\/radio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}