The Marcolian Online

Apr. 19 , 2007

PR more important as speed of communication increases
Neil Wilhelm
naw001@marietta.edu

Professor Jane Dailey is the most recent addition to Marietta College's Mass Media Department faculty, having joined the department in January. She has been involved with Public Relations long enough to witness some very significant changes in the field. She earned her wings working for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, serving as the media relations coordinator. Daily would later work for Hull & Associates - a Columbus, Ohio engineering firm - heading up their government and public relations program.

Daily agrees that the evolution of communication has had enormous impacts in the world of public relations. She recalls the early days of her career when critical information was faxed, and the rest was sent by mail. “We were writing our news releases on computers, which was a big deal.” During her employment with the EPA, Daily notes that mass mailings were a common form of protest from concerned citizens. “Now you [public relations professionals] have emails, blogs, and all these things going on around you... I look back and it was a lot easier to manage [before]. Now you have to monitor what everyone is saying about you online.”

Now that the internet has become an international staple, a bottomless sea of information is available to anyone who knows how to Google.

With the internet, most anyone can also create information to be shared with large audiences, which can make things difficult for public relations professionals. Daily recalls past experiences with the EPA, “Say that there is someone concerned about a certain chemical that is getting into their drinking water.

They would probably call an expert. This is pre-internet so they would call a doctor, call the health department.” Daily explains that with the internet, a person in the same situation can go online and find the worse possible effects of a contaminant, without considering important factors like dosage and exposure. “It's very scary”, Daily says, “access to information isn't always a good thing.”

Daily notes that there are plenty of benefits brought by new communication tools. One that she finds particularly interesting is the blog (online journals now being adopted by organizations). “They're using blogs to get out of that corner office”, Daily notes, “(employees) actually know their CEO now, especially in larger companies. I think that's neat, how they're using social media, just in a more structured fashion, it puts them in touch with who they work for”, Daily says.

Though the march of technology and social media presents many challenges to public relations professionals, it offers more chances for them to connect with the public. No one can say what's in store for tomorrow.


• Campus News • Viewpoints • Sports • Arts & Living • Greek wrap-up • Ask Marc • Spotlight • New faces at MC • Meet our staff • Staff profiles • Letters to the editor policy • History of the newspaper • Benefits of advertising • Ad rates		Apr. 19 , 2007 PR more important as speed of communication increases Neil Wilhelm naw001@marietta.edu Professor Jane Dailey is the most recent addition to Marietta College's Mass Media Department faculty, having joined the department in January. She has been involved with Public Relations long enough to witness some very significant changes in the field. She earned her wings working for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, serving as the media relations coordinator. Daily would later work for Hull & Associates - a Columbus, Ohio engineering firm - heading up their government and public relations program. Daily agrees that the evolution of communication has had enormous impacts in the world of public relations. She recalls the early days of her career when critical information was faxed, and the rest was sent by mail. “We were writing our news releases on computers, which was a big deal.” During her employment with the EPA, Daily notes that mass mailings were a common form of protest from concerned citizens. “Now you [public relations professionals] have emails, blogs, and all these things going on around you... I look back and it was a lot easier to manage [before]. Now you have to monitor what everyone is saying about you online.” Now that the internet has become an international staple, a bottomless sea of information is available to anyone who knows how to Google. With the internet, most anyone can also create information to be shared with large audiences, which can make things difficult for public relations professionals. Daily recalls past experiences with the EPA, “Say that there is someone concerned about a certain chemical that is getting into their drinking water. They would probably call an expert. This is pre-internet so they would call a doctor, call the health department.” Daily explains that with the internet, a person in the same situation can go online and find the worse possible effects of a contaminant, without considering important factors like dosage and exposure. “It's very scary”, Daily says, “access to information isn't always a good thing.” Daily notes that there are plenty of benefits brought by new communication tools. One that she finds particularly interesting is the blog (online journals now being adopted by organizations). “They're using blogs to get out of that corner office”, Daily notes, “(employees) actually know their CEO now, especially in larger companies. I think that's neat, how they're using social media, just in a more structured fashion, it puts them in touch with who they work for”, Daily says. Though the march of technology and social media presents many challenges to public relations professionals, it offers more chances for them to connect with the public. No one can say what's in store for tomorrow.
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