Reading Summaries Chapter 9 and Chapter 19

Chapter 9: Public Opinion and Persuasion

• public tends to be passive, engage the attention of one part of the population, but another arouses the interest of another segment 
• Opinion leaders are highly interested in the subject or issue, better informed, avid consumers of mass media, early adopters of new ideas, good organizers who can get people to take action
• Formal opinion leader: elected officials, presidents of companies, head of membership groups
• Informal opinion leader: clout with their peers because of a specific characteristic 
• People seldom make decisions on their own-often influenced by friends, parents, educators, and others 
• these influentials usually are active in community, have a college degree, usually earn a high income, regularly read, participate in recreation activities and show environmental concern by recycling 
• Flow of opinion:
• Two step flow theory: people look to informal and formal opinion leaders for help in making decisions 
• Multiple- step flow model: Opinion makers digest media and share that information with a public 
• N step theory: individuals interact with different opinion leaders not just one 
• Agenda- setting theory: media content sets the agenda for public discussion 
• Media-dependency theory: when you rely on media for a subject, you can form opinions or attitudes directly relating to the media content 
• Framing theory: how a journalists choses to frame a story or facts 
• Conflict theory: conflict in the public often don’t yield negative outcomes but creates a constructive process that builds toward consensus 
• Use of persuasion 
• change or neutralize hostile opinions
• crystallize latent opinions and positive attitudes
• conserve favorable opinions 
• Factors of persuasive communication
• audience analysis
• source credibility 
• appeal to self-interest
• clarity of message 
• timing and context
• audience participation
• suggestions for action 
• content and structure of messages 

Chapter 19: Politics and Government

• Basic function of pr in a government is the circulation of information 
• Federal government
• White house- president receives more attention than Congress and all federal agencies combined 
• Congress- members regularly produce news releases, newsletters, recordings, brochures, taped radio interviews, emails, electronic newsletters, videos 
• Federal agencies- public affairs officers and public information specialists engage in tasks similarly to a pr department of a corporation 
• State government 
• develop campaigns to increase tourism, attract new residents, advance the interest of state 
• work is usually subcontracted to private public relations firms 
• health and safety is usually a primary campaign area
• Local government
• cities employ information specialists to disseminate new and information from numerous municipal departments 
• Lobbying: someone who contacts government officials locally, state wide, and federally to push for their clients interests 
• lobbyists must be registered as well as how much money they make from lobbying