Understanding Public Opinion And The Role PR Plays in Shaping Public Opinion

Abraham Lincoln once said – “Public sentiment is everything, with public sentiment nothing can fail, without it nothing can succeed”.  Public opinions are very interesting phenomena and can operate at different levels. Ask anyone for his or her views on something of interest in the news, most will offer an opinion.

Public opinion is the consensus of individual opinions of the majority among the masses, based on their attitudes and widely held beliefs moulded by public interest, which emerges over time from all the expressed views that cluster around an issue in a debate. When public opinion is unfavorable, public relation applies various tactics / tools to shift the balance of opinion of various target publics / interest groups in favour of the client. Hence, public opinion is the source spring of public relations.

Public relation provides information about its client who could be an individual or an organisation, through planned and sustained strategic communication, to interested  publics / target groups whereas, public opinion works two ways - It is both a cause and the effect of the public relations activity. Strongly held public opinion can affect management decisions. On the other hand objective public relations affect the public opinion, often by mounting media and or community relations campaigns.

The commonly held view is that “public opinion is what is in the media and if we can change what media says, public opinion will also change”.  The media do not determine what people think, however they do provide a platform for discussing issues and they can reinforce the public view if a particular issue catches the imagination.

Public opinion is formed by an individual or a group by what they hear, see, read, think about an activity or a cause and is measured through; Opinion Polls or Attitude Surveys through Interview or Questions to a group of people representing a particular group of publics comprising Men, Women, Married, Single, of different age groups, of different profiles, of different educational qualifications, of different income groups and social back grounds.

Public Opinion is shaped or influenced not only by PR events but also by certain individuals identified as Opinion Leaders. They are found in economic, social, religious and political groups. They are also found in employees groups, shareholders, consumers, distributors, dealers, and in the community. Opinion leaders also exist among workers, artisans, students, housewives, office staff, salesman, taxi and auto drivers, and the man in the street. Leaders of these groups are effective communicators who can influence the attitudes of the target publics.

Three separate groups in the Opinion Leader category are;-

a. Vocal Activist - who devote themselves to advocating a cause.

b. Leaders such as Mass Media and Key Educators.

c. Power Leaders like politicians who are professional opinion leaders, bureaucrats, judiciary and others who have the power to take actions that affect organization and society.


Thank you J


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