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Promoting online media relations: Public relations departments’ use of Internet in the UAE
Public Relations Review 33 (2007) 166–174
Promoting online media relations: Public relations departments’ use of Internet in the UAE Mohamed Kirat ∗ College of Communication, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Received 1 November 2006; received in revised form 29 November 2006; accepted 20 February 2007
Abstract This paper discusses the use of Internet by public relations departments in the United Arab Emirates, to reach their key publics online and to gather information and monitor data to perform their tasks and to promote and develop their relations with the news media. Findings of the study show that all 24 organizations have a homepage, but only two thirds of them are posting their publications on the net, and only one third are using electronic newspapers to monitor their coverage in the media and to gather news, data and information of importance for the various tasks they perform. Only three organizations out of 24 have an online newsroom, and only two have a virtual tour about the organization. None of the surveyed organizations’ Web site has a film or videos. Organizations in the United Arab Emirates still have a lot to do to take advantage fully and rationally of what interactive communication, Internet and online publications are offering for a better performance and more effective public relations. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Interactive communications; Online public relations; Online media relations; Electronic newspapers; Web site; Online publications; Newsrooms; Press releases; Visitors’ comments and suggestions
If everybody is a publisher on the Internet, your company is too. The Net gives you the means to communicate directly to the public. Your candid, useful presentations to your many publics will buy you goodwill in times of trouble (Holtz, 1999, p. 232). 1. Introduction In public relations, as in other fields, nothing seems more important, than mastering the world of new technology and the advent of interactive workplace: the Internet, the World Wide Web, cyberspace. Internet has tremendous potential power for public relations and other communications disciplines. The net has become a strategic tool for public relations departments. Today’s publics are better educated, smarter and more media savvy. Public relations professionals can use the wired global village for immediate, effective and persuasive communications. They can use the net to structure their information to respond instantly to expanding issues and market developments and changes. Organizations today need to convey their thoughts, programs and objectives to narrow segments of the population. The net offers such narrow casting to reporters, analysts, consumers and opinion leaders. Electronic mail, intranets, extranets, CD-ROMs and Web sites are the main tools used by public relations departments. Media relations have been promoted and developed ∗
Tel.: +971 6 5050689; fax: +971 6 5050688. E-mail address: [email protected].
0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2007.02.003
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through the net. Press kits are becoming digital, products are launched through the net and interviews are conducted online. The World Wide Web is considered to be the first public relations mass medium allowing direct communications between organizations and their publics without going through news media gatekeeping and journalists and editors filtering. Internet is a unique medium with a score of opportunities for organizations to reach and interact with their key publics online. Public relations practitioners can, through the net, communicate directly with their public with transparency, frankness and democracy. Internet is a strategic tool for public relations to perform interactive communication, professional development and conduct research. This paper examines the patterns of Internet usage by 24 public relations departments in public and private organizations in he UAE to promote and develop their relations with the news media and their respective publics, and to carry out their research, action, planning, communication and evaluation tasks. What media materials, news, information and data are public relations departments displaying on the organization Web site? Do public relations departments use the Internet and online newspapers to do research and monitor the organization’s corporate image online? Do public relations departments have a policy and strategy to use efficiently and rationally online communication to promote and develop their relations with the media through the Web? 2. The problem There is a common denominator between online journalism and online public relations, both need each other and both use news, reports and data from each other. Online journalism needs and use online public relations: Press releases, reports, Company and managers’ profiles, latest news and events, press clippings, video news items, etc. Public relations departments use online newspapers and publications to monitor the organization’s corporate image, news coverage and public opinion. PR departments use online newspapers to do research to plan and manage their activities and programs. Excellent communications and public relations are those that serve to facilitate the relationship between an organization and its strategic publics. The Internet can play a significant role in this kind of public relations, but generally it has not yet been used to that end. Most public relations activities on the Internet are limited to using it as yet another channel for the one-way, top–down publishing of information under the traditional formula of mass communication. Most public relations activities online are not strategic, they are not measurable and they are not targeted toward specific audiences or constituencies. Excellent communications and public relations are those that serve to facilitate the relationship between an organization and its strategic publics. The Internet can play a significant role in this kind of public relations, but generally it has not yet been used to that end. Most public relations activities on the Internet are limited to using it as yet another channel for the one-way, top–down publishing of information under the traditional formula of mass communication. And then there are the huge number of organizations and institutions that have not yet embraced the Internet at all as a communication tool. Most public relations activities online are not strategic, they are not measurable and they are not targeted toward specific audiences or constituencies. For the most part, organizations’ online public relations efforts are limited to a small component of a larger, catchall company site on the World Wide Web. Most companies establish their outpost on the Web using the company name. The home page is static, it never changes. On the page, the company proudly displays its logo and links to the various sections of the site. As a result, the one site needs to accommodate all possible audiences, from customers and consumers to newspaper reporters and investment analysis. One link points to product information, another to job opportunities . . . (Holtz, 1999, p. 11). 3. Internet in the United Arab Emirates In the field of telephony there are 1.1 million fixed telephone lines in the UAE and 3.3 mobile telephone lines, while the number of Internet subscribers exceeded 400 thousand. (UAE, 2005 Yearbook, p. 309). This period witnessed major developments in the satellite broadcast industry and in the Internet. Emirates Media was established in Abu Dhabi, as well as Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City in Dubai. The country implemented copyrights laws and started a clear policy of increasing press freedom and curbing censorship and control. Dubai Internet city has become in, a short period of time, the home of major and leading regional and international computer and information technology
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firms which opted for Dubai as the address for their operations and businesses. In October 2001, Dubai government launched e-government to make the bulk of its services and transactions carried out through Internet. Concerning telecommunications infrastructure, the UAE enjoys a leading position in the Arab World thanks to its telecommunications corporation “Etisalat”. A mixed government–private monopoly that was launched in 1976. Ayish notes: Over the past 25 years, Etisalat has managed to become one of the most profitable telecommunications organizations in the Gulf region. . .It has laid down a first class telecommunications infrastructure that places the UAE on an equal footing with countries in North America and Western Europe. Not only has Etisalat delivered high quality services in the fields of fixed and mobile telephony, but has also been efficient in providing Internet services, electronic commerce, video conferencing, cable television, international satellite communication services, mobile news services, and others (Ayish, 2005). Information technology diffusion in the UAE is expanding very fast, and the country is well ahead of other Arab countries in terms of Internet penetration, computer usage and information technology applications. Internet penetration in the UAE is the best in the Arab World and one of the highest among developing countries. 4. Online public relations Excellent communications and public relations are those that serve to facilitate the relationship between an organization and its strategic publics. The Internet can play a significant role in this kind of public relations, but generally it has not yet been used to that end. Internet has become an essential communications medium for PR practitioners, it is a powerful and integrated tool and a worldwide network with a broad applications internally and externally. Internet is a new medium requiring new ways of thinking and new PR tactics and technologies. Internet is a medium that cannot be ignored by PR professionals and practitioners. It is to be noted here that the principles of PR are the same and remain the same, the only change is technology that PR should use and adopt to reach its different goals. With online public relations audiences are self-selected by personal interest and no longer geographical, audiences are also global and local. Online public relations mean interactivity. It is closer to direct than mass media. This means that public relations should emphasize interaction with individuals online through two-way symmetric communication. Online communication serves all tasks and types of content in organizational communication. Online is the closest an organization can come to one channel carrying all forms of communication from plain text through multimedia. E-mail is a primary communications tool internally, externally and to national media. Public relations departments can through e-mail send text, pictures and images. Online newsrooms are essential and a must for companies. In times of crises, online public relations help solve so many problems quickly and efficiently. Online public relations help in research and data gathering, as well as, monitoring the corporate image through online newspapers and all kinds of electronic publications. Suggestions boxes and visitors’ comments and questions through the organization’s Web site are major sources for research and data gathering and are important feedback for public relations’ activities planning and programming and a good source for decision making. Online is a major medium that PR practitioners should use efficiently and rationally for effective public relations. Online has matured quickly as a communications medium, it is a nearly inexhaustible topic. Public relations professionals should adopt and master the new technology because of the various services it provides for a transparent democratic and effective communication to promote and develop strong relationships between the organization and its publics. 5. Online media relations The press is not only one of the most important groups with which an organization must communicate, it also is one of the easiest groups to apply to the Internet. . .You can hardly find an institutional Web site that does not feature a link to material produced by the media relations department. Reporters use Internet-based e-mail as a means of corresponding with sources after initial contact was made and the identity and credibility of the source established. Your job as a media relations professional is to make a reporter’s job easier. In doing so, you best represent your company and make it more likely that reporters will listen to your point of view, your story pitches, and your requests.
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Use the Internet to facilitate this approach to media relations by making information available, not by invading reporters’ e-mail boxes with unwanted e-mail. Public relations practitioners in the age of Internet and digital society are investing online media relations to make the work of the news media, reporters and journalists easier and more efficient and to achieve PR objectives and goals. Online media relations is a must for successful public relations. This can be achieved through well designed and well thought Web site with a well structured newsroom, links and various media materials such as press releases, latest news and activities, press releases archive, news clippings, online publications, videos, photo galleries, virtual tours, films and documentaries. Other news, data and information such as company and executives profiles, public relations managers and practitioners contact’s numbers and speeches’ archive, executives CVs and photos should be displayed on the company’s Web site and should be easy to reach and use by journalists, reporters and news media. Holtz argues that: The real benefit of doing media relations on the Internet comes from targeting the media as a dedicated audience and crafting a strategy that specifically addresses their needs. Ideally, the job of the media relations department is to help reporters do their jobs. That objective is entirely consistent with the broader goal of public relations, which is to manage the relationship between the organization and its various audiences (Holtz, 1999, p. 115). 6. Literature review An emerging body of research on the use of new technologies, mainly Internet, by public relations departments to promote and develop their media relations and reach their key publics suggests that Internet integration is a must for effective and successful PR. Mayhall (2003) argues that Internet can be used in the profession of public relations as a tool of communication, PR practitioners professional development and research. In a study on “Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates”, Ayish analyzed the use of the Internet as a public relations tool by 20 government and private organizations in the UAE. The author looked at the availability of corporate or institutional profile, community services, press releases and news, photo galleries, search facilities, feedback facilities and bilingual communications. Ayish argues that public and private organizations in the UAE are using Internet as a public relations tool, and that they have a strong interest in realizing a symmetrical model of public relations across private and public sectors. The author noted that in many cases, PR staff are not directly involved in the construction and updating of the organization’s site. Alkhaja conducted a research on the PR Internet’s use in the UAE. She surveyed 100 public relations practitioners from public sector (50), private sector (30) and public–private (20). The author found that 87% of the organizations in the UAE have a Web site. Only 5.44% of public relations departments participated in the construction and updating of the organization’s Web site, while 81.82% of the computer and IT departments designed and maintained it. Organizations used Web sites to promote their corporate image, their activities and their products (58.3%) and to gather ideas and information and to exchange letters with both internal and external publics (18.5%). Findings of the study showed also that 79% of PR departments are using Internet in their work, and 47% use it to get new ideas for their communication activities and 19.2% to exchange letters with journalists (Alkhaja, 2002). Johnson argues that public relations practitioners use the Web to promote media relations, internal communication, investors, government and customers relations. Public relations practitioners are using the Web as a tool of transparent, democratic and direct communication with the organization’s key publics (Johnson, 1997). In a study on “Reaching key publics online: University public relations practitioners’ use of the World Wide Web”, Silverman content analyzed 261 American doctorate-granting universities to determine how they are using the World Wide Web to provide information for key publics. The author concludes that: In general, America’s doctorate-granting universities are doing well in their Web efforts to communicate with alumni, current students, prospective students, and faculty and staff, but there is room for improvement, both in terms of content and links, to other key publics such as parents, the business community, and research partners (Silverman, 2004, p. 10) In a study on the technological realities of public relations practitioners in Ghana, Kwansah-Aidoo argues: As practitioners, theorists and public relations educators continue to make predictions about the impact of new technologies on public relations, it is instructive to note that there is a technological divide between practitioners
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in developed countries and their counterparts in developing countries, and also, that within developing countries there is still a further chasm between the technological haves, and the have-nots. These divisions are by and large indicative, reflective, and also representative of the wider socio-cultural, economic and political settings in which practitioners operate (Kwansah-Aidoo, 2005, p. 13). O’Malley and Irani did a study on “Public relations and the Web: Measuring the effect of interactivity, information, and access to information in Web sites”. The objective of the study was to examine whether interactivity, information, access to information or any combination thereof, would be the best predictor of intention. The study suggests that a combination of information and interactivity would be the best predictor of intending to revisit a Web site (O’Malley & Iran, 1998, pp.1 and 9). 7. Research questions RQ1: What are the patterns of Internet usage by public relations departments in the UAE? RQ2: What media materials, news, information and data are public relations departments displaying on the Web site? RQ3: Do public relations departments use the Internet and online newspapers to do research and monitor the organization’s corporate image online? RQ4: Do public relations departments have a policy and strategy to use efficiently and rationally online communication to promote and develop their relations with the media through the Web? 8. Methodology Twenty-four key UAE organizations were selected to assess patterns of their usage of online publications and Internet to promote their media relations and perform online public relations (see Table 1). A media relations Web site Analysis Sheet was developed for the purpose of this study (see Table 1). Items included the availability on the organization’s Web site of newsroom, press releases, latest news and activities, press releases’ archive, speeches’ archive, CVs and photos, news clippings, company and executives’ profiles, PR’s contact numbers, online publications, virtual tour, film, videos, and visitors’ comments and suggestions. The study also used a 26item questionnaire administered to public relations departments’ managers in the 24 organizations of this study. The questionnaire was designed to assess the use of the Internet and online publications by public relations departments to promote and develop relations with news media and organization’s key publics online. 9. Findings 9.1. Media relations Web site analysis Some findings of the study show a healthy trend in PR media relations through the Web, while others indicate that there is a lot of work to do to invest all the potentialities of the Web for a better public relations and news media performance. 9.2. Newsroom, speeches’ archive, news clippings, PR’s contact numbers, virtual tour, film and videos Only 3 out of 24 organizations in this study have a newsroom in their Web site. This means that the majority of the organizations Webs are not well organized and structured to reach the media and to give them an easy and effective access to the organization’s activities, news and events. Online newsroom are usually structured and organized in a way to provide a link where journalists and reporters find all the information and the news they need to cover the organization. Only 2 of the 24 organizations of the study have a speeches’ archive. And only three had news clippings which are of a great importance for journalists and reporters. They usually use them for background stories and to catch up with what have been said and published by other news media about the organization they are covering. Findings of the Web sites’ analysis show also that only 2 out of the 24 organizations’ Web sites posted their PR managers and practitioners contact numbers. This is a major drawback considering that journalists and reporters need some telephone numbers and e-mails to contact directly the right person in the organization who can provide them with the necessary
Table 1 Items Availability on Organizations’ Web site
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information they are looking for. Findings also indicated that the organizations surveyed by this study did not use the Web efficiently to build up good media relations. None of the 24 organizations of this study have a film or video news items on its Web site, and only two have a virtual tour. These are the negative aspects of using the Web by PR departments to build and foster media relations. On the other hand, some positive aspects emerged throughout this study. They are as follows: 9.3. Press releases, latest news and activities, press releases archive, company and executives’ profiles, online publications and visitors’ comments and suggestions All the organizations of this study except for two post news releases and latest news and activities on their Web site. Over two thirds of them provide a company profile as well as top managers and senior executives’ bios and CVs. Over half of the companies displayed their publications on the Web and have a “box” for visitors’ comments and suggestions. These are good signs of effective and successful online public relations. Such news, information, publications and archives are all important elements of professional coverage, efficient reporting and in-depth analyses and presentations. 9.4. Questionnaire’s findings As for the Web site analysis’ findings, the questionnaire’s findings show some good news and some bad news. The bad news show that in over two thirds of the companies the public relations department do not design or maintain the Company’s Web site. This is a negative trend in online public relations. To be effective on the net, PR departments should be part of the team that construct, design and maintain the Web site of the organization, they should be involved and have a say in what to be displayed on the Web site? How? When? and For what purposes? They should make a systematic and scientific use of the new technology to reach their key publics online, and to give the opportunity to their audience to communicate and interact through the net with the organization. Public relations departments should also display on the organization’s Web site news, reports, data, profiles and CVs that are of importance to the news media, reporters and journalists. Respondents in their majority said also that they are not using e-mail to perform their PR work. Over half of the respondents are not aware of the meaning and importance of a newsroom, pressroom, media room or media center online for Web media relations This is a dramatic finding if we are talking about online media relations. As for monitoring the media online to assess the corporate image of the organization and its coverage by the news media, over two thirds of the respondents said they do not use Internet to do research. This can be explained by the fact that in real life public relations, research is not a priority in a large number of public relations departments in the UAE (Kirat, 2005a,b, p. 167). The good news about online public relations in the United Arab Emirates are stated as follows by the respondents of this study’s questionnaire: Public relations managers and practitioners think they should construct and upgrade the organization’s Web site. The majority of them think also that providing press releases, and press releases’ archive, posting the companies publications and displaying the latest news and events and future activities of the organization are all indispensable and essential elements of good media relations online. Over two thirds of the respondents said they use visitors’ comments, suggestions and feedback in their planning and activities. All the respondents think that Internet has helped tremendously their organization in promoting online relations with the news media. 10. Discussion and conclusion Findings of this study show positive and negative trends of the usage of the new technology, namely Internet, by public and private organizations in the United Arab Emirates. It is to be noted here that the successful adoption of new technologies in the field of public relations depend on several factors such as the background and the education of public relations practitioners, management strategies and methods, democracy, how public relations is conceived, and how it is practiced in real life. It has been argued by many that globalization will definitely lead to democratization in the Third World countries. Unfortunately, such thing never happened. Technology has never by itself made success for those who apply it. In this regard, Kwansah-Aidoo argues:
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As practitioners, theorists and public relations educators continue to make predictions about the impact of new technologies on public relations, it is instructive to note that there is a technological divide between practitioners in developed countries and their counterparts in developing countries, and also, that within developing countries there is still a further chasm between the technological haves and the have- nots. These divisions are by and large indicative, reflective, and also representative of the wider socio-cultural, economic and political settings in which practitioners operate. (Kwansah-Aidoo, 2005, p. 13). The case study of 24 UAE organizations’ use of the Internet show that public relations departments have to get more involved in constructing and updating the organization’s Web site. More transparent, democratic, symmetric two-way communication should be adopted by the PR practitioners (Kirat, 2006, p. 258). Media relations online are not efficiently promoted and developed by public relations departments. Findings show that PR are not using virtual tours, films, videos, newsrooms, PR’s contact numbers, news clippings and speeches’ archive. In the UAE, as in other Arab and Third World countries, the problem of online public relations is a problem of the practice of the profession itself, and not only a problem of technology. In this regard, Kirat notes: Although public relations is growing very fast in the Middle East, and although it is developing along the years but still the profession is facing some old problems. Public relations in the Arab World is still distanced from top management and relegated to secondary roles instead of advising and contributing in the decision-making. The status of PR in society is correlated with the degree of freedom, democracy and the place public opinion occupies and the role it plays in society. (Kirat, 2005a, pp. 330–331). Findings of this study show that public relations departments in the UAE have no clear policy and a strategy to use the Internet to promote and develop healthy relationships between the organization and its publics. The companies’ Web sites are still lacking a media relations strategy and lack a lot of information and data of importance to journalists, reporters, news organizations and key publics. This confirms what Ayish found in his study of 20 UAE organizations’ Use of the Internet: in the UAE: This situation seems quite alarming, underscoring low appreciation of the role of public relations in virtual communications. In this case, PR staff members continue to play their traditional role in real world situations, but when it comes to online communications, they do not seem to have a big say in controlling the flow of information to the public. This may suggest that what appears online about a certain organization may be in tune with what is carried out in real world communications (Ayish, 2005, p. 387). For sure, news media, reporters and audiences are using, and will use, Internet more and more; public relations departments have to find out how, when, where and for what purposes are using this new tool and how to make an efficient use of it to achieve their objectives and goals. Then, they have to build communications programs and efforts to accommodate those trends to satisfy the needs of the news media, the publics and the organizations themselves. The final goal in online public relations is not the fact to have a Web site for your organization, but rather is what you have inside that Web site, what kind of information, data, statistics, archives, photo galleries, virtual tours, video news clips and useful links.
References Alkhaja, M. (2002, April 22–24). Public Relations Internet’s Use in the United Arab Emirates. In Paper presented at the international conference on “Communication Revolution and the Gulf Society: Realities and Prospects”, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sultan Qabous, Musqat, Sutanate of Oman (in Arabic). Ayish, M. (2005). Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates: A case study of 20 UAE organizations’ use of the Internet. Public Relations Review, 31, 381–388. Holtz, S. (1999). Public relations on the net: Winning strategies to inform and influence the media, the investment community, the government, the public, and more (2nd ed.). New York: AMACOM. Johnson, M. A. (1997). Public relations and technology: Practitioner perspectives. Journal of Public Relations Research, 9(3), 213–236. Kirat, M. (2006). Public Relations in the United Arab World: The Emergence of a Profession. Public Relations Review, 32, 254–260. Kirat, M. (2005a). Public relations in the Arab World: A critical assessment. Public Relations Review, 31, 323–332. Kirat, M. (2005b). The practice of public relations in the United Arab Emirates: Organizational constraints, structural problems and future perspectives. University of Sharjah Journal for Shariaa Sciences and Humanities, 2(3), 153–183 (in Arabic).
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Kwansah-Aidoo, K. (2005). Reality bytes! The technological realities of public relations practitioners in Ghana. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 5(2), 1–15. Mayhall, R. (2003). Public relations on the Internet. Retrieved http://www.hieran.com/netpr/netpr.doc O’Malley, M., & Iran, T. (1998). Public relations and the Web: Measuring the effect of interactivity, information, and access to information in Web sites. In Paper presented at the annual meeting of AEJMC, Public Relations Division, Baltimore, MD, August. Silverman, D. (2004). Reaching key publics online: University public relations practitioners’ use of the World Wide Web. In Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Toronto, Canada, August.
Promoting online media relations: Public relations departments’ use of Internet in the UAE Mohamed Kirat ∗ College of Communication, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Received 1 November 2006; received in revised form 29 November 2006; accepted 20 February 2007
Abstract This paper discusses the use of Internet by public relations departments in the United Arab Emirates, to reach their key publics online and to gather information and monitor data to perform their tasks and to promote and develop their relations with the news media. Findings of the study show that all 24 organizations have a homepage, but only two thirds of them are posting their publications on the net, and only one third are using electronic newspapers to monitor their coverage in the media and to gather news, data and information of importance for the various tasks they perform. Only three organizations out of 24 have an online newsroom, and only two have a virtual tour about the organization. None of the surveyed organizations’ Web site has a film or videos. Organizations in the United Arab Emirates still have a lot to do to take advantage fully and rationally of what interactive communication, Internet and online publications are offering for a better performance and more effective public relations. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Interactive communications; Online public relations; Online media relations; Electronic newspapers; Web site; Online publications; Newsrooms; Press releases; Visitors’ comments and suggestions
If everybody is a publisher on the Internet, your company is too. The Net gives you the means to communicate directly to the public. Your candid, useful presentations to your many publics will buy you goodwill in times of trouble (Holtz, 1999, p. 232). 1. Introduction In public relations, as in other fields, nothing seems more important, than mastering the world of new technology and the advent of interactive workplace: the Internet, the World Wide Web, cyberspace. Internet has tremendous potential power for public relations and other communications disciplines. The net has become a strategic tool for public relations departments. Today’s publics are better educated, smarter and more media savvy. Public relations professionals can use the wired global village for immediate, effective and persuasive communications. They can use the net to structure their information to respond instantly to expanding issues and market developments and changes. Organizations today need to convey their thoughts, programs and objectives to narrow segments of the population. The net offers such narrow casting to reporters, analysts, consumers and opinion leaders. Electronic mail, intranets, extranets, CD-ROMs and Web sites are the main tools used by public relations departments. Media relations have been promoted and developed ∗
Tel.: +971 6 5050689; fax: +971 6 5050688. E-mail address: [email protected].
0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2007.02.003
M. Kirat / Public Relations Review 33 (2007) 166–174
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through the net. Press kits are becoming digital, products are launched through the net and interviews are conducted online. The World Wide Web is considered to be the first public relations mass medium allowing direct communications between organizations and their publics without going through news media gatekeeping and journalists and editors filtering. Internet is a unique medium with a score of opportunities for organizations to reach and interact with their key publics online. Public relations practitioners can, through the net, communicate directly with their public with transparency, frankness and democracy. Internet is a strategic tool for public relations to perform interactive communication, professional development and conduct research. This paper examines the patterns of Internet usage by 24 public relations departments in public and private organizations in he UAE to promote and develop their relations with the news media and their respective publics, and to carry out their research, action, planning, communication and evaluation tasks. What media materials, news, information and data are public relations departments displaying on the organization Web site? Do public relations departments use the Internet and online newspapers to do research and monitor the organization’s corporate image online? Do public relations departments have a policy and strategy to use efficiently and rationally online communication to promote and develop their relations with the media through the Web? 2. The problem There is a common denominator between online journalism and online public relations, both need each other and both use news, reports and data from each other. Online journalism needs and use online public relations: Press releases, reports, Company and managers’ profiles, latest news and events, press clippings, video news items, etc. Public relations departments use online newspapers and publications to monitor the organization’s corporate image, news coverage and public opinion. PR departments use online newspapers to do research to plan and manage their activities and programs. Excellent communications and public relations are those that serve to facilitate the relationship between an organization and its strategic publics. The Internet can play a significant role in this kind of public relations, but generally it has not yet been used to that end. Most public relations activities on the Internet are limited to using it as yet another channel for the one-way, top–down publishing of information under the traditional formula of mass communication. Most public relations activities online are not strategic, they are not measurable and they are not targeted toward specific audiences or constituencies. Excellent communications and public relations are those that serve to facilitate the relationship between an organization and its strategic publics. The Internet can play a significant role in this kind of public relations, but generally it has not yet been used to that end. Most public relations activities on the Internet are limited to using it as yet another channel for the one-way, top–down publishing of information under the traditional formula of mass communication. And then there are the huge number of organizations and institutions that have not yet embraced the Internet at all as a communication tool. Most public relations activities online are not strategic, they are not measurable and they are not targeted toward specific audiences or constituencies. For the most part, organizations’ online public relations efforts are limited to a small component of a larger, catchall company site on the World Wide Web. Most companies establish their outpost on the Web using the company name. The home page is static, it never changes. On the page, the company proudly displays its logo and links to the various sections of the site. As a result, the one site needs to accommodate all possible audiences, from customers and consumers to newspaper reporters and investment analysis. One link points to product information, another to job opportunities . . . (Holtz, 1999, p. 11). 3. Internet in the United Arab Emirates In the field of telephony there are 1.1 million fixed telephone lines in the UAE and 3.3 mobile telephone lines, while the number of Internet subscribers exceeded 400 thousand. (UAE, 2005 Yearbook, p. 309). This period witnessed major developments in the satellite broadcast industry and in the Internet. Emirates Media was established in Abu Dhabi, as well as Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City in Dubai. The country implemented copyrights laws and started a clear policy of increasing press freedom and curbing censorship and control. Dubai Internet city has become in, a short period of time, the home of major and leading regional and international computer and information technology
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firms which opted for Dubai as the address for their operations and businesses. In October 2001, Dubai government launched e-government to make the bulk of its services and transactions carried out through Internet. Concerning telecommunications infrastructure, the UAE enjoys a leading position in the Arab World thanks to its telecommunications corporation “Etisalat”. A mixed government–private monopoly that was launched in 1976. Ayish notes: Over the past 25 years, Etisalat has managed to become one of the most profitable telecommunications organizations in the Gulf region. . .It has laid down a first class telecommunications infrastructure that places the UAE on an equal footing with countries in North America and Western Europe. Not only has Etisalat delivered high quality services in the fields of fixed and mobile telephony, but has also been efficient in providing Internet services, electronic commerce, video conferencing, cable television, international satellite communication services, mobile news services, and others (Ayish, 2005). Information technology diffusion in the UAE is expanding very fast, and the country is well ahead of other Arab countries in terms of Internet penetration, computer usage and information technology applications. Internet penetration in the UAE is the best in the Arab World and one of the highest among developing countries. 4. Online public relations Excellent communications and public relations are those that serve to facilitate the relationship between an organization and its strategic publics. The Internet can play a significant role in this kind of public relations, but generally it has not yet been used to that end. Internet has become an essential communications medium for PR practitioners, it is a powerful and integrated tool and a worldwide network with a broad applications internally and externally. Internet is a new medium requiring new ways of thinking and new PR tactics and technologies. Internet is a medium that cannot be ignored by PR professionals and practitioners. It is to be noted here that the principles of PR are the same and remain the same, the only change is technology that PR should use and adopt to reach its different goals. With online public relations audiences are self-selected by personal interest and no longer geographical, audiences are also global and local. Online public relations mean interactivity. It is closer to direct than mass media. This means that public relations should emphasize interaction with individuals online through two-way symmetric communication. Online communication serves all tasks and types of content in organizational communication. Online is the closest an organization can come to one channel carrying all forms of communication from plain text through multimedia. E-mail is a primary communications tool internally, externally and to national media. Public relations departments can through e-mail send text, pictures and images. Online newsrooms are essential and a must for companies. In times of crises, online public relations help solve so many problems quickly and efficiently. Online public relations help in research and data gathering, as well as, monitoring the corporate image through online newspapers and all kinds of electronic publications. Suggestions boxes and visitors’ comments and questions through the organization’s Web site are major sources for research and data gathering and are important feedback for public relations’ activities planning and programming and a good source for decision making. Online is a major medium that PR practitioners should use efficiently and rationally for effective public relations. Online has matured quickly as a communications medium, it is a nearly inexhaustible topic. Public relations professionals should adopt and master the new technology because of the various services it provides for a transparent democratic and effective communication to promote and develop strong relationships between the organization and its publics. 5. Online media relations The press is not only one of the most important groups with which an organization must communicate, it also is one of the easiest groups to apply to the Internet. . .You can hardly find an institutional Web site that does not feature a link to material produced by the media relations department. Reporters use Internet-based e-mail as a means of corresponding with sources after initial contact was made and the identity and credibility of the source established. Your job as a media relations professional is to make a reporter’s job easier. In doing so, you best represent your company and make it more likely that reporters will listen to your point of view, your story pitches, and your requests.
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Use the Internet to facilitate this approach to media relations by making information available, not by invading reporters’ e-mail boxes with unwanted e-mail. Public relations practitioners in the age of Internet and digital society are investing online media relations to make the work of the news media, reporters and journalists easier and more efficient and to achieve PR objectives and goals. Online media relations is a must for successful public relations. This can be achieved through well designed and well thought Web site with a well structured newsroom, links and various media materials such as press releases, latest news and activities, press releases archive, news clippings, online publications, videos, photo galleries, virtual tours, films and documentaries. Other news, data and information such as company and executives profiles, public relations managers and practitioners contact’s numbers and speeches’ archive, executives CVs and photos should be displayed on the company’s Web site and should be easy to reach and use by journalists, reporters and news media. Holtz argues that: The real benefit of doing media relations on the Internet comes from targeting the media as a dedicated audience and crafting a strategy that specifically addresses their needs. Ideally, the job of the media relations department is to help reporters do their jobs. That objective is entirely consistent with the broader goal of public relations, which is to manage the relationship between the organization and its various audiences (Holtz, 1999, p. 115). 6. Literature review An emerging body of research on the use of new technologies, mainly Internet, by public relations departments to promote and develop their media relations and reach their key publics suggests that Internet integration is a must for effective and successful PR. Mayhall (2003) argues that Internet can be used in the profession of public relations as a tool of communication, PR practitioners professional development and research. In a study on “Virtual public relations in the United Arab Emirates”, Ayish analyzed the use of the Internet as a public relations tool by 20 government and private organizations in the UAE. The author looked at the availability of corporate or institutional profile, community services, press releases and news, photo galleries, search facilities, feedback facilities and bilingual communications. Ayish argues that public and private organizations in the UAE are using Internet as a public relations tool, and that they have a strong interest in realizing a symmetrical model of public relations across private and public sectors. The author noted that in many cases, PR staff are not directly involved in the construction and updating of the organization’s site. Alkhaja conducted a research on the PR Internet’s use in the UAE. She surveyed 100 public relations practitioners from public sector (50), private sector (30) and public–private (20). The author found that 87% of the organizations in the UAE have a Web site. Only 5.44% of public relations departments participated in the construction and updating of the organization’s Web site, while 81.82% of the computer and IT departments designed and maintained it. Organizations used Web sites to promote their corporate image, their activities and their products (58.3%) and to gather ideas and information and to exchange letters with both internal and external publics (18.5%). Findings of the study showed also that 79% of PR departments are using Internet in their work, and 47% use it to get new ideas for their communication activities and 19.2% to exchange letters with journalists (Alkhaja, 2002). Johnson argues that public relations practitioners use the Web to promote media relations, internal communication, investors, government and customers relations. Public relations practitioners are using the Web as a tool of transparent, democratic and direct communication with the organization’s key publics (Johnson, 1997). In a study on “Reaching key publics online: University public relations practitioners’ use of the World Wide Web”, Silverman content analyzed 261 American doctorate-granting universities to determine how they are using the World Wide Web to provide information for key publics. The author concludes that: In general, America’s doctorate-granting universities are doing well in their Web efforts to communicate with alumni, current students, prospective students, and faculty and staff, but there is room for improvement, both in terms of content and links, to other key publics such as parents, the business community, and research partners (Silverman, 2004, p. 10) In a study on the technological realities of public relations practitioners in Ghana, Kwansah-Aidoo argues: As practitioners, theorists and public relations educators continue to make predictions about the impact of new technologies on public relations, it is instructive to note that there is a technological divide between practitioners
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in developed countries and their counterparts in developing countries, and also, that within developing countries there is still a further chasm between the technological haves, and the have-nots. These divisions are by and large indicative, reflective, and also representative of the wider socio-cultural, economic and political settings in which practitioners operate (Kwansah-Aidoo, 2005, p. 13). O’Malley and Irani did a study on “Public relations and the Web: Measuring the effect of interactivity, information, and access to information in Web sites”. The objective of the study was to examine whether interactivity, information, access to information or any combination thereof, would be the best predictor of intention. The study suggests that a combination of information and interactivity would be the best predictor of intending to revisit a Web site (O’Malley & Iran, 1998, pp.1 and 9). 7. Research questions RQ1: What are the patterns of Internet usage by public relations departments in the UAE? RQ2: What media materials, news, information and data are public relations departments displaying on the Web site? RQ3: Do public relations departments use the Internet and online newspapers to do research and monitor the organization’s corporate image online? RQ4: Do public relations departments have a policy and strategy to use efficiently and rationally online communication to promote and develop their relations with the media through the Web? 8. Methodology Twenty-four key UAE organizations were selected to assess patterns of their usage of online publications and Internet to promote their media relations and perform online public relations (see Table 1). A media relations Web site Analysis Sheet was developed for the purpose of this study (see Table 1). Items included the availability on the organization’s Web site of newsroom, press releases, latest news and activities, press releases’ archive, speeches’ archive, CVs and photos, news clippings, company and executives’ profiles, PR’s contact numbers, online publications, virtual tour, film, videos, and visitors’ comments and suggestions. The study also used a 26item questionnaire administered to public relations departments’ managers in the 24 organizations of this study. The questionnaire was designed to assess the use of the Internet and online publications by public relations departments to promote and develop relations with news media and organization’s key publics online. 9. Findings 9.1. Media relations Web site analysis Some findings of the study show a healthy trend in PR media relations through the Web, while others indicate that there is a lot of work to do to invest all the potentialities of the Web for a better public relations and news media performance. 9.2. Newsroom, speeches’ archive, news clippings, PR’s contact numbers, virtual tour, film and videos Only 3 out of 24 organizations in this study have a newsroom in their Web site. This means that the majority of the organizations Webs are not well organized and structured to reach the media and to give them an easy and effective access to the organization’s activities, news and events. Online newsroom are usually structured and organized in a way to provide a link where journalists and reporters find all the information and the news they need to cover the organization. Only 2 of the 24 organizations of the study have a speeches’ archive. And only three had news clippings which are of a great importance for journalists and reporters. They usually use them for background stories and to catch up with what have been said and published by other news media about the organization they are covering. Findings of the Web sites’ analysis show also that only 2 out of the 24 organizations’ Web sites posted their PR managers and practitioners contact numbers. This is a major drawback considering that journalists and reporters need some telephone numbers and e-mails to contact directly the right person in the organization who can provide them with the necessary
Table 1 Items Availability on Organizations’ Web site
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information they are looking for. Findings also indicated that the organizations surveyed by this study did not use the Web efficiently to build up good media relations. None of the 24 organizations of this study have a film or video news items on its Web site, and only two have a virtual tour. These are the negative aspects of using the Web by PR departments to build and foster media relations. On the other hand, some positive aspects emerged throughout this study. They are as follows: 9.3. Press releases, latest news and activities, press releases archive, company and executives’ profiles, online publications and visitors’ comments and suggestions All the organizations of this study except for two post news releases and latest news and activities on their Web site. Over two thirds of them provide a company profile as well as top managers and senior executives’ bios and CVs. Over half of the companies displayed their publications on the Web and have a “box” for visitors’ comments and suggestions. These are good signs of effective and successful online public relations. Such news, information, publications and archives are all important elements of professional coverage, efficient reporting and in-depth analyses and presentations. 9.4. Questionnaire’s findings As for the Web site analysis’ findings, the questionnaire’s findings show some good news and some bad news. The bad news show that in over two thirds of the companies the public relations department do not design or maintain the Company’s Web site. This is a negative trend in online public relations. To be effective on the net, PR departments should be part of the team that construct, design and maintain the Web site of the organization, they should be involved and have a say in what to be displayed on the Web site? How? When? and For what purposes? They should make a systematic and scientific use of the new technology to reach their key publics online, and to give the opportunity to their audience to communicate and interact through the net with the organization. Public relations departments should also display on the organization’s Web site news, reports, data, profiles and CVs that are of importance to the news media, reporters and journalists. Respondents in their majority said also that they are not using e-mail to perform their PR work. Over half of the respondents are not aware of the meaning and importance of a newsroom, pressroom, media room or media center online for Web media relations This is a dramatic finding if we are talking about online media relations. As for monitoring the media online to assess the corporate image of the organization and its coverage by the news media, over two thirds of the respondents said they do not use Internet to do research. This can be explained by the fact that in real life public relations, research is not a priority in a large number of public relations departments in the UAE (Kirat, 2005a,b, p. 167). The good news about online public relations in the United Arab Emirates are stated as follows by the respondents of this study’s questionnaire: Public relations managers and practitioners think they should construct and upgrade the organization’s Web site. The majority of them think also that providing press releases, and press releases’ archive, posting the companies publications and displaying the latest news and events and future activities of the organization are all indispensable and essential elements of good media relations online. Over two thirds of the respondents said they use visitors’ comments, suggestions and feedback in their planning and activities. All the respondents think that Internet has helped tremendously their organization in promoting online relations with the news media. 10. Discussion and conclusion Findings of this study show positive and negative trends of the usage of the new technology, namely Internet, by public and private organizations in the United Arab Emirates. It is to be noted here that the successful adoption of new technologies in the field of public relations depend on several factors such as the background and the education of public relations practitioners, management strategies and methods, democracy, how public relations is conceived, and how it is practiced in real life. It has been argued by many that globalization will definitely lead to democratization in the Third World countries. Unfortunately, such thing never happened. Technology has never by itself made success for those who apply it. In this regard, Kwansah-Aidoo argues:
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As practitioners, theorists and public relations educators continue to make predictions about the impact of new technologies on public relations, it is instructive to note that there is a technological divide between practitioners in developed countries and their counterparts in developing countries, and also, that within developing countries there is still a further chasm between the technological haves and the have- nots. These divisions are by and large indicative, reflective, and also representative of the wider socio-cultural, economic and political settings in which practitioners operate. (Kwansah-Aidoo, 2005, p. 13). The case study of 24 UAE organizations’ use of the Internet show that public relations departments have to get more involved in constructing and updating the organization’s Web site. More transparent, democratic, symmetric two-way communication should be adopted by the PR practitioners (Kirat, 2006, p. 258). Media relations online are not efficiently promoted and developed by public relations departments. Findings show that PR are not using virtual tours, films, videos, newsrooms, PR’s contact numbers, news clippings and speeches’ archive. In the UAE, as in other Arab and Third World countries, the problem of online public relations is a problem of the practice of the profession itself, and not only a problem of technology. In this regard, Kirat notes: Although public relations is growing very fast in the Middle East, and although it is developing along the years but still the profession is facing some old problems. Public relations in the Arab World is still distanced from top management and relegated to secondary roles instead of advising and contributing in the decision-making. The status of PR in society is correlated with the degree of freedom, democracy and the place public opinion occupies and the role it plays in society. (Kirat, 2005a, pp. 330–331). Findings of this study show that public relations departments in the UAE have no clear policy and a strategy to use the Internet to promote and develop healthy relationships between the organization and its publics. The companies’ Web sites are still lacking a media relations strategy and lack a lot of information and data of importance to journalists, reporters, news organizations and key publics. This confirms what Ayish found in his study of 20 UAE organizations’ Use of the Internet: in the UAE: This situation seems quite alarming, underscoring low appreciation of the role of public relations in virtual communications. In this case, PR staff members continue to play their traditional role in real world situations, but when it comes to online communications, they do not seem to have a big say in controlling the flow of information to the public. This may suggest that what appears online about a certain organization may be in tune with what is carried out in real world communications (Ayish, 2005, p. 387). For sure, news media, reporters and audiences are using, and will use, Internet more and more; public relations departments have to find out how, when, where and for what purposes are using this new tool and how to make an efficient use of it to achieve their objectives and goals. Then, they have to build communications programs and efforts to accommodate those trends to satisfy the needs of the news media, the publics and the organizations themselves. The final goal in online public relations is not the fact to have a Web site for your organization, but rather is what you have inside that Web site, what kind of information, data, statistics, archives, photo galleries, virtual tours, video news clips and useful links.
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Kwansah-Aidoo, K. (2005). Reality bytes! The technological realities of public relations practitioners in Ghana. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 5(2), 1–15. Mayhall, R. (2003). Public relations on the Internet. Retrieved http://www.hieran.com/netpr/netpr.doc O’Malley, M., & Iran, T. (1998). Public relations and the Web: Measuring the effect of interactivity, information, and access to information in Web sites. In Paper presented at the annual meeting of AEJMC, Public Relations Division, Baltimore, MD, August. Silverman, D. (2004). Reaching key publics online: University public relations practitioners’ use of the World Wide Web. In Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Toronto, Canada, August.