Communication and Public Relations

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:5.00

Study Course Accepted:29.08.2024 11:14:32

Study Course Information
Course Code:		SVUEK_009		LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		2.00		ECTS:		3.00
Branch of Science:		Communication Sciences; Communication Theory		Target Audience:		Public Health
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Anda Rožukalne
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Institute of Public Health
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Riga, 9 Kronvalda boulevard, svekrsu[pnkts]lv, +371 67338307
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		6	Lecture Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		12
Classes (count)		4	Class Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		8
Total Contact Hours								20
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Basics of sociology, research methods in social sciences, public health management, implementers of public health communication: their functions, roles.
Objective:
To develop the understanding of the future Masters of Public Health about public communication in the local and global information space, introducing the main communication theories and theoretical aspects of public relations. To create a basic knowledge base for students about health communication models, the theoretical basis of health communication, without which successful practice in those areas of communication that affect public relations and the communication process about health with different types of audiences is inconceivable. During the course, knowledge and skills about crisis communication and public communication are improved.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Modern society and its information space. Communication process, its participants. Contemporary media audiences. Practical exercise (in the audience): media use			Lectures		1.00	E-Studies platform
2	Characteristics of the media system, models of media systems in the EU. Peculiarities of the Latvian media system. Practical assignment: professional roles of journalism.			Lectures		1.00	E-Studies platform
3	Agenda setting theory, it role in media effects research. Lectures available for independent decoration: Modern concepts and processes of public relations, advertising and public relations functions. Integrated communication. Public relations ethics.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
4	Opinion leaders. Public opinion. Video lecture available for independent study: Influencer's marketing.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
5	Crisis communication. Types of crisis communication. The role of leadership in crisis communication.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Seminar. Crisis communication planning. Task: create a crisis communication plan.			Classes		1.00	auditorium
7	Simulation of communication crisis			Classes		1.00	auditorium
8	Simulation of communication crisis.			Classes		1.00	auditorium
9	Problems of modern public communication: crisis of trust, news fatigue and news avoidance, factors influencing the perception of information.			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
10	Seminar: Public presentation. Prepare a public presentation 1 min. television, radio or Internet channel. Task 2: the student should prepare a practical written work - my message, analyzing its content, language, own behavior, own image - health public relations campaign plan, emphasizing ethical issues (3500 characters) and present it in a seminar (3-5 minutes).			Classes		1.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Independent work with study literature and scientific literature. Prepared and submitted seminars' tasks.
Assessment Criteria:
Participation in lectures, seminars, preparation of practical tasks (health communication message); presentation of media usage data, performance and analysis of health communication video recording.
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Students will be able to describe the regularities of communication processes and their connection with the practice of public communication; describe media effects and their impact on communication processes; to describe the basic principles of media audience formation and behaviour, explain the essence of integrated communication, the basics of state communication; to list the basic principles of public relations ethics and to explain in more detail their peculiarities in the communication of public health problems. Students will know the regularities of the media system; will be able to substantiate the role of the leader of public opinion, image formation and opinion in communication processes, analysing them in the context of the findings offered by health communication theories.
Skills:		Analyze the internal and external environment of the organization's communication; to evaluate health communication messages, public opinion formation processes and their impact on the public image of the organization; to plan media campaigns in accordance with the strategic goals of communication and the principles of integrated communication; identify the target audiences of the organization and develop a communication strategy appropriate to them. Manage crisis communication.
Competencies:		Participate in the organization's communication creation process; to conceive and manage communication projects. Analyze data from studies of auditory and communication effects. Conceive, plan and implement applied research on target audiences, health communication messages and their effects, necessary for creating communication. Crisis communication planning and management. Planning and management of crisis communication.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Rožukalne, A. (2011). Kas? Kur? Kāda? Mūsdienu mediju auditorija. Rīga: Turība. (akceptējams izdevums)
2	Rožukalne, A. (2020). Perception of Media and Information Literacy among Representatives of Mid–Age and Older Generations: the Case of Latvia. ESSACHESS. Journal for Communication Studies, 13, 2(26)/2020, 207-232. eISSN 1775-352X
3	Wohn, Y. D., & Bowe, B. J. (2016). Micro Agenda Setters: The Effect of Social Media on Young Adults’ Exposure to and Attitude Toward News. Social Media +Society, January-March, 1-12.
4	Digital News Report. (2020). Reuters Institute.
5	Cleut, J., Pavlíčková, T., Picone, I., et al. (2018). Emerging trends in Small acts of engagement and interruptions in content flows. In: Das R and Ytre-Arne B (eds) The Future of Audiences. A Foresight Analysis of Interfaces and Engagement. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 123–140
6	Wang, X., & Hickerson, A. (2016). The Role of Presumed Influence and Emotions on Audience Evaluation of The Credibility of Media Content and Behavioural Tendencies. Journal of Creative Communications, 11(1). 1-11.
7	Rožukalne, A., Skulte, I., Stakle, A. (2020). Media education in the common interest: Public perceptions of media literacy policy in Latvia. Central European Communication Journal, 13(2), 202 -229.
8	McQuail, Denis. (2020) Mcquail's media and mass communication theory / Denis McQuail, Mark Deuze. 7th edition. SAGE Publications.
9	Song, A. (2017). Critical media literacies in the twenty-first century: Writing autoethnographies, making connections, and creating virtual identities. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 9(1), 64–78.
10	Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2018). Media coverage of shifting emotional regimes: Donald Trump’s angry populism. Media, Culture & Society, 40(5), 766–778.
11	Public relations and strategic management: Institutionalizing organization–public relationships in contemporary society. Author(s): James E. Grunig; Journal: Central European Journal of Communication. Issue Year: 4/2011Issue No: 06Page Range: 11-31
12	Introducing Public Relations: Theory and Practice. By Keith Butterick. (2011). SAGE (akceptējams izdevums)
13	Vogels, E. A. (2021). The State of Online Harassment. Pew Research Centre.
14	Freeman, R. E., Harrison J. S., Wicks, A. C., Parmar B. L., de Colle, S. (2010). Stakeholder theory: The state of the art. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (akceptējams izdevums)
15	Gilpin, D. R., Murphy, P. J. (2010). Implications of complexity theory for public relations: Beyond crisis. R. L. Heath (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of public relations, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 71-83. (akceptējams izdevums)
16	Edwards, L. (2012). Defining the ‘object’ of public relations research: A new starting point. Public Relations Inquiry, 1(1), 7–30. (akceptējams izdevums)
17	Castells, M. (2013). Power in the Network Society. In: Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
18	Hallin, D. C., Mancini, P. (2004). Comparing Media Systems. Three Models of Media and Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (akceptējams izdevums)
19	Zahariadis, N. (2016). Setting the agenda on agenda setting: definitions, concepts and controversies. In N. Zahariadis (eds.). Handbook of Public Policy Agenda Setting. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
20	Lee, N. Y. (2021). How agenda setting works: A dual path model and motivated reasoning. Journalism, 22(9), 2279–2296.
21	Tran, H. (2014). Online agenda setting: A new frontier for theory development. In Johnson, T. J. (Ed.), Agenda setting in a 2.0 world (pp. 205–229). Routledge.
22	Rogers, E. M., Dearing, J. W., Bregman, D. (1993). The anatomy of agenda-setting research. Journal of Communication, 43(2), 68–84. (akceptējams izdevums)
23	Porlezza, C. (2019). From Participatory Culture to Participatory Fatigue: The Problem with the Public. Social Media + Society, 5, 2056305119856684.
24	Grace, R., & Tham, J. C. K. (2022). Adapting Uncertainty Reduction Theory for Crisis Communication: Guidelines for Technical Communicators. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 35(1), 110–117.
25	Reynolds, B., Seeger, M. W. (2005). Crisis and emergency risk communication as an integrative model. Journal of Health Communication, 10(1), 43–55. (akceptējams izdevums)
26	Zhao, H. (2021). Beyond culture: Advancing the understanding of political and technological contexts in crisis communication. International Communication Gazette, 83(5), 517–537.
27	Verhoeven, P, Tench, R, Zerfass, A, et al. (2014). Crisis? What crisis? How European professionals handle crises and crisis communication. Public Relations Review 40(1): 107–109.
28	Ragne Kõuts-Klemm, Anda Rožukalne & Deimantas Jastramskis. (2022). Resilience of national media systems: Baltic media in the global network environment,Journal of Baltic Studies, DOI: 10.1080/01629778.2022.2103162
29	Rožukalne, Anda, Vineta Kleinberga, Alise Tīfentāle, and Ieva Strode. (2022). What Is the Flag We Rally Around? Trust in Information Sources at the Outset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia. Social Sciences11: 123. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/socsci11030123
30	Rožukalne, A., Murinska, S., & Strode, I. (2022). From Lower Disease Risk Perception to Higher News Avoidance: Analysis of News Consumption and Attitude Toward COVID-19 News in Latvia. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 13(3), e202216. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/12026
31	Rožukalne, A., Murinska, S., Tīfentāle, A. (2021). Is Covid-19 an “Ordinary Flu” That Benefits Politicians? Perception of Pandemic Disinformation in Latvia. Communication Today, 12(2), 68-83.
32	Andres Jõesaar, Anda Rožukalne & Deimantas Jastramskis. (2022). Trust in public service media in the Baltic states, Journal of Baltic Studies, DOI: 10.1080/01629778.2022.2127816
33	Kõuts-Klemm, R., Anda Rožukalne, A. & Jastramskis, D. (2022). Resilience of national media systems: Baltic media in the global network environment. Journal of Baltic Studies, DOI: 10.1080/01629778.2022.2103162
34	Sriramesh, S. and Verčič, D. (2019). The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research, and Practice. London: Routledge.
35	Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students:
36	Rožukalne, A. (2020). Perception of Media and Information Literacy among Representatives of Mid–Age and Older Generations: the Case of Latvia. ESSACHESS. Journal for Communication Studies, 13, 2(26)/2020, 207-232. eISSN 1775-352X
37	Digital News Report. (2020). Reuters Institute.
38	Rogers, E. M., Dearing, J. W., Bregman, D. (1993). The anatomy of agenda-setting research. Journal of Communication, 43(2), 68–84. (akceptējams izdevums)
39	Freeman, R. E., Harrison J. S., Wicks, A. C., Parmar B. L., de Colle, S. (2010). Stakeholder theory: The state of the art. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (akceptējams izdevums)
40	Zahariadis, N. (2016). Setting the agenda on agenda setting: definitions, concepts and controversies. In N. Zahariadis (eds.). Handbook of Public Policy Agenda Setting. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Additional Reading
1	Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2022). Media coverage of shifting emotional regimes: Donald Trump’s angry populism. Media, Culture & Society, 40(5), 766–778.
2	Marwick, A., Fontaine, C. and Boyd, D. (2022). “Nobody sees it, nobody gets mad”: social media, privacy and personal responsibility among low-SES youth. New Media & Society 3: 1–14.
3	Trültzsch-Wijnen, C. W., Murru, M. F., & Papaioannou, T. (2017). Definitions and values of media and information literacy in a historical context. In D. Frau-Meigs, I. Velez & J.F. Michel (Eds.), Public policies in media and information literacy in Europe: Cross-country comparisons (pp. 95–115). New York: Taylor & Francis.
4	McQuail, D. (2020). Mass Communication Theory, An Introduction. Sage Publications.
5	Rožukalne, A., & Sedlenieks, K. (2017). The elusive cyber beasts: How to identify the communication of pro-Russian hybrid trolls in Latvia’s internet news sites? Central European Journal of Communication, 10(1)18, 79-97.
6	Spurava, G. (2017). Pētījums par 9 līdz 16 gadus vecu bērnu un pusaudžu medijpratību latvijā. [Research on media literacy of children aged from 9 to 16 in Latvia].
7	Freibergs, V. (2016). Mapping media literacy in Latvia: National summary. In European Audiovisual Observatory. Mapping of media literacy practices and actions in EU-28 (pp. 274–284). Strasbourg: European Audiovisual Observatory.
8	Frau-Meigs, D., Velez, I., & Michel, J. F. (2017). Mapping media and information literacy policies: new perspectives for the governance of MIL. In D. Frau-Meigs, I. Velez & J. F. Michel (Eds.), Public policies in media and information literacy in Europe: Cross-country comparisons (pp. 19–88). London: Taylor & Francis.
9	Cobb, R., Elder, Ch. (1971). The Politics of Agenda-Building: An Alternative Perspective for Modern Democratic Theory. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 33, No.4, 892-915.
10	Converse, P. (1964). The Nature of Belief System s in Mass Publics. Critical Rview: A Journal of Politics and Society, 18:1-3, 1-74.
11	Vargo, C, Guo, L (2017). Networks, big data, and intermedia agenda setting: An analysis of traditional, partisan, and emerging online U.S. News. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 94(4): 1031–1055.
12	Vonbun, R., Konigslow, K., Schoenbach, K. (2016). Intermedia agenda-setting in a multimedia news environment. Journalism 17(8): 1054–1073.
13	McCombs, M. (2021). Setting the Agenda: The Mass Media and Public Opinion. 2nd Edition. Cambridge: Polity Press.
14	McCombs, M., Shaw, D. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly 36(2): 176–187.
15	Janusch, H. (2018). The interaction effects of bargaining power: Interplay between veto-power, asymmetric interdependence, reputation, and audience costs. International Negotiation 34(3): 219–234.
16	Parmalee, J. H. (2014). The agenda building function of political tweets. New Media & Society, 16(3), 434–450.
17	Zhu, Y., Wei, J., Wang, F., et al. (2014). Corporate statement serving as information subsidies in the product-harm crisis. Public Relations Review 40(5): 841–843.
18	Zheng, B., Liu, H., Davison, R. M. (2018). Exploring the relationship between corporate reputation and the public’s crisis communication on social media. Public Relations Review 44(1): 56–64.
19	Lee, B. K. (2004). Audience-oriented approach to crisis communication: A study of Hong Kong consumers’ evaluation of an organisational crisis. Communication Research 31(5): 600–618.
20	Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students:
21	Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2022). Media coverage of shifting emotional regimes: Donald Trump’s angry populism. Media, Culture & Society, 40(5), 766–778.
22	Freibergs, V. (2016). Mapping media literacy in Latvia: National summary. In European Audiovisual Observatory. Mapping of media literacy practices and actions in EU-28 (pp. 274–284). Strasbourg: European Audiovisual Observatory.
23	Vonbun, R., Konigslow, K., Schoenbach, K. (2016). Intermedia agenda-setting in a multimedia news environment. Journalism 17(8): 1054–1073.
24	Zhu, Y., Wei, J., Wang, F., et al. (2014). Corporate statement serving as information subsidies in the product-harm crisis. Public Relations Review 40(5): 841–843.
Other Information Sources
1	Skudra, O., Šulmane, I. & Dreijere, V. (2014). Plašsaziņas līdzekļi demokrātiskā sabiedrībā [Mass media in democratic society]. In J. Rozenvalds (Ed.) Cik demokrātiska ir Latvija? Demokrātijas audits, 2005–2014 [How democratic Latvia is? Democracy audit, 2005–2014] (pp.193–208). Rīga: LU Sociālo un politisko pētījumu institūts.
2	MPM (2018). Media pluralism monitor 2017: Country results, Latvia.
3	Towner, T., & Muñoz, C. L. (2020). Instagramming Issues: Agenda Setting During the 2016 Presidential Campaign. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120940803
4	Towner, T. L., Munoz, C. L. (2017). Picture perfect?: The role of Instagram on issue agenda setting during the 2016 presidential primary campaign. In Baumgartner, J. C., Towner, T. L. (Eds.), The Internet and the 2016 presidential campaign (pp. 263–284). Lexington Books.
5	Russmann, U., Svensson, J. (2017). Interaction on Instagram? Glimpse from the 2014 Swedish Elections. International Journal of E-Politics, 8(1), 50–65.
6	Digital News Report 2021
7	Perceptions of fair news coverage among different groups
8	How and why do consumers access news on social media?
9	van der Meer TG and Jonkman JG. (2021). Politicization of corporations and their environment: Corporations’ social license to operate in a polarized and mediatized society. Public Relations Review 47(1): 101988.
10	Roux-Dufort, C. (2007). Is crisis management (only) a management of exceptions? Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 15(2): 105–114.
11	MPM2021 Results
12	Fake news and disinformation online
13	Trust in Media in Europe
14	Ārvalstu studentiem/For international students:
15	Roux-Dufort, C. (2007). Is crisis management (only) a management of exceptions? Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 15(2): 105–114.
16	Russmann, U., Svensson, J. (2017). Interaction on Instagram? Glimpse from the 2014 Swedish Elections. International Journal of E-Politics, 8(1), 50–65.