Rationale

This course aims to provide further analysis and deeper understanding of new media forces, alternatively named internet-based technologies that today’s public relations practitioners employ to enhance their activities from strategy to campaign planning, in order to establish credibility, maintain company visibility and increase public awareness. The course introduces emerging trends in the ways organisations benefit from new media, examines the ways the public relations culture at large is shaped and revolutionised by them and provides examples of the challenges and risks that these technologies may cause within the field. The students will develop a deeper insight about measuring audience’s online engagement, through social media motioning to effectively track current competition. Overall, this course aims to expand conventional thinking on the field, by enabling students to identify and examine the strong links between 21st century media and the practice of public relations.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course students will be expected to:
(i)    Explain the impact of digitisation on the workspace and specifically on public relations practice.
(ii)   Assess 21st century media practices and their role at an organisational level.
(iii)  Identify New Media public relations campaigns to raise awareness.
(iv)  Identify the latest services offered by new media within big business contexts.
(v)   Implement a range of new media technologies in the practice of public relations.
(vi)  Design a Public Relations plan with the use of social media to reach the target audience and evaluate communication dynamics.
(vii) Describe some of the major concepts used in new media industries, such as “search engine optimisation (SEO)”, “viral media” and “online media rooms”. 
(viii)Contrast old and new media in terms of their applicability in the area of Public Relations.
(ix)  Explain opportunities and challenges that are currently confronted during the digital age.