UofM Protests Against Police Brutality in United States Article Discussion PR in the News Assignment Details “PR in the News”: 10 points x 1 = 10 possible

UofM Protests Against Police Brutality in United States Article Discussion PR in the News Assignment Details

“PR in the News”: 10 points x 1 = 10 possible points.Students are expected to monitor and share PR-focused news developments, trends, best practices, campaign approaches, issues, tactics, and events that are “in the news.” These can come from any news source, but most can best be found online in various PR and marketing-related media outlets, blogs, and discussion groups.

Students will be asked to post their PR in the News assignment to the Discussion Board once this term. The assignment will include a summary of the article along with key takeaways, and how this news affects PR as a field. Additionally, each student will be asked to share the article (URL) on Canvas so other students can access the article.

Word count at least 500

Assignment Example

Forbidden from wearing Black Lives Matter masks, some Market of Choice employees walk out

URL: https://www.registerguard.com/news/20200626/forbidden-from-wearing-black-lives-matter-masks-some-market-of-choice-employees-walk-out (Links to an external site.)

Summary: This article details information about the Eugene-based grocer, Market of Choice (MOC), and its decision to not allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter face masks during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. At this moment, in Oregon, face masks are required indoors. Employees in Eugene have opposed this corporate instruction and have started to protest outside MOC’s flagship store location for multiple days. Approximately 20 people were at the latest protest. The grocer posted their commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement on social media but have still asserted that employees do not advertise the movement on their face masks while at work. At the time of the Register Guard newspaper article, MOC was not available for a statement.

PR Takeaways: Arthur W. Page developed 7 principles that public relations professionals should follow. This news reminds me of a couple of Page Principles. First, the principle
“Prove it with Action” comes to mind. MOC is not proving their commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement with action. The social media post referred to in the news articles states the grocer is actively learning how to take action during this time of uncertainty, however. MOC’s action of actively preventing employees to wear mask in highlighting the movement counters from their “commitment” to the movement. “Manage for Tomorrow” is another Page Principle that comes to my mind after reading this article. Recently, MOC was in the news for discriminating against a transgender employee. This BLM story following shorty after does not help MOC repair from its recent prejudices. MOC should realize that these unpleasant and very socio-political stances may affect their company’s reputation. Remember, PR is cumulative and today’s stories become tomorrow’s context. A good reporter will mention MOC’s incident with transgender rights when reporting on MOC’s BLM situation. Lastly, by MOC not responding to the newspaper article reflects they are not properly handling this crisis. MOC should have had some response. A response could have helped them direct the story or repair their reputation.

MOC caters to wealthy individuals as it is known as a gourmet grocery store. MOC should try to look at the perspectives of their clients and other publics in their community to better understand the repercussions of this news and the purpose of the BLM movement. The standpoint theory could be applied here to show how narrow of a perspective MOC has against the larger issues of racism in America. Is the corporate staff not able to realize or broaden their perspective on the issue of systematic racism and police brutality? To that end, I believe MOC could have handled this situation better. MOC is a grocery that has many locations from Eugene to Portland. This news could negatively affect its business.