Questions:
QUESTION 1
The Law. Based on the e-Activity and the event you selected, answer the questions that follow.
• Choose one of these recent events, in which the defendant in a legal case tried to use public relations to influence public opinion. Justify why you think the defendant felt it necessary to use public relations in this situation.
• For the same event, propose how public relations activities might help the legal case in court and how they might hurt the legal case in court.
QUESTION 2
Choose one of these recent events, in which the defendant in a legal case tried to use public relations to influence public opinion. Justify why you think the defendant felt it necessary to use public relations in this situation.
George Zimmerman used public relations in the Trayvon Martin case. The public was very involved in this case. When Zimmerman found himself facing murder charges, he had his attorneys turn to social media. They set up a website, Facebook, and twitter accounts dedicated to the case. They have used social media to interact with the public keeping them apprised of updates, as well as to solicit money for his defense.
• For the same event, propose how public relations activities might help the legal case in court and how they might hurt the legal case in court.
I think that public relations activities can help as well as hurt in this case. It can help Zimmerman in this case by giving him a platform to gain support, and to get his side of the story across to people. However, divulging too much information about a person can possibly damage their character and end up hurting the case.
eActivity
• Research on the Internet a recent event in which a defendant in a legal case tried to use public relations to influence public opinion. Be prepared to discuss.
Question 3
Research. Please respond to the following:
• Imagine you were assigned to develop a public relations campaign. Explain in detail how you could use each type of public relations research (see "Types of Public Relations Research" in Chapter 8) to help you plan your work.
• Explain in detail how you could evaluate your public relations campaign once it is in progress or after it has finished.