** Reply to note from [log in to unmask] Wed, 10 Mar 2004 12:04:54 -0000
Hi Tim,
Since it is quiet or you are getting the answers off list :-)
PR depts have been discussed once or twice before,
Reading in between the lines of what you are not saying :-) are people asked
for permission to have their personal details used as part of PR activities and
they refuse it? If the majority don't refuse such permission why try to change
anything? I don't think you'll get that many refusals ... it is just that PR people
will have to work a bit harder.
> Following a discussion with a colleague about DP exemptions, I wonder if
> anyone has ever considered the use of Section 32 of the DPA, the Special
> Purposes exemption. Specifically, does anyone have a definition of
> journalism for the purposes of the exemption? I'm wondering whether some of
> the work done by local authority public relations departments could be
> counted as journalism.
Does the nature of the organisation make one PR dept more humane than
another? Probably not. It is probably that the nature of one organisation might
make its PR dept act in more *lawfull* and probably in slower way than
another. (Plainly because you are doing your job and your PR people are
aware of DP they feel some constraints).
>
> Obviously, PR departments have to work with enormous sensitivity, because
> their function is to provide information about their organisation which
> presents that organisation in a good light. No PR department would ever want
> to abuse people's rights, because that would be entirely counterproductive.
> On the other hand, it might sometimes be useful to know that they can use
> information more freely than might be the case at the moment. I'm interested
> in this because I doubt PR people would get into the territory of damaging
> people's interests (which would be, as I say, entirely counterproductive),
Hmmmm, Good versus Bad.
So if we have a hypothetical governement, its PR department must be Good.
Why? Governments are Good as they provide the basics for a civilised society
else it would be anarchy. Anarchy we are told is Bad.
Unless it is a regime (a regime is not a government if you get my drift) and
regimes are Bad. Hence its PR dept is Bad.
And what if the (Good) PR dept of a hypotherical government leaks
personal details about a civil servant who then kills himself. In some civilised
societies (or a particular religous persuation) suicide is Bad. In some
civilised societies leaking personal data without permission can also be Bad.
Thus the PR department is Bad. Therefore the Government is ....................
> and the exemption may have useful applications. I'm agnostic about this - I
> don't know whether they would count as journalists or not, but wondered if
> anyone else had some ideas?
I am afraid the work of a PR dept is more likely to be seen as marketing than
journalism. As far as good versus bad goes, you are on very thin ice (sorry for
the cliche). Perhaps the timing is unfortunate.
Sorry I am not of much help.
Charles
--
Charles Christacopoulos, Management Information Officer,
Planning & Information, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN,
Scotland, United Kingdom. Tel: 44(0)1382-344891. Fax: 44(0)1382-348845.
http://www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/
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