Public and private institutions are managed to achieve certain goals. A well-established organisation must have an official channel of communication, which also indicates the operational channel and decision-making processes. An organisation can be described as an entity that involves individuals working together to achieve certain goals. It can be a supply firm, like the typical firm of Abuja Contractors, which has probably few staff made up of the boss, a typist, a driver and an office attendant.

Most organisations start with few members and grow bigger in staff and operations. They establish a code of conduct, chain of command and distribution of job for attaining a common goal. In the media, there are editors-in-chief, editors, line editors, deputy editors, bureau chiefs, correspondents to the reporters in that order. Other corporate organisations have managing/executive directors, deputies, top managers, assistants, officers, supervisors down to clerks and messengers. In government agencies, ministries for instance, the top-ranking officer is the minister. Going down the ladder, we have the directors general/permanent secretaries, directors, their deputies and assistants, divisional heads, chief officers, principal officers, senior officers, ordinary officers down to typists, clerks, messengers, drivers to security personnel.

Every organisation has its unique setting as regards working environment, employee relations, service delivery policies, communication processes, rules and regulations. Governmental organisations adopt similar public service rules, while business and private companies have comparable codes of conduct for maximum profitability. In government agencies, at state and federal levels, there is a uniform procedure codified in the Civil Service Rule’s and financial regulations. The likely differences are in their operational terms of reference, policy framework and the pattern of programmes’ execution. In a Government House, the governor is the institution whose programmes and policies are projected to the citizenry. The federal ministries of information, finance and health, where I variously worked, formulate, implement and promote policies and programmes through their relevant departments and related agencies.

Until 1999, many hardly heard the name or knew the functions of National Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (NRMAFC) as it was then known, even though it had existed for about ten years. The 1999 Constitution empowers the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to be independent and autonomous from the direction of any other body. It is neither a ministry nor a parastatal of other establishments. The constitution and other relevant laws empower it to monitor accruals and disbursements of revenue from the Federation Account. It is also charged, amongst other duties, with the responsibility of proposing revenue formula for the three tiers of government; determining the remuneration of political office-holders including members of the executive, legislative and judicial arms; advising governments on fiscal efficiency by which their revenue will increase. It may therefore be said that the Commission is a sensitive and powerful body since its work affects the federal, state and local governments and the officials at all levels of government.

It is permissible for specific schedules to bypass the hierarchy of command, but most organisations stick rigidly to the prescribed line of official communication and authority that employees must observe in relating to one another. Apart from vertical and horizontal communication amongst officers and sections of the organisation, informal interactions amongst individual employees, sometimes through unionism, are allowed. Acceptable formal communications are those routed through the designated sections known by such nomenclatures as department, division, subdivision, branch, unit, section etc.

Sometimes, organisations insist that the media relations officer must submit his writings for vetting by superior officers in other departments. There is nothing wrong with that if the superior officers are competent enough to understand rudiments in journalistic writings. They should know that media writing is not minutes of meetings, reports or letters; it involves a lot of professional skills beyond spelling and grammar. Publicity writings are not to impress but express the messages in comprehensible languages. One must also be careful of providing writings to lousy and incompetent officials for proofreading. They may either kill the main essence of the story or see your friendly disposition as a sign of weakness. They may even think they may do better and threaten your job.

Ranking:

An organisation may have the lowest to the highest in rank. The same organisation where there is a high-flying managing director also has a cleaner/messenger. The chief executive embodies the hopes, aspirations, and objectives of every organisation. A president of a nation, among other world leaders, is the total representation of his country and its citizens; same as governors in their states, ministers in their ministries, top politicians in their parties, managing directors in their companies etc

The spokesperson in some organisations may have a department, especially in a very large establishment or may be attached to the office of the chief executive to smoothen his operations. Because of the urgent nature of some publicity activities, especially in crisis management, the media relations personnel report directly to the chief executive. This bypass of bureaucratic hierarchy is acceptable in order not to further damage what is intended to be controlled.

Publics:

Organisations also have their target audience whom they deal with in terms of their operations. The external public of some organisations are so large that they cut across different groups, demography, ages, sexes, hobbies and interests. Government institutions usually have the largest public as they deal with the entire residents, whether indigenes or foreigners. Companies also have their specific public that may include shareholders, consumers, wholesalers/traders, contractors, suppliers, opinion and community leaders, youth/pressure groups, regulatory bodies and, of course, the media. An individual may be a major stakeholder whose decisions, even from outside, can determine the fate of the establishment. Therefore, the organisation should not only be seen from the perspective of its internal employees but also the external, which are pertinent to its operations.

Like bad products, corrupt organisation and fraudulent management are very difficult to sell. Media relations are not about cheap publicity where bad products are laundered to meet the admiration and acceptability of the public. The media are naturally inquisitive and can ask penetrating questions and dig deep in their investigations to unravel suspicious activities and fictitious declaration of achievements.

An organisation must be transparent in its activities before it seeks media attention. Corrupt organisations expend huge funds to cover up their nefarious activities. They are in the group of other individuals who look down on the press with disdain, believing the media cannot influence anything to their positions, however positive or negative. They will not speak to the press except when forced to.

There are some institutions which may have justifications in being publicity-shy, going by their sensitive positions; many others are uncomfortable to open up to the public due to underhand dealings. Whether one talks to the press or not, however information always gets out. Many organisations that were reluctant to entertain media enquiry, later turn round to seek for media protection in a crisis period. Some organisations, like politicians, use the media to get to the top but later turn against them.

Communication Process:

It is also important, at this stage, to know about internal communication, which is required within the organisation for official interaction. In simple terms, all communication processes are undertaken between a sender and a receiver through a transmitter. It is a three-way effort: sender – message- receiver. But every good communicator should anticipate the fourth level, which is FEEDBACK, to measure the result of the message.

There are basically two types of communication within an organisation: formal (official) and informal (unofficial). The internal communication is channelled vertically and horizontally through the lower cadre to the management and down, and between officers on the same cadre or between the departments. As indicated, communication flows from top to bottom and on the reverse, while the horizontal takes place amongst similar ranking officers from left to right and vice- versa. Informal communication is not controlled by the organization, but may be very useful for the media relations officers in studying the mood in an organisation and analysing their impacts for the management. To have a clear understanding of this unofficial form of communication is to study staff’s interactions at canteens or listen to conversations within and outside the office complex. Most informal communications fall under rumours and grapevine. There are situations where informal and formal communications interchange within an environment. For instance, telephone conversations, email enquiries, and interactions at social gatherings may either be formal or informal, depending on the message and the manner the sender handles it. Subjects of interpersonal communication may however attract media interest and lead to mass-communication. One has, therefore, to be very careful about how organisation’s official and unofficial information flies.

An entrant to media relations must be aware of the different channels of communication for interaction and publicising the activities of his boss and/or the organisation internally and externally. Basically, good knowledge of mass-communication is necessary since that is where the basic tools for publicity are explained.

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