Professional fields of communication, namely, journalism, film, television, advertising and public relations play a significant role in present-day society. They have managed to become influential, and produce either a positive or negative impact on various events and situations. This paper aims to reflect on how the professional fields of communication contributed to the nation’s recovery from the economic crises of 2008.
Role of Journalism
In their professional practice, journalists are expected to comprehend the real state of affairs and be aware of their role in search of adequate replies to any questions which might arise (Graber & Dunaway, 2014). In the course of the economic crisis of 2008, journalists were expected to elucidate events, changes, and ideas. They were supposed to monitor the development of the crisis and make their investigations. Besides, we provided both factual and analytical information and explained to the public what was happening and how it could be tackled (Usher, 2014). Alongside with the government and financiers, journalists worked out their solutions to the problem and shared them. They initiated discussions and disputes to listen to different opinions on the matter (Boomgaarden, Van Spanje, Vliegenthart, & Vreese, 2011). The following factors guaranteed the participation of journalism in the recovery of the economic crisis of 2008. First, the freedom of the press allowed them to carry out their professional activities. Second, the journalist’s professional position was treated as a set of purposes of implementing activities by its internal laws, as well as depending on the moral climate of the society. Finally, ethical regulators of the journalist’s creative behavior were considered as a factor of productive involvement in the resolution of important tasks. Apart from that, adequate reflection and deep comprehension of the crisis depended on the journalist’s professionalism. One of such journals appeared is The Wall Street Journal. To sum it up, it is necessary to claim that journalism’s role in the recovery of the economic crisis of 2008 was most informative and analyzing.
Role of Filming
It is accepted that watching films appear to be the most popular indoor leisure activity. Therefore, films might be used not as mere entertainment but also as a means of distracting from the distressing reality. The role which films managed to play in the recovery of the economic crisis of 2008 proves to be rather controversial. It is necessary to claim that, despite the crisis, Hollywood happened to find funds to produce new films with great budgets. The majority of them are composed in the following way: a sad beginning where the main character is in the state of crisis (be it personal, or financial) and a happy ending after all the trouble has been overcome. Such a structure was expected to reflect the reality: at the moment the crisis is faced, but soon the situation would change for the better. Hence, films were used to calm the public down and cheer them up. This contributed to the recovery to a certain extent: it is easier to deal with people who are allotted some hope for the soonest improvement. One of the films devoted to the issue is 2011’s “Margin Call”. This is a financial thriller with a happy ending.
Role of the TV
TV is acknowledged to be the most popular type of mass media. Besides, it proves to be a powerful means to influence the public’s opinion. Therefore, in challenging situations, TV is often used for various purposes.
In the course of the economic crisis of 2008, apart from covering the news and providing factual information, the TV was aimed to be a calming factor and create a favorable atmosphere to convince the public of the possibility that the crisis would finish shortly (Boomgaarden et al., 2011). It is important to note that one of the features which the TV has is its simultaneousness. It happens to have a particular impact on the public’s psychology. Simultaneousness creates an illusion of its authenticity, reliability, and reality. In the state of crisis, different channels faced a challenge of attaining their tactic and strategic goals. These aims were pursued in different types of programs, be it the news, and informational or analytical program, or an entertainment show (Schifferes & Roberts, 2014). The TV managed to determine the public’s general mood, psychological climate, attitude to the reality, and explanatory constructions to interpret the problem. Thus, it played a notable role in preventing the public from getting panic. However, there is an opinion that the way of overcoming the crisis which was suggested by the TV was unlikely to help to avoid negative events and situations in the economic and social spheres. What is more, the TV is controlled. Thus, some facts might have been concealed. For example, news agencies such as CNN and BBC tended to present the crisis news more mildly. To sum it up, it is necessary to state that during the economic crisis of 2008, the TV contributed to reducing negative moods so that the government had a chance to tackle the problem without additional disturbance.
Role of Advertising
Based on the definition which has been derived from public opinion, a crisis is acknowledged to be a financial failure that entrains many negative factors for each person, for instance, the reduction of the salary and redundancies. People tend to associate any crisis with the inflation and overall growth of prices. At such moments, advertising might come to play the key role since the situation allows it to “sting” and support people.
During the economic crisis of 2008, advertising happened to become a sort of straw for people who had become disappointed with everything. In the advertising of that time, there existed a set of anti-crisis strategies and methods. Their message which advertising contained is as follows: “Due to the crisis, we have reduced prices!” On the one hand, it could be treated as a good way to attract customers. On the other hand, it appears to be a true necessity for companies that were facing the lack of demand for their products and services. The motto was “Crisis prevents from sleeping but boosts selling” (Schifferes & Roberts, 2014). Taken into account the above-said, in 2008, advertising aimed at raising spirits and making people believe in the possibility of future stability. It is critical that the message in advertising was expected to be clear and bright to attract potential customer’s attention. In the course of the crisis, advertising appeared to be the best way to sell simple goods intended for mass consumption. The major function of advertising was to draw the customer away from their day-to-day problems and empower them to react to the situation in a decent way. Hence, advertisers used the word “crisis” for their purposes. The crisis was a topical issue which allowed involving any issue. Small organic cosmetics shops managed to attract more customers by their anti-crisis adverts and special offers. To sum it up, it is necessary to admit that advertising contributed much to the recovery since it assisted in increasing demand for advertised products and services.
Role of Public Relations
The economic crisis of 2008 is stated to have resulted in many companies going bankrupt. This is because these companies failed to react to the negative situation in an appropriate way. The crisis appeared to be a blow, as well as a probability of renewal. It revealed how crucial it was to learn to manage the crisis. From the viewpoint of crisis management, public relations played their special role in the recovery of the crisis under consideration. It is expected that PR services are aimed to provide required information on any changes in the current affairs promptly. Apart from that, they are supposed to support the reliability, improve relations with the public, and plan the anti-crisis activities (Knowles, Philips, & Lidberg, 2015). These functions came to the forth during the economic crisis of 2008. Besides, the PR services were expected to identify the potential dangers and outline measures to reduce them. Taken into account the fact that the crisis was overcome, it is possible to admit that public relations made their contribution to the recovery. An example can be served by small companies, like hand-made cosmetics producers, which managed to survive the crisis due to its clever solutions. On the whole, a PR-service of any entity should have an outstanding position in the structure since it performs many essential functions and tends to raise effectiveness and efficiency.
Conclusion
This paper has dwelt upon the role which the professional fields of communication played in the recovery from the economic crisis of 2008. The paper has considered journalism, film, television, advertising, and public relations. All of them played a specific role. However, there is a function which they fulfilled together: they managed to distract the public from a real state of affairs by concealing the facts and presenting the situation in a more positive way than it was.
References
Boomgaarden, H. G., Van Spanje, J., Vliegenthart, R. & De Vreese, C. H. (2011). Covering the crisis: Media coverage of the economic crisis and citizen’s economic expectations. Acta Politica, 46(4), 353-379.
Graber, D. A., & Dunaway, J. (2014). Mass media and American politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press
Knowles, S., Philips, G., & Lidberg, J. (2015). Reporting the global financial crisis. Journalism Studies, 18(3), 322-340.
Schifferes, S., & Roberts, R. (2014). The media and financial crisis: Comparative and historical perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.
Usher, N. (2014). Making news in the New York Times. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.