The purpose of this interview is to see first hand how different people view public relations. Participants were chosen based on their major in order to avoid having only PR majors answering the questions. These interviews were conducted one-on-one in order to avoid biasing the participants’ opinions and views.
The four people interviewed came from all different majors to show different perspectives and the inconsistency of what people believe public relations is and why it is important. The first participant, Christine Sass is a junior music education major. She has had the least experience and exposure to PR. Sara Burns is a junior public relations major. She has interned for Belmont’s Residence Life, a small firm in town, and the Nashville Predators. Marissa Antkowiak is a senior music business major. She has had marketing internships with different companies that have shown her the surface of what PR is and what it entails. The last participant, Kelly Oakes is a graduating senior corporate communications major. While corporate communications is similar to PR, these two disciplines are very different and Kelly has seen that through her different internships and PR classes she has taken in her college career.
What is public relations to you?
CS: Building a two-way relationship between an organization and the public.
SB: Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics
MA: How a
: The Public Relations game is fast changing. The industry has been found to be intimidating in its approach, especially for those who do not practice it. PR is no more cut and dry it used to be in the past. In the current scenario, the domain is all about maintaining focus on the art and science of creating and promoting favourable relationship with the public.
Worldwide, people aren’t sure what public relations role is in the workplace. Public relations is a planned communication that builds relationships between organizations (What is Public Relations). Someone who works in the public relations field can find themselves doing a number of tasks daily. Planning, implementing, researching, and evaluating are just some of the key tasks when working in the field (What is Public Relations). The main goal of public relations is building a reputation for a company since in today’s competitive market reputation can make or break a company. The main goal of public relations is to manage and spread information to create a favorable image for the organization through various media outlets. (Public Relations).
Ever since Bernany’s work, public relations have continued to become a vital part to businesses success, as the field continues to grow. While this progression has occurred, different public relations functions also have developed. Specifically,
“Public relations work is all about developing effective relationships between organizations and groups that are important to them, including the media, customers, employees, investors, community leaders, activist groups and government agencies” (Lattimore, 2008). In 1997, one woman, April Williams, felt she was working so hard and not getting anywhere in America’s workforce. She decided to open up her own marketing agency that has now been serving companies to help better promote their business and work. Marketing is such an immense factor of Public Relations. It is the way business’ and people view your company and its reputation. North Star is Williams’ flexible and fun marketing agency which has received many awards and recognitions.
In my general view of public relations is the management of complex interactions between an organisation and it’s publics or stakeholders. To me, this definition encompasses many different things. Through my three week’s experience working in Bridges PR & Events, I’ve learned that a public relations practitioner wears multiple hats. Writing press releases, constantly keeping in contact with the
I do not know much about public relations (PR), but if I can attempt to put it in a single definition it would be the communication or process in connecting to the mass media. The mass media is any consumer, voter or supporter of that particular company or person. When I envision what a person might do in a career in public relations I immediately think of Olivia Pope from ABC’s popular show Scandal. Public relations is involved with creating press releases, curating charities and essentially anything that will helps improve that business’ brand or that party’s’ image significantly. Unlike a management position, public relations comes in and consults during a crisis or scandal that affects the public and leaves when the situation is resolved.
When the term public relations are heard, there is not an immediate understanding of the career, let alone its writings. The lines of the responsibilities of a public relations professional are often blurred and confused. However, the Public Relations Society of America composed a specific definition to help with the confusion: “public relations are a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (“About Public Relations”). Breaking down the definition a bit shows exactly what public relations is about – “mutually beneficial relationships” (“About Public Relations”). Professionals work to create and maintain various relationships, whether it be with journalists or clients, that will yield positive results for all parties involved. In an interview, Vallerie, who works in public relations, revealed she interacts “with upwards of 20 different people” daily (Mackillop). Publics are generally thought of as the general public population; this is true to an extent for public relations. A public is “anyone who ever has or ever will form an opinion about the client” (Roost). This means that it is possible to have more than one public that a professional is dealing with for their work.
The most recent definition of public relations, according to the Public Relations Society of America (2012), states that “Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Through the rapid advancement of modern media and technology, there have never been more outlets and opportunities available for accomplishing the goals of public relations. Believing the development of social media has not created serious changes in the way public relations practitioners go about their duties would be foolish and a fast track to falling behind in this rapid world of communication. The main goals of public relations are “to
Public relations has changed drastically since the early 20th century. In its earliest forms it was more focussed on the idea of publicity and advertisement. However, more recently it has been seen as a way to engage and build relationships between an organization and it’s publics. Public relations deals with promotional activities that foster a positive public image of a company or organization.
Over the past two and a half weeks as a class we have been assigned to talk to a variety of different public relations departments in companies of our interest. Through the struggles of being hung up on immediately or put on hold for 20 plus minutes, this assignment not only allowed me to learn how the PR field works via telephone and email, but what type of field would I be interested in working for. Through all the ups and downs, I have found three businesses that have interested me and would possibly interest me in the future.
When individuals are not use to voicing their opinions, their minds often go to a standstill and thoughts are lost,. They live daily just hoping they can work hard enough to move out of the circumstances they are currently in. “ Public relations provides the tools
Anyways, through different definitions this essay gives you an overview and a better understanding of what public relations is and does. It shows you the importance and function of public relations in an organization especially in today's world.
When you were in high school, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? I didn’t have a clue; there were so many things to choose from. I finally made a choice to pursue something that fit my personality. However did you know, “Public Relations Specialists held about 275,200 jobs in 2008? “(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 5). Opportunities are best for college graduates who combine a degree in journalism, public relations, or another communications-related field with an internship in public relations. Vicki Nelson Director of Development for the Lampion Center Stated, “Public relations is telling stories, other
The theory explains that the value of public relations in organization and society lies in socially responsible managerial decisions and quality organization to public relations. Organisations must behave in ways that solve the problems and satisfy the goals of the stakeholders as well as the management in order to be effective. Good relationship with organisation’s strategic publics is helpful in developing and achieving goals desired by both the organization and its publics, reducing costs of negative publicity, and increasing revenue by providing products and services needed by stakeholders. Practitioners identify publics who are affected by or affect organizational decisions and communicate symmetrically with them to build high quality long term relations.
Only recently being recognized as a discipline in itself, modern day professional public relations practices can trace its roots to the early 1900s where the first public relations firm, the Publicity Bureau, was founded in Boston. In 1923, Austrian-American public relations pioneer, Edward Bernays, identified three fundamental concepts of public relations. In 1984, American theorists, Grunig and Hunt, conceptualized the now-famous four models of public relations and the excellence theory that were generally adopted by public relation agencies across the globe. With so many significant milestones and theories of public relations established in the United States, it stands to reason that public relation practices would naturally adopt a western perspective.