What is Public Relations?
Admittedly, my understanding of public relations has solely come from its representation in popular television shows. Much of what I saw glamorized public relations as an occupation concerned mainly with party planning and spin-doctoring information about an organization. Even though I knew this was not the case, the readings for this week opened my eyes as to the real work involved in PR and, sadly, moved a vision of my future career away from one similar to that of Samantha Jones in Sex and the City. Therefore, I think the reason for many people's misconceptions of public relations is that they only take into consideration what they are presented with about the occupation. Say, they only saw a company's PR person on television or they heard about a launch party for an organisation organized by So-and-So Public Relations and hence think the job is all about looking good and throwing parties. Perhaps PRIA could do some PR to change certain publics' misconceptions about the industry?
I think the key points to remember from this weeks readings were that there is such a vast scope of activities undertaken by PR practitioners and that the industry in Australia is still developing as the roles of a practitioner grow as technology grows.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that its early practice in Australia relied on 'ballyhoo' stunts to publicise within the entertainment industry and this is probably where some of the misconceptions I noted before arose. It made me see that these 'ballyhoo' stunts are still very evident today. For, example, Richard Branson constantly flys around the universe solo in a box elevated by a balloon or opens every new venture with a bevy of bikini girls to promote his Virgin brand.
Amongst the myriad of descriptions of the various roles of the the PR practitioner I found Harold Burson of Burson-Marsteller's list of the four main functions of public relations the most understandable. He recognizes that PR practitioners act as a "sensor of social change", "corporate conscience", "communicator" and "corporate monitor"(1), which gave me a much simpler overview of the purpose and function of public relations.
References
1)Chapters 1 and 2 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed.
2)“The Big Picture” Pages 1-36. in Public Relations James, M. (2006). Sydney: CareerFaqs.
2)“The Big Picture” Pages 1-36. in Public Relations James, M. (2006). Sydney: CareerFaqs.
2 comments:
hey,
Firstly, congratulations on a great blog, it was really interesting. I particularly liked the way you responded to the readings on a personal level, for example, how you stated that you saw your ideal fantasy of PR fading into the distance. It's so true.
I particularly liked how you identified the fact that television's representation of PR practices mainly involving planning glamourous parties has aided in causing us to misconceive the role of PR practitioners.
Also, the fact that you said perhaps PRIA should conduct PR to change this was very witty.
You also said that this week's readings made you realise that PR practioners have a miriad of roles and the fact that you provided evidence for this from the readings was great.
Finally, I liked the link you made about PR practitioners conducting stunts in early Australia and how this still continues, for example the stunts of Branson.
Overall, great work.
Alexandra
It would be interesting to review these comments now and again at the end of the semester, to once again compare your initial perception of the industry with what you now know and the direction you wish to pursue in the industry (e.g. fashion PR) and if this is possible in Newcastle. there are a number of emerging designers, as you are probably aware, based in Newcastle. I'm thinking of the Foong sisters. Have you thought of approaching them in your second year to get some experience when they go to melbourne for Australian Fashion Week (I think that's it)? Well, probably, approaching them now and seeing if something is possible. Just a thought.
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