Week 1 - Some initial thoughts

Hey there whoever-you-are, welcome! You're reading the first entry for a blogging assignment I've been asked to undertake for a Public Relations module. Let me start off by confessing that I've always held a dim view of public relations; I'm leery of spin, and have always envisioned the typical PR practitioner to be a vacuous, tarted-up young woman whose only role was to entice and bewitch old and bearded media bigwigs. As I'm neither female nor vacuous (I hope), I used to think that PR was not for me.

Well, I'm starting to reassess this prejudice of mine, after reading the first two chapters of the textbook for this module. I think the key points to remember from this week's readings are that the PR industry is a serious and diverse one, with various theories and methods to back up the madness. In addition, PR is closely intertwined with journalism and marketing (which are some of my other modules this trimester), in that all require a good grasp of language and communication. In a nutshell, PR is the "management of communication between an organisation and its public" (this is a 1984 quote from two apparently well-respected dudes, Grunig and Hunt). This view of PR can encompass a staggering variety of job opportunities and responsibilities, such as advising managerial staff on policies and their likely effect on public relations, formulating and dessiminating information and to publicise an organisation's interests, dealing with unforeseen crises and minimising fall-out from such disasters, and branding and relationship marketing efforts. Not surprisingly, some of these job scopes fall within the spheres of marketing and journalism. This means that a budding journalist like me will need to have at least a rudimentary understanding of how PR functions.

The readings also made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that one of the greatest challenges lying ahead for the PR industry is an increasingly sophisticated and discerning audience. So-called puff pieces from the 1800s will not work in the 21st century. PR guys and girls will have to learn to be subtle in their strategies, and learn to tread the fine line between promoting a particular idea or product from an organisation, and forcing it down their audience's throat. They will have to be hip and keep abreast of the latest trends in the world today - which leads me to my next point on blogging. This article highlights a recent survey, in which 68% of respondents believe that blogs will become a more popular tool for corporations seeking to inform consumers. Indeed, the Internet and other New Media channels of communication are resources which the PR practitioner of the near future will have to harness in communicating with the public.

I think this will be it for now. I'm off to watch American Idol snippets on Youtube. I'll update again soon. Till then, take care! :)