What is Public relations?

From this weeks reading we received an introduction of what it means to work in the Public Relations industry. We were subjected to various definitions of the term 'Public Relations', shown the type of desirable skills and attributes a successful Public Relations person possesses and the different tasks they perform. We were also shown that the term 'Public Relations' is not always looked at in a favourable light and sometimes seen as 'spin doctoring' and an unreliable source of what an organisation or individual is truly like.

What we gained from this reading is an improved and more realistic understanding of what it means to have a career in this field, shattering some myths that public relations is all about parties and champagne... there is hard work involved! This myth was quickly shot down by the information on the various tasks a person in this field undertakes and the great awareness they should have of what’s going on all around them. People in public relations need to be the sensors of change, great communicators and organisers as well as problem solvers while keeping ethics in mind. We also learnt that the public relations industry is continuing to strengthen, which is great news for the people in this course.