While searching for class this semester, I knew I wanted to broaden my communication skills. I knew I needed to learn as many different aspects of the communication field as possible in order to arm myself with as much knowledge as was available to me before I enter the job market hopefully by next summer. Why not look into Public Relations? There is such a wide misconception that the people who work in PR are nothing but spinsters of words. The fabricate and spin an imagine for a company that is up to no good, or PR acts as damage control and tries to make horrific events such as the BP oil spoil not look as terrible and serious as it truly is. In the few days that we have actually had class and from the readings in the book, I can already tell that there is much more to this whole public relations thing than I thought before.
PR handles so many things such as sports, politics, lobbying, celebrities, employee-relations, company image, and much more. PR also has a responsibility to research in order to provide stakeholders with value for their product. It is absolutely key to their success. Professionals who work in PR have to be inventive at times in order to figure out what is the best representation of the company they represent.
Though there is a cut-throat busy side that could be associated with PR, but what about those groups out there that use PR in a positive light? I’m talking about PETA, Goodwill, United Way, Invisible Children, Make a Wish Foundation, and so many more that use PR in order to affect social change? They figure out a way to draw people in so that they care enough about the organization to do something to help the organization achieve their goals. These PR practitioners are doing a mighty good deed to have anything negative said about them. There are trying to change the world for the better with their work. Makes me think there’s a lot more to public relations than people say.
Just look at this video for Make a wish foundation. A truly selfless organization.
