Public Relations

Public Relations

An organization's reputation, profitability, and even its continued existence can depend on the degree to which its targeted "publics" support its goals and policies. Public relations (PR) specialists, also referred to as communications specialists and media specialists, serve as advocates for businesses, nonprofit associations, universities, hospitals, and other organizations, and build and maintain positive relationships with the public. What is known today as public relations is only about 100 years old. Yet during its relatively brief history, public relations have been defined in many widely differing ways. Examples of public relations are employee training, support of charitable events, or a news release about some positive community participation. Good public relations strategies and policies are pertinent to the success of any organization.

According to the Numbers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public relations will be one of the fastest growing fields between 1998 and 2008, that does not require a Master's Degree or higher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also states that there were approximately 485,000 advertising, marketing and public relations managers working in all industries in 1998 (PRSA, n.d.). PR is the key to success to organizations that plan to expand and evolve to maximize profit potential. These numbers prove that PR is vital in all fields of industry and that organizations must be aware of the importance of having a strong PR department.

Defining Public Relations

A similarity that public relations and marketing share is the many ways there are to define it. Most organizations have their own definition of PR and define it to suit their needs. One definition of PR is that public relations are a management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public on whom its success or failure depends (Galloway, n.d.). This definition basically states that PR is the go-between for management and workers.

Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary defines PR as the "methods or