Introduction to public and media relations

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Intro to Public and Media Relations 01

For the first lesson of this course, we're going to start at the very beginning and look at what Public and Media Relations is. For the sake of brevity though, we will use the colloquial term PR. However PR, or public relations is not a full and fair descriptor of the the field, being that it is in fact our relationships with media that make PR possible on a mass scale. While on the topic of the language we use in this course I also want to point out that I will use the term "Client." This is meant to reflect the multitude of relationships that you can have with entities you are handling PR for, be it yourself, your company, your product, or another person.

Educational level: this is a tertiary (university) resource.

What is PR?

PR is the crafting of public perception without the use of paid media.

The most basic method of this crafting of public perception is the use of the free media, though with the ever shifting definitions of media in an age of social and consumer generated venues, a proper PR campaign involves much more than just issuing press releases.

PR is generally broken down in to a couple of basic types.

1. Corporate Communications

Corporate Communications is the most basic type of PR usually involving increasing brand awareness.

2. Investor Relations (IR)

Being a public company involves a great deal of information that is required to be disseminated to investors and business media. IR practitioners are responsible not just for towing a company line, but complying with a variety of legal requirements

3. Crisis Communications

Crisis Communications is built around how to take a bad PR situation and not only keep it from hurting your client but how to use your 15 minutes in the media spot light to make a lasting impression that is positive.

4. Event PR

Creating PR events is often a tool of Corporate Communications, however it requires a completely different set of skills.

The steps of this lesson

1. So you want to be a publicist

2. Our relationship with the media

3. Social and consumer generated media

4. The PR tool kit

5. The code of conduct

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