Letter to Cousin Explaining PR

Public relations does not have one specific definition, but can be defined in various ways with the same static key elements within each description. As “Public Relations Writing”, by Newsom and Haynes explains, when talking about public relations, “The ingredients to look for are ethical, social responsible, trusting relationships, reliable communication, anticipation of consequences, counsel to client/organizations, and evaluator of outcomes.” PR serves both the interests of the institution for which it belongs, and the public’s interests. It focuses on internal publics and media as well as external publics and media. PR insures the communication between the institution and its publics remain open. PR disseminates key information concerning the institution, that the public would be interested in knowing, as well as stays informed on the public’s opinion of the company and relays that information back to the head of the institution.

Two-way communication is essential in public relations. This communication can be made between employer and employees, employees and customers, institution and public, institution and government and so forth. The main channel of communication is through the written word. A majority of public relations is writing. Through a newsletter, a company can communicate with their stakeholders past, current and future happenings. They can construct a press release catered specifically for each medium such as print or broadcast. The press releases must include news-worthy information or faces the risk of being rejected by the media. News-worthy information could include the releasing of a new product, a prominent person speaking at their company or even bad news concerning the company. It is the job of the public relation specialist to inform the public of the problem and, with detail, explain how they are going to fix the problem and follow up with a press release concerning their success in correcting the problem. A company can also hold a conference call with their employees where the agenda must be written prior to the call.

PR communicates with their publics through an array of media. One of the newest, most effective forms of two-way communication happens through social media. Instead of just “pushing information” to the public through the media, they “pull people into discussion.” This helps give the institution significant information from their stakeholders and helps the institution with their publicity. Along with social media, the use of traditional media is still widely used and accepted. Public Relations still values traditional forms of media including print and broadcast, each reaching specified audiences and meeting the needs of the institution as well as the needs of its stakeholders.