Public Relations

August 31, 2009

Dear Heather,

It was really great to hear from you! I hope everything is going well with you and your family. We need to get together soon and catch up!

I am glad you asked me about public relations; it is relatively new, but a rapidly growing field as far as job opportunities goes. Public relations professionals work as the mediator between an organization and the public. They work hard to have close relationships with the media, in a hope of promoting a positive image to the public about the particular business in which they work. Almost all organizations that have an image that connects to the public, has a PR representative.

As a public relations professional you will plan events, research topics, give advice, communicate with the media, and make the public aware of whatever it is that you are trying to promote. One of the main things that a PR person does is write something called a press release. This is a statement directed at the media, which a company hopes will spark interest, and will make it into the news. PR workers send these press releases to editors of magazines, newspapers, radios stations, and television stations. Basically, they do anything they can to make the media interested enough to make it a news story. For example, if a newspaper editor gets a press release from a PR professional in a large company, and decides that it has news value, a journalist will research the topic and write a story based on the press release. Therefore, this brings positive attention to the company, or what we call “positive PR.”

Public relations is a fast pace field, where good organization and communication is essential. I find it very fun and rewarding, and love the chaotic environment that sometimes can surround public relations. I hope this helps you understand public relations better! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.
Sincerely,

Lacey Saxton Nagao