Week 2 + 3 - The one where Terence read up his first PR readings...

Ah, the first-ever readings of our Introduction to Public Relations module. I have to admit, I was dreading this initially but as I sank deeper into the readings of Chapters 1,2 and 3, it's turning out to be a informative and educational introduction to Public Relations for me :)

Stopping short of calling these 3 chapters an adequate summary of the course (due to the other readings such as PR Ethics and Crisis Management coming up in further postings), these chapters was really a good appetizers for the coming tutorials and assignments ahead.

To start off, let's talk about Public Relations on a whole. Public relations is a dynamic profession that has expanded to a worldwide industry. From slowly taking off in the US of A as a press agentry used to publicize propaganda and organizations' achievement to the state it is in today where PR is apparent, and practiced uniquely in different parts of the world due to the various cultures from all over.

In the readings, theories seem to take centre stage as I got exposed to them both new and old, like Agenda-Setting Theories and Communication Theory - which I have learnt in module in my previous semester, Introduction to Communications Study - while I picked up new theories like Systems Theory and the Critical Theory.

Grunig and Hunt proposed a PR model that I feel sums up what PR is essentially about:

• Press Agentry
• Public Information
• Two-way asymmetrical
• Two-way symmetrical

This particular model, I feel, allows for dissemination of information from the organization, whether propaganda or a response, to the public while allowing the public to offer feedback to the particular message.

This PR model is probably what PR practitioners need to learn by hard and use as the core of their knowledge and skill-sets. With the playing field of public relations being filled with dynamic elements such as cultural awareness and forms of media, PR practitioners must constantly adapt to the external environment while also remembering the requirements and practices of the internal environment - the organization/client they're working for. The above-mentioned model will allow practitioners to discrete how much transparency and disclosue is necessary to a certain issue plaguing the organization.

To conclude, I personally feel that theories alone do not make a perfect PR practitioner. Rather, it's important that the practitioner understands the essence of theories like mentioned above so as to be able to adapt to scenarios that will occur in future. A multiple perspective approach to a crisis, for instance, might be necessary and henceforth the importance of understanding the theories.

A sentence to end off the first blog post for readings :

"Public relations professionalism and the recognition of the profession is more about how the profession is conducted than how it is defined. Accreditation with public relations professional associations is becoming more important to practice."

See you in a week (or a few seconds if you're grading this blog :p)

Terence...OUT!