By Sorie Rahman Sesay
Just as people misunderstand lot of things in our society, the field of public relations is not an exception. This misunderstanding stems from people who never read a line about the discipline. This is why people who wanted to pursue Public Relations changed their minds because they were told it is a waste of time. Imagine! Another set of people giving it a negative image are those who have or are studying other communication courses such as Broadcast, Development Communication, and Print Media. These people always see public relations as a target and are doing whatever it takes to vandalize its image. Among the many reasons they are doing this there is one that stands out, that is “self-affirmation.” The idea of thinking that they did not make the wrong choice. I was in class when a lecturer in development communication said public relations does not worth the attention people are giving it – in other words the course is not as significant as people take it to be. Also there has always been an indirect argument between two tutors. One teaches PR the other teaches Marketing Communications. In PR class we are told that Public Relations has an edge of Marketing, in Marketing class we are told that Public Relations is a component of Marketing. Though this indirect argument is different from the previous notions people have about PR, however it is in the same line of proving a point of PR being less important.
Now, someone somewhere will want to know what actually PR is.
Grunig and Hunt (1984) define public relations as“the management of communication between an organization and its publics.” This highlights the role of PR in establishing and maintaining a beneficial relationship between organizations and their target audiences.
Cutlip, Center, and Broom (2006) describe public relations as a“management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.” This stresses the strategic and relational aspect of public relations in contributing to organizational success.
Rex Harlow (1976) provides a more comprehensive definition, stating that public relations is “a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest.”
Frank Jefkins (1988) defines public relations as “all forms of planned communication, outward and inward, between an organization and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning mutual understanding.” This definition focuses on the planning and objective nature of communication in public relations.
Heath and Coombs (2006) argue that public relations is “a management function that involves two-way communication and aims to foster mutual understanding, goodwill, and supportive relationships between an organization and its key stakeholders.
From these scholarly definitions, one can clearly understand that public relations is far from one being a mere messenger who delivers letters from one office to the other for an organization. Or from being someone who knows how to lie to the public about something. The description of PR being a “management function is common in the most of the definitions provided above. With this knowledge, people should unlearn and relearn about the concept of Public Relations.
The position of public relations is featured in the executive hierarchy of an organization. The practitioner advises management, foresees possible problems if a decision is taken, clean the image of an organization through communication, produces contents, etc.
My advice to youngsters who are between cross roads of whether to go in for public relations or not, go for it and master the skills well. Fortune will smile at you in the near future.