I am honestly dismayed at the job vacancy adverts in the media. Since the 1990s when all Communications Specialists came from Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, we still have to focus and understand that PR is not Mass Communication. I recently made the resolution of not looking at a Job advert twice if it spelt out, "Looking for Journalism/PR degree" in the same sentence!
Fact: PR is more about building relationships. Journalism is about searching for news, editing and writing the story. For me, writing is just a section of what a "Public Relations/Communications Specialist is all about.
I totally agree that a combination of editorial and public relations skills to tell a client's story in credible publicitage is necessary. That is just PR becoming dynamic...mmmmhh.
PR is so much more than just news stories and writing releases. I agree an important part but not the be all and end all. Engaging with your audience is a critical aspect of PR and I can think of very many journalists, past and present, who really do not have those skills. Strategic thinking is another critical aspect and again a simplistic focus on short term news headlines will not achieve the long term goals of good PR.
I stand corrected!
Public Relations and Journalism are absolutely two different things. While the aim of public relations by a company often is to persuade the public, and other stakeholders to maintain a certain point of view about it, its leadership, products, or of political decisions; the aim of journalism is to provide readers and audiences with accurate and reliable information they need to function in society. The reason why PR is seen as journalism is because one of the tools of PR is news or press releases which is usually published in the media. It should therefore be noted that PR is about maintaining relationships with various tools and not only press releases.
ReplyDeleteDAMILOLA ADESANYA
CALEB UNIVERSITY, IMOTA LAGOS.