Self Introduction & Definition of PR
Hey ya’ll, my name is Kim Leslie. I’m a Communication Studies major and Journalism minor. I’m hoping to do PR for a major corporation when I graduate and am really excited to be taking this PR course. I hope to move to California or Texas when I graduate, but I do plan on returning to the South at some point. I love writing, running, and tanning at the beach, or by the pool. My dog, Taffie, is a brown miniature poodle, she is so cute! I also absolutely love Clemson and cannot wait for our first home football game!
After reading the first chapter in our textbook by Guth and Marsh and reviewing the websites posted on Blackboard, PR seems to be almost as difficult to define as communication! However, I have created my own definition of PR: A highly misunderstood industry which seeks to sustain relationships between an organization and its publics by both listening to an organization’s publics and communicating information to those publics in a way that does not compromise the organization’s core values. This definition, of course, is wordy and cannot encompass the full meaning of PR. The task of defining PR and boxing it into a single definition does not seem possible or fitting. After all, the industry is constantly changing with new organizations and technology. In addition, no two PR practitioners or efforts are the same, as PR is tailored to fit each individual organization and the specific publics it serves. In Public Relations: A Values Driven Approach, Guth and Marsh attempt to offer a broader definition of PR. They state that “Public relations is the management of relationships between an organization and its publics” (p. 10). I agree that this definition makes it easier for many to agree on a definition of PR. However, I disagree with this definition because it shortchanges the PR industry by not encompassing all of the roles the industry plays. Guth and Marsh state that PR plays a critical role in the dissemination of information in a democratic society. A better definition than mine or the authors’ should include this important effect of PR. In sum, the PR industry will continue to exist with or without a definition of itself due to its integral and valuable role in our society.