CHAPTER FIVE

PUBLIC RELATIONS
The Public RELATIONS
The universally accepted definition of public relations (hereafter PR) as per Edward Burneys popularly
known as the father of PR is “It is a planned & sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual
understanding between an organization & its publics.” ”However, Quentin Bell, another PR consultant
thought the word persuasion would be better than mutual understanding (“It is a planned & sustained
effort to establish and maintain persuasion between an organization & its publics” ).

Objectives of PR
There are many objectives that may be achieved through expert public relations activity. Objectives that
may be sought include:
 Prestige or favorable image and its benefits.
 Promotion of product and sales, idea and rewards.
 Goodwill of Employees.
 Prevent and solve Labor problem.
 Goodwill of stock / shareholders.
 Overcoming misconceptions and prejudices against the Company /group/organization.
 Goodwill of customers/consumers.
 Formulation and guidance for making policies.
Keys to Success in Public Relations
1. Management must understand and cooperate with public relations activity.
2. Public relations counselors / manager must be of sound Character.

A Typical Organization Chart of A PR Department

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Duties of Public Relation Department
Public Relation department has multifarious duties to perform so these are generally enumerated as
below:
a. Writing and distributing news releases, photographs & feature articles to the press, compiling
press lists.
b. Organizing press conferences, receptions and facility visits.
c. Maintaining a media information service.
d. Arranging press, radio and television interviews for management.
e. Briefing photographers and maintaining a picture library.
f. Editing and producing staff magazines or newspapers and organizing other forms of internal
communication e.g. videotapes, slide presentations, wall newspapers, etc.
g. Editing and producing external journals aimed at distributors, users, customers, etc.
h. Writing and producing print material such as educational literature, company histories, annual
reports, induction literature for new staff, educational posters for schools, etc.
i. Commissioning audio - visuals such as synchronized slide presentations and videotapes
together with their distribution, cataloguing, showing and maintenance.
The Publics
The publics of Public relations can be various yet these can basically be divided in to two major categories
such as internal publics and external publics. A generalized list is given below:
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  The Community;
 Potential Employees;
 Employees;
 Suppliers of services and materials;
 Investors --- the money market;
 Distributors;
 Consumers and users;
 Opinion leaders.
Media Relations
I. Print Media:
 Press: National & Regional newspapers, magazines, directories, year books & annual reports etc.
 Printed Material: Educational, informative, prestige, promotional, balance sheets etc.
 Direct Mail: Personal letters, direct correspondence, mailing information etc.
 House Journals: Company newsletters both internal and external
II. Electronic Media:
1. Radio -- National, Local, International etc.
2. Television – National, Regional, Tele text etc.
III. Other Media:
 Exhibitions: Special PR exhibitions, Trade & Public shows, trade fairs local and overseas.
 Airships: Gas filled air balloon ships for promotional purposes.
 Electronic Bill Boards: New concept & replacements for conventional bill boards.
 Mobile Vehicles: New type of scrolling computer aided advertisements.

Media for Internal Publics (Co Newsletter)

Objectives.
1. The value of understanding, teamwork and commitment by employees in achieving bottom line
results.
2. The need to build a strong management-employee communication network for more than job
related also key business & public issues.
Media for External Publics
• Newspapers.
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 • Magazines.
• Radio.
• Television.
SPECIAL USES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Crisis Management: There is hardly any company or organization which does not pass through some kind
of crisis in its life. It is imperative that a crisis management program should be in place to effectively
counter such a situation, like having a permanent crisis management team, who should take cognizance of
crisis both likely and unlikely.
Desk top Publishing: The printed house journal, the world’s oldest form of organized PR for now more
than 170 years. The print has the permanence and portability which can be retained and read almost
anywhere at any time and by a wide readership. Desk top publishing has made this very simple and
effective.
Corporate Identity: The creation of corporate identity scheme is often a PR responsibility, because it
applies to all aspects of an organization and is significant part of total communication.
Parliamentary Liaison: It covers relations between organizations, perhaps using specialist consultants
with the government, houses of the parliament. PR helps to create a favorable lobby on various counts and
for different reasons and objectives. Basically it is of two kinds; firstly, keeping politicians and civil
servants aware of an organization’s interests, and secondly; keeping organizations aware of parliamentary
activities and procedures.
Financial PR. Financial PR has become very important growth area, calling for special knowledge, calling
for special knowledge of the financial world, and how it works.

Countering Crisis with Strategy.

7 C’s of PR are effective means of strategy to counter crisis
1. Credibility: Communication starts with Belief, built by the institution on performance.
2. Context: A communication program must confirm not contradict the message
3. Content: Message should have meaning for recipients
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4. Clarity: Message must be put in simple words.
5. Continuity & consistency: communication is an unending process, requires repetition to achieve
results but with variation
6. Channels: All established channels of communication should be used.
7. Capability of the audience: Take into consideration the habits, reading ability, and prior knowledge.
Public Relations for (NPO) - Non Profit Organizations.
Aims of PR in N.P.O’s.
– To gain acceptance of an organization’s mission.
– To develop channels of communication with those an organization serves.
– To create & maintain a favorable climate for fund raising.
– To inform & motivate key organizational constituents such as employees, voluntary workers, trustees
to dedicate themselves & work productively in support of the organization ’s mission, goals &
objectives.
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