Letter To A Cousin

January 12, 2009

Dear Spence and Becky,

I wanted to take some time and explain to you a little bit about what public relations is.  We talked a bit about it at the Christmas party, so here's more information.  

Public relations, or PR, is the medium that connects an organization to the public.  Often times the general public and organizations are on different pages of understanding, public relations is the bridge of communication that connects the two.

PR has many different faces.  It is used all the time by all kinds of entities ranging from big and small companies, to politicians, to non-profit organizations, even to governments.  PR firms, or departments are always aiming to improve the opinion of its intended audience.  

Personally, I believe it is important for people who work in public relations to have good ethics and integrity.  People in public relations have the opportunity to contribute to the forming of opinions and creating the image which will be perceived by their target audience, often times the public.  It is their intention to influence their audience's opinion one way or another to better benefit the entity.  People need to be able to trust that the image being presented is factual and true.

However, there is a technique in public relations, most commonly used in media and politics, called "spin."  Spin can be biased, deceptive and manipulative.  Spin involves selectively presenting (or not presenting) facts and quotes that support an entities position.  This is why I think it is important for people in PR to uphold good ethics.

Though advertising and public relations are separate areas in business, in someways they are closely related.  Where marketing's goal is to sell products and services, PR is selling the person or company's image and reputation.  It is sometimes common for advertising and PR to overlap in some ways.  Make a flashy "ad," mask it with PR, and you can create some real positive public opinion.

I hope this has helped you to understand a little more about what public relations is.  As for myself going into this field, I hope to go into the non-profit sector of public relations and focus on fundraising.  Where at specifically, I have some hopes, but I figure opportunities will present themselves as I go along.  I hope to hear from you two soon.

Sincerely,

Matt