The Bias on PR

Public relations has a bad reputation. Is this news? No not particularly. So why am I bringing this topic up? I'm in public relations. I know this comes as a shock, especially since my last three posts have been related to the public relations field.

I’m frustrated. I would like to whisper the message to the media world about my opinion. I say whisper because I am not one with great authority, but that doesn't mean I can't try.

I attended an international career forum where I got to meet government and non-profit representatives from various organizations. Initially, I was excited to network at this function where I could learn about careers in the international spectrum. I was also excited to meet representatives and propose my plan to one day become a foreign public relations representative. My dreams were squashed in the first ten minutes of the networking luncheon. How, you ask? It's because I'm in public relations.

Many of the students who attended this convention were students who majored in international studies, foreign language and business. Apparently, I was one of the few to represent the journalism major, which came to me as a surprise. Don't many of the careers across the globe depend on communications? This seems like an obvious fact to me. Organizations, government and businesses have to communicate somehow if they are in nations across the globe.

I felt like the stereotype of public relations overshadowed my presence to whomever I spoke to. These representatives were excited that I participated in this function and were impressed by my questions. "What are studying?" a representative would ask. "I'm in public relations, actually," I would explain with a proud expression. As soon as many would hear this, I could see the physical reaction of a frown reverse from the previous smile. Instantly, my chances at furthering the conversation were eliminated. This result remained consistent throughout the rest of the convention. I counted how many times a professional moved on to a different student or ended the conversation a minute later. It counted four out of five times.

Are we at a disadvantage if we are in the public relations field? Are we taken less seriously than other journalists? This should not be the case. Most public relations students and professionals should be recognized for the difficulty of their work and their strong writing skills. I feel like many in public relations are underestimated and are intelligent. We have gained a bad reputation from the media and the other poor performing professionals out there.

Next time, I will just say I'm a journalist.

Public Relations: Severe Crisis

It's not too often that one and stops to think about what it would be like to be in a tragic situation. Tragic situations are depressing for most, and it sometimes hard to identify with the pain. We tend to grasp the situation, react and find some way to relate to the problem. Some people are better at disassociating themselves from a painful situation. Army marines are great examples of this.

Recently, I tried to my put myself in the position of another person: the public relations manager or spokesperson of an institution or organization where a tragic occurrence took place. Some examples could be the Virginia Tech massacre or the Columbine shootings.

This thought occurred to me when I thought of a recent friend. My brother's friend, Josh Overstreet, was released from a Portland jail where he was on suicide watch. The jail was overcrowded and unwilling to serve Overstreet who was suffering from a mental illness. In this wonderful country of ours, people who commit crimes take priority over people with mental illness. He was on suicide watch, and the director decided that he was to be released. An hour after his release, he killed himself by jumping off a building right across the street from the jail.

This incident is not only tragic but has generated contreversy in the media. With someone who is so sensitive to death, I can't imagine representing the institution who has to confront not only the media but the families. As a public relations spokesperson, you have to be the face of that company who has to supply the answers. It is not a job for the lighthearted.

I respect people who are in my field who are able to perform this type of work. I lost my older sister in a tragic car accident, so it is harder for me to fit into the role of a crisis manager in public relations. Or maybe I would be. At least I would be able to identify with the audiences who I am trying to reach.

Small Trickle In The Vast Blog Ocean

Over the course of history, we have seen great advancements in communication and media.

Lately, the question has been raised, "Is there too much information out there?" Most media and scholars agree that there is. Thousands of blogs, articles press releases are published everyday. It's a matter of filtering through all the crap that is out there.

More specifically, my complaint is related to the area of blogs. This subject might serve as a little ironic, considering, this is a blog.

What I've discovered in my frustration is that it is possible for Grandma, 10-year old Timmy and drunk Uncle Joe all now have access to post unlimited blogs. I consider these more as online journals as opposed to credible content, but yet, they can still be published.

Although I have some complaints in this area of blogging, I feel that is has some profound benefits. The media is continually trying to keep up with advancing technology.

The latest development of blogs (as most professional and student journalists know) is that it has proved as a unique way to advertise, initiate public relations and expand on media content. Blogs can also represent different viewpoints within major companies that the mass would not have otherwise.

In Robin Goode's article, "Are Blogs Credible News Sources?", he says, "In fact, blogs may have in some instances additional credibility that the mainstream media lack, and as they refine and improve their own shortcomings, blogs can definitely play a unique role in today's media landscape." This article is available at http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2005/10/22/are_blogs_credible_news_sources.htm. Goode further expands on the benefit of blogging in his article.

Overall, I would agree that the development of blogging has pro's and con's in this unlimited internet ocean. This blog represents a wave.

We all can make as much as a hurricane or small trickle.