About Public Relations – Who Said What?

Friends the concept of Public Relations is often misunderstood by those who are not very familiar with the subject. These are the people who have heard the term “Public Relations” but either have not studied the subject or aren’t trained in this field. Public Relations is not an easy profession for anyone and is also difficult to master. Even, yours truly took formal education in public relations, read a lot of books and articles on the subject (and still reading), have also authored two books on the subject and practicing public relations since last many decades.

When people ask me – What is PR? And when I tell them that PR is telling or sharing the truth, in a strategic manner, to / with your target publics by using appropriate means of communications, they feel surprised and say - nobody tells the truth in today’s world!!! Also many people correlate the terms publicity, press agentry, propaganda, lobbying, liaisoning, networking, and advertising with public relations. 

Today, the practice of public relations is growing by leaps and bounds and the growth of multiple communication sources has given public relations the necessary wings to ascent. One can find the use of public relations virtually in every industry – small or big, governments, and non for profit organizations (NGOs). Its broad scope makes it impossible to understand without attention to the definitions of this diverse and dynamic profession. Having knowledge of the definitions of public relations will definitely help you to understand this discipline clearly. Hence this blog……… learn who said what about Public Relations J

Public Relations is the attempt by information, persuasion, and adjustment to engineer public support for an Activity, Cause, Movement or Institution.

-      - Father of Public Relations – Edward Louis Bernays

Public Relations is the art of getting believed.

-        - Founder of Modern PR - Ivy Ledbetter Lee (Year 1914)

Public Relations is a fundamental attitude of mind and philosophy of management, which deliberately places the broad interests of its publics at first in every decision attracting the operation of a business.

-      - Paul Garret

Public Relations consists of all forms of planned communication - outward and inwards between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning mutual understanding.

-     -  Frank Jefkins  

Public Relations is the managed communication behaviour of an organization

-      - Grunig & Hunt

The fundamental purpose of Public Relations is to establish a two-way of mutual understanding based on Truth, Knowledge and Full Information.

-      - Sam Black

Public relations is the management function that identifies, establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on whom its success or failure depends

-      - Cutlip, Center, & Broom

Public relations is the business of creating and changing attitudes.

-      - Harold Burson

Philosophically, public relations is all of the activities by which an individual or an organization seeks recognition; presents its interests and perspectives to various audiences; and establishes its integrity and credibility.

-      - David Finn (Year 1995)

The practice of Public Relations is a deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.

-      - British  Institute of Public Relations  (Year 1948)

Public Relations is the art and social science of analysing trends, predicting their consequences, counselling the organisation’s leaders and implementing planned programs of actions which will serve both the organisation and the public interest.

-      -  “THE MAXICAN STATEMENT”  World Assembly of PR Associations (Year 1978)

Public Relations is a philosophy and function of management expressed in policies and practices which serve the public to secure its understanding and goodwill.

-     -  Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)  

Public Relations is a management function that encompass the following;

a. Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues which might effect, for good or ill, the operations and plans of organization.  

b. Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action, and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization's social or citizenship responsibility.

c. Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy.

d. Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programmes of action and communications, to achieve informed public understanding, necessary to the success of an organization's aim. These may include marketing, financial fund raising, employee, community or  government relations and other programmes.

e. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities. In short managing the human resources to meet all of the above objectives and goals.

-     -  Public Relations Society of America Assembly - PRSAA (November, 1982)

Public Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. 

- Public Relations Society of America - PRSA (2011-2012)

Public relations is a decision-making management practice tasked with building relationships and interests between organisations and their publics based on the delivery of information through trusted and ethical communication methods. 

- International Public Relations Association – IPRA (September,2019)

Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.

-     - Chartered Institute of Public Relations – CIPR London (UK)

Thank you for sparing the time to read the blog.

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