Alright, so for the introduction: My name is Laura. I am a communication studies major (with a French minor) and a junior. I don't know exactly what I want to do with my degree yet but I figure that I have a couple more years to figure it out. On a side note unrelated to school, I love to travel and look up new music in my free time.
Alright, part deux of my first post, my definition of public relations:
I found this to be difficult. I always hear about public relations and read about public relations but I have never been very clear on a concise definition (one of the main reasons I wanted to take this class). After reading the first chapter of our book, I think I will go with a relatively direct and literal interpretation of the field. Public relations is based on mediating an organization's relationship with its public.
Now, I am one of those people who learned from the start of the negative connotations of public relations. Before getting into this major and taking classes that covered, at least partially, public relations, the usual example of public relations that came to my mind was celebrities who have their publicists turning their mistakes into something better instead of trying to live with the consequences. Now, and especially after reading this first chapter, I know that this is not the only form of public relations and is really not a good example of the field at all.
My definition of public relations, however, is incomplete because this field is so broad, covering so many jobs and overlapping with other industries. It is marketing but with more focus on the relationship to the public, rather than the actual product. The product or service does have an effect but the focus is on the audience and their perception of the organization itself, rather than an individual product or service.
My definition needs work. I hope in this class I can learn a more complete and accurate definition of this field.
