DEFINING PUBLIC RELATIONS PAPER The practice of Public Relations is very important in the business world. PR is a field that has grown both in numbers and respect. It is a multibillion-dollar business and it is practiced by
158,000 professionals. I will be explaining my personal definition of PR as well as three other definitions from different sources. Then I will be contrasting the definitions and explaining why there are so many different definitions of PR.
Public Relations is defined in many different ways. To me PR is a communicator or organization having a relationship with the public they are reaching out to. It is about sending a message through a specific channel and form to persuade their audience and get their message out there. The first source, The First World Assembly of Public Relations Associates defines PR as “the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders and implementing planned programs of action which will serve both the organization and the public interest” ("Public Relations ", n.d.). The second source was the
Britain’s definition of PR. The British define PR as “Reputational Management” ("Brittanica
Academic Edition ", 2013). They focus on what a person says and does, and what other people say about that person. They also define it as managing reputation and how it influences opinion and behavior. The third source to define Public Relations was Public Relations Society of
America (PRSA). PRSA defines PR as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationship between organizations and their publics” ("Prsa Public Relations Society
Of America ", 2013).
There are different ways to define Public Relations and although they are different in certain ways each definition builds from one another and provides a different perspective. The first source presented by, The
References: Public Relations . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.princeton.edu Brittanica Academic Edition . (2013). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/EBchecked/topic/482470/public-relations PRSA Public Relations Society of America . (2013). Retrieved from http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined/