Reading For Week 4

When reading through the 'Insider Info' chapter (Public Relations, James M) it didn't take long to get to the fundamentals of what Public Relations is about. On the first page I found a quote that put things into perspective for me.

"It's important that you find somewhere where you can work within your own personal philosophy and reach your individual objectives as well as fulfilling the group or corporate goals." - Yatu Widders, Communications consultant, Cultural Perspectives.

This quote stood out to me as it acknowledges the needs and circumstances of the individual practitioner yet emphasises the extent to which Public Relations is a role within a 'team'. The actions of a practitioner represent a collective group of affiliated people and not simply the individual themselves. There are 'corporate goals' in addition to 'individual objectives'.

Chapter 11 in Public Relations Theory Practice (Johnston, Zawawi) explored what should be the top priorities of practitioners both local and international when representing their people. First and second priorities are almost always:

1. Internal Public Relations (Internal publics are comprised primarily of an organisation's employees and an association's members.)
2. Community Relations (Involving relationships - at times avoiding technology to keep interaction with others more 'personal'.)

Employees and members maintain interaction through Intranets, noticeboards, memos, awards, and special events, to help the level of communication between internal publics.
In respect of community relations, Mackay raises the notion that people develop relationships with anyone they encounter including those met for commercial purposes, not simply for reputation or promotion but to address an emerging 'loneliness'.


By exploring the top priorities of Public Relations practitioners and business leaders and illustrating the significance of the individual and their role within a collective group, both chapters aptly conveyed a lot of what PR is about, at least for me. I had not yet thought so much about the relations with an organisations employees, instead mostly focusing on relations and status in the public eye. This week's readings really helped put these ideas in perspective for me, and I feel like I have a greater understanding behind the need for PR now.