Publications and Research
Document Type
Other
Publication Date
12-15-2022
Abstract
The field of public relations (PR) is often misunderstood, despite the fact that it is a growing field (Fawkes, 2018). New employees enter the field of PR every year, whether as new graduates or as those making a career change, yet the intricacies of working in PR are not generally taught in the classroom (Meganck, Smith & Guidry, 2020). Most people do not have a solid understanding of what PR professionals do on a day-to-day basis, and in fact, many of those entering the field don’t either. They may think that PR is simply social media management, or even confuse it for responsibilities related to HR. This misunderstanding by incoming PR people is in accordance with the fact that few PR job postings ask for knowledge of industry-specific tools. One study showed that only 16% of job postings did, (Meganck, Smith & Guidry, 2020). What this means is that many people entering the field of PR have an interest in PR and a talent at writing, but little understanding of what it means to actually work in the field as a professional. This website will serve as a resource to those entering the field of PR, to both offer background on what PR is and what it is not, as well as to offer practical examples of technical writing, such as writing pitches, press releases, and media alerts.
Included in
Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Organizational Communication Commons
Comments
This capstone project for the Masters in Corporate Communication program is a website created on Wix.com. The goal of this project is to enlighten people entering the field of PR about the field. This includes terms, how-tos, background on the field, etc. The intricacies of PR are not typically taught in classrooms, and in many colleges, PR is not even a major. As a result, there is often a significant learning curve for people entering the field, such as new graduates and people pivoting careers, such as from being a journalist to being a PR professional. Currently, information on public relations is scattered across the internet. This website is my attempt to compile all relevant information for professionals new to the field into one place. By reviewing the website, it is my hope that there will be a less steep learning curve.