Yes, I played off the Foo Fighters' album title in mine, but it summarizes this post nicely.
In every class I've been learning about PR in different lights. In my principle PR class, I'm learning about building relationships with people, how to create media kits, write effectively and getting feedback from classmates. I'm learning about how to be in the business, how to fit in and what to do and not to do.
In my Contemporary Media Issues class we've been talking about how PR flies under the radar. Do people realize that sometimes 60% of content in news sources were generated by news releases? The answer is probably not. Unlike advertising, PR is not labeled. Most people don't know what a VNR (Video News Release) looks like if they saw one while watching the nightly news, but they understand what a commercial is. Is it ethical? That's a question I've been debating.
Then there are things that I've been absorbing in my Social Interaction class and my Internet Marketing class. In Social Interaction in a Digital Age I was introduced to the nasty side effects of bloggers outing "bad PR." In a blog post written by the editor of Wired magazine, he posted the email addresses of PR people he had blocked. This is the side of PR that gives it a bad name, and it's unfortunate. In a reactive blog post, author of PR 2.0 points out the best way PR professionals can become better, so at least something was said to amend the problem.
Now, Internet Marketing is all about how appropriate online resources can be best leveraged to benefit a client. So, this is a class about "learning how and when to use the tools."
So, I like to think about this question, "How can I be a change in the profession?" How do I go against the stereotype? I like to say "I'm not going into politics" if someone gives me a questioning look when I say I'm going into PR. Then I realize that it's not just politics...
I've come to the realization that no matter how much I question my decision to go into PR when I read about all the work that goes into good PR that usually does not receive credit (Good for Obama for giving credit where credit was due in his speech) I will always come back to the reason - I like to work with people in a positive way. That's why I wanted to go into PR and in the end PR is about developing positive relationships with people about something you think is worthwhile. Now, let's see how well I can put that into practice as a PR professional. We shall see...
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2 comments:
As a fellow PR major, I enjoyed your thoughts. I know how you feel. I've gone on rants to my boyfriend many times about companies that claim one thing, to create a good PR image, but then operate their business another way. I call it hollow PR. Nothing gets me more riled up then companies absent-mindedly throwing money at a charity just to get a press release out of it. One company that I LOVE LOVE LOVE is Newman's Organics. This company, as far as I can tell, walks the walk and talks the talk. All of their proceeds go to children's charities and camps. Even though Paul Newman has passed away, the organization was set up so that it can never be changed. They will always donate their profits.
I had a lot of the same feelings in Internet Marketing as you do, although I'm a e-Business major, so I guess I was looking at the class from a slightly different perspective. Although, I am in a class now where the teacher has us look at and challenge paradigms, and I love it!
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