Letter to Cousin

Dear Tucker,

Just the other day you asked me about my intended career as a public relations professional. The questions that you raised were excellent, and I have some answers for you. Just to remind you, you asked me what Public Relations is and what Public Relations professionals write about.

The job of a Public Relations practitioner, essentially, is to relate to the public. I know that it may sound very basic, but it is actually a very complex position. Public Relations professionals typically work at any given organization. They are in charge of knowing human behavior and knowing the best way for the organization to best serve itself and its public, which is any given group of people that have the same thing in common. The PR professional is in charge of getting information out to its public, whether it is on the television, the internet, or in the newspaper.

There are still more questions remaining, however. What is information, and how do public relations people get it to the media? The “information” that I am referring to is anything newsworthy, such as a big event that an organization is preparing for, a crisis within the organization, or even a new product that is being released. I am a little bit hesitant to add this last item to the list – I do not want you to confuse public relations with advertising, as advertisements are paid for, and the goal of public relations is to get the media to want to run a story.

Public relations includes a lot of writing. One of the main ways a professional gets information out to the media is by sending out a press release, which essentially is a news story. A press release gives a journalist all of the facts and quotes that are necessary for the story; they typically include the specifics for the story or event that is being promoted, general knowledge about the organization, and contact information in case the journalist has any questions. If done correctly the journalist shouldn’t need to change anything from the press release as they send it out to the public.

There are many different responsibilities of a public relations professional. Many highly-developed skills are needed, but a broad understanding of the public they are relating to is most important. The PR professional must be able to adapt and change as fast as their public does. Communication is the key for a PR professional to be successful; without communication nothing would be possible.

Tucker, I hope that this has helped you understand what I am going into. I love understanding people and trying to find a way to relate to them. It is a very challenging, but also a very rewarding career.

Sincerely,

Katie