INTRODUCTION & BRIEF HISTORY:Definitions Of Public Relations

HOW DOES PR WORK?:OVERVIEW, Formulation of policy >>

Fundamentals of Public Relations MCM 401

Lesson 1

INTRODUCTION & BRIEF HISTORY

This course is designed to teach and guide the students to know and learn about Public Relations. In this

course we will try to acquaint you with various aspects and applications in different Public Relations

situations and requirements. Besides teaching you about the introduction and history of Public relations

This will guide students through its role in different modes and in varied segments. We will also apprise

about its importance, explain different designs and templates of its applications. The major components to

learn will be its skills in modern world, the overall importance and significance of its practice in normal and

crisis situations.

After going through the contents of first lecture, students will be able to know about Public Relations and

its origin as given below:

Introduction to Public Relations.

History of Public Relations.

Meaning of Public Relations.

Techniques of Public Relations.

Lecture Overview

This lecture introduces the students with the background, meaning and history of Public Relations. During

this we will be discussing the above mentioned three aspects of Public Relations. We will also briefly try and

identify the techniques of public relations used in the olden days and compare these with modern day

techniques.

Introduction

In fact the subject of public relations is not new and it has been there and in practice since time

immemorial. Man has always tried and wanted to communicate to make him understand, e.g. Pictograms (

Chinese characters are still an example ).1000 of years ago wall paintings in the caves of primitive people,

Writings on tablets of stone, ancient buildings , pyramids, early temples , mosques , cave paintings in

Zimbabwe bear pictorial messages. Holy Books also communicate and tell people about faith. So, it will be

appropriate to say that public relations are as new as civilization.

Let us now first of all try to know and understand about public relations.

Meaning Of Public Relations

Now a days PR is misunderstood and supposed to try & create a favorable image or climate of opinion

and/or improve a tarnished image. This is not true. This is only marketing & advertising which is only a

segment of PR. PR is about creating and understanding through knowledge which often involves effective

change. So it means that PR is a form of Communication which applies to any sort of organization,

commercial or non-commercial in the private or public sector.

Definitions Of Public Relations

The universally accepted definition of public relations as per Edward Burneys popularly known as the

Father of PR is that :

"It is a planned & sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an

organization & its publics.

"However, Quentin Bell, another PR consultant thought the word persuasion would be better

than mutual understanding.

Some PR professionals also described PR as a "phenomenon & necessity of our times."

Fundamentals of Public Relations MCM 401

Yet there is a very simple and different definition for easy comprehension of Public Relations.

Simple Definition

For better understanding if we take the two initials of the word Public Relations i.e. P and R then we define

"P" for Performance for Public and "R" for Result as against Relations.

Different Techniques Of PR

In the olden days for PR purposes people used Pictograms ( Chinese characters are still an example. ) , 1000

of years ago Wall Paintings in the caves about primitive people , Writings on Tablets of stone, Ancient

Buildings e.g. pyramids , early temples & mosques ,cave paintings in Zimbabwe bear pictorial messages.

Holy Books communicated and told people about faith. while these days bill boards, hand outs, print and

electronic Media, sponsorships , free sampling, corporate identity practices , audio and video mediums ,

conferences , seminars Special Offers , etc. are few of the visible PR techniques used to achieve defined

objectives.

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