Public Relations Gabriella Banducci Paula Lima Madison Thornton Executive Summary Public Relations, according to the PR society of America, is the field of communications that specializes in maintaining the personal image of a company, organization, and or person and accurately portraying those beliefs onto the general public. Public relations specialists duties include protecting the image of an organization, planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy, counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities. Disciplines of public relations include brand journalism/content creation, corporate communications, media relations, business relations, and reputation management (Public Relations Society of America, 2018). Table of contents Intro to Public Relations 3 Field of Communications 5 Presentation in the Media 6 Getting Started 11 Role Models 14 Portfolio 18 Trajectory 20 References 23 Intro to Public Relations Public Relations Specialists Summary “Public relations specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for the organization they represent. They craft media releases and develop social media programs to shape public perception of their organization and increase awareness of its work and goals.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016-2017) Duties ● Write press releases and prepare information for the media ● Respond to information requests from the media ● Help clients communicate effectively with the public ● Help maintain their organization’s corporate image and identity ● Draft speeches and arrange interviews for an organization’s top executives ● Evaluate advertising and promotion programs to determine whether they are compatible with their organization’s public relations efforts ● Evaluate public opinion of clients through social media Pay and Opportunity According to an article provided by the US News financial page, Public Relations is one of the fastest growing industries, growing an average of 9% each year as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and rated on this list as 3rd best in Creative and Media Jobs. (US News n.d). The website goes on to examine just how much money can be earned when beginning a career in Public Relations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017) reports that the median annual income for Public Relations specialists was $58,020 in 2016 and $59,300 in 2017. The top 10% of PR specialists reportedly earned a median $110,506 while the bottom 25%, or those who are just starting out, earned approximately $32,090, making public relations, if you’re good at it, a very lucrative career path. The US News also touches on possible career opportunities in the form of naming the most lucrative cities in America to be a PR specialist. According to this article, the best city to reside for salary purposes in San Jose, California with the average salary of a PR specialist is $95,000 per year. Next city on the the list is San Francisco with its median income clocking in at just under San Jose’s annual salary with the average being $94,270. Next, is across the country in Washington, DC with their annual income being $93,700. The commonality that each of these cities is that they are, according to inc.com, are 3 of the top 10 most expensive cities to live in in the US, with Washington DC coming in 5th, San Jose coming in 3rd, and San Francisco being the most expensive city to live in in America today (INC, April 5th, 2018). Because of this pay discrepancy per city, it is important to narrow down which city you intend to live in when attempting to figure out your projected income. Knowing these facts and being able to follow the money trail may inspire ambition in those aspiring to a career in PR as they attempt to find the best, high paying positions. As for the outlook on jobs to be had, The Bureau of Labor Statistics (n.d.) projects that there will be a 9% rate of growth in the employment of those trying to break into public relations from 2016 to 2026. As previously stated, the field of Public Relations is fastly growing, meaning that there will be much competition in the field upon completion of a bachelor's degree. According to the BLS, because so many college graduates apply for a limited amount of positions in public relations, they will face a lot of competition regarding their employment, particularly with advertising firms, organizations with large media exposure, and prestigious public relations firms. Field of Communications Strategic Communications Public relations belongs to the field of strategic communications, which is an umbrella term that relates to "the purposeful use of communication by an organization in order to fulfill its mission." It refers to the field of communications where a strategy is placed when communicating a message. In the mentioned field, research and planning are required in order to develop the message. The message, then, is targeted towards a specific audience, sometimes being even created with a set audience already established. It is considered a multidisciplinary field due to the fact that it borrows from various methods, as well as from many subject areas. "The role of strategic communications is to help organizations understand how to effectively deliver their message to key audiences." (Ohio State Press Books, n.d.) Public relations is a part of the strategic communications field, as it involves writing press releases and preparing information for the media, which are channels chosen when delivering messages to the audiences. It also involves helping maintain companies corporate images and identities, which allows organizations to have control over the message they are sending about their own companies. (Ohio State Press Books, n.d.) Interpersonal Communications Public relations also belongs to the field of interpersonal communications, which relates to how independent individuals communicate with one another, whether verbally or non - verbally. It is a field of communication where two people, at least, directly communicate information, as well as their feelings, ideas, and emotions to one another, attempting to convey a message to each other in personal relationships. When a sender of message tries to directly deliver a message to the receiver, both sender and receiver are interpersonal communicators. Public relations is a part of the interpersonal communications field, as public relations professionals regularly communicate interpersonally with others, communicating with clients and helping them to communicate effectively with the public, as well as responding to information requests from the media (Communication Theory, n.d.). Mass Communications Another field public relations belongs to is mass communications, which is a broad term that relates to the field that uses different channels in order to send a message. It is defined by the process of media organizations transmitting the message to large publics, being "only one of the processes of communication operating in a society - wide level, readily identified by its institutional characteristics" (Lumen Learning, n.d.). The term was coined in the twentieth century, intending to describe the emerging modern world and its relationship to mass media (McQuail, 2010). Public relations is a part of the mass communications field, as it directly involves the communication between organizations and their publics, created in order to build a mutually beneficial relationship between the two. Through public relation professionals crafting messages meant to be sent out through mass media, the communication between the media and the public is established (Introduction to Mass Media, n.d.). Representation in the Media Veep (Iannucci, 2012-2019) Season 2 Episode 4: “The Vic Allen Dinner” Vice President Selina Meyer and her team of Amy, Dan, Gary, and press secretary Mike are tasked with writing a parody of the song 50 Ways to Leave your Lover by replacing the words with puns about global relations. One line in the song says “Screw France” and quickly upsets the European Union. Unfortunately for Selina, she has an upcoming trip to Helsinki and a meeting with the Finnish President. Her and her team must remedy the situation before her trip. The head writer for Veep is a scottish-Italian man by the name of Armando Iannucci. Iannucci before becoming a show writer was a political commentator for BBC in London. One of his first shows that he created titled The Thick of It, was a satirical take of British Parliament. Veep on the other hand is a satirical take on the American Government, more specifically the Vice President's office and her close knit team of universally described “morons” around her. The purpose of this media is to lighten up the oftentimes very serious business of Washington and make it into something hilarious and relatable in the most twisted way possible. The technique used in this case is Satire. The use of satire in the face of multiple political and ethical blunders provided by the team of Selina Meyer and Selina Meyer herself catch the viewers attention by using the idea of a slow moving car crash: you can't look away. The viewer cannot help but watch as a group of uninformed narcissists attempt to navigate the waters of politics while at the same time planning the demise of the person sitting next to them in an act of competition. The main value represented by the Vice President's team are those of competition. Each member of her team, especially Dan and Amy, are always at eachothers throats on what the best move for the Vice President is and each member of the team would gladly throw another person under the bus to get in her good graces. This value is represented throughout the show but most blatantly when Selina attempts to run for President and Dan and Amy are ferociously fighting each other and sabotaging each other in the most vile ways possible to become her campaign manager.