Public Relations

Robert I. Wakefield probably gives one of the best definitions of Public Relations when he stated, "All public relations should exist to preserve a consistent reputation and build relationships" (This is PR 1). This is a very broad and generic scope that does not necessarily infer any type of ethical behavior nor implies any sense of right or wrong with what is generally referred to as "spin. The bottom line for any company is to make a profit. Why else would they be in business? The book, This is PR, written by Newsome, Turk and Kruckeberg states that the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines public relations as a management function that involves counseling at the highest level and being involved in strategic planning for the organization (2). This is a rather ambiguous statement that could mean a number of different things. Public Relations can be summed up in two words: Public Relations! No more needs to be said. PR can be anything that affects a company's, organizations, or individual's relative position within a market or society.

The book, states "the public relations practitioner serves as an intermediary between the organization that he or she represents and all of that organization's publics. Consequently, the PR practitioner has responsibilities both to the institution and to its various publics. He or she distributes information that enables the institution's publics to understand its policies. Although the PR role "should," reflect a social responsibility as well as a synergy with the company one must remember, loyalties usually lie with the one that signs the paycheck.

There seems to be many differing views of exactly what PR is. Any company that is in business is practicing PR whether through...

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...hin any company is managed and operated by that company, not the public. Those that have worked in public relations know that in order to keep a job one has to be dedicated to the company. Ethics is a great word but ethics will not pay the bills. Most companies are Machiavellian in nature meaning that they are in business to make money no matter whom or what gets in the way. We can try to romanticize public relations with words like public service, ethics and conscientiousness but it's certainly not very ethical to hide behind these niceties and mask the true nature of what it really is. Spin-doctoring.

Works Cited

University of Phoenix, ed. This is PR. 8th Ed. University of Phoenix custom edition e-text. Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004. MKT/438--This Is PR. Resource. University of Phoenix. 6 Dec. 2004 <https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp>