PR is a Journalists Forte: Myth Or Reality

PublicRelations management is a dynamic field.The moment we hear the term PR

our mind visualizes grand events, press conferences and other meetings in which corporates make relations with each other. PR in its present form appeared in India in the 1990’s. Though it had been present since time immemorial but that can be surmised as a dormant existence. People rarely used the services of specialized agencies which is bound to become the order of the day. 

In the initial day’s public relations was not a specialized field. Anyone with a good interactive skill and media relations took it up but slowly it was witnessed that those who have had experience in media were doing well. Even the curriculum of Mass Communication which was essentially for journalism accommodated those who had intention to make a career in PR. 

PR has been present in the society ever since the beginning. Man being a social animal cannot live in isolation and the first time the concept of family came in to existence so did PR. The reason why it did not get the much required attention was that it was considered a means to an end and not the end in itself.

Public relations management is a sum total of the understanding of psychology of the client and his target audience, a healthy relationship with media and use of optimum advocacy skills. This understanding gives one a feeling that a person who comes from the field of journalism or is a psychologist or has been an advocate may try his luck in the field of PR. But then it dawns on us that PR requires a cumulative of all the skills mentioned above and someone with one or even two of them is likely to fail in his endeavour.

We may come across people who have no professional qualification in either of these fields yet they are successful PR professionals. The reason behind this is that such persons have a good inter-personal skills and they make an optimum use of this inert quality to succeed in this highly professional field.A beginner in this sector must keep in mind that just a diploma or a formal education in ‘Mass Communications’ doesn't guarantee a successful career in PR sector unless it is accompanied by good inter-personal skill, media relations and the other above mentioned qualities.