A new study by Lisa Fall and Jeremy Hughes was recently published in the spring 2009 edition of the Public Relations Journal. The article, titled “Reflections of Perceptions,” compares before and after perceptions of the public relations field among a population of nationwide non-PR Major students taking a public relations management course. The results are particularly positive.
The study conducted before the course began found that the majority of students had enormously different views about the specific purpose of public relations. In fact, Fall and Hughes found that the profession of public relations was largely “misunderstood,” and the term “public relations” itself presented a “Pandora’s box of preconceptions.”
Such complications however were greatly overshadowed by the success of the course in promoting PR education and transforming the views of people towards the PR industry.
After completing this course, students’ overall impression toward the public relations field significantly increased. Their perceptions about how the industry serves the good of the public also increased. Moreover, students discovered the very practical link between their everyday activities and the field of public relations.
In many ways the results of the study provide an interesting insight into the world of PR and communications. Not only does continued education make PR more transparent, but it helps people realize the relevance and necessity of public relations. Since I have started interning here I have found public relations to be involved in many of the things I do. From simple networking to carefully (and slowly) negotiating transfer credits with my university, it seems that “public relations” is a term that affects many people, both in and outside the industry.
So move over misinterpreted terminology, PR is on the rise!
The study conducted before the course began found that the majority of students had enormously different views about the specific purpose of public relations. In fact, Fall and Hughes found that the profession of public relations was largely “misunderstood,” and the term “public relations” itself presented a “Pandora’s box of preconceptions.”
Such complications however were greatly overshadowed by the success of the course in promoting PR education and transforming the views of people towards the PR industry.
After completing this course, students’ overall impression toward the public relations field significantly increased. Their perceptions about how the industry serves the good of the public also increased. Moreover, students discovered the very practical link between their everyday activities and the field of public relations.
In many ways the results of the study provide an interesting insight into the world of PR and communications. Not only does continued education make PR more transparent, but it helps people realize the relevance and necessity of public relations. Since I have started interning here I have found public relations to be involved in many of the things I do. From simple networking to carefully (and slowly) negotiating transfer credits with my university, it seems that “public relations” is a term that affects many people, both in and outside the industry.
So move over misinterpreted terminology, PR is on the rise!
-Michael Scigliano
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