Public Relations The Changed Landscape of Communication The emergence of Public Relations was not marked, nor was

s it celebrated it simply existed from the very beginning The !oly "ible, The #uran, The "hagavad $ita and many other diverse religious scripts, which preached the way of life, were in reality excellent PR material that propagated a certain belief Though its inception may be a mystery, there was no doubt about the intrinsic value that it added to get an edge over the rest Public Relations had many forms before it was sculpted into the modern day phenomenon that the world is, slowly but steadily, waking up to "ack then% it was crude, manipulative, flashy and unethical in contrast to the sleek sophistication that it seems to be associated with lately P T "arnum&s infamous and audacious schemes that formed the Press 'gentry model gave way to The irresponsible (uckrakers and the deceptive Creel Committee )n spite of yielding similar results as that of the current PR professionals, their method of approaching every issue was far from being ethical and defied all laws of Public Relations *ith noteworthy contributions from )vy Lee and 'rthur Page, both who have immensely contributed to the PR sector, a more structured and principled approach came into existence 'rthur Page&s documents +The Page Principles, and +The 'uthentic -nterprise, are considered as those which shaped modern PR 'll these various aspects, the good and the bad, are collectively responsible for what PR is today ' plethora of opportunities is available for the PR professionals in every segment there is There is no industry that does not re.uire PR to amplify its reach and manage the vagaries of the communication sector /pportunities aplenty are available for women, and they have been rampantly dominating the PR setting "etsy Plank, 0irst *omen President of the PR1', contributed profusely to the increase in the women populace in the PR field

*ith social media being the omnipresent watchword, every organi2ation is striving to extract as much as it can from the vast expanse PR has become data centric with a lot of emphasis on +"ig 3ata, Researchers contribute a huge chunk to Public Relations by burning the midnight oil over graphs, figures and information that offer massive ammunition to the top organi2ation The information obtained can be used to either manipulate the public and play on their weaknesses or collaborate to reach a win4win conclusion -very business enterprise has a potential of going global and public relations explores that opportunity in the best way possible )t encompasses the gamut of communication between the organi2ation and all its stakeholders on a huge scale, domestically and internationally The massive shift brought by PR in the communication landscape has altered the perspective of many Communication is no more looked upon as the menial task of passing on messages, it is considered vital in an organi2ation&s decision4making This in turn has elevated PR to a management function, which has widened its spectrum )t has become more interactive by taking into consideration the sentiments and feelings of the target audience to reach a mutually satisfying and benefitting conclusion *ith communication being as dynamic as ever, the advent of modern PR has indeed been the game changer

Public Relations The 1takeholder5s $ame 1takeholders were, are, and always will be the focal point of any organi2ation *ith the changing dynamics of public relations, organi2ations strive to create a strong and reputable identity 'nd that can be achieved only when the expectations of the stakeholders are in sync

with the corporation&s goals 1takeholders encompass the wide rage of suppliers, customers, investors and, more importantly, employees -very activity is centered on the needs and wants of the public who are solely responsible for sculpting the image of a corporation, and all ma6or decisions are made only after closely considering the effect it would have on them 'ccurate research helps the organi2ation in achieving what it intends to, and it provides the top management with the ammunition to reach out to its audience in an effective manner The vast number of stakeholders can be split into two, external and internal stakeholders The external stakeholders were always given top priority and considered the most important of the lot *hile the internal stakeholders, that is the employees, had been sidelined The role the employees could play in shaping the reputation of the company is enormous The employees have access to sensitive information, are loyal and have great credibility with outsiders, and that is essentially why organi2ations are emphasi2ing on employee relations and employee feedback The PR professionals spend huge chunks of time collecting information and segregating them into relevant groups This would aid the organi2ation in identifying its priority stakeholders or its target audience and would help tailor4make strategies that cater to each group The most important thing about the categori2ed data is using it effectively and to the best advantage of an organi2ation "ig data has brought about a massive change in the world of PR /bama&s 7889 and 78:7 presidential campaigns used big data to its best advantage and created history !uge corporates have started incorporating big data in their decision making process and have made optimum use of the resources available Perception varies from person to person, and the way people collectively view an organi2ation defines its image 'n organi2ation puts in a lot of work to build a good relationship

with its stakeholders and to retain its customers ;sing PR an organi2ation can persuade its stakeholders to perceive certain things differently "y doing this the organi2ation would not be deceitfully influencing the decisions of its public, but it would merely be helping them see things in a new perspective that could benefit them, and that is what effective PR is all about !andling stakeholders is a tedious but essential part of PR, and it has to be done to perfection in order to achieve the desired results PR professionals are being offered executive positions to act as advisors to the board of directors, and they are re.uired to have complete knowledge on the stakeholders& perception and behavior )t is all about researching, devising an action plan, communicating and, finally, evaluating the result )n a nutshell, public relations is a stakeholder&s game

The 3igitali2ation of the <ews (edia

By Suvesha Ramaswamy Vengatesh

The 1 ) <ewhouse 1chool of Public Communication hosted =evin Tampone, a business reporter who writes for 1yracuse com and The Post41tandard on >uly 9, 78:? for a two hour interactive session on news media for the public relations students Tampone imparted useful information regarding the digital era and how the e4paper that has efficiently replaced its more traditional predecessor )n today&s communication savvy world, local and national newspapers are forced to change their course of action and catch up with the fast pacing technology <ewspapers have a vast number of readers who only make use of their e4papers, and this gradual abandonment of physical newspapers has created a whole new sector for the 6ournalists Tampone said, +)t is a

tremendous, massive amount of change , Twenty years ago, newspapers would publish the aggregate news once a day "ut now, news gets updated every minute with information hitting the social media at lighting speed *ith bloggers and amateur writers commanding attention from across the globe, the newspapers have to up their ante to keep up with them The +disruption,, a term given by Tampone to the digital revolution, has a positive and an e.ually negative side to it 1triking a balance between the two by checking sources, doing thorough research and maintaining accuracy is key 'ddressing future PR professionals, Tampone stressed on the importance of maintaining a good rapport with reporters The professional relationship between 6ournalists and PR professionals is not always perceived as pleasant Though they tend to work in tandem, they often hold certain pre6udices against the other and stereotype them 'ny professional relationship re.uires honesty, integrity, adhering to deadlines and a certain amount of professionalism, and it is not wrong to expect this from each other 'fter all, we live in a world where we have to coexist in spite of our petty differences The reporters are a valuable resource and must be used only when necessary +They call it the mass media because it has mass audience,, said =evin Tampone, and that is essentially why PR professionals and >ournalists need to have a seamless relationship +"e clear and concise,, said Tampone when asked to give a few tips on writing !e told the students that 6ournalists would prefer facts and short bulleted points from the PR professionals rather than huge flowery texts !e then went on to answer few .uestions from the audience and wrapped up the session