HISTORY OF PR

The history of public relations is mostly confined to the early half of the twentieth century; however
there is evidence of the practices scattered through history. One notable practitioner was Georgiana
Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire whose efforts on behalf of Charles James Fox in the 18th century
included press relations, lobbying and, with her friends, celebrity campaigning [1].

A number of American precursors to public relations are found in the form of publicists who
specialized in promoting circuses, theatrical performances, and other public spectacles. In the United
States, where public relations has its origins, many early public relations practices were developed in
support of railroads. In fact, many scholars believe that the first appearance of the term "public
relations" appeared in the 1897 Year Book of Railway Literature [2].

Later, practitioners were — and are still often — recruited from the ranks of journalism. Some
reporters concerned with ethics criticize former colleagues for using their inside understanding of
news media to help clients receive favorable media coverage.

The First World War helped stimulate the development of public relations as a profession. Many of the
first PR professionals, including Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays, John W. Hill, and Carl Byoir, got their
start with the Committee on Public Information (also known as the Creel Committee), which
organized publicity on behalf of U.S. objectives during World War I.

In describing the origin of the term Public Relations, Bernays commented, "When I came back to the
United States [from the war], I decided that if you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly
use it for peace. And propaganda got to be a bad word because of the Germans ... using it. So what I
did was to try to find some other words, so we found the words Counsel on Public Relations".

PR
The business world of today is extremely competitive. Companies need to have an edge that makes them stand out
from the crowd, something that makes them more appealing and interesting to both the public and the media. The
public are the buyers of the product and the media are responsible for selling it.

“PUBLIC RELATION is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding
between an organization and its publics”

Important terms in the definition of public relation

DELIBERATE---because public relations practitioners try to make it clear that the success of their job depends on the
promise that nothing should happen by accident.

Starting with a set of carefully created objectives they must ensure that whatever they do afterwords will take them
accurately and inevitably towards those objectives.
PLANNED---because a public relations practitioner is always in control of what is being done, nothing is left to
chance; so he must work to a plan and on a planned basis.

Sustained---because a public relations practitioner is always trying to implement a thought or an idea that will
remains with the person at whom it has been aimed. The pressure must be maintained. Human memories are short.
There are many things for people

Understanding---this is necessary because of the difficulty in bridging the awful gap in the communication process
b/w what the ‘sender’ means and what the ‘receiver’ thinks.

Organization---because no man can work in a vacuane. Everybody works for somebody. A public relations
practitioner works for an organization, a govt., business, charity or any other. To put it at its most simple, it is his job
to see that the organization is understood and appreciated.

Public---because the organization for which the public relations practitioner works wants to be understood and
appreciated by the people around it, who affect what is does or are affected by what it does.

We often get asked what makes a successful public relations program?

What does it cost? Does my organization really need it? How long do I
need to do it? Can’t I do it myself? Why do my competitors always get
in the papers? Why does the media get my story wrong?
To answer some of these questions we have put this question on how to develop
public relations plan.
Unless you are a celebrity good public relations just doesn’t happen on
its own. It takes a lot of skill, and consistent hard work, over a period of
time. It’s part art, part science and when practiced correctly the results
can be very rewarding.

Good public relations is key to the success of any business. A company must strive to make itself stand out in its
particular field. The media can be a very effective public relations tool if it is used right.

A twenty first century company is not only going to need the ability to please their customers, but to delight them. In order to
accomplish this goal, employees need to understand who the company is, and what it stands for. Not only do they need to
understand these values, but an employee needs to be committed to upholding them on an everyday basis. Every employee
represents their company individually, and the impression that they give the customer is the perception that the customer
will have of the company. This is something that many employees don’t think about, or don’t care about. Many fast food
restaurants are good examples of this. These companies are operated in such a manner that their employees don’t have
any pride, or satisfaction in what they are doing. If you have been to a fast food restaurant lately, you can see how that
reflects in the service that you get.

Another method is to create a distinguished history for a company. This would include how the company was started.

One of the fastest ways to get the message to the public and media is by staging an event. This could be anything from a
press conference, to a grand opening celebration. The job of the P.R. firm would be to create the event and handle all of the
details. This would include everything from arranging for a location, sending out invitations and arranging the agenda, to
taking care of the refreshments and food. Setting up representatives for radio shows, television and newspaper interviews,
are just a few of the other ways a P.R. firm can help to promote a company.

Maintaining good media relations is crucial in the management of an emergency. This basically signifies giving reporters
accurate, timely information and allowing them access to emergency zones, within reasonable limits. While reporters can be
adversarial, they are much less likely to be so if they are given accurate information, and if they can see you are making an
honest effort to deal with the emergency.
There are many aspects to effective public relations. Employees must always use good P.R. when they deal with customers,
or business associates. It also helps to have an appealing history behind your company. The media is probably one of the
most powerful P.R. tools available, but in order to effectively use them, you must be prepared for what they can throw at
you. When all of these elements are combined, the chances for your company’s success will greatly increase.

Public opinion
Public-is a group of people with similar interest who have a common opinion on a controversial subject.

Opinion-is a view, judgment or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter.

Public opinion-is a judgment, view, appraised held in common by members of a group or public on any matter of
general importance.

# The basic objective of public relation is to measure, analyse, and influence public opinion, which develops from the
attitudes of individuals comprising the public.

$It is important to understood the meaning of attitudes…

Attitudes- are the feeling or moods of a person for or against some person, organization, issue or object. Attitude is a
way of looking at situation. An expressed attitude is an opinion.

* Changes in attitude are accomplished by communications to create new belief or by appearing to the emotions to
arouse favourable or unfavourable attitude.

Changes in attitude are also brought about by problems, frustration, or dissatisfaction of an individual. For example,
“a worker satisfied with his wages and working conditions may change his attitude toward his employer after listening
to a labour leader describe the need for used wages and better working conditions.

Appeals to the physical, social, and economic needs of people are most effective in changing their attitude.

* Public opinion is a composite opinion resulting from the interaction of the individual opinion of members of a group.

* the opinion of people in a group are influenced by what they hear from opinion leaders, other members of the group,
what they read in newspapers, magazines, and books , what they see in life about them or on TV.

Apart from group pressures, individuals opinions are influenced by their needs, emotions, experience, heredity,
culture, economic status.

Public opinion emerges out of the interaction of individual attitudes, opinions, and the opinion of group.
PROCESS OF PUBLIC OPINION
1. Interactions with other members and individuals, opinion will be forward.

2. Transformation of individual opinion into group opinion will depend on the influence that group members will have
on that individual.

3. Group opinion will take the form of public opinion when the group attitude changes the public attitude or judgment
at large.

Public opinion is an expressed attitude at individual level and at the group level.

** Factors which will affect the thinking of an individual in the group…

1. Idendification

2. Conformity

3. Anonymity

4. Sympasthy

5. Emotionation

6. Nobility

7. Oppression

8. Symbolism

9. Rationalization

PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC OPINION

1. Identification/social philosophy principle

People will ignore an idea, an opinion, a point of view unless they see clearly that it affect their
personal fears or desires, hopes or aspirations.

2. Action principle

People do not buy ideas separated from action either action taken or about to be taken can be
conveniently take to prove the merit of the idea.

Unless a means of action is provided, people tend to shrug off appeals to do things.

3. Principle of familiarity and trust

 The people buy ideas only from those we trust. We are influenced only by those in whome we have
confidence.

Unless the listener has confidence in the speaker, he is not likely to listen or to believe.

4. Clarity principle

The situation must be clear to us, not confusing.

The things we observe, read, see or hear, the thing which produces our impressions, must be clear
not subject to several interpretations.

ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations provide a service for the company by helping to give the public and the media a better understanding
of how the company works. Within a company, public relations can also come under the title of public information or
customer relations. These departments assist customers if they have any problems with the company. They are
usually the most helpful departments, as they exist to show the company at their best.

PR also helps the company to achieve its full potential. They provide feedback to the company from the public. This
usually takes the form of research regarding what areas the public is most happy and unhappy with.

People often have the perception of public relations as a group of people who spin everything. Spin can mean to turn
around a bad situation to the company’s advantage. It is true that part of the purpose of public relations is to show the
company in a positive light no matter what. There are certain PR experts that a company can turn to for this particular
skill.

The public often think of PR as a glamorous job. Public relations people seem to have been tarred with the image of
constant partying and networking to find new contacts. The reality is usually long hours and hard work for anyone
involved in public relations.

There are certain skills necessary to work in the world of PR. These include a very high level of communication skills,
written and verbal. The PR person must also be very adept at multitasking and time management. He or she may
also have some form of media background or training in order to understand how the media and advertising work.
Organizational and planning skills are also important in public relations.

The PR worker must also be able to cope very well under pressure. He or she must have the ability to cope with a
barrage of questions from the media and the public. If a company comes under critical attack, it is the PR department
who must take control of the situation. They must effectively answer the criticism and turn it around in order to protect
the company’s reputation.

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the communication between an organization and its
publics.[1] Public relations gains an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics
of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment.[2] Because public relations places
exposure in credible third-party outlets, it offers a third-party legitimacy that advertising does not
have.[2] Common activities include speaking at conferences, working with the press, and employee
communication.

PR can be used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public.[2]
Almost any organization that has a stake in how it is portrayed in the public arena employs some level
of public relations. There are number of related sister disciplines all falling under the banner of
Corporate Communications, such as Analyst relations, Media Relations, Investor Relations, Internal
Communications or Labor Relations.