PR, what does is mean?

Public Relations has been used for centuries but it wasn’t until the 20th century where it became a profession. It was always given different definitions and the earliest one that was best understood was given by Edward L. Bernays. “Information given to the public, persuasion directed at the public to modify attitudes and actions, and efforts to integrate attitudes and actions of an institution with its publics and publics with those of the institution,” stated Bernays. Although in 1975, 65 public relations leader’s from the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education analyzed 472 different definitions for pr and came up with this, Public relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools.” Everyone will have a different definition for PR and it may vary from person to person but it can all be agreed that the purpose of PR is to get and keep a good reputation for a person, company, or organization. We all have an opinion and therefore want to look good in the public eye.

Mario Ochoa