Public Relations

Public relations professionals, also known as communication specialists and media specialists, function as liasons to the public and advocates for businesses, nonprofit associations, universities, hospitals, an individual, or other organizations. Their main function is to build and maintain positive relationships with the public. For larger organizations and persons often in the public eye, the importance of good public relations is often vital to the success of their enterprises, especially when potential mistakes have high visibility in the public eye. Public relations specialists are responsible to handle all organizational functions. This includes media, community, consumer, industry, and governmental relations. In some cases, it may also include political campaigns, interest-group representation, conflict mediation, and relations between employees and investors, depending on the training and specialization of the individual. Public relations specialists do much more than relate the story of an individual or organization. They must intimately understand the attitudes, concerns, and affairs of the party they represent, as well as the community and groups with whom their client interacts. Public relations specialists establish and maintain cooperative relationships with these groups and also with representatives from print and broadcast journalism.