Why PR needs its own PR
The ABC’s new series is another in a long line of shows skewing the PR industry. Dr Tony Jaques, principal of Issue Outcomes and author of the newsletter Managing Outcomes, thinks it’s high time PR had its own PR refresh.
The ABC – an organisation with its own well-publicised public relations problems – has launched a new comedy TV series about the supposed blunders of public relations.
While the new series, titled Optics, will doubtless provide some laughs, it follows a long tradition of TV and movies falsely portraying PR as little more than spin, image manipulation and media relations.
That might be adequate fodder for an undiscerning audience, but it does very little for the tens of thousands of honest, hard-working people employed in the industry.
So true Tony and a well reasoned and thoughtful article. The lack of understanding of what public relations profession has contributed to a better world is not only an indictment on the profession, but also the ignorance of those outside it. ‘Acceptable Terms’ such as those you described – community outreach, stakeholder engagement, external relations, corporate communication, relationship management, corporate affairs, advocacy leadership, media management, strategic communication and a host of others – are all functions of the practice of Public Relations. Public relations is a global profession which deserves greater advocacy and understanding of its function and role in the public and private sectors, along with society as a whole.