Lets practise before we preach !

Now , having read , written and analysed so much about who did what for the PR industry . I  began to think what have I or we students done about the image of the PR industry . 

This thought struck my mind , when earlier this morning a old friend of mine called me up . We were having a light conversation and then she commented that you must be having a great time studying Masters in Public Relations. I replied , "Yes , I certainly am." She further added , "Who would not like to learn how to fool the world and bombard them with flowery lies adorned with fake endearments." I was quite disappointed with what she thought of PR. I tried to explain to her , that my course taught me much more serious stuff , but she was plain ignorant. 

After hanging up , I could not help thinking of what she said to me and that statement rung in my head several times. That was the time I should have acted responsibly and begun with doing some good PR for the industry I hope to work for in the years to come. So , my lovely people ! Please think about this and whenever you have someone say to you that you work for the dishonest industry of PR. Put your Public Relations skills together and remember all that Pam taught you. Lets start our Journey PR by alleviating the credibility of our industry so that next time PR watch does not need to contend that "Public Relations involves a "multi-billion dollar propaganda-for-hire industry" that "concoct[s] and spin[s] the news, organize[s] phoney 'grassroots' front groups, sp[ies] on citizens, and conspire[s] with lobbyists and politicians to thwart democracy." 

world of S P I N !

Whenever I walk into the Harrow Learning resources centre , and walk to the shelves numbered 659.13 to 699 , I find myself looking at various books in different thickness and colours . Most of which would me leave me in an encounter with the word 'S P I N' on the cover page.In a few other cases it would be 'sleaze' or 'sludge'. 

Sultans of Sleaze , Inside Spin , The Father of Spin , A century of Spin , talespin ....All these titles make me feel that I am working for a bad industry ! With all due respect to the authors who I am confident know a lot more than what I know of the industry , I feel the usage of positive titles and a more credible word than 'spin' on the cover page would develop positivity about reading the book and its contents. 

If the authors and writers only self acclaim themselves as spin doctors what is the audience left with to decide. 

PR is serious - not glamorous !

The representations of PR practitioners in film and television programs 1995-2001 , although by no means complete, are not "woefully inadequate in terms of explaining who practitioners are and what they do " as reported by Miller .( 1999, Public Relations in Film and Fiction ) . Miller further summarised that "It is safe to say that a reader or viewer could learn very little about the actual practise of PR from film and fiction." Having read this abstract from the Journal of Public Relations Research ( Vol 1 , Issue 1 ) , I would like to agree with the point Miller tried to make. 

In this article ,  Miller has looked for traits which were repeatedly being associated with PR practitioners.

Influenced by his idea , I myself watched a couple of movies and found this relatively true. Most of the movies revolved around a young woman as a PR practitioner . Just a generalization , majority of these young man are depicted as attractive , sexy , chic .They are also involved in social events and activities and most of the times are big drinkers. This is relevant for Sam Jones ( Sex and the City ) , Eddie ( Absolutely Fabulous) , Helen ( Sliding doors ) , Bridget Jones ( Bridget Jones Diary - not exactly a PR movie ) . I have also noted in few movies that the women working in PR have been shown as sexual objects and involved in sexual activities more than men.Whenever PR comes into the picture , everything on the screen is to do with glamour , gossip and generally not serious ! 

The bottom line is that I have not been able to find one movie which has done GOOD or for that matter just about OK  PR for the PR industry. I have not come across a single piece of work which highlights the seriousness, strategic efforts and hard work going into this industry. 

Just Not Fabulous

Absolutely fabulous , also known as ab - fab is a BBC TV comedy starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. 

Though this a comedy , if you watch the Episode 4 - Jealous of Series 3 , which was first broad casted on 27 April 1995 , you would be able to gauge how it did nothing fabulous for the reputation of PR. . This video is a must watch - watch here . 

Having watched this video , you must have observed Eddie ( PR person)makes one  statement towards the end - " I PR ...I PR things , I PR people , places , concepts , Lou Lou . I make the crap into the credible and the drab into delicious. ..I PR things".

This statement instantly would lead to the loss of credibility of the work done by the PR industry. Bad PR for the PR industry , yet again !

S L I D I N G D O O R S - PR demeaned

Further to my previous post , I was quite unhappy with the portrayal of Public Relations in the Peter Howitt directed movie - Sliding Doors. The movie is indeed a brilliant piece of cinema , but the facts coming out in the movie should have been thought over once. One of the very first scenes in the movie shows Helen Quilley ( Gwyneth Paltrow ) , as a Public Relations Officer running late into her office. She gets fired by her boss for some reason and the conversation following this , Helen makes a statement- Why could you not bullshit ? We are doing Public Relations , aren't we ? That is what we are supposed to do - 'bullshit'. To me , this was a confession being made by a PR person which indicated to the public - That Yes , we are paid for lying. ! 

And this is not it. The movie also depicts a misinterpretation of the Public Relation industry.This happens when Helen after being fired from her job is delivering sandwiches to some place. She is asked by Lydia ( Jeanne Tripplehorn ) - "Are you trained in catering ?"
"No, I'm in PR."
"Well you aren’t doing a very good PR job this morning are you?"
I think this only confuses the audiences further and also perpetuates the misconception that PR is customer service.

In a nutshell , Sliding Doors did negative PR for the PR industry. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR