Hi everyone,
This internship experience has been quite an eye-opener for me, as I am sure it has been for everyone else.
I learnt practically that the role of a PR practitioner is very wide, and cannot be simply fit into one small box defining it. As PR practitioners we are expected to do so many different things in order to develop and maintain positive images for our clients. One of the core ways of doing this is by keeping the organization visible in the media. One of the ways of doing this is by writing media releases and feature stories that will get published and in effect give the organization exposure. Organizations do not constantly have media- worthy activities or promotions going on, and so as PR practitioners we need to create events that are media- worthy and will give the client organization positive publicity. This brings me to the second way of getting the organization exposure: holding media worthy events. A media-worthy event doesn’t just involve the arrangement of the event in terms of getting a venue, suppliers, media attendance and corporate attendance. For a PR practitioner, the event begins from the inception of the idea for the event, followed by convincing the client of the importance of the particular event. Once the client is convinced about the event, there then comes the event planning, preparing media kits for the particular event, and then having the event itself, followed by getting feedback from the event, meaning knowing how much coverage the event garnered in the media, and in effect proving the importance of having the event.
Another role of the PR practitioner that is not often mentioned is their role as a dissuader. A majority of the times when the roles of a PR practitioner are mentioned they are roles in which the practitioner plays the role of the persuader. Persuading their clients, persuading their key publics, persuading the media, and so on and so forth. The less mentioned role of a PR practitioner as a dissuader usually involves the practitioner’s clients and the media. At times a PR practitioner may have a client organization that is headed by an individual, or group of individuals that are not Public Relations savvy. This may lead them to make some decisions that could in essence have a negative impact on the public relations efforts done on behalf of the organization. For example, ruin a relationship forged with a particular journalist who is key to helping the organization get publicity in their specific industry. The work of a PR practitioner, especially if one is working for a PR firm, becomes even more varied in terms of the type of clients that they deal with, because essentially every company regardless of the industry they are in has the potential need for a PR firm, meaning that they will deal with clients from totally varying industries.
For those in the process of doing their internship, I wish you the best with your placement, and those that are done, good luck with your report.
Cheers,
Liwami.
