I’m new. New to the morning commute, new to no longer calling myself a student, (kinda sorta) new to the PR field and new to Barnhart. Post-graduation I am pursuing my goal to become a knowledgeable PR professional by joining the Barnhart team in the PR department as the summer intern. As my excitement has trickled into conversations with friends about my new office digs, the question has surfaced quite a few times: What is PR anyway?

This seems like a silly question to me: someone who has spent the last four years studying communication on both small and large scales. But it has come to my attention the majority of my generation perceives PR as an easy gig mostly associated with socializing, schmoozing and handling club openings. I can probably thank multiple pop culture references for this warped image (at least for the majority of the PR industry).

My most influential professor instilled in us eager pupils her take on PR as a business management function. Her boiled-down definition describes what most goals and strategies of PR seek to achieve. When it comes down to it, good PR reaches both members of the media and general public alike in an effort to make a connection and better the company.

As I navigate through the PR industry, I find it is an ever-evolving field that is anything but stagnant from one year to the next. A PR pro must possess traditional tricks of the trade as well as constantly sharpening his or her new media tools in order to keep up and get ahead. I guess I have my work cut out for me!

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