Research Assessment #1

Date: 6 Sept. 2019

Subject: Public Relations
MLA citations:
Doyle, Alison. "What Job Titles Can You Expect in Public Relations Careers?" The Balance

Careers. 05 Aug. 2019. The Balance Careers. 04 Sept. 2019

<https://www.thebalancecareers.com/public-relations-job-titles-2061504>.

"Public Relations." Public Relations Careers | The Princeton Review. 04 Sept. 2019

<https://www.princetonreview.com/careers/171/public-relations>.

Wynne, Robert. "Five Things Everyone Should Know About Public Relations." Forbes. 23 Jan.

2016. Forbes Magazine. 04 Sept. 2019

<https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2016/01/21/five-things-everyone-should-

know-about-public-relations/#14441cce2a2c>.

The business of Public Relations mainly works with managing how the public views a

company. With that being such an ambiguous definition of the career, several jobs fall into this

category; some examples include Brand Ambassadors, Public Affairs Specialists, and Publicist.

However, the category of PR that I am most interested in involve managing accounts thus I am

interested in becoming an Account Director.

One of the biggest misconceptions within the Public Relations industry comes from the

blurred lines between PR, Marketing, and Advertising. While in some respects all of them are

very close, Public Relations people are defined by The Princeton Review as “an image shaper”.

While that still leaves room for questions on what differentiates Advertising and Public

Relations, Forbes separates them using the old phrase “Advertising is what you pay for, publicity

is what you pray for.” Most of what happens in PR is natural narrative shaping versus paying for
publicity or trying to garner unnatural support and comes in the form of crisis management,

social media management, writing speeches, and writing press releases.

A lot of what Public Relations entails involves communicating with various people and

organizations through both verbal and written forms. While these skills are not unique to careers

in the business field, they are especially important in this sector. In order to major, colleges

consider it a communications centered study field. As well, most of the job involves protecting

or maintaining the image of a brand and with that, professionals in this field are expected to have

creative problem solving skills. In cases of crisis management, these skills are critical in

effectively performing tasks.

Public Relations is a major universities and is usually a part of either the business or

communications programs. For the universities which I am currently applying to, they all

consider it a communications major. Similar to any business related field, a bachelor’s degree is

required to enter into a good position but in order to have mobility, a master’s degree is

recommended.

Public Relations is certainly a part of many business classes that are offered within

Frisco ISD considering that it is such a huge part of Marketing. Looking back at the courses that

I have taken throughout high school, the course that has helped me the most is ISM. In the past

year, I have developed my ability to speak, write, and interview leaps and bounds that will allow

me to have a better chance of succeeding in the field.

This year in ISM, I truly want to try and learn all that I can about what it is like to be a

professional in not only the PR field, but also within a business environment. Growing up with a

parent in this setting, I know how unpredictable the business world can be. With that in mind, I

need to do my best to make myself as well rounded as possible so that I create the best chances
for myself to succeed. In all of the interviews that I have, my line of focus is going to center

around how the professionals found themselves in their current role and how that lines up with

where they thought they would be when they were a student.