Zach Bosch

Hello Cousin-

I’m writing to tell you about the amazing field of Public Relations (PR). PR, to me, is the art of people and organizations. Simply put, PR is the process of defining and regulating the image of a corporation or entity to its public. When you work as a PR practitioner, you have an immense responsibility to your client. It is the PR practitioner’s job to monitor public perceptions through a host of mediums. You can perform research of your own, or you can use someone else’s research. This research can be in the form of surveys and polls, or you can monitor an organization’s website traffic. If the public’s perception of your client is waning then it is your responsibility to figure out why, and then remedy the situation. With PR, language is key. If you are dealing with a situation where there are a number of unknowns, you don’t want your public to think that you are incapable/incompetent. For instance: if your client is put to the task of dismantling a beached whale, and they’ve never performed such a task before, the last thing you want is for your spokesperson to seem like they don’t know what they’re doing. It is essential for the spokesperson to appear credible, knowledgeable, and capable. I think that there is always a “best” way to handle any situation. When dealing with negative PR, it is important that you never shy away from the situation. Always deal with negative press head-on, always handle the situation. These days, with the advent the internet and social media, the public expects answers, and they expect answers immediately. I think that we are living in a society that doesn’t necessarily expect perfection all of the time, they just expect (or would prefer) integrity. People don’t want to feel like they’re being lied to, or “taken for a ride”, they want an organization that treats them with respect. All of this is what concerns a PR practitioner. A PR practitioner studies his/her public, learns their expectations, and then does his/her best to form an image for their client that conforms to these parameters.

Regards-
Zach