Public relations.

Getting and keeping a  good reputation is the primary purpose of public relations. As a profession public relations (usually called simply PR) is a 20th-century development. But the reason for it has been well understood for many centuries. A writer of the Biblical Proverbs stated that “A good name is more to be desired than great riches.” The Greek philosopher Socrates was closer to understanding today's PR when he said: “The way to a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” Public relations is based on the simple fact that people have opinions of each other and of government and other institutions. Therefore individuals, corporations, government officials, schools, religious organizations, and every other type of institution desire to be accepted by the public on the best possible terms. Public relations is a means of getting attention and shaping public opinion. It achieves its goals through publicity, advertising, the use of press agents, public affairs forums, lobbying public officials, and every other means that gets a message before the public. While most PR is directed outward at the general public or special segments of it, some is also directed toward people within an organization. Corporations use various PR devices to get and maintain good employee morale and commitment. Some companies use the term corporate communications instead of public relations. Public relations is often compared to, and sometimes confused with, marketing. Although they use similar techniques, their goals are different. Marketing, which includes advertising and promotion, intends to sell products and services. Public relations is an image-creation business that is trying to sell persons, government policies, corporations, and other institutions. A book by Joe McGinniss on the presidential race between Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey was called ‘The Selling of the President, 1968' because it is about the PR tactics used to promote the two candidates. At its best public relations works in two directions. It attempts to make a person or organization responsive to the public and to public expectations. At the same time it tries to persuade the public to respond in a favorable way. When successful, good PR presents an image that corresponds to the reality. The most difficult task of a public relations specialist is probably crisis management. In September–October 1982 several persons in the Chicago area died after taking capsules of a popular pain reliever that had been laced with cyanide. The manufacturer of the drug made the wise PR decision to warn people of the danger and launch a nationwide recall of the product. Then, through its PR firm, the manufacturer made a series of public service announcements to restore confidence in the company and its products. Another crisis situation arose in October 1987 with the crash of stock markets worldwide. Prominent investment bankers quickly took out full-page advertisementsin major newspapers in an attempt to bolster public confidence in the economy and in securities investments.

4. Аnswer the following questions:

1. When did this profession (public relations) appear?

2. What does it serve for?

3. What is it based on?

4. In what way does PR achieve its goals?

5. Why is Public Relations often compared to and confused with marketing?

6. In what directions does PR work?

7. Why is the crisis management the most difficult task of a public relation specialist?