A major difference between Public Relations and Journalism is that public relations is a management company, while journalism is the press. PR practitioners also work for a specific client. That client might be one person, or it might be a corporation. While journalists write articles about many different things and only sometimes write things that affect the reputations of these clients, PR practitioners’ primary job is to represent that client. They put out statements about their clients and sometimes write things, but that is not their main focus, as it is for journalists. They often speak for their client at events, on TV, on the radio, etc. Another major difference between Public Relations and Journalism is that one of PR’s main jobs is giving their clients advice. PR reps serve as counselors to the management of their company, so they are often involved in decision making and organizational policymaking. Journalists don’t have a connection to a company or client like this and definitely are not involved in this kind of decision making.
PRSSA is the Public Relations Student Society of America. It is based off of PRSA, which was founded by PR practitioners in 1947 when the public relations industry was starting to get a negative reputation – many critics thought a lot of its practices were unethical. Its goals were to promote professional standards and to put forth a positive image. Society members adopted the industry’s first code of ethics in 1950 in order to do this.
Tips they offered on starting your own business include starting each day with inspiration, drive, and goals. They also advised us to do a lot of research, talk to potential mentors and partners, network with them, write a and mission statement and business plan. They encouraged us to work hard, long, and maintain perspective.
