Defining Public Relations

What is Public Relations? To be honest when I first started the Public Relations program at Conestoga College, I was unclear of what Public Relations was. I really had very little knowledge of what a Public Relations Practitioner did and what was their true role in the business world. After a few months in the program I discovered that there are numerous ways to define Public Relations. I came up with a way of putting all the definitions into one basic definition in order to help me understand Public Relations.

Public Relations is often confused with advertising, marketing or sales. Public Relations is the communicator between a company and its public. It helps a company or organization by giving their public and the media a better perception of how their company operates. PR helps a company to accomplish its goals and objectives. Public Relations is about finding something newsworthy and communicating it to a target audience.

Public Relations is all about communicating.