Katy Jameson

With a substantial PR portfolio due in soon, I have recently heard many students around me claiming that they work far better under pressure, and so are leaving their task until the ‘last minute’. They then say that all PR professionals are just the same, because the industry is about coping well under pressure and the best PR work is produced without planning. Where are they getting this information from?

I am of the opinion that planning is a very useful tool, and you should always leave yourself time to do so. It provides structure and gives you the chance to avoid mistakes. You can have a back up scenario if the worst should happen, and you can iron out all those little creases.

I have actually been working hard on my portfolio since January, and will be spending these last few weeks simply tidying up any loose ends and improving the presentation. With the deadline on April 25th, I feel confident that it will be a reflection of my best work.

So does this mean that I am not a typical PR worker? Does it mean that maybe I will find it hard to work in an industry that allows no time for such things as planning?

Many of our lectures in the first semester placed a great deal of emphasis on the importance of planning, and we were given detailed checklists to work from; for writing a news release, for planning a campaign, for doing a presentation. So I am confused: is this just the difference between theory and practice? Or is planning really an important part of my future career?

I guess I can at least conclude that I am not your typical student, and that I am definitely planning on being an extraordinary practitoner.

I am naturally quite able when it comes to languages. Having been a student at two different language colleges, I have received good instruction. My studies there gave me a real passion for other cultures and languages, and I grew up wanting to travel and integrate these passions into my career.

Since completing my A levels, I started to take a real interest in current affairs and Public Relations and am now studying for a degree in PR at Leeds Met. I have combined this degree with French however, so that I can provide myself with more of an option in International PR. Upon first learning of International PR, I decided that this would probably be the perfect sector for me.

However, I recently had a lecture about this sector and my first impressions of what I was told were not particularly passionate or stimulated. International PR seemed quite limiting in what you could work on and be creative with. I was surprised because I assumed it would be more creative. I am not sure what the benefits are of speaking languages in PR.

It is my personal belief that languages contribute a great deal to an individual, and I feel that we must be as open and knowlegeable about other countries and customs as we can. This enriches our own culture and experiences. But what can it contribute to a professional career?

I am yet to fully understand the reaches of International PR and how my passion for languages will translate to a fulfilling and adventurous career in this industry. I am curious as to whether these skills are particularly sought after in a PR practitioner?

I am frequently hearing that the industry is looking for more from their professionals. I spoke to one Director of a large PR firm and he said that these days “there are too many media studies students with little more to offer than ticks in the right boxes… I would be more interested to see what an applicant had done in their gap year or summer breaks.” He went on to say that he was looking for things like the languages they speak, what do they do/offer to make them a more interesting person - in essence he said:

“what experiences give them the confidence to go into a boardroom with me and tell a managing director what he/she should be doing with their comms and PR.”

I consider this to be very valuable advice and at the conclusion of my course and several other ‘experiences’ I have and will complete, I intend to submit my CV to his company to see if I have all of the attributes and qualities he once told me he was looking for.

For now, it seems, I must continue researching into the different sectors, to find one that will stimulate and challenge me, but I have yet to decide if International PR will be my chosen path, and yet to see if languages will actually become a part of my working life.

I had another interesting lecture today, which made me really think about what I was hearing. It was on Corporate Social Responsibility in Public Relations, and the lecturer posed the question:

Is CSR about doing something good or is it about being perceived to be doing something good…?

In the same way then, is it really about being responsible and satisfying the desires of your stakeholders, or is it simply about reputation and increasing your positive profile?

The lecturer went on to suggest that perhaps CSR is about both of these things and can be described as ‘enlightened self-interest’. You don’t generally get something for nothing in society and you don’t generally give something for nothing either. So by giving more in an attempt to be socially responsible, you will then reap the benefits of doing so, whether that be a better reputation through lots of positive media coverage or by gaining loyal staff and customers, etc.

I guess if a company is doing something responsible then it is a good thing, regardless of the possibility that their sole motive was to improve their reputation. I think that CSR is so important for companies and organisations, and particularly today, with our many environmental and fair trade issues.

The lecturer quoted someone to us, saying:

“All business in a democratic society begins with the publics permission and exists by public approval.”

This indicates that CSR exists because of the public, and their demands for ethical, responsible companies, and so its purpose is just reputation. And with our public becoming more and more informed - thus more and more demanding, CSR is surely high on every business’s list of things to do. A short while ago, Marks and Spencer appeared across the media for pledging to invest millions into reducing their carbon footprint over the next 5 years. No one expected them to do so, and they recieved lots of positive coverage as a result. I’m not sure what their root motive was but it seems as though everybody wins in this case.

So CSR may well stand for Corporate Social Reputation then or it may be Corporate Social Responsibility, but I believe either way a good deed is still a good deed- whatever the motive, and it’s something we should all be actively considering.

I watched something very interesting last week in a Mass Communication tutorial that got me thinking. It was a ‘Frontline’ production called ‘Orwell rolls over in his grave’ and it posed some very worrying and provoking questions about today’s so-called democratic society.

It claimed that while we have a wide choice of media, with many channels, magazines, newspapers, radio stations and movie studios available to us, this is just a mere illusion of diversity and different opinions.

Because it is the top 1 or 2% of wealthy people who have control of what is reported on. And some of them even have control of several different media outlets, like Rupert Murdock. Apparently, a journalist is not allowed to just write about anything they like. Today’s news is managed before it reaches us.

But I want to know who manages the managers of our news? Who regulates the journalists, editors, owners etc. to make sure that they report the truth? Do we as the general public get a say? While an opinions page features in our newspapers and magazines containing letters from Joe Average and his friends - I wonder if this is a proportionate and satisfactory representation of our views. How can just a handful of letters each day be a fair indication of public opinion?

Who decides what goes on to the page? Who decides what makes news today? So often when you pick up a paper, the front page is plastered with some fashion disaster of a hot-shot celeb or, for example, the Britney-hair-shaving-incident of a few weeks ago. Is this really news? Is this really what we care about?

Particularly when you flip through the paper and find a shocking story on page 4 or 5 about our soldiers dying in war, or a case of child abuse. Why is this not considered front page material? Does our media no longer give us the important stories? But more than that - have we noticed and do we even care?

Britain and America pride themselves on being the developed, successful, democratic Western world. Hey, we even tried to teach Iraq about our democracy and impose our society on theirs. So is this real democracy I want to know? I have nothing to compare it to, being the only societal structure I have experienced.

The programme certainly got me thinking, and made me realise that as a future Public Relations practitioner, I need to be aware of our media and what it does. I need to continuously keep on top of these important issues and frequently review the structure of the society that I am working in. 

Public Relations is often about turning something bad into something good, and Jade Goody’s PR team have certainly had their work cut out for them in recovering from the catastrophe of this year’s Big Brother.
I am pleased to see that Jade is doing something so beneficial and benevolent with her cash in donating £25k to an Indian children’s charity, but I wonder if it is enough to repair the hurt she caused and if the mouthy star has actually learned anything from the experience? Or is it simply a cleverly constructed PR tactic that diverts our attention until all is forgotten?
If, as Jade claims, it is not to “improve her image”, then why are there so many cameras there recording the one-off generosity binge?
I fear Jade Goody is one girl who will never learn, and it will not be long until the papers are full of her next big blunder.

I have been very impressed with Virgin’s Public Relations team over the train incident. The monster corporation has managed to turn a potentially disasterous incident in to a publicity and promotional opportunity.

For those of you who have not been following the story, Richard Branson initially flew back from a holiday abroad to be there on site, even though only one passenger died. Then they focused on the heroic story of the train driver, who stayed in the front carriage instead of taking himself to safety, in an attempt to control the train.

But the best ’spin’ by far has been their story on how secure the Virgin trains are, as the carriages stayed together, despite rolling many times down a hill, and the glass of the carriages did not break.

Virgin invited journalists to the factory to see how the trains were contructed and what made them so secure.

And their final tactic has been to send an update of the incident via email to all registered customers, informing them of changes to train schedules due to the crash, and also repeating their condolances to the family of the deceased and those that were injured.

So instead of losing consumer confidence, Virgin has astoundingly managed to reinforce their loyalty and even potentially gain new customers on their trains.

Well done, Virgin, and a lesson to us all!

I have created this blog because I would like to become more active within the Public Relations industry, and indeed society.

I hope to recieve comments and suggestions on what I post on this site from any who see it, and I aim to respond and interact with everyone.

I am very attracted to the idea of a weblog and how it facilitates quick and simple communication between so many different people. I want to use my blog to discuss news and current affairs, and keep an open dialogue between myself and the rest of the world.

Feel free to post your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can.

I come from a small town in Hertfordshire called Bishops Stortford. I have recently moved to Leeds to pursue a BA (Hons) degree in Public Relations with French at Leeds Metropolitan University.

My career aspirations are to one day be director of the largest Public Relations consultancy in Europe.