PR has become very integral to the modern public discourse. Unlike in the past when communication was rather sporadic or followed the conventional parameters, modern communications and the challenges posed by the new platform, including the internet and the social media necessitates political parties and political artists, to design their messages in a way that reaches audience effectively and seamlessly. If you see the overall, there is one type of communication that has to happen on a seamless basis, much faster than you would have imagined 10 years ago. On the other hand, you have to keep up with the conventional media also, so there are newspapers and news channels where you have to send out the news items, like press releases. I think it has changed the entire contour of Political communication and it is far more professional than in earlier times and coupled with social media theme, I think it has made the field very dynamic.
PR for Brand was always there. PR comes with the connotations that are positive, which means that there is professional dissemination of communication. There are professional tools and processes being followed to reach out to the journalist. PR for Brand also means there are final nuances of communication which are being addressed, i.e., if one sends a press release to Times of India journalist in Delhi, as against Assam Tribune journalist in Guwahati, my tone and tenor has to be different. From journalist point of view, they are very sure that when there is a professional intervention or PR, the information that they get is far more customized and ready-to-use. Unlike in past when it was on concoction of or just raw material, it is far more ready to use as against the past sense. But when it comes to political advertising, maybe there are some murmurs about how political advertising must be influencing the editorial policies.
Interesting article: Build a Personal Brand
For students who want to build their career in PR, Dr. Navneet Anand, Founder and Director, GreyMatters Communications, says, “It depends upon the temperament of a student, his/her ability to learn, digest large amount of news and information and have a fair comprehension of the way politics work. Public Relations is the most exciting area to be with. But at the same time, it is the most challenging and yet exciting genre of PR. One has to have an inclination and stamina for it.”
–Alisha Shireen
Alisha Shireen is a part of the Class of 2020 of PG Programme in PR and Corporate Communications at SCoRe, Mumbai. She completed her winter internship with SPAG Asia
Alisha Shireen did her schooling from Auxilium Convent School, Bandel, which is some 52.3 km from Kolkata. She did her graduation from Patna Women’s College in Mass Communications. She was a freelancer for The Times of
India, Patna Times for a year (2018-2019) and wrote advertorials and event coverage for the English daily. Currently Alisha is pursuing her post graduation in Public Relations in School of Communications and Reputation, Mumbai.
