letter to cousin

Dear Amanda,
So I know you have been bugging me to explain to you this whole PR thing I’m going into. By definition public relations is the control of the flow of information from an organization to its public (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations). This requires me to be extremely organized and ready to work in a fast paced environment. You know me, I thrive in that atmosphere.
In such an internet world, I need to be informed and up to date on all the latest technology. One of the major aspects of my job will be social media. This is the websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. I will have to effectively use these tools to relay information and a general message about an organization to the public.
One key difference between PR and advertising is how the message is relayed. In advertising, you pay for an ad in a newspaper or on the radio. As a PR practitioner, I use third party outlets such as new conferences, working with the press, as well as internal and external communication. This gives the public a higher level of trust because we don’t pay for our publicity directly.
For example, if I write a press release and pitch it to a journalist, I have to come into that meeting with research proving to him/her that writing this story would be beneficial to their readers. Then, if they decide to write the story, they have control over it, not me. I hope to show them why it should be a positive article, but I lose control over that information. Therefore, the public will trust what a journalist, who is not paid by the company I work for, more than if they just saw an ad in a newspaper.
Love you lots!
Jessica Vasil