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Subject: confusion b/w mass communications and public relations
Date: 22-Aug-2008
Question: I have my cousin, she wants to go for a bachelor/higher studies degree, the confusion is that she can't decide that whether she go for mass communications or public relations, if u can plz lead me about the future of both fields. and possible job opportunities, I will appreciate your help

Thank You
Regards
kamran, Pakistan

Answer: Public Relations has become a subject matter of Mass Communication. Mass communication is one such field which is attracting a lot of young these days as it offers career options in the fields, like various kinds of medias - newspapers, magazines, radio, television, advertisements, public relations etc.Mass communication covers a wide area, comprising of closely related fields of advertisement, communication and public relations. Mass communication includes:

  • Print journalism: It is collecting and editing of news for presentation through media. It has been one of the oldest forms of journalism.Over the years, print journalism has witnessed major transformation, the simple reporting of yester years has taken a shape of highly specialized and professional field owing to competition and other factors. The newspapers and magazines today cover a wide range of specialized sections like political events, business news, leisure, cinema, sports, career, health and so many other subjects, which demands for professionally qualified journalists. Given the variety of subjects to choose from, one can look forward to a field of his interest and pursue several available courses in that direction.
  • Electronic Journalism: Communication mediums like television, radio, audio, video etc. has made possible news, entertainment, information, education related subjects reach the very far and wide places. It has to an extent sidelined other forms of communication. With the growing network of TV, satellite communication, cable services, radio stations, etc., the future of this industry seems bright. Electronic journalism offers to professionally qualified aspirants opportunities in a number of fields. Some of these are direction, production, camera, graphics, editing, sound, programme research, script writing etc.
  • Film producers, soundmen, lightmen etc: When we talk of films today, there is no dearth of available professional career options.Films have always earned recognition and fascination of masses. There are so many different groups of people associated with the so-called big screen and one has a variety to choose from the available options from technical professions like directors, producers, soundmen, lightmen, cameramen, editors etc. to artists like actors, dancers, musicians, stuntmen etc. The rapidly growing film industry and its certain future has led to various institutes offering highly professional courses.
  • Advertising: Advertising is brand building process of a product.From newspapers, magazines, posters, signboards, bills to the commercials on radio, television and even Internet, advertising has come a long way. Business organisations, political organisations, social organisations, all find it important to advertise in order to influence public opinion. Advertising is a service industry. This makes the job even more challenging. With the advent of the multinational companies, more and more Indian agencies are tying up with the the foreign agencies to pitch for international clients which is clearly indicative of high growth in coming years in this industry.
  • Public relations: Once, the simple operation of publicity, today has emerged as an important management function. Public Relations, as the name suggests, is used to generate and portray, positive image of an organisation by various means. Business houses, schools, universities, hospitals, government institutions, etc. engage public relations personnel and agencies to cast and present their image, objectives and policies in the best possible light.

For somebody to become a successful public relation consultant, it is imperative to have a liking to meet people alongwith excellent communication skills, ability to interact with, convince people, and build a rapport is important. The other traits should be, quick decision making abilities and good organisational skills.
So if she does her mass communication course, she can the do some other course relating to public relation.

There is diploma as well as post graduate diploma courses in Public relations. Duration of most the courses is of one year. Apart from this there are also short term certificate courses. Most training programmes in Advertising also include public relations. Some institutes have entrance exams while others prefer admission on merit basis.

These courses mainly cover areas like public relations principles and techniques, public relations management and administration, including organizational development, writing, emphasizing news releases, proposals, annual reports, scripts, speeches, and related items, visual communications, including desktop publishing and computer graphics, and research, emphasizing social science research and survey design and implementation.

So if she goes in for mass communication, she will have a wide variety of jobs to choose from and can specialise in any field which interests her the most.

Hope that helps
CareerAge Counselor