Overview: During this semester you will learn about the various specializations, roles and responsibilities of the public relations profession and practitioner. Though I did my best to provide the most current information, sometimes the best information about the profession can be gleaned from someone who currently works in it. For this assignment, you will identify, research and interview a current public relations professional about the nature of their job and thoughts on the public relations industry.
Goal: Gain a deeper understanding of the role and responsibility of the public relations professional by verifying or challenging information presented in the course and in the text. Assume that this is the industry/career that you intend to follow and this is your one opportunity to interview someone who works in it.
Assignment: Between now and spring break, you will need to identify, connect and interview a public relations professional. Your interview must be face-to-face either via video conference software or in-person to produce a three to four (3 – 4) page academic paper. An interview that is e-mail or text-based only is not acceptable and should be used as an extreme last resort.
Paper Guidelines: Though this is a reflection paper that can be written in first person, this is a formal academic paper. Thus, your paper should include an introduction with a clear thesis or topic sentence, body with supporting evidence, and a conclusion. Your paper should include a title page as well as a work cited page in APA format, which is outside of the 3 – 4 page count. Papers should utilize in-text citations and include a minimum of five credible sources, one of which can be your textbook. Avoid recapping their life or career journey (when hired/fired, degrees and associations), unless it is relevant. Keep your points/topics relevant to understanding their public relations role as well as the field they are in (sports, nonprofit, corporate, event planning, etc.).
Finally, in your paper make note that after interviewing this person, are you (the student, not the practitioner) more or less likely to want to have a career in PR? Why?
Suggested Interview Questions
What is a typical week like? (If no week is typical, then what was last week like?)
What do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR?
How important is writing in your career?
Do you think the profession and its professionals are ethical?
What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR?
Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How?
What has surprised you the most about working in PR?
How has PR changed since you entered the field?
How does technology affect your daily work?
Things to Remember
Public relations is always written in the singular tense though it is referred in the plural.
Public relations is not a noun so in a sentence it should not be capitalized, unless you are starting a sentence with it
Spell check will automatically want to correct public relations. Be careful and aware of this.
Be consistent of how you refer to public relations. Either use “PR” throughout your paper or “public relations.”
Using first person is okay.
Ensure that your paper is written in past tense since you are retelling or recapping your interview and data you found in the past.
