Introduction to Public Relations

Course description

This free online public relations course will give you an overview of the fundamentals of public relations, and introduce you to the real-life models and approaches used in public relations management. Public relations, or PR, is the process of shaping and maintaining a favorable image of a company, organization, or individual to the public and media. Take this free, online course today to start incorporating PR practices into your business.

The course begins by showing you a public relations case study, specifically the PR policies during the Teamsters strike on UPS. You will then explore the function of public relations in the modern world and look at the origins of public relations in the United States. You will see the resulting PR models which have emerged and how these models apply to modern PR. These will include Grunig & Hunt's 4 Models of public relation practice, the Press Agentry Model, the Public Information Model, and the Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Models.

Next, you will see how the PR function has split into several sub functions over the years. These include the corporate and agency sub functions. You will discuss the strategic management functions and roles of PR as well as the importance of a PR representative at the highest level of a business. You will cover the organizational elements of a PR department including the role of PR managers within organizations and their relationship to advisory and strategic boards.

This course will be of great interest to professionals who work in the area of PR and communications and would like to learn more about the different functions and sub-functions of PR. It will also be of interest to learners who would like to learn more about the role of PR within the modern business environment. So, try out the course for yourself and start building your PR career today!