Defining Public Relations in India in 2013

This blog is out of complete curiosity. Was taking some sessions on defining public relations with students. It made me want to know, how do current practitioners in this profession would like to define it in the year 2013.

Some older definitions are like this. The U.S. perspective : Cutlip, Center and Broom (2006: 5): ‘Public relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.’

However in the UK the definition is a little diffferent. According to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) it is : ‘[Public relations] is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics’ (www.cipr.co.uk). 

This leaves out the the term 'management' as seen in the American counterpart.

So how is the definition of public relations in India being coined?

Is it something different from the above two or similar? Would love to know your views.

New Media: A Pedagogical Tool

Title: New Media: A Pedagogical Tool

Paper presented at the National Seminar on Metamorphosis of New Media and Digital Culture, 7-8-9 March 2013, Department of Communication Studies, University of Pune

Abstract

There are many ways in which Lev Manovich describes new media. One of them is new media as a distribution platform and exhibition channel in the form of Internet, websites, Blu-ray disks and others. A further classification on the Internet is in the form of virtual communication, popularly known as social media. According to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, these are programs built on the concept of Web 2.0, which help end users in making their own content and communicating it. Mobile phones, Computers and Tablets have only increased the use of social media. In the past, Internet has played a role in improving education. Research suggests that social media is being used by educational institutions around the world for various purposes. This study examined to what extent do teachers teaching Communication and Journalism at post-graduation level in Mumbai use new media to reach out to students academically. The study also surveyed students’ reaction to the same. The study showed that teachers are using various new media techniques for delivering lectures and connecting with the students on the Internet. But there are some lacunae present in the complete use of these practices by the teachers.

This study examined the following: -

·       How do teachers use new media as a teaching tool to reach out to students?

The researcher has used the survey method to probe this issue and in-depth interviews of experts in this field. The data is quantitative and qualitative in nature. This study would be useful to teachers, researchers, and the current and future users of new media technologies.

Keywords: New media, Social media, Mobile, Web 2.0, Internet.