Over the River

Melvin Yuan, a PR blogger in Singapore, has been giving some good thought to the evolving nature of PR. He wrote an excellent post the other day in reaction to the Wired story, “The See-through CEO,” which ended with his summary of the role of PR in the emerging transparent environment:

PR, Clive Thompsons-of-the-world, is far higher up the rungs of leadership than you perceive it to be. It is more about relationships than publicity, and more about leadership than relationships.

We PR folks get our priorities mixed up sometimes; but some of us are changing things.And CEOs, this is not the time to “fire your publicists, go off message and let your employees blab and blog”. Even more than ever, you need the counsel of true PR professionals who understand that our chief mandate should not be “to create publicity”. We build the vital, trusted relationships that your companies depend on, and not the illusion of it.

“PR” is not a job title or “marketing strategy”. It is organisational leadership made public and personal. And today, we have the tools to do this better than ever.

The PR 2.0 Universe.com » Being transparent doesn’t mean being stupid or sloppy

I think Melvin has hit the nail on the head. It’s up to everyone involved in communications to make sure that the role and value of what we do is understood and appreciated. Now more than ever there is a need and an opportunity for good work to be done.

Technorati Tags: Melvin Yuan, PR, social media, transparency, leadership, relationships

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