How do you define ‘public relations’? Dozens of PR pros weigh in

A blogger rounded up 31 definitions of ‘public relations’ from a variety of professionals, bloggers, and organizations. Wait until you see the description of PR vs. advertising from Peter Shankman, founder of Help a Reporter Out.

These are just a few of the words that 31 PR pros—including me—have used to describe the profession. Heidi Cohen, who blogs about marketing, collected the definitions to help explain how the profession has evolved.

She started with a definition from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA):

“Public relations helps an organization and its publics 
adapt mutually to each other. Public Relations broadly applies to organizations as a collective group, not just a business; and publics encompass the variety of different stakeholders.”

Here’s my description of the profession that Heidi used:

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