Portrayal of PR Profession in Television and Films

Running head: PORTRAYAL OF PR PROFESSION IN TELEVISION AND FILMS
PORTRAYAL OF PR PROFESSION IN TELEVISION AND FILMS
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PORTRAYAL OF PR PROFESSION IN TELEVISION AND FILMS
The role of mass media is inevitable in constructing public opinions and worldview. As
soon as television has been introduced to the lives of common people, it has a huge impact on
their concepts of lesser known subject matters as well as foreign issues. Media experts Fred W.
Friendly has opined that television has been the greatest teaching tool right after the printing
press (as cited by Berger, 2017). Television introduces a wide range of new experiences and
information to people, which consequently contributes a significant insight in shaping up their
understanding of novel subject matters such as politics, current affairs and social issues.
The present essay attempts to evaluate the impact of television, especially films, in
influencing people’s awareness on certain subjects, especially the knowledge of unfamiliar job
profiles. The dramatized elements regarding a particular issue can influence people in forming
opinion about the matters of which little or no information is available otherwise. More
specifically, the paper aims to construct a discourse on how the portrayal of the profession of
Public Relations influences the general notion of the common people about the matter. The paper
contends that misrepresentation or inaccurate portrayal of the profession has created a negative
image on the public psyche over the years (Thesis Statement), while well-researched and
accurately curated PR persona on television could encourage young professional and media
aspirants enter the field. The essay considers several films and television shows including
Scandal, Sex and the City, The West Wing, and Wag the Dog, focusing especially on Mad Men.
As opposed to the traditional and familiar job profiles, public relation is relatively
unfamiliar field of occupation. As a result, it is highly misunderstood by common people. It has

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PORTRAYAL OF PR PROFESSION IN TELEVISION AND FILMS
been observed that the popular culture, as represented in the films and television programs, lacks
factual correspondence. It is often dramatized to an extent where it becomes larger than life. As a
result, people generally construct an erroneous perception regarding these issues and sometimes
hold unrealistic expectations from them.
The Public Relations Society of America (2009) points out that this is largely due to the
changing definition and evolution of the field. Hence, to comprehend how television
misrepresents the profession of public relations, it is important to understand the true notion of
PR first. The organisation, therefore, tries to provide a standardized definition of the term public
relations by stating “Public relations help an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each
other” (The Public Relations Society of America, 2009). The Chartered Institute of Public
Relations, on the other hand, defines public relations as “the discipline which looks after
reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and
behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual
understanding between an organisation and its publics” (cipr.co.uk). Apart from these, several
scholars of media studies and public relations have tried to provide their definition of the concept
as well. For example, Grunig and Hunt (1984), which states that public relations is a
management function that consists of communication between an organization and that
organization’s publics.
However, these articulated definitions, presented by the scholars and experts, do not
reach the awareness of common people generally unaware of the scope and purpose of the
profession. Neither these definitions reflect the public opinion of the same. Instead, they are
largely influenced by the depiction of characters and practices of PR professionals as they are
shown in the popular media. The general notion of the profession is largely held as image