Public Relations Specializations: Interviews with PR Practitioners about Their Work

Public relations (PR) practice is diverse and wide-ranging work. Some PR professionals are generalists, who do everything from planning, writing, and managing issues and crises to working in internal communications, media relations, government relations, and more. But other practitioners develop specialized skills that lead to careers in specific organizations or with specific audiences.

Post-secondary students looking at a career in PR can be overwhelmed with the variety of the profession. They are introduced to many aspects of PR practice, but don’t always have a chance to see how the skills they acquire are used in real-world PR practice. 

As part of developing a PR course for Thompson Rivers University, I interviewed eight PR professionals about specific aspects of their work. In the resulting 10–15 minute videos, they talk about their clients, their strategies, and the tools they rely on. Each of these interviews reflects how the concepts and skills introduced in PR study are applied in a career working in PR.

With each interview, a series of reflection questions are introduced to give the PR student a chance to align their previous ideas about working in PR with what they learned from the PR professional interviewed.

Thank you to the PR professionals who were willing to participate in these videos:

1. A Typical Workday for a BC PR Consultant – Kyla Graham APR 
2. How Communications Planning is Done for a Client – Gwen Hardy APR
3. Putting Together a Media Kit in the Digital Era – Leslie Hacker
4. Working with Influencers as Part of a PR Campaign – Carolyn Rohaley APR
5. How to do Media Training for Spokespeople – Renu Bakshi  
6. Crisis Communications and Planning – Tim Conrad APR
7. Managing Internal Communications – Julie Rogers APR
8. Working in Indigenous PR – Jordan Cryderman
— By Carla Shore APR FCPRS