Public Relations
James Searcy (right), board member of the Housing Authority of Clayton County, conducts an interview with Fox 5 in Atlanta while representing the Clayton County Foreclosure Resource Center.
Public Relations is the communications process for building relationships, creating a positive environment for business, and successfully influencing behavior. While markets are identified and pursued by businesses, and audiences gather to receive media messages, publics exist whether we want them to or not. The practice of public relations helps organizations manage their relationships with key publics or stakeholders.
A key component of public relations is media relations, or dispensing newsworthy events and important information to the public through the use of mainstream and trade press, as well as new media, including social media platforms. With experience in the newspaper business that dates back to 1948, JWA understands the news gathering process and can successfully assist clients in both pitching their stories to news media and responding to news media requests. A proactive approach to dealing with media is critical to successful media relations, as well as to the proper handling of media crises as they arise.