Foundations of Public Relations

This unit introduces foundational public relations concepts and planning practices, including audience identification, media relations, messaging, internal communications, and basic measurement. Students will learn to assemble PR teams, develop pre-launch plans, create media materials, and assess ethical and crisis considerations to prepare for campaign implementation in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze organizational stakeholders, target audiences, and communication needs to define PR goals, key messages, and appropriate channels
• Apply pre-planning steps to develop a comprehensive PR plan, including team roles, budget/timeline estimates, media selection, and vendor or consultant use
• Demonstrate media-relations and messaging skills by producing a press release, creating interview talking points, and preparing internal/external communication samples for TV, print, and digital platforms
• Evaluate PR effectiveness and ethical/cultural implications by using basic measurement tools (media monitoring, advertising equivalency, analytics) and formulating responses for crisis or pause scenarios