PR VS JOURNALISM

Finally my time had come to start my placement at PPR (Professional Public Relations) and what an exciting, busy, stressful week it has been!!


Two weeks prior I was interning at the ABC office in East Perth, little did I know that maybe my colleges, fellow students, friends and family were actually right.. PR and Journalism are very different.


My days at ABC were spent frantically rushing to locations to grab an interview with a talent or writing news stories in 15 minutes for them to be edited, subbed and published online before I had a chance to blink. Whereas my first day at PPR began with a quick brief on McHappy Day which I am part of (I will be posting more about this in the up and coming weeks), a few media contacts who I had to call and pitch a story to and an Excel sheet!


At PPR I was thrown straight in to the deep-end and I am still loving every second of it, I think the skills that I learn at the ABC to work quickly and have confidence in my work have really enabled me to feel comfortable with the work I have been producing at PPR. We all know how daunting it is when a professional in the industry comes to you and says 'Please write me a detailed media plan and can I have it by Friday (when it is already Wednesday)... Naturally I wanted to cry but at the same time this is what I have been working towards for the whole of my double degree!


I managed to complete the media plan, call the media contacts to pitch the story and now I am an expert at excel sheets and that was all in a few days... I can't wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for me and see if the differences between PR and Journalism become more obvious to me.

The adventures of the intern come to an end…

My last days at Mamba Advertising were hectic; that’s an understatement. I felt like my last week was going on at 100 miles per hour! I was juggling with client meetings, working with the newsletter, doing a media plan as well as ensuring that I had collected all the samples I needed for my report. One thing I have learnt during my last weeks at Mamba is that people Public Relations have to be versatile. PR does not limit itself to only one task, and this is where versatility comes in.

                                                  Inside the designer's office/Creative lads!

Besides people skills, a PR practitioner has to have other talents and attributes as well. I mean, as well as doing PR tasks at Mamba, I was also doing translation and design and my creativity was put at work. The ‘sens du relationnel’ is essential in PR and I had to understand how does the market works; I had to know about targeting segments in the market to add selling value to a product. I’m aware that a little knowledge is never too much! I certainly enjoyed the expertise of my colleagues and I also am grateful for the advice that were bestowed upon me. 

All this ‘savoir faire’ taught me one vital lesson; wherever you will go, there will be ups and downs and even at the workplace you will face challenges that will look impossible to face. At times I was doing things that were totally not related to PR but I couldn't complain since it’s by learning that one becomes better. I gave myself a pep talk and said that now’s the time to show that I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty. For instance, I had to work on the media (PR) plan in less than 24 hours and with proper briefing and research, I managed to deliver a concise and professional plan. 

The day before my last day, my boss and I finalised the newsletter and proceeded to sending it to our stakeholders. By the way, let me tell you that some colleagues invited to lunch in a nice restaurant and we had a great time and they were all sad that I was leaving. 

                                                          My oh-so sophisticated desk!

For my last day, I arrived at the office bearing goodies, I made some chocolate fondant and everyone loved them obviously! My last day ended with hugs and accolades from everyone and I left with the good wishes of those who accepted me in their family for a short period of time! I will miss everyone at Mamba but I left with plenty of good memories in my head.

I hope you guys had great farewell as well! Until next time!

Kind Regards,

Kritina Sungkur

15886486

Charles Telfair Institute