PR and communication
Looks after the company's reputation with journalists and the public.
You'll like it if you write well and stay calm under pressure.
What it is
PR (public relations) looks after the company's reputation: what newspapers, websites, experts and the public say about it. Whoever does it doesn't buy ad space: they try to earn attention with true, interesting news, and prepare the company to respond well when something goes wrong.
Works with
- Company leadership
- Social media manager
- Legal team (in a crisis)
- Brand manager
What they actually do
Press releases
Writes news about the company (launches, data, events) in a format journalists can use.
Media relations
Builds a list of suitable journalists and outlets and pitches stories to them.
Monitoring
Follows what is said about the company online and in the press.
Crisis management
Prepares in advance what to say if a problem happens and coordinates the responses.
Spokespeople
Prepares people in the company for interviews and public appearances.
Events and internal communication
Organises presentations and events and keeps staff informed.
How the work is measured
The indicators (KPIs) they look at most often. The charts are just drawings, not real data.
- Media coverage
- How many articles or segments talk about the company.
- Coverage quality
- Whether the outlets matter to the right audience and the message is accurate.
- Sentiment
- The tone of what is said: positive, neutral or negative.
- Crisis response time
- How quickly and how well the company responds.
How to get started
People often start at a communications agency or a press office. Writing a lot and reading the news every day is the best training.
1. Skills you need
- Clear, precise writing
- Knowing what makes news
- Staying calm under pressure
- People skills
- Discretion
2. Free tools to practise
- Google Docs
- Google Alerts
- Google Sheets
Tools by other companies, free or with a free plan: we mention them only as examples.
3. In job ads it's called
- PR assistant
- Junior press officer
- Communications assistant
4. Later you can specialise in
- Press office
- Internal communication
Try it
Exercise 1 · A piece of news and a problem
Marta from Five Leaf writes to you: "Good news and a bad Friday"
4 parts, nothing to type: just choices, with a professional's solution at the end.
What you learn
- recognising news
- writing a press release
- relationships with journalists
- handling a crisis