Following up on my recent article in PR Daily on 10 Falsehoods About PR, let me get straight down to the 11th: PR is not media relations, or about publicity, as my communications peer Lyndon Johnson says. Yes, it is a vital process and tool in the PR kit. Unfortunately, too often people think media relations is synonymous with PR.

PR is about managing and protecting the reputation of an organisation and individuals through communications that build mutually beneficial relationships. Therefore, anything that impacts reputation understandably impacts PR, and vice versa.

This is why PR practitioners find themselves not only dealing with journalists and wanting to generate positive media coverage, but also making significant contributions to other communication channels in terms of both counsel and content.

Our other responsibilities are varied and include advising management, marketing, HR, internal comms and branding, investor and community relations.

Besides which, PR is typically responsible for:

• managing social media and its content
• writing speeches for internal and external groups
• crisis communications
• commissioning and sharing of research and studies
• training in presentation skills and
• general all-round copywriting.

So if you reckon PR is just media relations, I’m afraid you’re forgetting one fundamental fact: reputation impacts everything, and media relations by itself can’t address or help all those other activities. And, if any PR practitioner tells you otherwise, you’ll also know one other thing for sure: they’re not the Real Thing.