BY: Y.Bala Murali Krishna
Panaji,Mar 18-2k7(UNI) For the first time, the Public Relations Society of India(PRSI), a body of professionals engaged in image building exercise of different public and private sector institutions in the country,is trying to get “accreditation” from the Centre on the lines of the highly developed countries in tune with the emerging economic environment.
At the sametime, the PRSI is striving for setting professional standards in all journalism and mass communication institutions teaching the subject of public relations through similar accreditation facility.
“We have already presented our case before the the Press Information Bureau(PIB),New Delhi,which in turn has to seek approval of the Planning Commission of India. The Union Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Human Resources Development have to clear the proposal,” says PRSI National President Dr.Ajit Pathak.
Talking to UNI here today, Dr.Pathak,who is also secretary,Global Alliance of Public Relations and Communictions Management representing 65 PR bodies of the world,said the accreditation
procedure sets benchmarks for recruiting the PR professional with requisite qualifications and experience like in other countries.
He regretted people without necessary qualifications and expertise started teaching the courses in public relations. An experts committee of the PRSI, constituted recently to frame a uniform
syllabus for PR courses, is likely to come out with the draft by this year end.
The PRSI favoured according accreditation to these journalism institutions also for turning out realtime professionals who were conversant with the art of image building exercise of the office they represent without compromising ethics, he said.
Dr.Pathak was here to address the National Council meeting of the PRSI and an interactive session on “Brand Promotion” organised by the Goa Chapter of the PRSI yesterday.He is also senior manager,
corporate communications,Indiann Oil Corporation Limited, New Delhi.
The PR professionals, Dr.Pathak said,should try to convert the “threats” of the current days into “opportunities” besides meeting the genuine demands of the “professional journalists with speed,
accuracy and command strictly adhearing to ethics”.
The PRSI, he said,was also concerned with national issues like the anti-terrorism drive and media transperancy besides right to information.
In this connection, he recalled an incident when a Russian PR consultant had exposed the chinks in the media by issuing a “fake” press release which was published by a section of the media that got
bribes without verifying its authenticity.
He said Goa chapter was ready to organise a national seminar on the “Right to Information Act” soon that helps empower the people from the grassroots level. The PRSI had organised similar seminars in seven other states so far.
Participating in the interactive session on “Promoting Brand Image” earlier, Mr.Asish Kaul, senior vice president,Corporate Brand Development,See Entertainment Enterprises Limited,called for “positioning the PR profession” which was at a “new low” these days.
“We failed to position the profession as you are not trained for it, but driven by the marketing or the finance officer or the CEO of the company, giving no chance to image management we are meant for,”
Mr.Kaul said.
Change managers were needed to drive the PR professionals who had just remained “mere glorified postmen for the media personnel”.The colleges treaching PR also need professionals, he said.
In this connection, he asked the PRSI to emerge as a certifying authority to develop qualified professionals for hiring by the corporate bodies.
Mr.Y.Venkata Ramana, creative engineer specialised in Industrial and Advertising photography had during his presentation on “Branding Images” asked the industry to build “quality visual banks of high
resolution images to promote brand image in a big way.”
He regretted that the companies and corporates spend less than 5 per cent of its revenue on ordinary quality advertisements and not even 2 per cent on visual making as against the foreign companies which stress on quality visuals and ads for brand promotion.
He presented a high quality short film he made on the iron ore industry of Goa in all its facets starting from extraction to export through Mormugao Port Limited using the Google Earth satellite Imeragery inputs.
Mr.Rajan Narayan,editor, Goan Observer,had earlier released the first copy of the PRSI’s “Journal of Communication Studies” compiled by the Bhopal-based Public Relations Education,Research and Integrated Training Foundation.
Mr.Nitin Kunkolienker,PRSI.Goa Chapter Chairman as also GCCI President and Mr.Rajesh Parida, secretary unfolded strategies for strengthening the PR movement in the country in general and Goa in
particular.
Goa chapter, they said, had decided to host a naional workshop on the PR Day on April 21 on various aspects of public relations.
Mr.R.K.Dharan,All India Regional Vice-President (south) of PRSI said Chennai is hosting the 3-day 29th PRSI chapter meet to be inaugurated by union minister Dayanidhi Maran on December 13 in
Chennai.
With the theme of “PR in Infrastructure”, the meeting would deal with various aspects of infrastructure development including national highways,civil aviation, private ports, energy management, management of induistrial estates and hospitals, and role of media and other stake holders in branding of India, he added.//EOM//
