By; VICTOR DAZANG, Kaduna
The Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has taken serious steps to correct misconceptions on the activities of public relations in the country by enhancing effective training of members to guarantee proper information dissemination to the public.
The Chairman of the Kaduna chapter of NIPR, Mr. Haroun Malami stated this in Kaduna at a seminar with the theme, “Public Relations: Value Beyond Media Relations”.
He said there is a lot of misconceptions about public relations amongst various professionals and the general public, where people interprete public relations as journalism, which is a wrong perception.
“Most people restrict their understanding or believe that public relationships to journalism. But public relations is not journalism, public relations is not media relations, media relations is part of the functions of public relations profession. So it is important to do this seminar at this time to create more awareness to know what public relations is all about,” he said.
Mr. Haroun Malami explained that there are a number of activities lined up, geared towards enlightenment of members to equip them with necessary tools and skills in this digital age of communication.
He posited further that the World Public Relationship Day was celebrated recently and it generated the need for regular seminars, which the institute has just initiated.
In a Keynote Presentation, Prof. Abubakar Shehu Minjibir of Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University Kano, identified that one function of public relations that is often neglected is that of management and employee relationship, which he said, affects confidence and productivity.
He further stressed that it is the responsibility of public relations officers to advice the entire management of organizations on the implications of any actions taken.
On his part, Prof. Ibrahim Jimoh of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, who spoke on the theme, “Adapting a Public Centered Public Relations in the Digital Age”, advised public relations managers to always remember their audience and the appropriate messages to be directed at them.
He also emphasized the need to use the new media in sending out information, but not neglecting the conventional media which is most preferred by the aged.
