Gratitude to a Multitude

It has been a long journey to achieving my Accreditation in Public Relations and I want to thank all those who have supported me along the way.

Cathy Morley Foster of PRSA-SF for organizing the first APR preparation course I took four years ago.

Elisabeth Handler, APR, for teaching the APR prep courses I attended in 2005 and 2009 and for her supportive emails.

Phyllis Goodman, APR, and Sarah Grolnic-McClurg, APR, for organizing the APR process in 2009 and for their constant support.

Mike Miller for providing great advice for my PRSA Bronze Award submission. Once I received that honor, I had the confidence to complete the APR process.

Kit Ratcliff, Liz O'Hara, Heidi Bilodeau, Chellene Wood, and the entire Ratcliff firm for supporting and participating in the successful Centennial public relations campaign that was the centerpiece of my APR portfolio and the winner of several industry awards.

Beverly Butler, APR, Gerard Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA, and Carol Crawford, APR, MBA, for their thorough review of my portfolio and the confidence they gave me as a result of the Readiness Review panel interview.

All my classmates in the APR Prep Courses. While I'm not allowed to name them due to PRSA's confidentiality guidelines, their input and feedback as I prepared for the panel interview and exam were invaluable.

Most importantly, my kids for their great advice on how to handle multiple-choice questions on a standardized exam and my husband for supporting and celebrating my professional development.

Now that I have achieved this professional development goal, I look forward to attaining my next goal: a full-time public relations or communications management position with a Bay Area organization. Please keep me in mind if you hear of local job openings.

Gratefully yours,
Mary

To Memorize or Not--That is the Question

Last week, I spoke with a colleague who had taken the APR exam in June. Of course, she did not provide me with specific questions that were on the computerized test, but she did give me some valuable input. Her experience was that the multiple choice questions focused on public relations scenarios and practitioners would do well to leverage their expertise in selecting the answers.

This leads me to wonder about all the advice to memorize facts and diagrams I've seen from PRSA blog posts and Tactics articles. How much time should I spend on memorizing every communications theory listed in my textbook? Is it really important to know George Creel's contributions to the profession? (FYI, Creel headed the Committee on Public Information during President Wilson's era, using Four-Minute Men to deliver speeches across the country to sell war bonds, promote food conservation, and build up the Red Cross.) Or can I rely on my years in the trenches of the public relations industry to illuminate the correct answers?

In the two weeks I have left before the exam, I'll continue to review the communications models in my textbook and try to memorize a few more public relations historical facts. My hope is that my years of experience will truly be a boon and give me the confidence to pass this last hurdle on my way to obtaining my APR.

Just Two Communication Theories?

I've been reviewing the "APR Study Guide" in preparation of my upcoming exam. As I finished the section on "Communication Theory," I was surprised to note that only two theories were identified: Agenda-Setting Theory and Diffusion Theory. Brief descriptions follow:

The Agenda-Setting Theory describes a process that is an interplay between three elements: the media, the public, and the policy-makers. At first, it was hypothesized that the media set the agenda, giving the public an issue to advocate for and the policy-makers the approval to legislate. Today, the application of this theory is regarded as multi-dimensional, where any one of the three elements can set the agenda and garner the attention of the remaining two.

The Diffusion Theory examines the sometimes lengthy process of getting humans (creatures of habit) to accept a new idea or product. It uses terms like "word of mouth," "innovators," and "early adopters" to describe its everyday application.

What would my revered professor from Saint Mary's College, Kusum Singh, think of this? I recall an interesting semester spent poring over several different communication theories, challenged by Professor Singh to examine how each played out in our everyday lives. My APR pursuit (back to the PR textbooks) has me looking back fondly on those college years and especially on the classes taught by Professor Singh. I hope she is happy, healthy, and inspiring a new generation of Communications majors at Saint Mary's.

Quest for APR Begins Anew

As you can see from my posts below, I was excited to pursue Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) four years ago. However, a busy client schedule with exciting projects put my professional development plans on hold. The APR would have to wait.

Today, I am happy to report that I am now half-way to attaining my APR. I recently received the official news from PRSA National that I had passed the Readiness Review portion of the accreditation process. A standardized test, like the AP exams my son has been taking for the past three years, is the remaining step in the process.

I plan to chronicle my studies for the APR exam here in my blog as a professional courtesy to my colleagues. From time to time, you'll find comparisons between the headlines and my textbook lessons. These brief case studies will illustrate the relevance of this refresher course to the day-to-day practice of public relations.