PR Glossary

Published on January 12, 2010 by Christy Tennant

Recently, I have begun mentoring a creative catalyst who is interested in learning more about the field of public relations. He is working closely with IAM to develop an arts movement that has the potential to be life-giving on a worldwide level, and cultivating a PR machine on behalf of his project is a necessary part of the process, as he communicates with galleries, museums, government and civic organizations that are all potential partners in his vision.

Today, I directed him to All About Public Relations, a simple, no frills informational site that is a great go-to spot for learning about PR and brainstorming about publicity ideas. Sometimes, when my "ideas sink" is a bit dry, I will go to a site like this and see something that helps to turn the faucet back on.

Particularly helpful is a brief "Public Relations Glossary," which I would not actually call a "glossary," but rather an "overview." The descriptions here are helpful as you try to learn about the various aspects of PR. For example, an artist might approach a government affairs agency to propose a public art project. Knowing how these different aspects of PR work is very helpful.

Additional "glossaries" of PR terms can be found here. For a helpful list of publicity tools, click here. Note: they use the term "news release" here. I refer to these as "press releases," and those two terms are often interchanged.