LESSON - 4: Organisations & Functions of PR Depts, Role of a PRO

B A (JMC) (3-YDC), SEMESTER SYSTEM

SEMESTER –IV

SEC III: PUBLIC RELATIONS AND EVENT MANAGEMENT

Unit -1: PUBLIC RELATIONS

LESSON - 4: Organisations & Functions of PR Depts, Role of a PRO

           

Objectives:

Explain the concept of public information

Understand the Media Organisations of Govt of India

Know about information administration at State level

Have knowledge about professional PR Associations

Understand the PR setup Organisations, the role & responsibilities of a PRO

Introduction:

In our country, the information services of central and state governments differ basically in one aspect. While in the central government, each medium is looked after by a separate unit. At the state level, all media are taken care of by a single department. In the central set up, the ministry of information and broadcasting is responsible to keep the people all over the country informed of the government’s policies and programmes. Different media units function under the ministry which coordinates and controls their work. The external publicity of the country is handled by one external publicity division of the external affairs ministry.  Similarly, at State Level, Department of Information & Public Relations will handle public information.

There are professional PR organisations like PRSI, PRCI, PRCAI, ABCI, GFPR etc. A professional organisation, sometimes referred to as a professional association or professional body, exists to advance a particular profession, support the interests of people working in that profession and serve the public good. It facilitates innovation, communication and connection.

Public Relations Department or Wing or Division of an Organisation disseminates information, supervises and assesses public attitudes, maintains mutual relations and understandings between the organisation and the concerned public. The PR Manager or the Corporate Communications Manager has a greater role to play in managing the public information.

Concept of Public Information

"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." said James Madison (1822), the fourth president of the United States. Popular Government is the Government elected by the people and popular information is nothing but public information that belongs to the population.  

In other words, Information of public interest is known as public information. Here public interest represents the citizenry, whose informed opinion is of vital importance to a democratic country. Such information normally emanates from public authorities and the government. Well informed citizenry is an asset to the nation. Public information in the Indian context is what the central and state governments, public sector undertakings, public authorities and local bodies disseminate that is advantageous to both government and the public. Various ministries and departments also disseminate information about their respective policies, programmes and achievements to inform, educate and motivate peoples’ participation. That is the philosophy of public information.

Govt of India Media Units

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is responsible for regulating 3 important areas namely (1) Broadcasting service, (2) Films management and (3) Public Information dissemination service.  Prasara Bharati falls under broadcasting service. National Film Development Corporation falls under films management. Central Bureau of Communication and other divisions do disseminate public information.

The following organisations are called Govt of India media units:

(1) All India Radio (Akashavani)

(2) Dooradarshan

(3) Films Division (FD), Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), National Film Archive of India (NFAI) and Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) were merged into National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in 2022.

(4) Central Bureau of Communication that was set up in 2017 by integrating the erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP) and Song & Drama Division (SDD)

(5) Photo Division

(6) Publications Division

(7) Research Reference and Training Division

(8) Registrar of Newspapers for India

(9) Press Council of India

(10) Press Information Bureau

(11) Indian Institute of Mass Communication

(1) All India Radio (Akashavani): In our country, broadcasting is state-owned. In UK it is looked after by, British Broadcasting Corporation, an autonomous body. In USA public radio broadcasting is primarily run by private foundations, universities and public authorities. All India Radio has both home and external services. It not only informs, educates with news and comments but also entertains with music, plays, features, etc. It has a commercial broadcasting also. All India Radio also called as Akashvani (meaning "Voice from the Sky"), is a public radio broadcaster established in 1936. It is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan. In terms of the number of languages transmitted, the range of socio-economic variety it serves and the size of its broadcasting organisation, Akashavani is the largest radio network in the world. 

(2) Doordarshan: Abbreviated as DD; literally a 'distant vision, i.e. tele vision' is a public telecaster founded by the Government of India in 1959. Doordarshan, which also broadcasts on digital terrestrial transmitters, provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional India and overseas. Krishi Darshan started on Doordarshan in 1967 is Indian television's longest running program. Satellite Instructional Television Experiment initiated in 1975 extended the scope of Television. Television service was separated from radio in 1976. Advent of color television in 1982 revolutionized Doordarshan. Today it has several channels, including satellite channels and studios and beams programmes in almost all the languages of India. 

(3) National Film Development Corporation: Incorporated in the year 1975, the National Film Development Corporation Limited (NFDC) was formed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, with the primary objective of promoting the Good Cinema Movement. Consequent to a Cabinet decision of 2020, in March 2022 the mandate of production of documentaries and short films, organization of film festivals and preservation of films was transferred to the National Film Development Corporation. The mandate of production of feature films is already being carried out by NFDC. It gave a strong impetus to the production of films of all genres including feature films, documentaries, children film and animation films; promotion of films through participation in different international festivals and organizing various domestic festivals; preservation of filmic content, digitization and restoration of films; and distribution and outreach activities. The mandate of production of documentaries that was earlier done by Films Division has been completely transferred to NFDC.

Similarly, the organization of film festivals that was the mandate of Directorate of Films Festivals has been transferred to NFDC. This has brought the organization of different national and international film festivals under one roof. The Preservation related activities that are carried out by National Film Archives of India have also been transferred to NFDC. The National Film Heritage Mission aiming at digitization and restoration of films and documentaries will now be implemented by NFDC.

(4) Central Bureau of Communication (CBC): This bureau has the mandate of providing 360 degrees’ communication solutions to Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and autonomous bodies. It was set up in 2017 by the integration of the erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP) and Song & Drama Division (S&DD). With 23 Regional Offices and 148 Field Offices, this Bureau is engaged in the process of educating people, both rural and urban, about the Government’s policies and programmes to evoke their participation in developmental activities. The Bureau undertakes various campaigns towards this end by using different vehicles of communication viz., Print Media advertising, Audio Visual Campaigns, through Exhibitions, Outdoor Campaigns and Digital Media etc.

While one of the key functions of CBC is to act as an advisory body to the Government on media strategy, its chief mandate is to advance the Government’s image as the prime facilitator of people’s empowerment by positioning messages through various Media. The Policy guidelines at the Bureau have been adapted to keep pace with the emerging media scenario, which helps in maximizing the reach of information dissemination.

Advertising and Visual Communication Division, the erstwhile DAVP is the nodal division of CBC responsible for the dissemination of information about the Government’s policies and programmes through available modes of communication.

The Folk Communication Division of the Bureau carries out inter-personal communication through the means of live media. Multiple forms of performing arts such as Drama, Dance-drama, Puppetry, Ballets, Operas, Folk and Traditional Recitals, Mythological Recitals, and other local folk and traditional forms are deployed to maximize the outreach of information about various policies, programmes and schemes of the Government.

Field Communication Division undertakes direct and interpersonal communication programmes to create awareness among people, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. Regional Offices and Field Offices accordingly seek to empower people through information to enable them to avail the benefits of government programmes and schemes. It organizes ground activation as well as outreach programmes, and Special Outreach Programmes (SOPs) are organized with the support of various stakeholders viz., the State Government and local functionaries, society groups etc. Since they are in the local languages and often at venues in the vicinity, the impact of these communication programmes is far and wide and it promotes a greater understanding of the Government’s schemes among the masses. These efforts are complemented by using traditional and folk media and other conventional and non-conventional methods. With the integration of erstwhile DAVP, DFP and S&DD, programmes are increasingly organized in integrated manner with special outreach and folk components.

(5) Photo Division: Established in the early 1960s, merging the photo studio of the publications division and the photo unit of the PIB, the photo division is responsible for visual support for the varied activities of the Government of India. It is the biggest production unit of its kind in the country in the field of photography. The photo division organises the national photo contest every year on different themes.

(6) Publications Division: Established in 1941 as a branch of the Bureau of Public Information, the Publications Division bring out a wide variety of books on subjects ranging from national policies and programmes to art, culture, history, flora and fauna, the land and the people, speeches and writings, biographies and children’s literature. This division uses the printed word as a medium of publicity. It publishes a weekly Employment News in English, one Rozgar Samachar in Hindi and Urdu giving information on employment opportunities in the government and public sector undertakings, Yojana, a fortnightly devoted to current affairs, planning and development published in several languages, Kurukshetra, a monthly for rural development in English and Hindi and Bal Bharati a Hindi children’s magazine also brought out.

(7) Research Reference and Training Division: Set up in 1950, the Research, Reference and Training Division is an Information serving agency for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and its various media units. It serves as an information bank and information feeder service to the media units to help their programming and publicity campaigns. The agency also studies trends in mass communication media and maintains a reference and documentation service on mass communication. The Division provides background reference and research material besides bringing out a Diary of Events every fortnight and two annual reference works – India: A reference Annual and Mass Media in India.

(8) Registrar of Newspapers for India: The office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India came into being in 1956 on the recommendation of the First Press Commission in 1954 as the registering authority for newspapers in India. The Registrar, commonly known as Press Registrar submits an annual report to the Government of India on the status of newspapers before 30^th September every year. This gives details of newspapers registered during the year, total number of newspapers, their circulation etc details.

(9) Press Council of India: The Press Council of India is a statutory, adjudicating organisation formed in 1966 by the Parliament on the recommendations of the first Press Commission. It is the self-regulatory watchdog of the press, for the press and by the press. After emergency, this was re-established in the year 1979 with the two fold objects of preserving the freedom of the press by maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and the news agencies in India. The objects of the Press Council of India are to preserve the freedom of the Press and to maintain and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. This council advises the Government, undertake studies and express its opinion in regard to any bill, legislation, law or other matters concerning the Press and convey its opinion to the Government. Also, in the matters of public importance concerning its statutory responsibilities, the Council may suo-motu take cognizance and constitute a Special Committee to make an on the spot inquiry. The important functions which the Press Council is required to perform are, to help newspapers and news agencies to maintain their independence; to build up a code of conduct for newspapers, news agencies and journalists in accordance with high professional standards; to ensure on the part of the newspapers, news agencies and journalists the maintenance of high standards of public taste and foster a due sense of both the rights and responsibilities; to keep under review any development likely to restrict the supply and dissemination of news of public interest and importance; to promote a proper functional relationship among all classes

(10) Press Information Bureau: The Press Information Bureau was started as the Central Bureau of Information in 1919 and was renamed as Bureau of Public Information in 1936. It is now the nodal agency of the Central Government to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements. The Bureau has several regional and branch offices and information centers. Public information is disseminated through press releases, press notes, feature articles, backgrounders, press briefings, photographs, press conferences, interviews, databases available on PIB’s website, press tours etc.

(11) Indian Institute of Mass Communication: Established in 1965, the Institute organise training courses mainly for Central Information Service Officers and undertook research studies on a modest scale. Then, in 1969, a major international training programme, the Postgraduate Diploma Course in Journalism for Developing Countries, for middle level working journalists from Afro-Asian countries, was started. A number of specialised short courses of one week to three months’ duration were subsequently started by the Institute to meet the training needs of communication professionals working in various media/publicity outfits of the central/state governments and public sector organisations. Over the years, IIMC has expanded and now offers regular Post-Graduate Diploma Courses. IIMC considers communication as an imperative for development and is committed to serving society by providing world class teaching, training and research, thus preparing students to take on the challenges of a highly competitive world. IIMC training programmes are tailored to meet the needs of developing countries and this is what makes IIMC different from other centres of mass communication training in this country and elsewhere.

All the above organisations extend Public Information dissemination services. While the above is the setup with Central Government, the following is the structure of information administration at State level.

State Government PR

Public Relations in State governments is very important. It is important because through public relations activities, people understand how they are being governed. When people appreciate the efforts of the government, it is easy to sustain and secure their support and participation in government schemes and programmes.

All the State Governments in India have their own PR departments. Though the nomenclature differs slightly, it is Information and Public Relations Department at State level. While different media units handle relations with different media at central level, only one department handles all media at state level. Centralisation as in the case of state PR departments results in greater cohesion and reduction in costs.

The main objective of the Department of Information and Public Relations is basically two fold (1) Informing public about the policies and programmes of the Govt and (2) Keeping the government informed of the peoples’ reaction to its policies and programmes.

Information & Public Relations Department has different media-wise wings. They are – press information services, photo services, research and reference, publications, advertising and visual publicity services, exhibitions, song and drama, information centres, field publicity, films, community radio and TV, electronic media and public address system etc.

In Andhra Pradesh, Information & Public Relations Department was established in 1959 following reorganisation of states on linguistic basis. In Telangana the Department was created after it was separated from the AP. At present the setup in these States is as follows:

At Government level – Minister – Secretary to Government in General Administration Department - Addl/Joint Secretary to Govt., - Deputy/Assistant Secretaries

At Commissionerate level – Commissioner – Director – Additional Director – Joint Directors – Deputy Directors – Assistant Directors/Public Relations Officers – Assistant Public Relations Officers

At Field level – Regional Joint Director/Deputy Director – District Public Relations Officers – Divisional Public Relations Officers

At local Govt level there are urban local bodies and rural local bodies. In urban local bodies i.e. in major municipal corporations there will be a PR department headed by Chief Public Relations Officers and for Zilla Parishads, the District Public Relations Officer and for Mandal Parishads, the Divisional Public Relations Officers will take care of information dissemination.

In addition, I&PR Department has a State Information Centre in Delhi, a Publicity Cell in Secretariat, Special publicity cells for some districts.

Professional PR Organisations

Public relations profession saw an evolution towards professionalism when a professional organisation called PRSI, i.e. Public Relations Society of India was formed in 1958 in Bombay. This is the beginning of professional approach to public relations. PRSI was established to promote the profession and to formulate and interpret to the public the objectives and potentialities of public relations as an integral function of management. Public Relations Circle of Calcutta that was formed in 1965 was merged with PRSI in 1968 at the 1^st All India Public Relations Conference. This Conference also adopted professional code of ethics. PRSI organised 45 All India PR Conferences. The headquarters of PRSI is New Delhi.

Association of Business Communicators of India, ABCI is an association of business communication professionals. It was started in 1957 in Bombay. It was originally Indian Association of Industrial Editors. The association was rechristened in 1980 to "Association of Business Communicators of India" to embrace a wider range of business communicators.

Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) is a trade organization that represents India's public relations consultancy sector. It was formed in 2001 in Gurgaon, Haryana to grow, represent, and support India's public relations consultancy sector in international practices.

Public Relations Council of India i.e. PRCI is a broke away group of PRSI. It was formed in 2004 with similar objectives and network of chapters and membership in the country with its headquarters in Bangalore. PRCI provides Industry professionals an opportunity to serve their community by encouraging high ethical standards in their respective areas of work.

Global Forum for Public Relations (GFPR) is an International Association created in 2006 in Hyderabad for promoting values and ethics in public relations by the Media Wing of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organisation for promoting value based Public Relations through a triangle approach of professionalism, ethics and spirituality.

PR structure in Public Sector

The basic objective of public sector is to provide suitable conditions for agricultural, industrial economic growth and development. In order to realise this objective, public sector organisations have to establish and maintain relations with various segments of targeted publics. Thus the practice of public relations is an important task in the public sector so as to project its activities, both to internal and external publics. The PR structure in a public sector bank e.g. State Bank of India would be like

Corporate Office – CMD, GM PR & supporting staff

Local Head Office – CGM, AGM PR and supporting staff

Zonal Office – DGM, Dy Manager PR and supporting staff

If not same, there will be similar kind of PR or Corporate Communications set up in private sector and NGOs.

Functions of a PR Department

Whichever is the organisational structure whether it is a Government organisation or a public sector or a private sector and whatever is the PR set up, the functions of a PR Department are information dissemination, employee relations, stakeholders relations, customers relations, community relations, government relations, media relations, financial relations, advertising, publicising, managing crisis communication, social responsibility, public affairs, communication about environmental protection, promotion of reputation, etc

Role and Responsibilities of a PRO

A Public Relations Officer is a specialist in building and maintaining the positive image of his organisation. He is often the first contact for organizations seeking to reach out in an informed way. He uses various techniques and strategies to shape and influence public impression and raise awareness. His responsibilities are:

Developing PR strategies and campaigns,

Preparing press releases, speeches, reports and promotional material,

Building positive relationships with stakeholders, media and the public,

Collaborate with internal teams and maintain open communication with management, Edit and update promotional material and publications,

Organize PR events, press conferences, press tours, exhibitions, open houses etc

Seek opportunities for partnerships, sponsorships and advertising,

Address inquiries from the media and other parties,

Track media coverage and follow industry trends.

Summary

Information is a fact conveyed and reception of knowledge or intelligence. It is also power and a form of energy which acts as an input for change and development. Information of public interest is known as public information. In a democracy, information is the people’s fundamental democratic right and the duty of the government to provide full information to the people. The study of information and public information therefore assumes great importance in the context of a democratic and developing country like India. Keeping this in view, the Govt of India established agencies to disseminate information about policies and programmes of the central government. Similarly, each State Government has a PR Department to perform the same functions as media units of Govt of India does. In Govt Departments, Public Sector undertakings and in Private enterprises there will be a set-up of PR for dissemination of information and for maintaining relations between the organisation and their publics. There are professional associations that serve as bodies of knowledge for upskilling PR practitioners. Role and functions of a PRO are unique because PR is a unique management function.

FAQs

1.     What is public information and public information management?

2.     List out Govt of India media units and their roles briefly.

3.     Explain the structure and functions of I & PR Department of the State.

4.     What are the functions of a PR Wing or Division?

5.     Describe the role of PRO or Corporate Communications Manager.

Model Answers

1. Public Information is the Information of public interest. Public interest represents the citizenry; whose informed opinion is important to a democratic country. Such information emanates from public authorities and also the public. Well informed citizenry is an asset to the nation. Public information is what the central and state governments, public sector undertakings, public authorities and local bodies disseminate for the benefit of both the governments and the public. Various ministries and departments handle the information about their policies, programmes and achievements to inform, educate and motivate peoples’ participation.

2. Govt of India media units are under the control of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for regulating 3 important areas namely Broadcasting, Films management and Information dissemination.  They are (1) All India Radio (Akashavani) (2) Dooradarshan (3) Films Division (FD), Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), National Film Archive of India (NFAI) and Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) were merged into National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in 2022. (4) Central Bureau of Communication that was set up in 2017 by integrating the erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP) and Song & Drama Division (SDD) (5) Photo Division (6) Publications Division (7) Research Reference and Training Division (8) Registrar of Newspapers for India (9) Press Council of India (10) Press Information Bureau (11) Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

3. The set-up of Information & Public Relations Department of a State Government is as follows: At Government level a Minister, a Secretary to Government and others. At Commissionerate level a Commissioner, a Director, Additional Directors, JDs, DDs, ADs/PROs, APROs. At Field level a RJD/RDD, DPROs, Divl PROs. For urban local bodies i.e. in municipal corporations there will be a PR department headed by CPRO or PRO and for Zilla Parishads, the DPRO and for Mandal Parishads, the Divl PRO concerned will take care of dissemination of Govt information and feedback from the publics.

   

4. Whether it is Central Government Media Unit or State Government I & PR Department or a Public Sector Undertaking or a Private Enterprise or a NGO, the functions of the PR set up are public information dissemination, stakeholders relations, customers relations, community relations, media relations, financial relations, advertising, publicising, managing crisis communication, social responsibility, public affairs, communication about environmental protection, promotion of reputation, establishing a feedback mechanism etc

 

5. The role and responsibilities of PR Managers also called as Corporate Communications Managers are to Prepare press releases, speeches, reports and promotional material; Build positive relationships with stakeholders, media and the public; Collaborate with internal teams; Edit and update promotional material and publications; Organize PR events, press conferences, press tours, exhibitions, open houses etc; Seek opportunities for partnerships, sponsorships and advertising; Track media coverage and follow industry trends etc   

Multiple Choice Questions

1.      "A popular Govt, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both” said _________

a.       Ivy Ledbetter Lee

b.      Marshall McLuhan

c.       Edward L Bernays

d.      James Madison

2.      ____________ is the oldest PR professional organisation.

a.     Public Relations Council of India

b.     Public Relations Consultants Public

c.     Public Relations Society of India

d.     Global Forum for Public Relations

3.      Press Registrar will register ______________

             a.  Press Reporters

b.     News Papers

c.     Radio networks

d.     TV Channels

4.      _____________ is not a Govt of India Media organisation.

a.       AIR

b.      PIB

c.       I&PR Department

d.      RNI

5.      Public relations is a  ______ function

a.    Administrative

b.    Financial

c.    Production

d.    Management

Keys to Multiple Choice Questions: 1. (d)  2. (c)  3. (b)  4. (c) 5. (d)

Glossary:

Information: Something that is conveyed or represented by a particular sequence of stimulus, symbols, impulses etc

Public Information: flows from government departments and public authorities and acts as an input and knowledge on governmental policies and to understand the government.

Public information management: Dissemination of information at national, state, district, subdivision, block/tehsil/mandal and village levels for establishing goodwill and mutual understanding between the government and the publics.

Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI): Commonly known as Press Registrar submits an annual report to the Government of India of the status of newspapers.

Press Information Bureau (PIB). Nodal agency of the central government to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements.

Research, Reference and Training Division: An agency to serve as an information bank and information feeder to the media units to help their programming and publicity campaigns.

Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC): An autonomous society and a mass communication Institute with regional centers.

Photo Division: visual support for the varied activities of the Govt of India

Publications Division: Brings out a wide variety of books on the subjects ranging from national policies and programmes to art, culture, history, the flora and fauna, the land and the people, speeches and writings, biographies and children’s literature.

Central Bureau of Communication: It was set up in 2017 by integrating the erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP) and Song & Drama Division (SDD).

National Film Development Corporation (NFDC): In 2020 Films Division (FD), Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), National Film Archive of India (NFAI) and Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) were merged with this National Film Development Corporation.

Key words: Organisation, Information, Public information, Publicity, Media units,

 

Y. BABJI,

Academic Counsellor, Public Relations (since 1989)

AP Open University/Dr BR Ambedkar Open University

Editor, Public Relations Voice