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Here is an essay on the ‘Public Relations in India’ for class 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on the ‘Public Relations in India’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Public Relations
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Public Relations
- Essay on the Definitions of Public Relations
- Essay on the Features of Public Relations in India
- Essay on the Public Relations Machinery in India
- Essay on the Media of Public Relations
Essay # 1. Introduction to Public Relations:
The importance of Public Relations in Public Administration is quite evident. Obviously no system of public administration can succeed unless good public relations are developed by it. For developing good public relations all the civilized countries have set up public relations agencies both at national and state levels.
In England it was not until the First World War that a positive system of public relations began to emerge when press or publicity officers were first appointed in the Defence Ministry. Thereafter, many other Departments also introduced Public Relations Divisions. In 1939, however, a regular Ministry of Information was set up.
In 1946 a more compact organization, the Central Office of Information superseded the war-time Ministry to carry out the common services in publicity and information of the various central departments. Two or three years later, the staffing pattern of the Information Agencies was nationalized and a general class of Information officers was introduced.
In India the system of Public Relations organization has been borrowed from England. After the First World War a Central Bureau of Information was set up for press publicity and propaganda. The Bureau was placed under the Home Department. In 1939 a Director-General of Information was appointed to control and co-ordinate war publicity.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In October 1941 the Department of Information and Broadcasting was created and the various publicity agencies working under different ministries were brought under the control of this department. The All India Radio was set up in 1936. It was transferred to the Department of Information and Broadcasting in 1941. In 1947 on attainment of Independence the Department was reconstituted and it was designated as a Ministry.
Essay # 2. Definitions of Public Relations:
The Encyclopedias American defines public relations as “the art of analyzing, influencing and interpreting a person, idea, group or business so that he or it will be recognized as serving the public interest, and will benefit from so doing.
According to M.C. Camy, “Public relations in government is the composite of all the primary and secondary contacts between the bureaucracy and the citizens and all the interaction of influences and attitudes established in these countries.”
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The main aims of Public Relations are to disseminate to the public information about the government’s policies and work and to know the reactions of the public to the policy and acts of the government. In other words, Public Relation embraces all activities designed to inform the public regarding the operations of the government and informing the government about what the public thinks and desires.
According to John D. Millet, “Public Relations is knowing what the public expects and explaining how administration is meeting these desires.” The function of Public Relations is, thus, not only to inform the public and to know what the public wishes, but also to build up popular goodwill for the administration agency.
The goodwill for the agency is very essential to get the co-operation and support of the people and it can be built up, as Dr. L.D. White says by showing courtesy and sympathy to the people. J.H. Brebner observes, “the simplest way of describing the function of public relations and publicity in modern administration is to say that they are concerned with the study of the human factor in industry and, to an increasing degree, in government”.
According to Harwood L. Childs, “Public relations may be defined as those aspects of our personal and corporate behaviour which have a social rather than private and personal significance.”
According to W.T. Parry, “Public relations mean the development of cordial, equitable, and therefore mutually profitable relations between a business, industry, or organization and the public it serves.”
Rex Harlow says that Public Relations is “the process whereby an organization analyses the needs and desires of all interested parties in order to conduct itself more responsively towards them.” W.B. Graves writes, “Public relations involve a flow of information and understanding not alone from the agency to the public, but from the public to the agency.”
From the above definitions of Public Relations, it may be concluded that the aim of Public Relations is not only to inform the public and to know what the public wants, but also to build up popular goodwill for the administrative machinery. To have a clear and precise idea of public relations, they should be distinguished from publicity and propaganda.
Public Relations and Publicity:
The two terms ‘Public Relations’ and ‘Publicity’ are very often confused. Some Governments designate their Public Relations officers as Publicity officers. No doubt the two terms are so intimately intertwined that they are not two different functions, but two aspects of the same thing.
According to J.H. Brebner, the difference between public relations and publicity lies in the technique of their approach. Publicity has been defined “as the art of dealing with the people in mass” while Public relations deal with the individuals.
Thus conveying information to the people in mass is publicity and approaching the individuals is the public relations. Many writers use the term ‘public relations’ in the generic sense covering individual as well as mass relations. Used in this sense, publicity becomes a branch of public relations.
Essay # 3. Elements of Public Relations:
According to Millet, public relations consists of four elements:
1. Means of Knowing Public Opinion:
Of the four constituent elements of the Public Relations the first one is learning about the public desires and aspirations for knowing the public opinion.
Among techniques of ascertaining public opinion, following are the most common:
(i) Press:
The press is a very important medium for the expression of views of the public. The newspapers and the magazines contain various news-items which reflect the reaction of the people towards the policies and programmes of the government.
Letters conveying the appreciation or depreciation of a particular activity of the Government and sometimes containing popular grievances addressed to the Editors of the newspapers are printed in “Letter to the Editor” column.
The “Editorials” written by the Chief Editor of the paper also make comments on the government activity and offer constructive suggestions to redress the grievance of the people. The officers of the Public Relations Department spot out such items in the newspapers and inform the Departments concerned about the trend of public opinion with regard to services run by them.
(ii) Platform:
The platform speeches made by public men particularly the leaders of various political parties, associations and groups reflect the mind of the people on a particular subject. The convening of public meetings is reported to the government by the C.I.D. people or by the organizers of the meeting themselves by passing a resolution or putting up a “charter of their demands”.
The government is thus made to know about the feelings of the public on a particular question.
(iii) Demonstrations and Agitations:
If the spoken words and the written words fail to move the administration the public may adopt the means of agitations and demonstrations to make its opinion felt by the government. Demonstrations can be expressive both of the pleasure and displeasure of the people with regard to a particular policy of the government.
The people will demonstrate to welcome a commendable programme or to condemn some steps calculated to injure their interests. But it is usually for the latter purpose that a demonstration is held. Demonstrations and agitations are resorted to, to get a particular demand conceded by the government or to compel it to retrace the steps that it has already taken.
The agitations may be peaceful or take a violent turn. Public opinion in general or that of particular section of people has tried to express itself through these methods everywhere, but in our country their use has been made on fairly large occasions to express opinions by the interested people on language controversies, reorganization of states, opposition to a particular levy of tax, etc.
No doubt, these are very strong means to draw the attention of the government to a particular problem but in a truly democratic country they should not be resorted to. The waiting of deputations on the government and negotiations are better substitutes.
(iv) Legislature:
The floor of the Parliament or the Legislature is perhaps the best place where public opinion is best reflected in whatever their representatives speak on behalf of the electorate. The legislators get many opportunities to inform the government about the aspirations, desires, and grievances of their constituencies when they discuss the various bills or vote the grants.
The role of the opposition in expressing the mind of the people is most laudable only if they make some constructive suggestions to get the legitimate hardships of the people removed at the hands of the government.
(v) Informal Conversation:
True public opinion can be best known through the medium of informal chats of the people in public places such as in a railway train, in a bus, in the market place, etc. In an informal talk people speak true things from the core of their hearts. There is hardly any exaggeration in what they utter. The best barometer of public opinion would, therefore, be to hear people talking informally about the government policies.
(vi) Government Employees:
The officials of the government constitute a very good agency to report about the public regarding any activity of the government. They come in daily contact with a large number of people from the various walks of life. They are, therefore, in a position to know what the public has to say about the government. If they are encouraged to talk freely, they can give a true report about the public opinion.
(vii) Moving Freely Among the People:
According to Lord Bryce, “The best way in which the tendencies at work in any community can be discovered and estimated is by moving freely among all sorts and conditions of men and noting how they are affected by the news or arguments brought from day-to-day to their knowledge”. Knowing about the reactions of the people by freely moving among them is really a very valuable technique.
It gives an unbiased impression of what the people think about the government and its administrators. That is why this method was adopted in the past by the great monarchs, among them being Asoka and Akbar of India also.
They would move about the streets of their capitals at night in disguise and overhear the talk of the people and thus form their impression about the grievances of the public and redress them accordingly.
(viii) Advisory Committees:
The Government comes to know about the attitude of the people regarding a particular activity from the advisory committees also which consist of the representatives of special interests that are affected or are likely to be affected by the activities of a particular department.
These advisory committees interpret the feelings and the interested of the people concerned to the administration and advise them on the formulation of a particular policy.
Such advisory committees exist at every level of administration—national, state and local—and are made use of particularly in social service departments like Education, Food and Agriculture, Commerce and Industries, Community Projects, Administration and other enterprises.
(ix) Public Opinion Polls:
Lastly, public opinion on certain matters can be discovered by referring those matters to the vote of the public or, by the issuing of a questionnaire to them. The replies received thereto shall clearly reflect the public opinion whether it is in favour or against a particular problem. But it may be rather difficult to put a proposition to the vote of people or to send a questionnaire to all of them in a large country.
This technique would be very costly also. The best and practical way would, therefore, be not to collect public opinion indiscriminately but to obtain a small sample of the representative public opinion from the people belonging to different sections of society in point of age, sex, profession, locality, etc.
The opinion thus collected sometimes shall reflect the opinion of the public as a whole. Such public opinion polls are conducted in America by the press and other interested agencies and their results have been often found to be correct.
2. Advising the Public:
The second element of Public Relations is advising the public what it should think and do. It is one of the primary duties of the government to educate the people in the methods of performing ordinary civil duties. While advising the public about what they should do, the government might be accused of carrying on propaganda.
It is incumbent on a government to advise the people about certain important matters like family planning, education, health, trade and commerce, agriculture, etc. In a developing country like ours people need be advised about their duties in extending their co-operation to the government for making our Five-Year Plans successful. Advising should be kept clear of falsehood and political maneuvering.
3. Dealings with the Public:
The third constituent element of the Public Relations is the dealings of the officials with the public and the cultivation of satisfactory contact between the two. Public officials especially at lower levels have to come in daily contact with the people.
Their dealings with the public can make or mar the reputation of the department to which they belong. The people judge an agency by the experience they have of its officials and its employees.
It is, therefore, essential that the officials should realize the importance of their contacts with the people. If they show courtesy and sympathy to the people, they shall be applauded and the organisation to which they belong would get public approval. But, on the other hand, if their behaviour is rude and arrogant the organisation would meet public condemnation.
The work of maintaining good public relations is not confined to any particular officer, but to all public employees, who through their activities and conduct are always creating an impression upon the public with regard to their work. It is, for this reason that L.D.
White has stated that “every public official and employee is a Public Relations Officer”. It should, therefore, be the endeavour of every public employee to so conduct himself that his work and organisation should have a favourable public opinion.
To achieve this every official is supposed to possess certain qualities discuss below. Besides there are some techniques of dealing with public, which should be borne in mind by the officials in their day-to-day contact with the people.
4. Informing the Public:
The fourth element of Public Relations is informing the public or publicity about the activities of the Government.
The public is kept informed about the policy and acts of the Government through the following media of publicity:
(i) Press:
Press is the most important medium of publicity. The Government often makes use of this agency to inform the public about its activities. Newspapers publish articles which are given to the press by the Government. But the press is not obliged to publish each and everything that is conveyed to it by the Government.
It publishes only those things which have some news value. It is very essential that there should be mutual understanding and confidence between the administration and the press so that the latter should give correct information about the acts of the Government and it should not maliciously or falsely criticize them.
The administration deals with the Press through its Press Officer who should try to win over the confidence of the Editors and Reporters so that they should not offer hostile and destructive comments on Government policies but should lend their foil co-operation in explaining correctly the position of the Government to the people.
The Government issues press communiqués, press notes, notifications, resolutions, etc., to the press. Sometimes important administrative personages like the Prime Minister also hold press conferences with press correspondents wherein they explain the policy of the Government or clarify the position of the Government on some matter of local, national or international importance.
(ii) Government Publications:
The Government in every country publishes weekly or monthly information bulletins and also brings out a Government Gazette which contains a good deal of information about its activities.
Besides, the Government publishes books, booklets, pamphlets and other handbills giving information about the policies, programmes and activities of its administrative agencies. Some of these publications are distributed free to selected persons and institutions and some on cost or at nominal prices.
Different departments of the Government of India also publish annual reports about their work. Various commissions, parliamentary committees, etc., also publish their reports but they are very voluminous and are, therefore, of not much use to the public in general. Abstracts from them or their summaries as reported in the Press or printed separately, however, prove useful to the public.
(iii) Platform:
Political chiefs and important government officials give information to the people through their speeches from the platform or while addressing academic, professional or cultural gatherings. Sometimes our Prime Minister makes important announcements of policy also at such public meetings.
(iv) Radio:
Radio has now become a very useful and effective medium of mass contact and communication. Newspapers reach only the educated classes while radio can reach every type of person in any important part of the world. The government makes use of broadcasting for giving information to the people.
Through it the governments not only broadcast news and views but also relay various kinds of educational and instructive programmes like talks, debates, discussions, dramas, etc., to popularize among the people their plans and policies.
(v) Films:
The films are today recognized as a very powerful instrument of popular education. They not only provide entertainment but also instruction. The modern governments make use of them on a large scale. One can see films being exhibited even in the remotest village by the Public Relations Departments through their mobile vans.
The Government maintains its own studios and prepares documentary films and news-reels for free display.
(vi) Exhibitions:
Exhibitions also serve the publicity function of mass information and explanation. So, they are very useful in bringing to the people the progress that the country is making under a particular administration.
The various Fairs like Industrial Fair, Trade Fair, Agriculture Fair, Handicrafts Fair, Expo Fair, held both at national and international levels at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi exhibit the progress made by India after independence in such a splendid way that even the illiterate peasants feel convinced and satisfied about the great achievements of their country.
(vii) Advertisements:
Dissemination of information regarding the administrative activities of Government takes place through advertisements also. Besides advertising in the newspapers and journals, the government makes use of posters, folders, leaflets, calendars, blotters, etc., for advertisement purposes.
We often find Government advertisements regarding its business activities, the facilities and concessions available to the customers in the various trades being run by it.
As for example, we come across the advertisements issued by the Government Arts and Crafts Emporium; the announcement of tourist facilities by the Department of Tourism of the different States and advertisements about Five Year Plans, National Savings Certificates, Family Planning, abolition of untouchability, etc., through posters pasted at public places like the Railway stations, bus stands, post offices, the market places, etc.
Essay # 4. Qualities of a Good Public Relations Official:
The officials come in contact with the people either in person or through correspondence. Every effort should be made to be sympathetic and courteous to the people in both these forms of contacts. The official should realize that courtesy costs nothing but its absence may cost a great deal to the reputation of the officer as well as agency.
Sometimes, lack of courtesy may create an unpleasant scene leading to quarrel and abusive language. The services should realize that they are public servants in the true sense of the term and they should in no case behave like a bureaucrat. A bureaucrat is usually blunt, curt, aloof and even rude.
An official in the modern democratic age should be kind, accommodating, sweet, sympathetic and easily accessible. The public should be treated in such a fine way as should convince them that it is their own government and the officials are not hot-headed, stiff-necked, but their well-wishers, friends and guides.
When citizens come to visit an official, they should not feel the pinch of any inconvenience. What happens now is that the citizen goes from pillar to post and fails to find out the office or officer he wants. He gets no help or guidance from the official whom he contacts. This is most irritating for him.
Therefore, first, every big office should provide a decent waiting room for the visitors with popular literature on the tables to keep them busy if they are required to wait for some time. Second, every office should have a receptionist or an enquiry officer to help and guide visitors. The receptionists should be persons of pleasing personality and of amiable and cheerful disposition.
It would be advisable if girls are appointed as receptionists, for the obvious reason that they can be more sweet and polite to the public. Third, officers should fix hours for interview with the public. If the officer is unavoidably busy at that time, he should convey his regrets to the visitors and give them some other time preferably suiting their convenience when he could be available.
Time once fixed should be strictly adhered to as far as possible since the time of the public is as precious as that of the officer. Fourth, the public should be accommodated to the maximum extent possible. They should be supplied the information that they want to have, if the rules so permit, otherwise their request should be declined regretfully.
The people come in contact with administration more through paper correspondence than actual meeting with officials. Administration has evolved its own jargon variously nicknamed as ‘officials’ ‘gobbledygook.’ It is desirable that the letters from the public should be duly acknowledged and the reply should be couched in plain, simple and straightforward language.
There should be a definite procedure to deal with the public complaints. In every agency, there should be an official charged with the duty of receiving complaints or the public may be asked to record their complaints in a complaint book or drop them in a Complaint Box placed at a conspicuous place.
All the complaints thus received should be regularly entered and action should be taken on them at the earliest possible.
The receipt of the complaint should always be acknowledged and whatever action is taken on it should be conveyed to the complainant. The printed official forms should be unambiguous, brief, cutaneous and relevant to the purpose. The seeking of needless information should be avoided. Their language should be simple within the comprehension of an ordinary citizen.
Apart from observing above principles in their dealings in official contacts with the public, the officials should otherwise also in their private dealings behave in a responsible and dignified manner becoming of a person holding a government job. They should not indulge in loose talks, engage in public controversies or have sides in political discussions.
They are required to be neutral in politics. They should, therefore, be conscious not to utter a word which should give an impression to the public of their being partisan or their subscribing to the policy of one political party or the other. In every way, their conduct and behaviour should be such as to win over the sympathies, support and appreciation of the public.
It is gratifying to note that public officials in our country are gradually inculcating the qualities of a good Public Relations Officer. To make them realize the value of such qualities, the government sometimes asks the different departments to observe courtesy weeks.
It is unfortunate that the officials of the Police Department have not yet been able to cultivate good public relations and perhaps this is on account of the nature of duties they perform.
They are also, however, changing their attitude towards the public in an appreciable way and the time is not far off when they shall also be able to win over public sympathy and be considered not as something to be shunned but as their friends and custodians of safety of their life and property.
Essay # 5. Features of Public Relations in India:
Publicity work suited to a democratic set-up is comparatively new in India, and experience in respect of it somewhat scanty. Accordingly, government publicity in our country presents certain features which require corrections.
First, the relations between the government and the press are not very smooth. The press, as we have seen, is the most important media of publicity. The Press Commission (1954) pointed out that there was an excessive tendency on the part of the government to consider the press as a means of publicity for certain selected activities of the state and individuals.
The press correspondents are not provided with due facilities and sometimes are even treated shabbily. They are denied access to official sources of information or original sources of news. They are handed out predigested press notes and releases leaving little initiative to the correspondents, sometimes, undue censor is imposed in the name of public peace.
Pressure of officers to secure favourable reports in the press has also been alleged. The press giving anti-government news is threatened with dire consequences. The anti-government press is not given fair treatment and denied the government advertisements. Efforts are made even to check its circulation.
Second, the documentaries produced by the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity are not very inspiring and appealing. Some of them depict an old theme and are not exhibited properly. The documentaries and advertisements relating to family planning, for example, are not well-conceived in the context of Indian cultural ethos.
These are more of sermon-preaching nature and cause injury to human sentiments and social morality.
Third, the publications brought out by Publications Division are late, shabby in get-up find style. The customers are not shown due respect and provided with necessary facilities for the purchase of these publications. There is more of bureaucracy than sale push in the sales depots of the Department.
Fourth, the attitude of civil servants towards the public lacks cordiality and humane approach. The citizens do not get proper facilities when they visit an office and are sometimes subjected to undue harassment. Their complaints are not even acknowledged and dealt with in a satisfying manner.
There is much red-tapism. The attitude of the official is sometimes blunt and even rude. The official behaviour lacks normal courtesy towards the public.
In order to adapt public relations to the needs of our nascent democracy it is necessary that the different media of public relations should be so perfected that all the purposes of public relations are achieved. Public relations should be used for education and not for propaganda.
It should try to seek public co-operation and responsiveness. Public relations is concerned not only with publicity of a more or less formal character but also and more so with personal contacts between public employees and citizens.
Surprisingly little attention has been paid to this aspect of public relations in India.
Let us remember the words of David M. Cox who writes, “where there are Public Relation problems, they are in his hands (employee’s). He is the key figure in the Public Relations situation. He is the conductor of the Public Relation of the organization by his actions with the customer. He is also the ‘ear’ of the organization, for he learns of the needs, wants, expectations, desires and satisfactions of the public served.”
Essay # 6. Public Relations Machinery in India:
No system of public administration can succeed unless good public relations are developed by it. For developing good public relations all the civilised countries have set up public relations agencies both at national and state levels.
In England it was not until the First World War that a positive system of public relations began to emerge when press or publicity officers were first appointed in the Defence Ministry. Thereafter, many other Departments also introduced Public Relations Divisions.
In 1939, however, a regular Ministry of Information was set up. In 1946 a more compact organisation, the Central Office of Information superseded the war-time Ministry to carry out the common services in publicity and information of the various central departments.
Two or three years later, the staffing pattern of the Information agencies was nationalized and a general class of Information officers was introduced. In India the system of Public Relations organisation has been borrowed from England.
After the First World War a Central Bureau of Information was set up for press publicity and propaganda. The Bureau was placed under the Home Department. In 1939, a Director-General of Information was appointed to control an co-ordinate war publicity.
In October 1941, the Department of Information and Broadcasting was created and the various publicity agencies working under different ministries were brought under the control of this department. The All India Radio was set up in 1936. It was transferred to the Department of Information and Broadcasting in 1941.
In 1947 on attainment of Independence the Department was reconstituted and it was designated as a Ministry.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is responsible for:
(a) All business concerned with All India Radio embracing news services, radio journals, researches and television;
(b) Production and distribution of documentaries and newsreels and other films;
(c) Legislation under entry 60 of the Union list, viz., “sanctioning of cinematograph Films for Exhibition”;
(d) Production and release of all display advertisements of the Government of India and also release of classified advertisements on behalf of the Union Government;
(e) Presentation and interpretation of the policies and activities of the Government of India through the medium of the Press;
(f) Advising Government on problems relating to the Press;
(g) Administration of the Press Act and Newspaper Act;
(h) Production, sale and distribution of popular pamphlets, books and journals on matters of national importance;
(i) Research and reference in the field of publicity, information and broadcasting.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting consists of a Secretariat, five Attached and seven Subordinate offices.
The important agencies are the following:
(a) The Directorate of All India Radio:
The network of broadcasting stations in India is known as the All India Radio. It is headed by a Director-General who is assisted by several Deputy Directors-General, and a Chief Engineer. The executive functions are carried out by the stations spread all over the country.
Apart from the regular programmes of news, music, drama, etc. All India Radio provides special programmes for rural listeners, schools and university students, industrial workers as also to adivasi areas and to armed forces.
In September, 1959 was inaugurated a television service. The Chanda Committee 1964 recommended the creation of an autonomous corporation instead of the Departmental management to manage the All India Radio. The Prasar Bharti Bill 1997 has given autonomous character to Doordarshan and All India Radio.
The main Divisions of All India Radio are:
(i) News Services Division.
(ii) External Services Division.
(iii) Monitoring Services Division.
(iv) Transcription and Programme Exchange Services Division.
(v) Engineering Division.
Doordarshan has witnessed unprecedented growth. With the introduction of satellite technology, television has received a boost. The provision of cable television in the nineties with more than a hundred private channels has brought about information revolution in India.
(b) Press Information Bureau:
It is the principal publicity organization for the Government of India. It acts as a link between the Government and the public through the Press- informing the public about Government activities and policies and keeping the Government in touch with the main trends of public opinion. It collects materials of interest to the Central Government or State Governments.
The material so collected is circulated to the Ministries and Departments concerned. It also undertakes the writing of special feature articles which provide information regarding projects, schemes or any new policy.
The Bureau arranges Press Conferences for Ministers and high officials to explain to the Press the scope and purpose of important Government decisions or policy statements. Press liaison services are also provided by the Bureau.
It is responsible for arranging the accreditation of newspaper correspondents and cameramen at Delhi. It also handles publicity for international conferences in India and renders help to foreign correspondents by providing necessary facilities.
A separate Defence wing is responsible for publicity for and to the Armed Forces. The Bureau is headed by the Principal Information Officer who is assisted by Deputy Principal Information Officers, Information Officers, Deputy Information officers and Assistant Information officers.
(c) Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity:
It is responsible for the production and release of all display advertisements of the Government of India through the Press, posters, folders, calendars, diaries, blotters, leaflets, cinema slides, etc.
It has launched an extensive campaign through documentaries, advertisements, telefilms, and other publicity material for family planning and controlling the menace of communalism and terrorism in India. It also undertakes the sale of advertisement space in the publications brought out by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
(d) Publications Division:
It is responsible for the preparation, production, distribution and sale of various kinds of publications on the country and its culture, the activities of the Central Government, places of tourist interest, and the progress of the various development programmes in the country, etc.
Speeches and writings of national importance are also published by the Division. Books on behalf of the National Book Trust, the Central Social Welfare Board and the Education Ministry are also brought out by the Division.
It acts as the sales and distributing agency for some publications of the National Museum, the Lalit Kala Academy, the National Book Trust and the All India Handicrafts Board. It also publishes numerous magazines. The reference manual ‘India’ and ‘Employment News’ are also published by it.
(e) Films Division:
It is located at Bombay and its functions include the production and distribution of documentaries and newsreels for the general information and education of the people. The subjects for documentaries are selected in consultation with the various ministries. It also produces films for exhibition abroad. It may seek the help of approved private producers in its production programme.
(f) Central Board of Film Censors:
It was set up in 1952, for sanctioning films as suitable for public exhibition. The Board consists of a whole-time Chairman, and eight non- official members who work part-time in an honorary capacity.
The work of the examination of films for certification is initially carried out by Examining Communities consisting of the Regional Officer of the Board and the members of the Advisory panels consisting of prominent people drawn from various walks of public life.
The films are granted ‘U’ certificates for unrestricted exhibition or ‘A’ certificate for adults only. The certificate is valid for a period of ten years from the date of issue.
(g) Research and Reference Division:
It is responsible for furnishing reference material for publicity purposes to the Ministry and its various mass communication media units. It also makes a continuous study of the trends relating to the press and the film industry. It compiles ‘India’—a reference manual. It also brings from time to time special reference papers on subjects of topical interest.
It also prepares biographical sketches of personalities. It maintains a comprehensive index of news and articles of reference value on national and international affairs.
(h) Indian Institute of Public Relations:
On August 17, 1965 was set up the Indian Institute of Public Relations for carrying higher studies in the field of public relations. It is administered by an Executive Council under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
It imparts training to the Publicity Officers of the Central and State Governments. It also organizes seminars on problems pertaining to public relations in collaboration with the universities, research institutes and industries. It also carries some research work.
Public Relations Services in the States:
The public relations machinery in the States of India is more or less similar to that of the Centre, although it is not organised on such a large scale. Most of the States have a Department of Information and Public Relations which is headed by a Director of Public Relations. There are also attached Information officers to the various Ministries and Departments.
The Director is assisted by two or three Deputy Directors. One of the Deputy Directors is responsible for providing information to the press about the government activities and for keeping government apprised of the developments as mirrored in the press. The other is responsible for public relations activities at the district levels.
There is in each district a Public Relations Officer whose job is to promote publicity of the government activities in his district and also to enlist public cooperation for the welfare and development programmers of the government.
Essay # 7. Media of Public Relations:
There are three types of media- (i) Visual, (ii) Auditory, and (iii) Audio-Visual.
1. Visual Media:
(i) Advertising:
Advertisement in the newspapers, periodicals, on the screen and air, poster advertising, folders, leaflets, calendars, blotters, etc., are included under advertising. Press advertising is different from obtaining free space for the communication of administrative releases and hand-outs. Modern press advertising is a professional activity.
(ii) Publications:
Advertisement is paid for by the government to attract public attention to its contents. Publications, on the other hand, are undertaken on the assumption that the public will find them useful and purchase them. Though some of the publications are distributed free to selected persons and institutions, but some of them are meant to be purchased and paid for by the public.
Among the government publications a bulk consists of Reports—annual reports of the different departments and the reports of committees and commissions, etc. In order to serve as an effective media of public information, the reports should be published in an easily understandable language avoiding long arrays of un-interpreted statistics.
Their style should not be forbidding and get-up shabby. Their publication should not be unduly delayed.
2. Auditory Media:
(i) Radio Programmes:
Radio and television have become important media of mass communication. They are used for informing the public of government activities and educating them over important matters like use of fertilizers, saving the crops from insects, safety rules, health rules, family planning, etc. It is necessary that the talks broadcast over the air must be interesting, intelligible and informative.
(ii) Lectures and Talks:
The Public Relations Department also organizes lectures and talks on a variety of subjects by experts. Such lectures may be illustrated with lantern slides. These lectures may be given on subjects of topical interest to the workers, farmers and employers.
3. Audio-Visual Media:
(i) Films:
Films or motion pictures are a powerful instrument of public information. Besides acting as a source of entertainment, the films exercise a deep influence on moulding the ideas and behaviour of the cinema-goers. The documentaries and newsreels are produced by the Films Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which are exhibited by every cinema-house at each show.
(ii) Exhibitions:
Publicity exhibitions are different from trade fairs. Their object is educational and not display of goods for sale. Such exhibitions make use of all kinds of visual material, mural paintings, diagrams, photographs, physical objects, etc. The selection of materials for publicity exhibitions and their arrangement require high expert skill.
Public Relations and Propaganda:
One important part of Public Relations, as we have seen above, is publicity. Often, the term ‘publicity’ is confused with propaganda.
The important points of difference between the two are the following:
(i) The object of publicity is to disseminate information while the object of propaganda is to influence conduct.
(ii) The source of publicity is always known while the source of propaganda is often veiled.
(iii) Publicity has no bad motive while propaganda seeks to serve its own selfish ends by giving wrong information and distorted facts.
The Public Relations officer cannot be allowed to indulge in propaganda. His job is publicity, and not propaganda. The people must be supplied with true facts. They should not be misled. However, in war-times the Government also may indulge in propaganda to counteract enemy propaganda and create morale among the people and soldiers.
Public relations may also be distinguished from general information activities, foreign information service of the government and internal communication. Governments collect a great deal of general information and publish it for public use, for example, decennial census reports, weather and crop reports, labour statistics and unemployment figures.
This general information does not relate to the activities of the government or administration. It is simply information which is useful both for the government and people.
Similarly, the government publishes its policies, acts and achievements through its foreign information service whose aim is to inform the international public. Such foreign service is obviously not a part of its internal public relations.
The purpose of internal communication is to keep the staff or employees of the organization properly informed of the policies, objectives and decisions of the organization. The aim is not to reach the public outside but to achieve the understandings of the organizational objectives and policy within the organization itself.
The term ‘public’ may also be clarified. The general public is really not one but a collection of many ‘publics’. The general public is vague and unidentifiable entity. As one writer puts it, except on the election day, ‘the general public does not exist.’
However, the ordinary citizen who comes in contact with administration in the course of every day concerns of life certainly wants to know of the government activities and inform the government of his reactions and feelings. It is to these citizens that the public relations of any agency have specially to address themselves.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Generally, the governmental organizations have to deal with particular publics—not general public. Each agency of the government has to direct its public relations to that part of the public with which it is directly concerned, for example, the agriculture department deals with farmers, the industries department with industrialists, the labour department with labour.
However, there are wider publics too common to all administrative agencies with which the government has to deal, the most important of those being the legislative and the press. The government officials should deal with them with courtesy and patience. The parliamentary committees should be given full and frank answers to their queries. No attempt should be made to conceal or get round things.
The enquiries, complaints or requests from individual members of the legislature should be promptly and carefully dealt with. It is better that in dealing with members of the parliament, the head of the department personally attends to the matter.
The Administration needs the assistance of the press for publicity purposes. It should, therefore, deal with it very carefully. The goodwill of the press must be earned. There must be mutual understanding and confidence between the administration and the newspaper editors and reporters. The power of the press is tremendous.
Those who deal with the press on behalf of the government must shape their speech and demeanour so as to win the confidence of the press. On the other land, the press too must be fair, impartial, independent and responsible. Satisfactory conducting of Press relations is a very responsible and highly specialized job and should be entrusted only to properly trained and highly competent officials.