ATS1125 - Public relations foundations - 2019

What is public relations? Is it simply spin, a professional practice, a global industry, or all of these? How can you be an ethical communicator when representing your client or employer? This unit explores the fundamentals of public relations practice in a dynamic communication environment. You will learn about public relations history and its links with other media industries as well as the contemporary public relations industry in Australia. Working in small teams, you will also learn the basics of campaign strategy development by responding to a real-world issue and develop your public relations writing skills.

Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. define "public relations" from industry and multidisciplinary perspectives;
2. identify and discuss major challenges for contemporary and ethical public relations practice;
3. develop a communication plan in response to a client brief;
4. communicate key messages to diverse audiences across different media platforms, writing genres and through an oral presentation.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Public relations