LET’S TALK STRATEGIC AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMUNICATION
Arthur-Martins Aginam, PhD
This is my first write-up for this column and I must begin by thanking the management of PR Nigeria for the opportunity to help ventilate issues around Strategic and Public Affairs Communication- two key but largely emergent areas in the ever evolving field of Public Relations.
In about the past decade, Strategic Communications has become something of a fad in the broader field of PR practice. However, all too often, it is not only vaguely conceptualized but also largely echo basic definitions of Public Relations.
For example, a cursory internet search of the term Strategic Communications throws up numerous
highlight such elements as Communication that is planned with well-defined goals and messaging targeted at specified publics and audiences to advance the interests of the organization or person doing the communication.
Well, every good PR plan does all of the above and more with the exception of bad practitioners who not only fail to plan but often indulge in reactive PR which I liken to firefighting. As we know, firefighters are never able to salvage everything from a burning building same way hitchhikers may get to their destinations but not usually on their own terms.
It also begs the question: if Strategic Communication is basically Public Relations, why then the need for a distinct new term?
This lack of conceptual clarity also applies to Public Affairs communication- another key concern of this column- which all too often is either confused with or narrowly defined as Public Sector or governmental communication. Yet, the public sector is just one of the three major sectors of Public Affairs Communication along with the organized private sector and Civil Society inclusive of NGOs. This simply makes Public Affairs an arena for contestation and potential consensus where diverse organizations and pressure groups try to advance their interests through a wide range of media and communication initiatives, among other activities.
The interface between Strategic and Public Affairs communication will be the primary concern of this column. And in engaging with the issues, I plan to sometimes adopt a critical approach by challenging orthodoxies and so called conventional wisdom when necessary. I sincerely believe that a critical approach with its outside the box thinking not only engenders knowledge but also fosters creativity which is the bedrock of Public Relations. As an ever evolving and dynamic field, the PR practitioner must, beyond knowledge, have the capacity to creatively engage with issues. As the pre-eminent scientist Albert Einstein reminded us, to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
The column will also strive, as much as possible, to adopt a synthesis of theory and practice. With respect to the later, it will, as often as possible, draw from local PR practices from across the public, private and civil society sectors, as well as from international case studies either for comparison or contrast.
According to Stuart Ewen, the history of Public Relations is…a history of a battle for what is reality and how people will see and understand reality.
And as Nikos Kazantzakis counsels- Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.
In this constant battle of over reality and perceptions arising from it, PR practitioners must have at least three eyes- an eye for the past with all its lessons; a pragmatic eye for the present with all its challenges and opportunities; and a prescient eye for the future with all its possibilities.
Welcome on board!
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Strategic- basic dictionary definition—relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them—-
In the military where the term originated from, —-key element is long-term—