Brianna Kennedy

“Person-On-The-Street” Interview Assignment

PRL 206

After interviewing my two friends and sister about public relations, I realized that the

general public is confused about what public relations actually is and what the profession entails.

When I interviewed these people, they were a little confused about the questions and it took them

a long time to come up with an answer to each question. All three participants of the survey

informed me that they were very confused about what public relations actually is.

I first interviewed my friend named Maggie that is currently an undecided major in the

College of Arts and Sciences here at Syracuse University. Maggie told me that the first thing she

thought of when she heard public relations was “the relationship between two public domains.”

When I asked her why she thinks of public relations in this way, she told me that she felt like it

was kind of straightforward and assumed that public relations involves relationships with the

public because it is in the name. Maggie told me that her cousin was a public relations major in

college so that is where her slim knowledge of public relations came from. She told me she

thought that the skills needed to work in public relations would be professionalism and

creativity. She also thinks that “one would need to be personable” and that “they should also be

able to talk to people well.” Maggie was confused about the difference between public relations,

marketing, and advertising. She told me she doesn’t really know much about marketing and

advertising; however, she believes that public relations is more “personable” than marketing and

advertising. She had nothing else to add about public relations.

 The next person that I interviewed for this assignment was my sister Meghan. Meghan is

a junior in high school. She told me that she thinks “public relations is a job where you

communicate with people through writing or through social media.” Like Maggie, she told me

that she thinks of public relations in this way because it is kind of “self-explanatory” because of

the words “public” and “relations.” Meghan told me she doesn’t know where she learned about

this definition of public relations and told me she “kind of just guessed.” When I asked her about

the skills needed for this profession, she told me that one “should be able to communicate well

with people and be good at talking to a group of people.” Next, I asked Meghan how she would

distinguish public relations from marketing and advertising. She told me that “marking and

advertising involves selling items while public relations deals with people.” She had nothing else

to add about public relations.

The last person I interviewed was my friend named Tim. He is currently studying music

at Boston College and has no knowledge about public relations. He told me that he believes that

public relations is “a way of protecting someone from bad media.” He was unsure why he

thought of public relations in this way and told me he was just guessing. Tim thinks that maybe

he learned it through his dad because his dad runs a business and “probably has a PR person.”

When I asked Tim about the skills needed for working in public relations, he told me that one

would have to “be able to speak well with people” and “be politically correct.” Lastly, I asked

him to distinguish public relations from marketing and advertising. He told me that “marketing

and advertising can be positive or negative but public relations protects someone’s reputation.”

He had nothing else to add about public relations.

Participants of the assignment:

Name: Maggie Loosman (Friend-Undecided major in College of Arts & Sciences)

Number: 215-589-5785
Email: ​maloosma@syr.edu

Name: Meghan Kennedy (Sister-High school student)

Number: 518-209-7165
Email: ​meghankennedy26@gmail.com

Name: Tim Maggs (Friend-Music student at Boston College)

Number: 518-300-0562
Email: timmaggs24@gmail.com