Public Relations has become a most vital element in practically every segment of life, be they in private, public and in social organizations.
In the last few years, educational institutions have emphasized the importance of adding this subject into their educational curriculum.
Suwanthep Malhotra, executive business development director of Pattaya Mail Publishing Co., presents his talk to PR personnel of Burapha University on “Writing a Press Release in English”.
The subject of Public Relations is taught from high schools all the way up to post graduate education. There is a need for skilled publicists who are capable of presenting a company, organization and individuals to the masses of the world in a good light. The reputation of these organizations are protected and enhanced by the right professional and expert PR person.
To this end, Burapha University located in Bangsaen, Chonburi, not only encourages but also emphasizes this branch of education in their syllabus.
On November 29, the institute of higher education organized a seminar on Public Relations which was attended by 32 PR specialists from the various faculties in the campus.
Guest lecturer for the day was Suwanthep Malhotra, better known as ‘Tony’, the executive business development director of the Pattaya Mail Publishing Co. Ltd.
Tony’s theme was “Writing PR News in English and Electronics Broadcasting”.
Tony, a ten-year veteran in the publishing business, expounded on how to professionally create and assemble components of a truly useful and effective press release.
To indicate the importance of PR Tony said, “The business world of today is extremely competitive. Companies need to have an edge that makes them stand out from the crowd, something that makes them more appealing and interesting to both the public and the media. The public are the buyers of the product and the media are responsible for selling it.”
University Special Affairs Vice President Banpot Wirunrat said the two-day workshop was aimed at giving all the Public Relation executives and managers from all the faculties of Burapha University the English language tools they need. Their knowledge and success in implementing effective public relations will enhance Thailand’s reputation and ensure that Thailand will be looked up as the leader in this field when the country becomes an active member in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations free trade zone set to take effect in 2015.
He said that Tony was a superb example of a Burapha University Alumni who graduated with a Masters Degree in International Business Management and has made excellent use of his PR skills in his profession.
Tony’s lecture included a slideshow presentation of Pattaya Mail operations. He said, “It is quite a unique profession publishing foreign language newspapers and television shows. Our reporters write the news in Thai. They are then translated into English, sent to a sub-editor and on to the executive editor, a native English speaker and an expert in his field, who plans and designs the composition of the papers, before going on to our graphics layout department and finally to the printing press.”
“For our German language newspaper, the Pattaya Blatt, the process also involves translating the news into German.”
Tony advised the seminar participants that editors are very demanding when it comes to press releases and they insist on relevant and well-organized facts.
In closing Tony said, “A journalist must always remember to follow these cardinal rules when writing a report, ‘Who’ is it about? ‘What’ happened? ‘Where’ did it take place? ‘When’ did it take place? ‘Why’ did it happen? and ‘How’ did it happen? (W-W-W-W-W & H)
