Public Relations Student Society of America - Services

Services

PRSA hosts an accreditation program called APR (accreditation in public relations) that evaluates a PR professional in four categories: research, planning, implementation and evaluation. Accreditation is usually granted to candidates with five to seven years of experience upon completion of written and oral examinations. About 20 percent of PRSA's members are accredited. PRSA hosts the Anvil awards, which are issued based on four components: research, planning, execution and evaluation. The Gold Anvil is awarded to individuals. The Silver Anvil is awarded for strategy and the Bronze for tactics. It also issues awards such as Grand Gold Pick, Rookie of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and PR person of the year.

PRSA's Public Relations Journal was published from October 1945 to 1995. Its original mission statement was "to carry articles that deal with fundamental public relations problems, as they currently press for solution." The journal was comparable to a text-heavy academic periodical. PRSA still publishes The Strategist and Tactics. The Strategist is a quarterly glossy magazine intended for executives, while Tactics is a monthly news tabloid.

The Public Relations Society of America publishes a code of ethics. Members that violate the code may have their membership revoked, usually under its mandate that members "not engage in any practice which tends to corrupt the integrity of channels of public communication" and that members act "in accord with public welfare." The code also expects PRSA members to identify the source of their communications, avoid derogatory methods and avoid abusing insider information. According to the code of conduct, members should "protect and advance the free flow of accurate and truthful information; foster informed decision-making through open communication... and work to strengthen the public's trust in the profession." The code states that members "adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth." A story in CBS criticized the code: "Show me a PR person who is 'accurate' and 'truthful,' and I'll show you a PR person who is unemployed." The code of ethics has been revised in 1954, 1959, 1963, 1977, 1983, 1988 and 2000.

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