Strategic Internet Public Relations Mastery Reflection
- smurcia9
- Oct 29
- 6 min read
Stephanie Murcia
Oct. 29 2025
When I came into this course, I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know anything about public relations. I understood PR in the vague, surface-level way most people do: press releases, social posts, maybe a statement when something goes wrong. I didn’t realize how strategic, psychological, and structured PR actually is. This course showed me that PR is not just messaging—it’s how organizations build trust, protect their reputation, and communicate who they are, even when the situation is difficult.
One of the biggest things I learned is that PR is about relationships, not just with the public, but with internal teams, stakeholders, critics, and supporters. A message means nothing if it doesn’t align with values and behavior. I also learned how important planning and measurement are. The Barcelona Principles, SCCT, and Coombs’ crisis phases gave me frameworks that make PR less of a “guessing game” and more of a strategic discipline.
This connects directly to my professional goals. I plan to work with mission-driven organizations and small animal rescue groups that rely on trust, community support, and authentic storytelling to survive. Before this class, I wouldn’t have known how to guide them through communication challenges or how to maintain consistency across messages. Now I understand how to craft communication strategies, prepare for crises, measure outcomes, and shape narratives that strengthen relationships rather than just react to problems.
The following section provides a week-by-week overview, linking assignments and objectives to the skills and insights gained in the course.
The most important thing I’m taking with me is confidence. I started the course knowing nothing about PR, and I’m walking away with the ability to view communication through a strategic lens. I understand how messaging impacts perception, how trust is earned, and how clarity and transparency shape reputation over time. That’s knowledge I’ll be applying directly in my work.
Course Objectives
1.1 To have a timely conversation regarding ethics within public relations.
Assignment:Week 1 Discussion Ethics
Key Learnings
Ethics is crucial in PR as trust is essential for effective communication.
Values inform morals, and ethics translate these morals into action.
The PRSA Code of Ethics sets standards for responsible, transparent PR.
Understanding diverse perspectives helps avoid PR missteps.
The Milgram and Zimbardo studies highlight the need for PR to challenge unethical actions.
AI's impact depends on its use; it should support, not replace, human judgment.
Week 1.2 Objective:Understanding the fundamentals of public relations, including
crisis management and the role of internal and external PR strategies. Students
will explore key concepts, case studies, and foundational practices that set the
stage for developing comprehensive PR plans.
Assignment : Week 1 . Discussion 2 – Century of Self
Key learning.
This assignment showed how deeply PR is rooted in psychology and influence. Bernays demonstrated that PR can shape public behavior by appealing to emotion rather than logic—meaning ethics matter. The film emphasized that PR, politics, and consumer culture are interconnected, and that practitioners today must use these tools responsibly rather than manipulatively.
Week 1.3 Objective : To analyze a real-world public relations crisis using Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT).
Assignment: Week 1 discussion 3- Crisis and Pr foundation
Key Learning
I learned how SCCT helps match the crisis response to the level of responsibility. The United Airlines case showed that a lack of empathy and delayed accountability damages trust, and that fast, transparent, human-centered communication is essential for protecting reputation during a crisis.
Week 2.1 Objective: This discussion board aims to have a timely conversation regarding outlining and defining public relations goals, benchmarks, and measuring tactics for all PR efforts.
Assignment: Week 2 Discussion 1- Goal Tactics Measurements
Key Learning
The Barcelona Principles shift PR measurement from counting activity to measuring real outcomes tied to goals. Instead of AVEs and vanity metrics, PR should focus on credibility, engagement, and impact on reputation, proving value with data, not just output.
Week 2.2 Objective :To developing skills for delivering news through writing press releases.
Assignment: Week 2 Assignment 1 – Press Release
Key learning:
This assignment helped me understand that press releases aren’t just about reporting news; they often create the news. By strategically using pseudo-events, PR shapes perception by designing moments meant to be seen and shared. The value is in crafting stories that are relevant, timely, and newsworthy, not just announcements.
Week 3.1 Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to create a distribution plan that will best deliver your PR communication to your audience, specifically focusing on your press release from last week. Remember, PR is the voice of your brand, so it is important to deliver your message effectively.
Assignment:Week 3 assignment – Distribution Strategy
Key Learning
I learned that the power of a press release comes from its distribution strategy, not just the message itself. To be effective, a release must be intentionally shared through the right media outlets, journalists, social channels, and newsroom platforms with coordinated timing and follow-up engagement. A strong distribution plan turns news into awareness, conversation, and momentum.
Week 3.2 Objective: The purpose of this discussion board is to have a timely conversation regarding internal public relations and engaging with employees within the organization for the company case study selected.
Assignment: Week 3 discussion A- Internal PR
Key Learning:
This assignment emphasized that internal PR is just as important as external PR. Effective communication starts inside the organization; employees must understand, believe in, and feel connected to the mission. Building collaboration, encouraging two-way communication, and regularly measuring employee sentiment strengthens trust, alignment, and culture. When employees become advocates, the brand’s reputation strengthens from the inside out.
Week 3.3 Objective: A well-organized press room and EPK are crucial for narrative control and facilitating accurate media coverage. By centralizing press releases, media kits, executive bios, images, and contact details, a company enhances credibility and increases the likelihood of earned media coverage. The key: simplify storytelling for the media.
Assignment: Week 3 Discussion B- Press Room /EPK
Key Learning
A well-organized press room and EPK help control the narrative and simplify journalists’ work. Centralized press materials boost credibility and facilitate earned media, making it easy for the media to tell your story.
Week 4.1 Objective: Develop a crisis communication strategy for Sky Mavis or Tornado Cash using research, media analysis, and PR frameworks. Tasks include defining the crisis, analyzing public narratives, and creating PR assets like a press release, social media plan, and media strategy. The aim is to show strategic decision-making, ethical reasoning, and the ability to protect and rebuild trust during a high-profile crisis.
Assignment 4.1 Crisis Communication Plan
Key Learning
This assignment highlighted how crisis communication is not just about responding to an incident, it’s about shaping the narrative before, during, and after the crisis. Using SCCT and Coombs’ crisis phases showed me how to match the response to responsibility, while the Barcelona Principles reminded me that trust and transparency must be measurable. The biggest takeaway: reputation recovery depends on empathy, clarity, and proactive communication, not just damage control.
Week 4.2 Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to create a branded promotional asset using AI tools and evaluate both the creative process and the ethical considerations of AI-generated content in marketing.
Assignment: Week 4 Discussion 2 – AI Discussion
Key Learning
I learned that AI makes it easy to quickly create polished marketing visuals, but strategy, brand alignment, and ethical transparency still require human judgment. The tool can produce content, but the value lies in knowing what to create and why, so the message feels authentic to the audience and the brand.
Reference List
Breakenridge, D. (2012). Social media and public relations: Eight new practices for the PR professional. FT Press.
Coombs, W. T. (2007). Ongoing crisis communication: Planning, managing, and responding (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Coombs, W. T. (2014). Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT): Influencing public perception during crises. Public Relations Review, 40(1), 329–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.07.010
Einwiller, S., & Steilen, S. (2015). Handling complaints on social network sites: An analysis of complaints and complaint responses on Facebook and Twitter pages of large U.S. companies. Public Relations Review, 41(2), 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.11.012
Grunig, J. E., & Grunig, L. A. (2011). Public relations excellence 2011. Journal of Public Relations Research, 23(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2011.582967
International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC). (2020). The Barcelona Principles 3.0: A foundational framework for effective communication measurement. https://amecorg.com/barcelona-principles-3-0/
Public Relations Society of America. (2019). PRSA code of ethics. https://www.prsa.org/ethics
Rutenberg, J., Duncan, I., & Hart, A. (Directors). (2002). The century of the self [Documentary]. BBC.
Comments