Indya Johnson
November 16, 2011
MC 339
Corporate Communications Guest Speakers

This Monday I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of information I learned from Sherri Goodman and Jody Seal. Their presentation gave me relatable and useful insight in the world of corporate public relations of which I was unaware. The first piece of information I learned from Sherri Goodman and Jody Seal is a very clear-cut description of the functions of corporate communications.
Being a corporate public relations professional means being responsible for internal communications (which entails intranet communications such as articles, videos, photography, special projects, memos and speeches sent to corporate employees to educate them on new information and company policy), external communications which is the information shared with the public on outlets such as company web sites and annual reports. Corporate public relations professionals are also in charge of media relations, crisis communications, strategic communications, issue management and community relations, which involves volunteering and charitable giving. Also this department may or may not include a creative services section that contains a graphic design and brand standards team. Another valuable piece of information I learned was the ultimate responsibility of a corporate PR professional is to protect the corporation and its image. An additional point the ladies made was an advantage of which I was unaware. In comparison to journalism, public relations has as advantage because you know whom your audience is, making it easier to reach