PR practitioners key to corporate growth—Partridge

Press Corporation plc has challenged public relations (PR) practitioners to offer appropriate advice to management of their institutions on how to handle fake news and other vices that have emerged with the social media.

PCL group chief executive officer George Partridge said this on Friday in his keynote address at the virtual annual conference of the Public Relations Society of Malawi (PRSM).

He said PR practitioners are key to the survival and growth of companies and organisations in these times of new media, which can be damaging if not handled properly.

“The image and business of a company can be damaged by fake news online. It is the duty of you as PR practitioners to help companies and organisations to handle the new media appropriately,” said Partridge.

In her presentation on the role of PR in Covid-19 times, Tina Kasamale, senior public relations and marketing lecturer at The Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, said it is the duty of PR practitioners to normalise Covid-19 prevention practices among staff, customers and other guests who visit institutions.

“We still have people who are resistant to preventive practices such as wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing and others. It is the duty of PR officers to spread messages that convince people that this is just the new way of doing things,” she said.

During the conference, former National Bank of Malawi plc corporate affairs manager Annie Magola was named honorary fellow of PRSM while Pilirani Phiri, press officer in the office of the Vice-President Saulos Chilima, was named 2020 public relations practitioner of the year.

PRSM memebrs  also elected British High Commission communications manager Benson Linje as new president, taking over from Teveta head of PR Lewis Msasa.  Linje will be deputised by George Mindano.