Teaching has come to an end and I am patiently waiting for the next pile of marking to arrive. It’s been an interesting time settling in to the Lincoln School of Journalism at the University of Lincoln and writing the new Public Relations Programmes ready for September. I am really pleased to have made the move as it has allowed me to devise programmes that I think reflect the way in which PR is developing for the future and that will give students the right skills and knowledge for a career in PR.

Both the BA (Hons) Public Relationsand the BA (Hons) Journalism and Public Relations have been recognised by The Chartered Institute of Public Relations – just like their predecessors; and we have an excellent partnership with the Public Relations Consultants Association. Both professional bodies offer the students great benefits including access to skills training, work experience and information relevant to their studies.

The two programmes will, in keeping with the strengths of the LSJ, place an emphasis on ethical communications and we will discuss how, whilst PR must still present its client in the best possible light, it must not shy away from uncomfortable truths. In these days of 24/7 media and the ability for anyone to start a very public conversation about an organisation, business or individual PR has become more complex, we cannot manage the message as tightly as we used and must acknowledge that two-way symmetrical communication as espoused in James Grunig’s early model of PR is now more than ever before the way forward.

I am thrilled to be working with Journalism colleagues as we have so much in common and we need each other. Both professions are story tellers. In PR we are responsible for helping to shape the organisational narrative as Judy Gombita in PR Conversations discussed in August 2011. I hope the new programmes will help develop this concept and bring about a new way of working that is about engagement.

Jane Crofts, Programme Leader