What is PR? Reputation, relationships, and media
By Joel Andren · Published by PressFriendly, a PR agency · Reviewed August 12, 2026 · Editorial standards · 1 of 5 in this section
Public relations manages communication and relationships between an organization and the people affected by it. A buyer needs this definition because agencies use “PR” to describe scopes that range from media outreach to crisis, executive, employee, analyst, community, and investor communication.
The Public Relations Society of America defines PR as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. Media relations is one PR discipline. It should not become the default solution before the company defines the stakeholder and business requirement.
Channel labels reveal control and commercial risk
Paid, earned, shared, and owned describe how communication reaches people and who controls publication or distribution. They do not, by themselves, determine the department or provider that should own the work.
| Channel | Who controls publication | What a buyer should verify |
|---|---|---|
| Paid | The company buys distribution and controls approved creative | Price, targeting, labeling, publisher involvement, and measurement |
| Earned | An independent editor or other gatekeeper decides what appears | Target rationale, evidence, outreach quality, and the absence of placement guarantees |
| Shared | The company, participants, platform, or partners share control | Moderation, permissions, disclosure, platform risk, and response ownership |
| Owned | The company controls publication | Editorial owner, accuracy, maintenance, distribution, and audience response |
The AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework treats these as channels within one communication plan. A proposal may combine them, but it should price and report each mechanism separately.
Earned coverage is independent attention
Earned coverage means an independent editorial party chose to publish. The result can be favorable, neutral, mixed, or critical. Publication demonstrates editorial interest in the subject. It does not mean the outlet endorses the company, product, or claim.
A provider can control research, preparation, targeting, outreach, responsiveness, and reporting. The publisher controls whether coverage appears and how it is framed. Sponsored articles, paid reviews, and commercial creator partnerships are paid media. The Federal Trade Commission's native advertising guidance explains why commercial content may require clear and prominent disclosure.
Scope should follow the requirement
Ask an agency to connect every proposed channel and service to a named stakeholder, communication objective, company input, delivery owner, and measure. A social account, article, event, or newsletter can serve several functions. The objective and decision rights determine who should own it.
Use PR vs. marketing, ads, growth, and content to identify overlaps and what PR agencies sell to match a communication requirement to an outside service. Detailed channel execution belongs in the gated Startup PR Playbook.