Graduate gets behind the spin
A UCLan communications graduate has had her work picked up by a leading UK student PR magazine and has written a feature on PR ethics for the publication.
Priyanka Palit completed an MSc in International Applied Communication at UCLan this year. She was invited to write a story for Behind The Spin, a magazine aimed at public relations students and young practitioners that is sponsored by the Chartered Institute for Public Relations (CIPR), on the topic of “astroturfing” after the editor read her dissertation.
Astroturfing is known as synthetic grassroots movements created by public relations companies in return for large sums for money. Priyanka decided to focus her dissertation on the topic after she found an article discussing the darker side of a public relations political strategist.
Significant contribution
Priyanka commented: “The offer to write this article for a magazine sponsored by a prestigious body like the CIPR made me feel very privileged. I hope my work will make a small but significant contribution to International Applied Communications by applying theories from scholars all around the world to draw attention to a contemporary issue that has been largely responsible for maligning the discipline of public relations as one of spin and propaganda.”
Priyanka came to UCLan from her native India and was drawn to the Applied Communications course because it was the only university which offered two semesters in two different countries; the Netherlands and the UK.
More information
Read Priyanka's article in full in Behind The Spin
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