For anyone looking for a concentration to pursue in their communications degree today, there are a number of great and highly relevant options to choose from. Which of these concentrations is right for you? Here’s the scoop on five, great options in the field to help aid in the decision.
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Organizational Communication
Organizational communication is the area of communique used specifically within organizations. Some examples of organizational communications methods include employee newsletters, signage installed on organization property, and even loudspeaker announcements. Organizational communication is its very own specialization area in communications studies, as it is geared to a very specific audience with its own unique tones, goals, and other qualities.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the communications specialization that encompasses any and all kinds of communications used in television or radio broadcasts. Broadcasted advertisements represent one area within this specialty, while program content used in scheduled programming represents a whole other side to broadcasting communications. Those educated in this specialization area of communications will be equipped to work in both the advertising and programming content areas of many broadcasting communications jobs today.
Public Relations
Public relations is the professional effort to maintain a favorable reputation in the collective public’s eye. Many companies have entire departments dedicated to public relations efforts. Here, PR workers field incoming concerns, craft outbound communique, craft speeches, and handle many other operations all devoted to staying current with public opinion, current events, and the provision of their own company’s responses to said events. Public relations professionals are also utilized by many individuals in addition to just organizations alone.
Journalism
Handsomely summed up for the layman, the American Press Institute defines journalism as “the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. It is also the product of these activities.” In the communications field of study, journalism is a key concentration area and a major representation of the field at that. This area of focus is all about reporting, integrity of facts, tone control, and perspective.
Advertising and Marketing
Advertising and marketing – this professional area of promotion is all about the use of convincing and compelling communications in order to garner as much customer patronage as possible. In fact, the importance of effective advertising and marketing efforts rivals the importance of effective public relations works in that either can propel or stagnate a company entirely. While advertising and marketing does represent its own degree program in most colleges, it is also an area able to be learned, to a slightly lesser extent, via communications degree specialization.
Today’s communication degree can lead to any number of jobs and lifelong careers. As the world of human communications is a vast and ever-changing one, the vast applicability and knowledge-base attributed to this degree is equally scaled. Whether it be a matter of a company’s private, internal communications or a boisterous radio or television public broadcast, professional communicators are there behind it all.