Forward Podcast - Interviews with an Australian blogger and a Caribbean blogger
The latest edition of Forward’s podcast features an interview with yours truly. Forward is a blog that aims to provide a comprehensive, ever-evolving, online springboard for students and young professionals in PR. It’s the collaborative effort of a team composed of students, faculty and professionals from around the globe from varying levels and areas of expertise.
Forward Podcast 13 explores online learning opportunities for young PR professionals. The show’s host, Paull Young of Australia has an in-depth conversation with long-time blogger Lee Hopkins (also of Australia) about his experience in the non-Internet period to now. Paull’s interview with me acts as a case study on my experience as a public relations professional in the Caribbean. Paull describes Hopkins and me as geographically isolated communicators. What he means is that in comparison to bloggers in the UK and US, which have a large public relations community, Hopkins and I belong to a very small, PR blogging community. In my case, I’m the only person in the Caribbean with a blog that is totally dedicated to public relations. Paull talks to us about our learning experience online.
Paull’s interview with Hopkins is first. My interview is in the second half. You can access the podcast at http://www.forward-moving.com/blog/2006/11/01/draft-forward-podcast-13-pr-learning-online/. It’s 26 minutes long.
Robert French says he fully enjoyed the podcast. I hope you do too.
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Comments
Hi Vote4changetnt. Thanks for your comment.
However, I’d like to correct one misconception for the main purpose of ensuring that the truth about public relations in the Caribbean is clear. I did say that full public relations degrees are not offered. However, I didn’t say that there are very few professionals in the Caribbean. In fact, there are many public relations professionals in the Caribbean in both the public and private sectors.
Public relations in Trinidad and Tobago started in the 1950s with the entry of multinational, oil companies, and soon the Government, banks and other businesses recognised the need for public relations personnel. Public relations is a thriving profession in Trinidad and Tobago, and other Caribbean countries.
There are many practitioners who are doing great jobs. There are also practitioners who continually aim to advance the profession, for e.g. the recent establishment of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) by its current President, Judette Coward-Puglisi and other professionals.
So don’t fear, public relations in T&T is thriving, and we are making strides to better the profession.
In the interview, I had also discussed T&T’s economy and our cultural diversity. However, that wasn’t in the interview, as it was edited for time purposes.
Thanks for listening to the podcast. I always look forward to hearing your views.
It is useful to note that University of the West Indies (St. Augustine campus) started a bachelor’s degree in human communications some three years ago. Components of the programme include public relations and mass communictaions.
Practitioners have also gotten a Caribbean PR perspective & training at CARIMAC (Jamaica) for over 2 decades
Judette Coward Puglisi
That’s right PR is offered at CARIMAC - UWI Mona Campus Jamaica. I am a product of that Institute and I majored in PR 
great interview.
Karel the interview was very informative. I was very surprise that UWI does not offer PR as a degree and that there are very few PR proffesionls in the carbbean. I hope you will be able to change the perception of PR and the important role PR plays in any company or organization.