Match the activities in List-I with the functions of the public relations department in List-II:
| List-I | List-II |
|---|---|
| (A) A company’s public relations officer sends a well-researched story about its new plant to newspapers. | (I) Lobbying |
| (B) A company sends newsletters and annual reports to the public and to its own employees. | (II) Publicity |
| (C) A company’s officials meet the ministry in charge of industry while a new industrial policy is being framed. | (III) Press release |
| (D) A newspaper, on its own, reports a firm’s new low-cost water filter, and the firm bears no cost for it. | (IV) Corporate communication |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A)-(III), (B)-(IV), (C)-(I), (D)-(II)
| List-I | List-II | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| (A) A company’s public relations officer sends a well-researched story about its new plant to newspapers. | (III) Press release | Researching a story and getting the media to accept it is the work of press release. It puts true facts about the company in the press. |
| (B) A company sends newsletters and annual reports to the public and to its own employees. | (IV) Corporate communication | Corporate communication builds the firm’s image among the public and its own employees through newsletters, annual reports and brochures. |
| (C) A company’s officials meet the ministry in charge of industry while a new industrial policy is being framed. | (I) Lobbying | Lobbying means dealing with government officials and ministers on policies that affect business. |
| (D) A newspaper, on its own, reports a firm’s new low-cost water filter, and the firm bears no cost for it. | (II) Publicity | Publicity is favourable news in the mass media for which the firm bears no cost. |
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “1. Publicity: Publicity is similar to advertising, in the sense that it is a non-personal form of communication. However, as against advertising it is a non-paid form of communication. Publicity generally takes place when favourable news is presented in the mass media about a product or service. For example, if a manufacturer achieves a breakthrough by developing a car engine, which runs on water instead of petrol, and this news is covered by television or radio or newspapers in the form of a news item. It would be termed as publicity because the engine manufacturer would benefit from such dissemination of information about its achievement by the media but would not bear any cost for the same. …” “2. Press release: Information about the organisation needs to be presented in a positive manner in the press. Generating news requires skill in developing and researching a story and getting the media to accept press releases is a difficult task. The public relations department is in contact with the media to present true facts and a correct picture about the company. …” “3. Corporate communication: The image of the organisation needs to be promoted through communicating with the public and the employees within the organisation. This is usually done with the help of newsletter, annual reports, brochures, articles and audio-visual materials. …” “4. Lobbying: The organisation has to deal with government officials and different ministers in charge of corporate affairs, industry, finance with respect to policies relating to business and the economy. The government also seeks to maintain a healthy relationship with associations of commerce and industry and solicits the opinion of major stakeholders while formulating industrial, telecom, taxation policies, etc. …” |