It is fast becoming one of the most sought after careers by graduates and is a growth industry worth #3.4 billion to the UK economy.
Yet it’s also a profession that many people are deeply suspicious of. We’re talking about PR, short for public relations, an area of work that has become synonymous with the word "spin"– or the art of putting a positive gloss on bad news.
In Birmingham and the West Midlands, it is a thriving business sector that has now been recognised by what is claimed to be the region’s first dedicated BA honours degree in Public Relations.
The course, run by Wolverhampton University, is one of a growing number in the subject across the country.
The first wave of students started in September and the programme has just received accreditation from the sector’s professional body, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Ironically, course leader Sarah Williams believes the negative image associated with the profession has helped fuel the growing popularity of PR in the young.
"It has been the response to the charges of spin, even the negative portrayal of it, that has generated an interest in this career," she said.
"Most people who have been in the sector will, like me, have fallen into it. It wasn’t promoted as a career choice at university. Now it is a well-known and growing industry and people are choosing to study it."
In today’s business climate, companies are now much more in need of the communication skills that PR professionals bring, believes Ms Williams.
"They are starting to understand the value of communication and the value of reputation to their bottom line," she said.
"They don’t exist in a bubble and must be part of society. People today are becoming more aware of issues like the environment and are demanding more from companies. Managers are releasing they don’t have the expertise to deal with this without some kind of guidance so PR is taking on more importance in organisations."
Despite a huge variety of public relation jobs from public sector and charities to commercial, Government spin-doctoring and promoting celebrities is still what springs to most people’s mind.
The phrase spin-doctor is all but synonymous with the current Labour Government, particularly its early days in power. Chief practitioner of the art was Tony Blair’s press secretary Alastair Campbell.
In the celebrity world, PR guru Max Clifford has achieved his own fame through representing a range of celebrities.
Ms Williams admits there is an element of truth-bending in the profession.
"It’s not lying, but not telling the whole truth. There is an element of being amoral, but we push heavily the idea of ethical PR as much as possible."
Wolverhampton’s new course, however, is not designed to produce future Max Cliffords or Alastair Campbells.
Instead, it will aim to equip students with the everyday skills they need to survive in an expanding sector.
"A really good PR person shouldn’t be seen. You should be a facilitator that puts the experts in front of the media, not the expert.
"If you speak to most PR people they will say that is not their job."
"You need to be outgoing, you need good writing skills and you need to be able to communicate with people." The good, bad, and the ugly Recent history is littered with examples of good and bad PR. For instance, who can forget the fiasco of Princess Diana and Prince Charles appearing in TV interviews in an attempt to polish up their reputations after their break-up? Their success in still open to debate.
However, British actor Hugh Grant’s public contrition after being caught with a Los Angeles prostitute, was nothing but a success story. Instead of destroying his career, his appearances on US talk shows boosted his image and he went on to star in a number of box office hits.
Most recently, we have seen the spectacle of Celebrity Big Brother contestant Jade Goody attempting to revive her career following alleged racist comments made to a fellow contestant, the Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.
