A highly disappointing London World Public Relations Festival: a politically correct, lip service tribute to everything and its contrary! Too bad..

The very selection of the overall theme ‘The public benefit of public relations’ reveals a strong affiliation with that ‘pr-for-pr’ thread of thought which, if one patiently recalls similar attempts…see the preceeding post on this blog..) has possibly done more harm to our profession’s societal acceptability than all recent social critiques bundled together.

McClellan, PRSA, Cohen and CBS, You Tube, Harold Burson, Jack O’Dwyer, Myself and…boy what a blunder!

As professionals, we know only too well how often we are called on to discover or even create reasonable opportunities for published visibility, as well as to rouse and galvanize internal/external stakeholder groups when a client or employer’s reputation is in a critical condition (or, more recently, even in business as usual circumstances).
So what else [...]

Some effective communication sound bytes in the Canadiana realm

Some on and offline reads and events that have stoked interest and been worthy of my attention of late, including a nod to Pow Wow Etiquette, musings that perhaps PR practitioners could benefit from an oath of obligation (similar to U of T medical research graduates), movies that motivate, Winnipeg revisited, the (sort-of) retirement of [...]

Where is the Public Benefit of Public Relations? Find out from the end of next week in London at the World Public Relations Festival

For the fifth time, beginning in London at the end of next week, the Global Alliance will have succeeded in convening the more aware and concerned part of our global professional community (professionals, scholars and students) to

A case history approach to public relations education. Agree? Disagree? Useful? Waste of time?

Every once in a while professionals, academics and students discuss (and sometime practice..) a case history approach to public relations education.
The argument goes that if we wish to

Two New Features in this Blog. Enjoy and/or criticise..please!!

You might have noticed on the right hand side of this blog a new ‘special feature’ which, for now, includes two links.
This addition also derives from your responses to our very feeble ‘stakeholder engagement’ attempt.

Beyond Truth… Sincerity?

These days, as the World PR Festival in London (June 23-24) comes closer, the public benefit of Public Relations returns once again to the top of our agenda. But could it be that this time we can no longer rely on the argument, so often used in the past, that PR have a positive impact [...]

Two recent documents for all of us….so avid for data on our profession!

The fifth GAP (generally accepted paractices) gap report from Annenberg School of Communication has just been released, while Ansgarr Zerfass from Leipzig, leading a coalition of ten european universities has just launched the largest online survey on public relations in Europe ever attempted. Participate here.