A journey to Mars: how planet PR used to be

One discussion theme emerging at PR Conversations during 2011 has been the role of women in public relations.  Although PR has become a feminised occupation since the 1990s, many issues remain such as salary differentials, dominance of men in senior positions and 90% female intake on undergraduate degree courses, which we’ve debated in one post [...]

Do you know where you’re going to? Public relations career advice

What was your route into public relations?  In 1943, Averill Broughton (a public relations and advertising executive with his own firm) interviewed leading PR executives for his book, Careers in Public Relations: The new profession. He observed that these successful practitioners had:
“backed into the field, as it were, by accident, and sat down. Afterwards it [...]

Relationship advice for PR practitioners

Relationships are in the DNA of PR – in fact, the name itself indicates the function manages relations with publics.  But the priority in PR practice is largely on writing skills rather than interpersonal ones; whilst although academic definitions and literature highlight two-way communications, they largely omit what is required to build and maintain mutually [...]

Sex sells – faking it in public relations

Women are successful in public relations – UK data shows a 64:36 female:male gender split  in an industry worth £7.5bn.  In particular, young women are attracted to the occupation – dominating specialist degree courses (by 4:1 in my experience) and reflecting the largest demographic group in practice.
The secret of their success is often stated as [...]

PR is what PR does – a question of ethics

Not surprisingly there’s been a great deal of discussion of ethics in relation to the News Corp phone-hacking scandal.  Although journalism and corporate governance are facing the real ethical questions, public relations has been brought into the mix by many commentators.  Indeed, the Vancouver Sun attributes any ethical lapses in journalism to the practice of [...]

PRoust questionnaire: Richard Bailey

Richard Bailey MCIPR experienced public relations educator (university and professional qualifications) and a former business journalist and PR manager/consultant.
The PRoust Questionnaire provides a quick insight into a public relations practitioner’s interests and point of view, as well as their professional beliefs and values. If you are not [...]

Public relations and the public interest: a matter of opinion

Recently the phrase “public interest” started an offline debate between two PR Conversations stalwarts, Toni Muzi Falconi and Heather Yaxley. This blog exists to encourage discourse about public relations and its role from a variety of perspectives, although normally, conversations are stimulated by a post, and then move into the comments section or onto Twitter. [...]

PR rules not OK

For an occupation that depends on freedom of expression to operate, it seems there are many who relish nothing more than imposing rules on the practice – and even the conceptualisation – of public relations.
First we have calls for a licence to operate, regulation, accreditation or registration of practitioners.  Even if you voluntarily join a [...]

A private viewing inside the Museum of Public Relations

Guest interview by Toni Muzi Falconi with founder of the fascinating non-profit venture, the Museum of Public Relations (http://www.prmuseum.com) Shelley Spector.
1. Why did you decide to establish the PR museum?
I had toyed with the idea for some time, but the impetus to set it up was getting to know Eddie Bernays, who offered his [...]

There’s no such thing as online or digital PR anymore…

That seems to be the message from Philip Young who, with David Phillips, is editing a special edition of the online journal, PRism on the topic: Beyond Online Public Relations (to be published early in 2012).
Philip claims that “Today ALL PR is Online PR” and is interested in papers that support or challenge the view [...]

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