global discussion. local perspectives.
I’ve yet to come across Constance Hope in any public relations textbook – perhaps not surprising as women are largely missing from the history. Indeed, apart from Doris Fleischman, I am unaware of any female voices writing about early experiences of the practice in the US; and Fleischman’s contribution inevitably is linked to her husband Edward Bernays. So exactly who was Constance Hope and why should we care about her story? Well she authored a...
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 PR, whilst the UK’s Guardian newspaper drags out the lazy PR disaster label. We’ve also seen the usual implications that...
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 familiar with the original 19th-century Proust Questionnaire, please see details at the end of this post. 1. What is your most striking characteristic as a PR practitioner?...
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 familiar with the original 19th-century Proust Questionnaire, please see details at the end of this post. 1. What is your most striking characteristic as a PR practitioner? Being able to gather the real picture of the situation even when the facts tell me the opposite. 2....
It is nearly 25 years since the publication of Cline’s ‘Velvet Ghetto’ study of women in public relations which responded to the increasing feminisation of the occupation. Undeniably today, the field is one dominated by women – indeed, based on my UK experience, 90% of the students on undergraduate PR degree courses and studying for professional qualifications are female. Both professional bodies here have women in senior positions: Sally Costerton (chairman and CEO of Hill...
One of the interesting outcomes of my position on the boundary of PR academia and practice is that I’m often asked for recommendations about finding PR talent. This frequently applies to recruiting placement students (interns) or young graduate practitioners. However, at the PR career starting point, there are many who advocate a specialist degree is not important. For example, a study by the PRCA in 2009 found three-quarters of its PR Leaders’ panel were unimpressed...
From a PR perspective, there’s a problem with all the discussion regarding the merits or otherwise of paywalls to access online content, the impact of social media or the role of PR versus marketing in this brave new world. It’s all about the media – with little consideration of what we should really be interested in, the public. New business models for media companies will continue to emerge and be challenged. The bottom line is...
By Janette van Kalkeren The European continent comprises 51 countries with a total of 837 million habitants. Of these, 27 countries (500 million citizens) are members of the European Union (EU), within which there is free movement of people, goods, services and capital; 16 of these countries have the same currency, the Euro. So does this support homogenous or heterogeneous public relations? From my experience, having lived or stayed in many European countries, I can...
Whether you call it digital PR, online PR, or social media (SM) relations – public relations practitioners are being told they must enter this “brave new world”, embrace the “revolution” and engage with “new influencers” at every turn. With a religious fervour, the gurus and advocates are now on overdrive in promoting technological solutions to assist organisations in monitoring, managing and evaluating every aspect of their public relations. If your organisation, brand, campaign, or significant...
Global Public Relations: spanning borders, spanning cultures Review by Toni Muzi Falconi I’ve now been teaching Global Relations and Intercultural Communication at New York University’s Master’s in Public Relations for five years, including reviewing my (ever-changing) syllabus involving some 150 students to date. From the very beginning, as mandatory course books I have opted to use the Vercic and Sriramesh’a Global Public Relations Handbook (edition 1, and then 2), in tandem with the fundamental Post, Preston, Sachs’ book. Redefining...