School's out for social media – a PR report card

As many of us take a break for Summer, it seems a good time to produce a PR report card for its performance in social media this term. Let’s look at the four As, where I’m afraid most PR practitioners would do well to score a B- at best. Attendance: Undoubtedly, PR practitioners have taken to social media in droves over the past couple of years. The late majority has arrived in terms of those...

Is the PR lunch dead?

When’s the last time you enjoyed a traditional PR lunch? Not necessarily the three hour marathons of legend where enough wine was consumed to keep a small vineyard in business, but one where you met with a contact, probably a member of the media, to talk about ideas, share some gossip/intelligence and do that all important, relationship building, which included a meal in a proper restaurant. If you can’t readily remember – and aren’t suffering...

We need bigger ambitions in public relations

Last year I wrote about ‘excellence‘ suggesting that PR needs to stretch beyond specified performance standards or comparative pre-eminence. I’ve been thinking about this during my recent hours spent marking student work – and when looking at the winners of various PR industry awards.  My conclusion is that I’d like to see much bigger ambitions than I currently see in most such work. Abandon grading One idea is to abandon all percentage marks or grades...

An international conversation with CIPR candidates

Result announced:  The UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has announced the results of its 2014 President election – with Stephen Waddington the successful candidate [polling 68% of votes; turnout 8.8% of membership]. PR Conversations offers congratulations to Stephen and Commisserations to Jon, the two candidates. During the election campaign, we invited them to participate in a PR Conversations post, and asked our public relations colleague and good friend, Dan Tisch, chair of the...

Three wise men – homage to a public relations paradigm

In the last PR Conversations post, Toni Muzi Falconi presented a revised conceptual framework that proposed an organization should apply six generic principles of public relations within the operative context of six infrastructural characteristics to determine specific applications. The paradigm was subsequently developed with input from Rob Wakefield from Brigham Young University (the first scholar to theorize the paradigm a couple of decades ago), and Jim Grunig, who originated the Public Relations Excellence study in...

Generic principles and specific applications in public relations

In this post, Toni Muzi Falconi presents his development of a paradigm of public relations that seeks to establish common understanding of its strategic role in the contemporary, increasingly globalised environment. Toni subsequently discussed the concept in an email conversation with Rob Wakefield from Brigham Young University (the first scholar to theorize the paradigm a couple of decades ago), which was followed by a review of their elucubrations by Jim Grunig. That conversational development is...

Developing a worldview of public relations

All conversations about public relations reflect specific worldviews – and this is something we should examine when developing theory, considering practice or undertaking research in the field. Our opinions, prejudices and arguments are the outcome of personal and professional experience, our educational background, our values and perspectives on how things are – or should be – and how we assimilate the views of others into our existing mental frameworks. Likewise when reading the work of...

Public relations – career agency or apathy?

In 2011, I asked Do you know where you’re going to? in relation to careers in public relations. Beyond the individual career context, this question continues to have relevance for organizations and the wider occupation. Within the wider occupation, debate is often over whether PR is a profession or a craft.  However, each has specific career implications, which are rarely considered.  Ironically both concepts date to the Middle Ages – a profession being an occupation...

Selecting stakeholder groups for effective communication in the 21st-Century

As an employee relations (or internal communication) professional, how do you specifically identify your stakeholders? What approach and methods do you adopt and how do you implement them appropriately in order to communicate clearly? A guest interview and conversation between Toni Muzi Falconi and Rachel Miller Recently Toni Muzi Falconi approached PR Conversations about some of his current examinations regarding alternative approaches to communicating with stakeholders. It was determined the most effective method to understand...

500 PR Conversations

This is post #501 – which seems a useful milestone to reflect on the previous 500 posts at PR Conversations, and invite you to contribute your views on the blog overall. For me, PR Conversations has provided a global platform for debating and considering a wide range of classic and contemporary developments in public relations. I have had the opportunity to present some new thoughts and argue my viewpoint in relation to some traditional concepts....