Posted on Seasoned Posts

‘Core’ versus ‘extended’ PR competencies–do you buy in?

In a manual written for his students in 2005, Emanuele Invernizzi (Professor of Corporate Communication at IULM University in Milan and co-organiser of the 2008 Euprera Conference to take place in Milan) distinguished between the concepts of ‘core’ and ‘extended’ public relations competencies. He regards ‘core’ competencies as media relations, public affairs, organisation of corporate events and ceremonials while ‘extended’ competencies, in addition to the above, includes planned support to other functions (e.g. human resources, finance,...

Posted on Seasoned Posts

PR professionals are from Venus, PR scholars are from Mars: How shall the ‘twain’ meet?

In 2004, the Dutch scholar Prof Betteke Van Ruler referred to PR professionals as being ‘from Venus’ while PR scholars are ‘from Mars.’ UK academics Fawkes and Tench found traces of anti-intellectualism amongst PR practitioners/employers in their recent research study. An editorial by Wood in a leading academic publication in the UK, ‘Journal of Communication Management’, challenges academics to communicate their research more effectively rather than “languishing comfortably in an ivory tower.”

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Authentic Enterprise and Institutionalization: from Arthur Page and the IPR to Euprera’s Congress in October in Milano

In not many weeks some of us (scholars and professionals) will be in Milano participating at the Euprera annual Congress, which this year (October 16/17) is dedicated to the institutionalization of public relations. Although there will be a relevant but small segment of participants from other areas of the world, it is reasonable to expect that most will be European, and therefore are likely to transfer European perspectives. This is one good reason to review...

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election polls are only the tip of an iceberg for an essential review of understanding reality as it unfolds ever so fuzzily…

Once again most polls conducted for the recent Italian elections were wrong. Giuseppe De Rita, a highly intelligent and reputed analyst, sentenced: Italians are born liars. So what else is new? Helas! This is but the tip of an iceberg which calls into question, and not only in Italy, a number of ‘truths’ in many traditional activities such as market, political and social research, analysis, public relations, procurement, journalism…..

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finding a responsible path towards the institutionalization of the public relations function!

From an organizational perspective, the ongoing and accelerating process of institutionalization of the public relations function, besides its many positive aspects (for the organization, for public relators as well as for influential publics of both), also implies certain risks which whoever exercises any influence in determining or assisting that very process, should be well aware of..

Posted on Seasoned Posts

The story of X, the differences between on and off-line reputation and the Villejuif leaflet of the mid eighties. Plus ca change…plus c’est la meme chose??

Way back in the mid eighties the name of the Parisian hospital Villejuif coupled its widespread fame as the world hub for the more advanced medical research against cancer (at the time), with a particularly unexpected awareness amongst part of the european professional public relations comnunity: an anonymous leaflet began to circulate originated from within that hospital with a false signature, in which a list of well known consumer brands were indicated as being cancerous,...