Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Axis

The dimensions of PR history: 60 x 75 x 94 x 350,000

One of the delightful developments from the International History of Public Relations Conference (IHPRC) and growing interest in the antecedents of the field is the publication of some wonderful books. In particular, two series have gone from strength to strength. The first is the collection of scholarly texts edited by Kevin Moloney: New Directions in Public Relations and Communication Research. Their popularity among the academic community is such that the excellent Gender and Public Relations...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Axis

Conducting historical interviews in a transparent age

An important link between academia and practice is research. A notable difference is the emphasis within such research on methodological matters. This is a critical aspect of scholarship, but is commonly lacking in practice, particularly within public relations where crowd-sourcing exercises and publicity-oriented surveys may be viewed unproblematically. This criticism can even be applied to some research undertaken by professional bodies. Methodology is of vital important in academic research studies, including those with a historical...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Axis

PR history – prospecting for archival gold

The third in our History Week series is a fascinating insight into archival research authored by Emeritus Professor Tom Watson. Archival research is the bedrock of historical writing. The hours, days and weeks spent searching through all forms of archives are akin to the prospector panning through sands and mud in the hope of finding speckles of gold. Only occasionally does a nugget appear. Although it can feel like time wasted, historians realize that they...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Axis

Museum of Public Relations – archives and artefacts under the gaze of Bernays (Lee, Page and Byoir…)

Five years ago, Toni Muzi Falconi gave PR Conversations readers a private viewing inside the Museum of Public Relations. From its beginnings in 1996 as an award-winning internet museum (possibly the first in the world), two decades later the Museum of Public Relations resides at Baruch College’s Newman Library Archives and Special Collections, where it is open to the public by appointment for tours, guest lectures and research. As an educational institution chartered by the...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Axis

Made by history – a book collector’s story

Martin Luther King’s call to be a “transformed nonconformist” (in the book From Strength to Love written in 1963) is history, but it is a call that remains valid in our modern world. King felt a shift had occurred from individualism to collectivism arguing: “We are not makers of history; we are made by history.” Rather than adopting a “view that is so ambiguous that it will include everything and so popular that it will...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Sphere

When PR goes bad – inaccuracy, muddle and confusion

I’ve been catching up on The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story in its late night re-run on the BBC. A strong narrative running through the episodes that I’ve seen so far (six out of the ten) is the All Star / Dream Team defence lawyers’ focus on winning at all costs, and how ill equipped the district attorney’s prosecutors seem to be in reacting to this strategy. What comes across loud and clear...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Sphere PRoust Questionnaire

PRoust Questionnaire: Helen Reynolds

The PRoust Questionnaire provides a quick insight into a public relations practitioner’s interests and point of view, as well as her or his 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. PRoust Questionnaire answers from Helen Reynolds: 1. What are your most striking characteristics as a PR practitioner? I think it’s ‘realness’. Unlike the stereotype of the PR practitioner...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Motion

Not sorry to see you go – career churn and public relations

Ever since public relations became a career option around a century ago, people have found themselves working in it by accident. It is still common today for practitioners to reflect vastly different job histories prior to joining the field, and to pursue different career paths over their working lives. Some people move away from the occupation and this churn is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps practitioners secure opportunities for promotion taking them away from a...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Vision

Responsible communication leadership: putting employees first

By Dr Kevin Ruck Following the financial crisis in 2008, management thinkers and others have rightly questioned the role of business leaders in society. Often fingers point at business schools, regarding their failure to incorporate ethics into programmes. In addition, governance is back in the spotlight. As the UK department store British Home Stores (BHS) went  into administration last week (a situation similar to going into “Chapter 11” in the USA), questions are being asked...

Posted on Current PR Conversations PR Sense

Who talks to (and about) colleagues like that?

What qualities do you most dislike in a PR practitioner? “Being absorbed with ‘The Message’ and forgetting all about the specific context of the communication that is needed.” Gregor Halff’s response to Q8 of the PRoust Questionnaire I have long been a believer that “language shapes consciousness,” primarily in regards to deliberate words chosen, particularly when reasonable, more-inclusive and dynamic terms exist. For example, mindfully using gender-neutral titles, such as chair rather than chairman or firefighter...