global discussion. local perspectives.
Perhaps atypical of my cohort, but continuing to find a place for PR theory in my agency’s practice Guest post by Katie Sheppet PR practitioners of Generation Y, including myself, often are pigeonholed as the “I want it right now” generation (The PR Practitioner). We’re criticised for thinking we know everything or for wanting “it all” too fast. Whilst this can ring true for some, it’s unfair to say we’re all the same. That was...
Responding to the use of PR to challenge inequalities in society, Bournemouth University, has run a series of seminars looking at ‘dissent PR’ and ‘protest PR’. My own contribution was to take a look at the role of women as activists and agitators over the past century. Here I share some musings from that work for your comments. In studying the history of public relations, female experiences have largely been missing, with the accounts of...
What shade of PR do you practice? I believe that “PR is what PR does” which offers a broad perspective encompassing many shades. In a recent PR Conversations post, Fraser Likely, said he didn’t “do” PR. Rather he advises on the management of PR functions. This is a shade of PR. Similarly, the Melbourne Mandate indicates a shade: “The mandate of public relations is to build and sustain strong relationships between an organisation and its...
Engaging for Success; an innovative UK program By Rachel Miller What is the cost of disengaged employees to a department, brand or a nation? A voluntary movement in the United Kingdom has brought employee engagement into sharp focus with the revelation that disengagement loses the UK billions of pounds annually. This month, leaders from 44 of the most recognisable private, public and charitable organisations signed an open letter to The Times newspaper. Among the chief...
The PRoust Questionnaire provides a quick insight into a public relations practitioner’s interests and point of view, as well as his or her 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 Fraser Likely: 1. What is your most striking characteristic as a PR practitioner? An on-going desire to contribute expertise at the strategic level (rather...
Public relations for public relations is effective! Why should we be surprised? Guest OpEd by Toni Muzi Falconi “I have nothing against regulation that verifies and controls, in the public interest, the consequences of our actions, because we need to be fully responsible for what we do. As journalists need to be free to write what they wish, we also need to be free to act as we wish. But over certain limits both of...
With only a couple of weeks to go before the Global Alliance’s World Public Relations Forum (WPRF) kicks off, I was reminded of Heather Yaxley’s post around this time last year on relationship advice for PR practitioners. More than 700 delegates from every continent will be meeting in Australia and part of the agenda will include a robust discussion on the Melbourne Mandate, designed to build on the Stockholm Accords agreed to at WPRF 2010....
Modern media is making it ever easier for people to reject things that they don’t want to hear. We can scan and filter out sentiments or information that we find objectionable or which doesn’t fit with our existing world view. But rather than actively assess information before accepting or rejecting it (as proposed by Social Judgement Theory) people seem increasingly to avoid, filter or deny something that they reject out of hand. The phenomenon of...
By Mojca Drevenšek What is the role and importance of public relations professionals in fostering integrated reporting (IR) practices in corporations and other organizations? This was the theme of my 2012 Bledcom paper, highly influenced by an earlier conference paper by Benita Steyn and Estelle de Beer, “The Strategic Role of Public Relations in the Process of Integrated Reporting” (republished on PR Conversations). In this guest post I outline my paper’s most important concepts. Defining...
When it comes to sharing information about global public relations, standards and best practices, it’s great that typical marketplace “competition” borders can be put aside. Welcome to an atypical PR Conversations tête-à-tête. One conversant is John Paluszek of Ketchum (USA) and immediate past chair of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, a featured speaker at this year’s World Public Relations Forum (WPRF). The individual who piloted the interview and formulated the questions...