Let's get dangerous – A review of current scholarship in public relation history

Public relations history is on a rising plane of research and publication. Borrowing from Soviet Premier Khrushchev’s 1956 comment that “Historians are dangerous and capable of upsetting everything”, the commentary argues that it needs to be more challenging, more critical, and seeking other voices. There is a strengthening debate over public relations’ historiography which needs to extend to all countries and types of public relations practice and theory

The History of Public Relations in Greece from 1950 to 1980: Professionalization of the “art”

The early development of public relations in Greece is explored through a focus on the period between 1950 and 1980. Specifically, the article considers the origins and early developments, important actors, international influences, professional bodies and the field of practice. It found that Greek business public relations was greatly influenced by American practices and through influential practitioners’ contact with the International Public Relations Association (IPRA)

Reluctant to talk, reluctant to listen: Public relations professionals and their involvement in CSR programmes in Spain

This article examines the type of contributions that public relations professionals make towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, while discussing the issues and obstacles they face to enter into that professional area. To do so, the authors have looked at the top publicly owned companies in Spain, which are part of the so-called IBEX35®. The research included semi-structured interviews and interpretative analysis of official documents and reports. Our findings suggest that despite normative claims from CSR departments that downplay the importance of public relations in the design and implementation of CSR programmes, the empirical evidence suggests otherwise. In this context, our findings show important operational deficiencies and accountability deficits precisely because of the lack of public relations input in the design and implementation of these programmes. Keywords : Corporate social responsibility; Public relations; Professionalism; Spain; Dialogue; Communicatio

Water scarcity communication in the UK: Learning from water company communications following the 2018 heatwave

When communicating about water scarcity, public water companies in the UK operate within a fine balance. There is a legal obligation on water companies in the UK to promote efficient water use, and pressure on water resources means that water companies need to encourage changes in water consumption behaviors. However, there is a lack of information about the way UK water companies communicate with the public. This paper presents the results of research into UK water company practices and perceptions in engaging consumers around water scarcity and water saving and discusses what this means for water scarcity communication. Interviews with 10 water company communication teams (14 interviewees) following the 2018 UK heatwave explored opportunities, innovations and challenges in public communication. Interviewees recognized the need for an ongoing conversation about water in the UK and identified a number of practices which could support a change in public water consumption. The results highlight the perceived importance of trust, timing and community- or group-scale communications, and the need for a cross-sectoral and intergenerational approach to public communication about water resources. This research examines some of the current underlying assumptions of water companies about what influences public water consumption in the UK and offers insights into some of the key challenges and opportunities for the future

Age, Gender and Suicidal Ideation Following Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation in patients who were tested for HIV-infection and whether along with their HIV status, age and gender influenced their risk for suicidal ideation. The sample consisted of 189 patients who attended a voluntary HIV counseling and testing clinic (VCT) at a general state hospital in Durban, South Africa. Their mean age at baseline was 34.2 years, with an age range of between 16–79 years. Seropositivity, age and gender were significantly associated with suicidal ideation. The majority of these patients were in the younger age group, and young males had a 1.8 times higher risk for suicidal ideation than females. Although risk factors for seropositive-related suicidal ideation can be complex and multi-factorial, this study identified a young age and male gender as important high risk factors in the sample studied. It is recommended that all, but especially young male HIV-infected patients seen at a VCT clinic be screened for suicidal ideation and that early intervention to prevent subsequent suicides or suicidal attempts be included in pre- and post-test HIV counseling

Advertising value equivalence: PR’s orphan metric

The academic approach to measurement and evaluation has long favoured social science methodologies (Broom and Dozier, 1990, Michaelson and Stacks, 2011 and Stacks, 2002), but there has been persistent, widespread practice use of advertising value equivalence (AVE) to express the economic and financial value of public relations activity. This paper investigates the evolution of AVE and discusses whether it arose from clippings agencies, press agentry or other influences on public relations, such as advertising and product promotion

An ounce of time, a pound of responsibilities and a ton of weight to lose: An autoethnographic journey of barriers, message adherence and the weight-loss process

This article uses an autoethnographic approach to determine how the intersectionality of identities affects message perceptions about weight loss from the lens of two doctoral students. This autoethnography links our personal experiences with the societal and cultural phenomena of obesity and weight loss, and the rhetoric of messages. We know there is a gap in public relations literature about autoethnography, health communication and intersectionality, and we hope to fill it. We also know health communicators seek more effective ways to reach an increasingly diverse audience; we hope to shed light on the issue. We know that many women want to lose weight and hope our narratives will resonate with them. Finally, we recognize autoethnographic skeptics exist in academia, and we hope our article provides insight into and understanding of the usefulness of autoethnographies in the field of public relations.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Professionalizing corporate professions: Professionalization as identity project

Professional bodies have traditionally played a core role in professionalization, setting the ideals for professional identity, knowledge and practice. However, the emergence of corporate professions has problematized the role of the professional body in contemporary professionalization. This article examines the role of the professional body and its ability to resonate with practitioners’ professional identity construction through empirical analysis of public relations. The article introduces the concept of professionalization as identity project as another means by which to understand attempts at social closure in emergent corporate professions. For professionalization as identity project to be fully realized, the research suggests the blending of traditional discourses of professionalism with emergent discourses of entrepreneurialism is required. Consequently, the study highlights that corporate professionalization as identity project reflects the contemporary tensions and contradictions between the lived reality and orthodox ideology of ‘being a professional’

Apprehending public relations as a promotional industry

This special issue examines the growing social and political importance of promotional activities and public relations. For decades, promotional tools have been deployed to foster the aims of various societal agencies, be they corporations, political actors, public institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or citizen movements. In today’s turbulent political and media environments, promotional practices have become more inventive, coordinated and ubiquitous, crossing transnational borders and circulating across business, politics and social institutions. Public relations is an essential tool in the promotional mix and is increasingly a stand-alone strategy for organisations of all kinds to manage their visibility, legitimacy and relationships with stakeholders. However, its influence and power in the context of an increasingly promotional culture are under-researched. In this introduction, we set out the landscape of promotional culture in which public relations activity takes place and consider how existing research on promotional work may illuminate our knowledge of contemporary public relations work

The evolution of public relations measurement and evaluation

The measurement and evaluation of public relations effectiveness has long been a major professional and research issue. In the first half of the 20th century, there were two research methods applied, opinion polls and basic media analysis. These were used to plan campaigns and monitor progress of media relations activities. In the second half of the century, as the practices of public relations expanded, greater emphasis was given to media analysis but the evidence of many practitioner studies was that measurement and evaluation was more discussed than undertaken. In the final 25 years of the century, the academic voice began to become more prominent in the discussion and development of methodologies and in nationally-based education programmes aimed at practitioners. The Internet and social media also began to change practices. There were mixed results from this clamour: more practitioners began to evaluate public relations activity (but many still applied discredited measures) whilst new techniques began to be introduced. Document analysis has prepared a timeline of the development of public relations measurement and evaluation. This paper explores the academic and professional themes that have characterised the development of this important public relations practice over the past 110 years