The rise and fall of IPRA in Australia: 1959 to 2000

The International Public Relations Association (IPRA) was established in 1955 as the lead international organisation for the development and promotion of public relations as a professional communication practice (L’Etang, 2004). Australian practitioners began their relationship with IPRA in 1959. However, it too three decades before it became intensive over a 15-year period from 1983 to the late 1990s during which time leading individuals took global leadership roles. Drawing from the IPRA archive and recent interviews by the authors with prominent practitioners in Europe and Australia, the paper establishes the narrative of international engagement by the Australian PR sector and explores the aims and effects of its involvement with IPRA in four periods: 1) Early international engagement (1959-1967): London-based Australians occasionally attended IPRA meetings in Europe, but engagement was mostly by correspondence with little evident impact on IPRA or vice versa. 2) The Jon Royce era (early-mid-1980s): Melbourne consultant Jon Royce’s presentation of Australian PR to IPRA in 1983 led to the 11th Public Relations World Congress being awarded to Melbourne for 1988. Royce was IPRA President in 1985 but died in early 1986. 3)IPRA World Congress in Australia: The 1988 IPRA World Congress in Melbourne in Australia’s Bicentenary year is acknowledged in IPRA records as very successful and a significant milestone in the nations’ developing PR industry. Senator Jim Short was praised for his leadership and Sydney consultant Jim Pritchitt joined IPRA’s Council and then Board, after which Australian membership of IPRA soared. 4) Peak membership and leadership (1990s): Pritchitt became Australia’s second IPRA President in 1992. Also during this time, Australians took a lead role in development of the IPRA Gold Paper No.11 on Evaluation (1994). In 1999 IPRA awarded its 2002 World Congress to Tasmania, but was postponed to 2003 and then merged into that year’s Public Relations Institute of Australia National Conference. This failure symbolised the fading influence of IPRA within Australia and internationally. By 2000, Australian membership of IPRA had fallen to 25 from a peak of 78 in 1993. The reasons for the rise and fall are explored in the paper. Based on archival documents and interviews with IPRA members from these periods, it concludes that the impact of IPRA on the development of the Australian public relations sector and Australian influence on IPRA was relatively ephemeral, limited to a decade from 1983 to 1993. Nevertheless, Australian practitioners made use of both the symbolism of international endorsement and international connections established through IPRA to transform the national PR sector from a predominantly local focus to an increasingly international outlook at a time when public relations services were expanding rapidly worldwide

Organisational listening: A vital missing element in public communication and the public sphere

Report of a pilot study of public communication by organisations that shows allegedly communicative functions including public relations, involve considerable and often massive resources devoted to creating an architecture of speaking and doing the work of speaking on behalf of organisations including government departments and agencies, corporations, and institutions. However, this research raises serious questions about the extent to which organisations listen to those who seek to engage with them. Further, it suggests that organisations cannot effectively listen unless they have an architecture of listening or do the work of listening, and identifies cultural, structural, political and technological components to create this vital missing element in public communication and the public sphere

The Continuing Convergence of Journalism and PR: New Insights for Ethical Practice from a Three-Country Study of Senior Practitioners

© 2015 AEJMC. The influence of public relations (PR) on media content has been shown to be substantial, and research indicates that it is growing through new media practices. However, the interrelationship between journalism and PR remains obscured by paradoxical discourses and stereotypes such as "spin doctors." This article identifies gaps in the literature and current understandings, and reports findings from in-depth interviews with senior editors, journalists, and PR practitioners in several countries that provide new insights into how the fields of practice interact which not only debunk some myths but also expose a need for improved transparency and standards to ensure ethical media practice

Journalism-PR relations revisited: The good news, the bad news, and insights into tomorrow's news

© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Extensive research over the past 100 years has shown that the interrelationship between journalism and PR is tensioned and paradoxical, with negative perceptions of PR among journalists and trivialization and demonization of PR as 'spin' contrasted by claims of 'symbiosis' and evidence that 40-75% of media content is significantly influenced by PR. However, studies have been predominantly quantitative and most predate the recent 'crisis in journalism' and rapid growth of new media formats. This article reports in-depth interviews with senior editors, journalists and PR practitioners in three countries that provide new insights into journalism-PR relations today and identify trajectories for future research, education and practice

Beyond voice: Audience-making and the work and architecture of listening as new media literacies

Considerable attention in communication, media and social science scholarship is focused on voice, which is considered as an important form of social capital and necessary for social equity. Studies have extensively examined access to communication technologies and various forums such as the public sphere, as well as media literacy required to have a voice. Despite continuing concern over a 'digital divide', the emergence of Web 2.0-based 'new media', also referred to as 'social media', is seen as an empowering development contributing to the democratization of voice. However, based on two studies of online public consultation and critical analysis of the literature on voice and listening, this article argues that two important corollaries of voice, as it is commonly conceptualized, are overlooked. To matter, as Nick Couldry says it should, voice needs to have an audience and, second, audiences must listen. While considerable attention is paid by mass media to creating, maintaining and engaging audiences, comparatively little attention is paid to audiences and listening in discussions of new media and social media. In an environment of proliferating channels for speaking coinciding with demassification and 'fragmentation' of audiences, engaging audiences and the work of listening have become problematic and are important media literacies required to make voice matter. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Internet media and the public sphere: The 2007 Australian e-electioneering experience

Internet media have come under increasing examination since the early 1990s within a number of theoretical frameworks, including their use and potential influence in the public sphere of political discourse. Increasing use of internet media was identified in the 2000 and 2004 US presidential elections, with the latter being described as 'a critical turning point'. However, the development of what some call 'new media' or 'social media' based on Web 2.0 internet technology has overtaken many findings of previous research. Some of the most popular Web 2.0-based media currently in use were developed after 2004. These technological changes, coinciding with declining television viewing and newspaper readership, suggest that new forms of internet media need ongoing critical review. This paper analyses findings from a study of internet media use in the 2007 Australian federal election and explores their implications in relation to the public sphere

E-Electioneering: Use of new media in the 2007 Australian federal election

Like the 2007-2008 US presidential primaries, the 2007 Australian federal election was described as 'the YouTube election' and an 'internet election' (Media Monitors, 2008). This followed studies of use of what are termed 'new media' for political communication in a number of campaigns including the 2000 US presidential election (Bentivegna, 2002, p. 50) and the 2004 US presidential election which was described as 'a critical turning point' (Xenos and Moy, 2007, p. 704). However, the development of web 2.01 internet media, expanding broadband, and other changes have overtaken many findings of previous research. Some of the most popular new media currently in use were 'invented' post-2004. The rapid rate of technological and social change makes new media research particularly time-bound and indicates that ongoing empirical studies and analysis are needed. This paper contributes to understanding of how new media are used in political communication and how they influence the public sphere (Habermas, 1989, 2006), particularly looking at public interaction and participation (Carpentier, 2007) which have been identified as key features of web 2.0 media and as requirements of an active public sphere, based on findings of a study conducted by the Australian Centre for Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney during the 2007 Australian federal election

Organizational listening: Addressing a major gap in public relations theory and practice

© 2016 Taylor & Francis. An extensive body of literature theorizes public relations as two-way communication, dialogue, and relationships between organizations and their publics. Although there are alternative views, including public relations as advocacy, most theories emphasize dialogue, co-orientation, and relationships incorporating satisfaction, trust, and control mutuality—even to the extent of symmetry. Critical perspectives propose a sociocultural turn that further emphasizes stakeholders’ and societal interests. This analysis draws on a three-country study that reveals a major theory-practice gap and proposes a significant expansion of public relations theory in relation to listening to realize normative notions of public relations and give effect to claims of dialogue and engagement

Pre and post-election 2010 online: What happened to the conversation?

Study of use of social media by Australian federal politicians in the 60 days immediately following the 2010 election