Public perceptions of public relations

Public relations has been portrayed in the media in a consistently negative manner over several decades, providing images that may become part of public perceptions. Perceptions about public relations affect the perceived credibility of the profession and influence whether people see public relations as valuable to society. Second-level agenda setting and cultivation theories purport that mass media contribute to beliefs about social reality by creating a cumulative, general consciousness upon which assumptions and judgments are based, suggesting that public perceptions about public relations would match media portrayal. Results of a telephone survey found public relations is perceived more positively than media portrayal would suggest. Respondents viewed public relations as an important activity that benefits society by providing information and disagree that it is damage control, an attempt to hide or disguise something, or a non-substantive activity. However, public relations is associated with publicity, media relations, and the attempt of an organization to advance its own agenda.     

How female practitioners in Moscow view their profession: A pilot study

This pilot study investigated how female public relations practitioners in Moscow, Russia perceived their profession. The findings suggest that perceptions of public relations as a service-oriented profession are deeply rooted in the patriarchal tradition of the Russian society. In addition, results demonstrated that Moscow female practitioners articulated both advantages and disadvantages of viewing public relations as a service-oriented profession in Russia.     

In search of career satisfaction: African-American public relations practitioners, pigeonholing, and the workplace

The goals of the research were to explore African-American practitioners’ satisfaction with public relations as a career and to examine their perceptions of tokenism and pigeonholing in the workplace. Three key themes emerged from the research: career entry and social support in public relations; encounters with everyday racism; and pigeonholing in public relations. For the majority of 12 African-American practitioners interviewed, they have experienced discrimination in their careers and in public relations, yet the practitioners did not see themselves as pigeonholed in their roles or positions. The complete study can be requested from the author.     

Acceptance of democracy and public relations: Attitudes in a transitional country

The study explores the relationship between acceptance of democracy and opinions about public communication used by the private sector in television newscasts in Croatia, a country transitioning to democracy. A survey administered to students at a large University in Zagreb found inconsistent responses to the items that measured acceptance of democracy, indicating that young Croatians in the study may still be in a political “gray zone” and may not have a full understanding of the precepts of democracy. However, there was a positive correlation between opinions about public relations media practices and acceptance of democracy. The study suggests that it is not enough to use a theoretical framework of global public relations that characterizes a country as a democracy or not, but rather to recognize that democratization is a process. Many people in transitional societies may be closer on the continuum to traditional communist points of view than to newer democratic views; such understanding can help provide a theoretical understanding of transitional public relations.     

Korean practitioners and journalists: Relational influences in news selection

This study investigates how source–media relationships influence perceptions toward news selection from the public relations practitioners’ viewpoint in Korea. The results show that Korean public relations practitioners who perform formal media relations believed that journalists would select news stories based on journalists’ media routine principles, such as using government sources. In contrast, Korean public relations practitioners who perform informal or monetary media relations believed that journalists would select news stories based on journalists’ extra-media factors, such as personal relationships with public relations practitioners.     

Cultural perceptions of public relations gender roles in Romania

This study examines attitudes about gender roles and their implications for public relations practice in Romania. Results reveal Romanians still hold traditional views, but women held a more liberal view of their role in society and in the workplace. The study supports that history and socio-cultural values are important factors in understanding the context in which attitudes about workplace roles are formed, which can increase understanding of public relations in transitional countries in Europe.     

Extending cultural horizons: Political economy and public relations

In this article, we aim to offer a conceptual bridge between political economy and the practice of public relations, which should be helpful especially for practitioners and scholars interested in public relations at a global level. The combination of social, political, and economic forces is powerful, pervasive, and highly influential on the public relations activities of organizations, and we assert that these factors must be examined in unison. In turn, we discuss the role of political–economic relationships and the constraints they impart on the goal-seeking behavior of organizations. We conclude by offering suggestions as to how public relations practitioners and scholars can begin to think about their efforts and linkages with political economy.     

International public relations’ influence on media coverage and public perceptions of foreign countries

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of international public relations on a target country's news coverage and public perceptions toward other countries. This study proposed a public relations influence model of national image formation and tested its relationships based on 27 countries’ public relations effort targeting the U.S. news coverage and publics. This study found that (1) public relations of other countries in the U.S. had a direct impact on how significantly the U.S. public perceived those countries; (2) the more prominently and favorably foreign countries were covered by the U.S. news media, the more significantly and favorably the U.S. public perceived and felt toward those countries.     

Development of professional roles in the practice of public relations in Chile

Using survey responses of 577 public relation practitioners, this article examines role conceptions in Chilean public relations, as well as the effects that different individual and organizational factors have on their professional worldviews. The results show that how Chilean practitioners perceive their roles can be grouped into four different types: the long-term strategic, the short-term technical, the passive-complaisant, and the active-vigilant. In general terms, Chilean public relations practitioners distance themselves from the passive-complaisant role, giving greater importance to the other three. The findings also reveal that gender, education level, job commitment, perceived autonomy, organization type, and geographical location are the factors that better predict Chilean PR professional roles, while hierarchy level and organization's reach do not directly affect their perceptions.     

Public relations master's education deliverables: How practitioners and educators view strategic practice curriculum

A national sample of practitioners (PRSA members) and academics provided their perceptions of what graduate students of public relations should study (N = 463). Despite expectations of difference between practitioners and educators, they agreed that a master's program graduate should have knowledge of business and understand how globalization shapes public relations. Still, a master's of public relations program graduate should also write well, speak well, and have had some “capstone” experience.     

Collaboration and conflict between agencies and clients

Public relations agencies are an important part of the public relations industry, but their relations with client organizations are rarely studied. There is more literature and studies in agency-client relations in advertising than in public relations. This paper reviews literature and reports results of an empirical study into perceptions of public relations agencies and their clients on the reasons for their cooperation and sources of conflict between them. Results show that agencies misperceive reasons for which they are hired and the sources of conflict in the relationship. The paper offers several suggestions about how to tackle the problem: notwithstanding rebranding into consultancies and firms, public relations agencies-client relations should be studied as a particular example of a broader family of agency-client relations. Also agencies should study and strategically manage relations with their clients, while being realistic about client organization’s needs – sometimes they just need additional arms and legs.     

Maximizing public relations with the organization–public relationship scale: Measuring a public's perception of an art museum

This study employed the organization–public relationship scale to measure member perceptions of an art museum. Analysis shows member perceptions of the museum–public relationship differentiated members likely to continue their membership from those likely to discontinue their membership with the museum. This study confirms the appropriateness of using the organization–public relationship scale with museums.     

Protocol journalism as a framework for understanding public relations–media relationships in Kosovo

There is growing interest about the ways in which the public relations field can contribute to democratization and civil society initiatives. Some scholars see enormous potential for public relations by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help get important social issues on the public agenda in transitional nations while other scholars have critiqued the practice of public relations in newly formed nations as a form of hegemony that privileges Western ideas, values, and standards of practice. One thing is certain: more scholarly attention is required if the field of public relations is to truly understand its evolving role in civil society. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the public relations–media relationship contributes to civil society development in Kosovo. The researcher interviewed media professionals, public relations/organizational spokespersons, and civil society experts about the opportunities and challenges of the public relations function in building civil society in Kosovo. The findings suggest that “protocol journalism” is the guiding metaphor for explaining and critiquing the public relations–media relationship in Kosovo. The implications of protocol journalism for media development and public relations credibility are discussed.     

The power of women: Flanley & Woodward and the woman’s angle in U.S. public relations

After working in corporate public relations during the 1930s, Mabel Flanley and Sally Woodward opened an all-woman agency in New York City in 1944. Their specialty was targeting women publics, and they drew on their experiences with home economics and women’s clubs to promote a variety of clients from agribusiness, heavy industry, and government and nonprofit organizations. They carved a path for other women, contributed to the development of professional standards, and influenced other practitioners to target women audiences, and their inclusion initiatives paralleled those of other groups based on diversity of race, ethnicity, and gender.     

The role of market-oriented relations in public relations: The differing perspectives of managers and practitioners in the U.S. and Taiwan

This study explored the role of market-oriented public relations. The study involved two surveys; one explored the perspectives of business managers and another of the perspectives of public relations practitioners, and compared their views concerning market-oriented and non-market-oriented relations. While business managers and public relations practitioners of non-market-oriented relations valued the contribution of market-oriented public relations to organizational effectiveness in terms of revenue generation and cost reduction, practitioners of market-oriented public relations ascribed their contribution to organizational effectiveness in terms of media publicity and exposure. This paper concludes with a discussion of practical applications and theoretical implications.     

Institutionalizing government public relations in Romania after 1989

Public relations are a new profession in Romania, an Eastern European former communist country which changed to a democratic regime in December 1989. It is generally considered to have emerged after 1990, although publicity and political propaganda preceded it (Rogojinaru in Sriramesh and Ver?i?, 2009, p. 553). Although the Romanian practice of public relations evolved and developed quickly aligning with the international practice, several campaigns and programs receiving awards during the last editions of IPRA Golden World Awards, SABRE Awards, Cannes Lions Awards or European Excellence Awards, there is still very little focus on research and theory. Thus, there is no major study on the history of public relations in Romania prior to 1989 to either confirm or challenge the conclusion of Grunig, Grunig and Ver?i? (2004) that there was no public relations in Eastern Europe before 1989 because the concept was not acceptable for socialism (p. 137). Even after 1989 while there is a growing body of literature on public relations in general published in Romanian, few studies addressed Romanian public relations which are more frequently described in practice than researched from the viewpoint of public relations theory. This exploratory research aims at identifying the characteristics of government public relations in Romania in 2011, the main stages in institutionalizing government public relations after 1989 and correlates them with the general evolution of public relations in Romania between 1989 and 2011.     

Vision and state health department public relations practitioners: Prepared to lead?

Visions are important to organizational effectiveness. Although providing vision has been identified as one of the behaviors that best captures organization-wide public relations leadership, little public relations research has focused on vision. Similarly, state health departments have drawn little interest among public relations scholars even though states are a central part of the nation's public health system. This study addressed the perceptions of the top public relations professionals at state health departments concerning vision and their involvement in the visioning process. The practitioners were nearly unanimous in their belief that organizational visions are important. However, results indicate that some top public relations practitioners at state health departments are not prepared to make optimal contributions to the visioning process. In order to take full advantage of opportunities to serve as organization-wide leaders, public relations practitioners should seek out information about visioning in order help chart their organization's future and enhance their careers.     

Practitioners’ perceptions of their ethics in Korean global firms

This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to review the perceptions held by public relations practitioners who work in global public relations firms, regarding their ethics, and to identify elements that support their ethics. Results indicate that those practitioners are adamantly ethics-oriented but they have a limited understanding of ethics specific to public relations. No absolute universal ethical standards were found. This study identified nine elements affecting public relations practitioners’ ethics. The important and powerful elements were chiefly attributed to cultural influences. It finally provides critical clues to the process of enhancing public relations professionalism.     

The good organization communicating well: Teaching rhetoric in the public relations classroom

This essay refines public relations pedagogy by demonstrating further the ways in which rhetorical instruction can be a good means of teaching public relations students critical thinking skills needed to be thoughtful, ethical, and reflective practitioners. We argue that exposing students to classes and techniques rooted in the rhetorical tradition can (1) help to prepare students for practice; (2) address criticism of the curriculum's limited functionalistic scope; (3) prepare students to both understand and interrogate public discourse generally. We establish the foundations of rhetoric's role in public relations and provide three pedagogical examples and classroom exercises, thus demonstrating the benefits of further incorporating this perspective into the public relations classroom. The pragmatic implications of those exercises and other efforts in infusing the rhetorical tradition into public relations pedagogy are discussed.