Public relations is difficult to define, because it can involve publicity, research,
public affairs, media relations, promotion, merchandising, and more. In its
maturation as an industry, public relations has passed through four stages,
culminating in advanced two-way communication.
Some 200,000 people work in public relations in the United States, in 4,000
firms and in in-house PR operations. They typically carry out 14 activities,
including publicity, communication, public affairs, and government relations.
PR is not the same as advertising, in part because of its policy-making component.
Globalization, specialization, and converging technologies are trends in public
relations. An important issue in the industry is ethical standards, one example
being the proliferation of video news releases and their challenge to media
literate consumers. |
2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education