According to the Institute of Public Relations, the PR industry in the UK is worth an estimated £1.2bn and is growing by around 17 percent each year. With currently 2,800 PR consultancy companies and an industry employing around 30,000 people in the UK alone, there is the expectation that the market will be awash with numerous books. The author has, however. written this textbook due to the lack of publications drawing on UK experience of public relations. As an academic teaching in a UK institution, she was increasingly frustrated that the majority of textbooks and case examples originated from the USA.
This then is a textbook which brings together the theoretical and organizational frameworks of PR, together with practical examples drawn mostly from UK companies.
The volume is arranged in four distinct sections. Part one sets the overall context for PR. Different authors discuss the historical developments of PR, the relationship between PR and politics, the management role of PR and the development of PR as a profession. The chapter dealing with politics and the media is particularly relevant at the moment with the amount of spin accusations being directed at Tony Blair and the Labour Party.
Part two looks at strategic PR. Here corporate communications, image, identity, public affairs and issues management, business ethics and corporate social responsibility are all dealt with. What comes through in this section is that different messages and explanations, based on differing ethical principles, will continue to be used to portray actions to different audiences. The third section is entitled “Stakeholder public relations”. The chapters here consider the variety of techniques and tactics which can be used to communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders. Chapters cover media relations, internal communications, corporate community involvement, financial PR and investor relations, and PR in the public and IT sectors.
The final section considers the future. The challenges presented by the Internet, digital and satellite TV, and increased access to information are outlined. Will these lead to a more open society? This debate, together with the question as to whether there is a role for academic research to inform PR practice, raises the issues involved rather than reaches any conclusions. There is also an interesting debate on whether PR needs a name change – perhaps members of the information profession in the UK would like to put forward a view following the recent change of the Library Association/Institute of Information Scientists to the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals?
Numerous case studies, examples, press releases and illustrations are used throughout this volume to illustrate the points being made. These all help to make a highly readable and informative text. Although geared towards the student and the PR professional, this would be a useful volume for the more general reader as well.
