Reviews the academic career of Scott Cutlip and his impact on public relations education. Considers that his work (with its emphasis on applied social and behavioral research, and ethics) made public relations an art and science that analyzes trends, predicts their consequences, and counsels organizations about planning and implementing…

The use of strategic marketing processes typically associated with the private sector can benefit school systems' efforts to develop public confidence and establish guidelines for future development. This article introduces a conceptual framework allowing schools to progress systematically through needs assessment, community surveys, goal setting,…

Discusses the debate around advocacy. Notes that, in an information environment, persuasion serves a public interest when it assists social utility. Argues that the lack of a single common framework for deciding what is ethical and what is not ultimately influences the outcome of public policymaking and the reputation of public relations. (SR)

Likens the role of a public relations practitioner to that of a lawyer, as an advocate in an adversarial society. Argues that this role justifies the distribution of "selective truth," relieves the public person from the obligation to tell "objective truth," allows for ethical persuasion, but does not delineate the parameters of ethical behavior.…

Examines lying, deception, and concealment in philosophy and humanities. Relates these three concepts to notions of veracity in public relations. Argues that lying is unacceptable in most situations but that deception and concealment are justified when harm and relationship are considered in some dilemmas. Examines the Public Relations Society of…

Replicates a 1972 survey of students, educators, and Public Relations Society of America members regarding who the public relations counselor really serves. Finds that, in 1992, most respondents thought primary responsibility was to the client, then to the client's relevant publics, then to self, then to society, and finally to media. Compares…

Argues that the best way to understand many public relations situations is to explore communication. Asserts that successful public relations can be described in terms of one of three primary communication functions (informing, persuading, or refuting). Describes this continuum of communication purposes, and a series of theoretical postulates.…

The director of the MCI Heritage Classic, a stop on the Professional Golf Association tour, and the Family Circle Magazine Cup, a women's professional tennis tournament, talks about his profession. (JOW)

Using a hypothetical case study told in the first person, a fiftieth reunion chair illustrates sure-fire ways to lure reluctant alumni back to the campus. The techniques emphasize the personal and sentimental touch in mailings, other communications, and at the reunion itself. (MSE)

Notes important discrepancies between the metaphor of relationship management and how public relations models are conceptualized and measured. Argues that public relations models need to be measured at the relational level, rather than being aggregated across publics and relational stages. Argues that an adequate normative theory of organizational…

Describes the use of the W. D. Snodgrass' poem "The Campus on the Hill" and the last segment of James Burke's BBC television production "The Day the Universe Changed" in a public relations class to facilitate the development of critical thinking skills and to provide a context within which students examine their understanding of public relations.…

Develops a taxonomy of the connotative meanings of the term "public relations" using 100 articles chosen from the popular press that yielded 254 uses of the term. Lists eight categories; finds that less than 5% were judged to use the term correctly; 37% were negative; and only 17% were positive. (PA)

Contributes to research on the relationship between journalism and public relations by surveying journalists and public relations practitioners. Shows that the two groups share generally similar news values, but that journalists were largely unaware of this similarity. Finds that practitioners, expecting contributions of social good by public…

Examined the publicity and media strategies of semi-public organizations in Britain, generically categorized as quasi-autonomous non-governmental public bodies ("quangos"). Higher education institutions are among these. Findings showed that critics' claims about the introspection of these organizations are overstated; most recognize…

Discusses India's new direction and the persistent and insistent demand for public relations. Explains the strategic plan of the professional body in running the gauntlet in this new milieu and the pertinaciousness and urgency of the challenges ahead for public relations. (SC)