Researching the Changing Profession of Public Relations

How should we approach the challenges created by the increasing professionalization of public relations across Europe? Historical and cultural interpretations are not always sufficient to explain the fast and diverse developments of the public relations profession in our cosmopolitan and digitalized world.
This book aims to pinpoint and address the questions faced by researchers and professionals in their efforts to understand and support the changing profession of public relations. The chapters are all contributed by recognized academics and are structured around three topics. Firstly, the book explores current developments in public relations practice in Germany, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia and the Czech Republic. The second section discusses the professionalization of public relations together with the new dilemmas, notions, concepts and perspectives that this has generated. The final chapters focus on the usage, effect and institutionalization of new media and new digital public relations tools.

Prof. Aydemir Okay is Professor and Dean in the Faculty of Communication, Istanbul University, Turkey, where he was previously head of the public relations department. He has published six books and numerous papers in national and international academic journals and has taught, as an invited professor, in several renowned universities.
Prof. Valérie Carayol is Professor at the Institute of Information and Communication Sciences, Bordeaux 3 University, France. She is Director of the Research group MICA, dedicated to communication sciences and art, and edits the French academic journal Communication and Organisation, founded in 1992. She is President of EUPRERA.
Prof. Ralph Tench is Professor of Communication Education and Director of PhD programmes for the Faculty of Business and Law at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, where he was formerly subject head for Public Relations and Communications. He is Chair of the Scientific Committee for EUPRERA.