PR Studies

Is social media killing PR?

It's a well-worn blog topic - the 'death of PR' meme. Drew B links to the latest arguments from the red corner; the case was also well made in the chapter called 'Survival of the Publicists' in Naked Conversations (2006).

In the comments on Drew's blog, I've cited WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell in the blue corner. In his recent lecture to the US Institute for Public Relations (Public Relations: The Story Behind a Remarkable Renaissance) he ascribes the continued strong growth in public relations in part to the growth of social media, 'a natural territory for public relations'.

Student practitioners on our MSc course should be well placed to weigh up these arguments: is social media killing PR or leading to its renaissance? I suspect your answer depends heavily on how you define public relations...

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Is social media killing PR?

It's a well-worn blog topic - the 'death of PR' meme. Drew B links to the latest arguments from the red corner; the case was also well made in the chapter called 'Survival of the Publicists' in Naked Conversations (2006).

In the comments on Drew's blog, I've cited WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell in the blue corner. In his recent lecture to the US Institute for Public Relations (Public Relations: The Story Behind a Remarkable Renaissance) he ascribes the continued strong growth in public relations in part to the growth of social media, 'a natural territory for public relations'.

Student practitioners on our MSc course should be well placed to weigh up these arguments: is social media killing PR or leading to its renaissance? I suspect your answer depends heavily on how you define public relations...