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Public Relations

The term public relations has historically not been well regarded among the public in the United States. It is often considered to be a euphemism for deception and prevarication. However, that is a misguided perception of this important industry. This entry offers a definition of public relations and examines how public relations structures contemporary business practices.

Definitions of Public Relations

Public relations has been defined in a variety of ways. Public relations educator Rex Harlow compiled a set of 500 definitions of the term. A half-dozen definitions will be offered to allow readers to consider alternative notions.

Otis Baskin and Craig Aronoff suggested that public relations should be considered as a management function that attains organizational goals. Public relations personnel communicate with salient internal and external publics to ...

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