Practice/Practitioner

Generally, public relations literature refers to practice/practitioner in one of four ways: (1) in a discussion of differences between academic and practitioner with suggestions for linking the two worldviews, (2) in a discourse of broadly prescribed goals for those who are in public relations, (3) in a critique of ethnocentrism in public relations work beyond U.S. shores, and (4) in a review of concerns about respectability of the profession and ethics of public relations practice.

First, many have written about an academic-practitioner dichotomy by drawing attention to the differing orientations between the two. This discussion offered advice for bridging the gap given a long-standing critique that academia and practice could be better integrated. Basically, an academic teaches in higher education settings, builds public relations theory and conducts research, and focuses on public policy issues inherent to organization-publics relationships. A public relations practitioner strategically [Page 678]serves as a member of an organization's management team and deals with marketplace dynamics. Public relations practice ranges from pure problem solving to pure relationship building as practitioners work in for-profit (public relations agencies, corporations, companies) and not-for-profit settings (government, education, fundraising, trade organizations). A license is not required to practice public relations, yet the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) encourages practitioners to earn the accredited public relations (APR) credential.

A practitioner should have a solid understanding of their complex pluralistic society and possess beneficial knowledge of human behavior in order to support organizations in setting and achieving goals. A foundation in psychology, sociology, political science, and management science is useful. Moreover, practitioners should be well versed in popular culture, social trends, technology, and political policy issues. Practitioners act as consultants, mediators, decision makers, and public voices in the community, with employees, in trade/industry, and as media liaisons. Required skills include being able to write and speak well in multiple contexts, analyze and interpret publics’ opinions, conduct research, set objectives and measure results, counsel senior-level management, and manage resources. Also, practitioners mentor public relations student-protégé interns who garner beyond-the-classroom experience that bodes well for them when interviewing for a full-time position.

Alternatively, public relations academics conduct research to build the public relations body of knowledge and enhance public relations’ reputation as an ethical profession, and in doing so offer best-practices advice. Several academic journals publish scholars’ research findings, including Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review, and Public Relations Quarterly. Public relations scholars set the tone for early theory building when they examined practitioners’ roles, conflict and crisis reduction, gender and ethnicity workplace issues, globalization, effectiveness measurement, social issues/case studies, and more. Overall, public relations scholars draw from theoretical perspectives of diverse social science fields to offer multidisciplinary perspectives.

In an effort to mend a disconnect between the academic literature and public relations practice, James E. Grunig (2006) posited that a mutually beneficial outcome of public relations scholarship is to improve public relations practice. Similarly, Karla K. Gower (2006) offered up application as common ground connecting the two orientations and urged academics to make their research more useful to practitioners. Earlier, the 1995 Manager's Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and Communications Management by David Dozier, Larissa A. Grunig, and James E. Grunig was the first major work to link public relations theory and practice. Expanding on this project's recommendations, Prabu David introduced a 3Ps model of professional values, practice, and pragmatics; three anchors for accommodating both theoretical issues and practical constraints associated with public relations work. The framework is particularly useful for examining “interactions between professional practice and values within the context of situational pragmatics” (David, 2004, p. 200).

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