South Africa, Practice of Public Relations in

Introduction

Public relations in South Africa developed largely in isolation during the last 46 years. There is little contact with practitioners or educators in the rest of Africa, with the exception of the neighboring countries that are part of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

The Republic of South Africa is considered the most advanced in sub-Saharan Africa with regard to public relations practice and education. Global standards are maintained, exemplified by two South Africans winning coveted public relations research awards in the United States in 2002. Ursula Ströh received attention for the best student paper for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for her doctoral research titled “An Experimental Study on the Impact of Change Communication Management on Relationships with Employees.” Dr. Derina Holtzhausen (now living in the United States) won the Institute for Public Relations' Pathfinder Award for innovative research.

South African professional associations and their office bearers also excel in the global village. In June of 2003, a public relations consultant and past president of the IABC Southern Africa Chapter, Stephanie Griffiths, became the first non-American to be elected chairman of the IABC worldwide. Margaret Moscardi, executive director of Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA), is on the executive board of the Global Alliance of Public Relations and Communication Management Associations (GA), and PRISA has been appointed the official secretariat of the GA.

It is not a well-known fact that in 1980 South Africa was the first country to research and evolve a body of knowledge for public relations, or that PRISA was the first public relations association in the world to obtain certification from the International Standards Organization (ISO), or that the first reader/text book on strategic public relations was produced in South Africa.

Public Relations Practice in South Africa

Holtzhausen's research has indicated that top management's recognition of public relations as a strategic function is the most important change in public relations practice during the last decade. In another study, Benita Steyn found that chief executives expect the role of strategist from the most senior public relations practitioner, but the incumbent is not perceived to be performing that role.

The profound social and political changes in South Africa have forced practitioners to adapt to new realities, for example, more transparency, high levels of social responsibility, black empowerment, affirmative action, and cultural differences among publics. Learning how to balance First and Third World concerns, and adapting the Western model of public relations to African conditions are forcing practitioners to be more innovative.

A PRISA survey indicated that relations with employees and communities are now deemed more important by organizations compared with the previous emphasis on customers or the media. A greater emphasis on development and intercultural communication with previously ignored publics is also apparent. Technology is less of a factor in causing change in South Africa because key publics do not have access to technology.

There is increasing pressure from labor unions, the media, consumers, and society to be more socially responsible—a concept that, in the South Africa context, refers to the uplifting of previously disadvantaged communities. South Africa's King Report on corporate governance provides a unique opportunity for public relations practitioners to bring to top management's attention their expertise in building relationships with, and becoming more accountable to, organizational stakeholders and society.

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