Prue L Robson | University of Canberra (original) (raw)
Papers by Prue L Robson
Public Relations Review, Dec 1, 2021
Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated ... more Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication.
Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there i... more Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there is no clear definition of what a climate emergency actually means, and there is no legal compulsion for entities declaring a climate emergency to do or say anything beyond the actual declaration itself. So why do it? Declaring a climate emergency appears to be a communicative action undertaken by entities to position themselves as environmentally responsible. This case study applies the public relations concept of strategic positioning to examine how, and to what extent, did the Newcastle City Council’s (NCC) declaration of a climate emergency provide a framework for climate action, or was it in fact, an exercise to brand the City of Newcastle as ‘green’?
Public Relations Review, 2021
Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated ... more Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication.
The Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal is sponsored by, 2011
This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities a... more This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research ...
WORLD PUBLIC RELATIONS FORUM 2012, Nov 18, 2012
Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publi... more Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publics are increasingly geographically dispersed, traditional media and user-generated content are converging, and the discrete titles of 'consumer'and 'producer'often no longer apply. There is also a growing emphasis on social media as an effective vehicle for two-way symmetrical communication between practitioners and publics. However, it is too early to assume the public relations industry has become 'borderless'. Research suggests ...
Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there i... more Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there is no clear definition of what a climate emergency actually means, and there is no legal compulsion for entities declaring a climate emergency to do or say anything beyond the actual declaration itself. So why do it? Declaring a climate emergency appears to be a communicative action undertaken by entities to position themselves as environmentally responsible. This case study applies the public relations concept of strategic positioning to examine how, and to what extent, did the Newcastle City Council’s (NCC) declaration of a climate emergency provide a framework for climate action, or was it in fact, an exercise to brand the City of Newcastle as ‘green’?
While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practi... more While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practice, it is premature to presume that online public relations is now the norm across the industry. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study that was undertaken to further understanding about practitioners’ use and perceptions of social media. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners working for different types of organisations––agency, government, corporate, nonprofit, and a sole practitioner––to give insight into the different perceptions, experiences and challenges associated with social media. This research builds on an earlier quantitative study (Robson & James, 2011) that found practitioners were trialling social media for public relations purposes and felt their organisation and the resources available to them prevented a more in-depth, ongoing engagement with social media. The findings from this qualitative research provide further detail about the p...
Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is havin... more Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is having a considerable impact on how organisations communicate with their publics and the everyday practice of public relations. Since 2007, there has been an explosion in studies investigating the adoption and use of social media by public relations practitioners. However, despite the popularity of social media studies in academic literature, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of how organisations are using social media. This paper critiques the current body of social media research in public relations, highlighting areas where research is lacking, and suggests future directions for the discipline. Specifically this paper highlights three areas where significant gaps in social media research currently exist: scope, theory application and development, and methodology and calls for more research on how social media is enacted in organisations and how it informs the cultural practice of pu...
Public Relations Review, 2021
Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within th... more Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication
Abstract This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital... more Abstract This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research ...
Prism
While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practi... more While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practice, it is premature to presume that online public relations is now the norm across the industry. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study that was undertaken to further understanding about practitioners’ use and perceptions of social media. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners working for different types of organisations––agency, government, corporate, nonprofit, and a sole practitioner––to give insight into the different perceptions, experiences and challenges associated with social media. This research builds on an earlier quantitative study (Robson & James, 2011) that found practitioners were trialling social media for public relations purposes and felt their organisation and the resources available to them prevented a more in-depth, ongoing engagement with social media. The findings from this qualitative research provide further detail about the p...
The Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal is sponsored by, 2011
This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities a... more This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research ...
Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publi... more Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publics are increasingly geographically dispersed, traditional media and user-generated content are converging, and the discrete titles of ‘consumer’ and ‘producer’ often no longer apply. There is also a growing emphasis on social media as an effective vehicle for two-way symmetrical communication between practitioners and publics. However, it is too early to assume the public relations industry has become ‘borderless’. Research suggests practitioners around the world are not necessarily having a mutual experience with social media. This paper reviews public relations literature on social media and examines common themes and experiences across borders, drawing on research with practitioners from the United States, the Middle East, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Specifically, this paper addresses adoption rates, social media platforms used, type of communication and governance, highlighting differences that exist in practitioner (and organisational) experience, preparedness and approach to social media.
PRism, 2013
While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practi... more While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practice, it is premature to presume that online public relations is now the norm across the industry. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study that was undertaken to further understanding about practitioners’ use and perceptions of social media. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners working for different types of organisations––agency, government, corporate, nonprofit, and a sole practitioner––to give insight into the different perceptions, experiences and challenges associated with social media. This research builds on an earlier quantitative study (Robson & James, 2011) that found practitioners were trialling social media for public relations purposes and felt their organisation and the resources available to them prevented a more in-depth, ongoing engagement with social media. The findings from this qualitative research provide further detail about the practitioners’ ‘trial’ behaviour, specifically addressing how practitioners could foresee using social media to achieve public relations objectives, the role strategic planning and communication models play in their social media use, and the barriers practitioners perceive as preventing them from enacting social media in their organisation.
Although the insights examined in this paper cannot be generalised to other practitioners, this exploratory research extends our knowledge of social media use in public relations and reinforces a number of questions raised by other researchers in the
field, suggesting themes of strategy, two-way communication, and the role of the dominant coalition need to be considered as part of a larger scale study.
Asia Pacfic Public Relations Journal, 2011
This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities a... more This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research indicates practitioners who use social media outside of work will progress to using social media for public relations purposes. Further, these practitioners and their organisations are resource-challenged and risk-averse when it comes to using social media to engage with their publics. Further research is needed to ascertain the implications of these findings for public relations practice and education.
Books by Prue L Robson
Conference Presentations by Prue L Robson
Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is havin... more Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is having a considerable impact on how organisations communicate with their publics and the everyday practice of public relations. Since 2007, there has been an explosion in studies investigating the adoption and use of social media by public relations practitioners. However, despite the popularity of social media studies in academic literature, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of how organisations are using social media. This paper critiques the current body of social media research in public relations, highlighting areas where research is lacking, and suggests future directions for the discipline. Specifically this paper highlights three areas where significant gaps in social media research currently exist: scope, theory application and development, and methodology and calls for more research on how social media is enacted in organisations and how it informs the cultural practice of public relations inside the organisation.
Abstract Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few yea... more Abstract Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publics are increasingly geographically dispersed, traditional media and user-generated content are converging, and the discrete titles of 'consumer'and 'producer'often no longer apply. There is also a growing emphasis on social media as an effective vehicle for two-way symmetrical communication between practitioners and publics. However, it is too early to assume the public relations industry has become 'borderless'.
Public Relations Review, Dec 1, 2021
Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated ... more Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication.
Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there i... more Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there is no clear definition of what a climate emergency actually means, and there is no legal compulsion for entities declaring a climate emergency to do or say anything beyond the actual declaration itself. So why do it? Declaring a climate emergency appears to be a communicative action undertaken by entities to position themselves as environmentally responsible. This case study applies the public relations concept of strategic positioning to examine how, and to what extent, did the Newcastle City Council’s (NCC) declaration of a climate emergency provide a framework for climate action, or was it in fact, an exercise to brand the City of Newcastle as ‘green’?
Public Relations Review, 2021
Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated ... more Abstract Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication.
The Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal is sponsored by, 2011
This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities a... more This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research ...
WORLD PUBLIC RELATIONS FORUM 2012, Nov 18, 2012
Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publi... more Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publics are increasingly geographically dispersed, traditional media and user-generated content are converging, and the discrete titles of 'consumer'and 'producer'often no longer apply. There is also a growing emphasis on social media as an effective vehicle for two-way symmetrical communication between practitioners and publics. However, it is too early to assume the public relations industry has become 'borderless'. Research suggests ...
Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there i... more Globally it is estimated that over 600 entities have declared a climate emergency and yet there is no clear definition of what a climate emergency actually means, and there is no legal compulsion for entities declaring a climate emergency to do or say anything beyond the actual declaration itself. So why do it? Declaring a climate emergency appears to be a communicative action undertaken by entities to position themselves as environmentally responsible. This case study applies the public relations concept of strategic positioning to examine how, and to what extent, did the Newcastle City Council’s (NCC) declaration of a climate emergency provide a framework for climate action, or was it in fact, an exercise to brand the City of Newcastle as ‘green’?
While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practi... more While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practice, it is premature to presume that online public relations is now the norm across the industry. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study that was undertaken to further understanding about practitioners’ use and perceptions of social media. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners working for different types of organisations––agency, government, corporate, nonprofit, and a sole practitioner––to give insight into the different perceptions, experiences and challenges associated with social media. This research builds on an earlier quantitative study (Robson & James, 2011) that found practitioners were trialling social media for public relations purposes and felt their organisation and the resources available to them prevented a more in-depth, ongoing engagement with social media. The findings from this qualitative research provide further detail about the p...
Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is havin... more Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is having a considerable impact on how organisations communicate with their publics and the everyday practice of public relations. Since 2007, there has been an explosion in studies investigating the adoption and use of social media by public relations practitioners. However, despite the popularity of social media studies in academic literature, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of how organisations are using social media. This paper critiques the current body of social media research in public relations, highlighting areas where research is lacking, and suggests future directions for the discipline. Specifically this paper highlights three areas where significant gaps in social media research currently exist: scope, theory application and development, and methodology and calls for more research on how social media is enacted in organisations and how it informs the cultural practice of pu...
Public Relations Review, 2021
Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within th... more Communication about places is typically termed place branding and is generally situated within the marketing discipline. However, in practice, place branding shares many commonalities with public relations. It involves relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, reputation management, and communication campaigns that involve no direct sale of a product. While some have noted the parallels between place branding and public relations, the intersection of these two fields has not been reviewed empirically. This study examines the relationship between public relations and place branding by exploring how scholars in each field have conceptualised and represented the other in their research publications. A systematic review of 378 journal articles, published from 1988 to 2018 in 18 selected journals from both fields, was conducted. This research shows that while there is a significant conceptual crossover between the two fields and they work together in practice, the place branding literature largely treats public relations as a promotional tactic rather than a disciplinary body of knowledge. Conversely, outside of public diplomacy research, public relations has shown little interest in places and place communication, and there is limited research applying public relations theories and concepts to places. This paper adds to current knowledge on the interdisciplinarity of public relations theories and concepts and how public relations is perceived outside its own field and suggests new possibilities for interdisciplinary research on place communication
Abstract This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital... more Abstract This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research ...
Prism
While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practi... more While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practice, it is premature to presume that online public relations is now the norm across the industry. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study that was undertaken to further understanding about practitioners’ use and perceptions of social media. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners working for different types of organisations––agency, government, corporate, nonprofit, and a sole practitioner––to give insight into the different perceptions, experiences and challenges associated with social media. This research builds on an earlier quantitative study (Robson & James, 2011) that found practitioners were trialling social media for public relations purposes and felt their organisation and the resources available to them prevented a more in-depth, ongoing engagement with social media. The findings from this qualitative research provide further detail about the p...
The Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal is sponsored by, 2011
This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities a... more This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research ...
Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publi... more Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publics are increasingly geographically dispersed, traditional media and user-generated content are converging, and the discrete titles of ‘consumer’ and ‘producer’ often no longer apply. There is also a growing emphasis on social media as an effective vehicle for two-way symmetrical communication between practitioners and publics. However, it is too early to assume the public relations industry has become ‘borderless’. Research suggests practitioners around the world are not necessarily having a mutual experience with social media. This paper reviews public relations literature on social media and examines common themes and experiences across borders, drawing on research with practitioners from the United States, the Middle East, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Specifically, this paper addresses adoption rates, social media platforms used, type of communication and governance, highlighting differences that exist in practitioner (and organisational) experience, preparedness and approach to social media.
PRism, 2013
While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practi... more While the introduction of Web 2.0 technology and social media is changing public relations practice, it is premature to presume that online public relations is now the norm across the industry. This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study that was undertaken to further understanding about practitioners’ use and perceptions of social media. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with practitioners working for different types of organisations––agency, government, corporate, nonprofit, and a sole practitioner––to give insight into the different perceptions, experiences and challenges associated with social media. This research builds on an earlier quantitative study (Robson & James, 2011) that found practitioners were trialling social media for public relations purposes and felt their organisation and the resources available to them prevented a more in-depth, ongoing engagement with social media. The findings from this qualitative research provide further detail about the practitioners’ ‘trial’ behaviour, specifically addressing how practitioners could foresee using social media to achieve public relations objectives, the role strategic planning and communication models play in their social media use, and the barriers practitioners perceive as preventing them from enacting social media in their organisation.
Although the insights examined in this paper cannot be generalised to other practitioners, this exploratory research extends our knowledge of social media use in public relations and reinforces a number of questions raised by other researchers in the
field, suggesting themes of strategy, two-way communication, and the role of the dominant coalition need to be considered as part of a larger scale study.
Asia Pacfic Public Relations Journal, 2011
This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities a... more This exploratory study examined how public relations practitioners based outside capital cities are using social media. Forty-eight practitioners based in one of Australia's largest non-capital city regions were surveyed in 2010. It was found that these practitioners are trialling how social media can be used to achieve public relations objectives. Practitioners are more likely to be using social media in their personal lives and for their own professional development, than for their organisation or clients. However, this research indicates practitioners who use social media outside of work will progress to using social media for public relations purposes. Further, these practitioners and their organisations are resource-challenged and risk-averse when it comes to using social media to engage with their publics. Further research is needed to ascertain the implications of these findings for public relations practice and education.
Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is havin... more Social media is a relatively new phenomenon in the field of public relations, and yet it is having a considerable impact on how organisations communicate with their publics and the everyday practice of public relations. Since 2007, there has been an explosion in studies investigating the adoption and use of social media by public relations practitioners. However, despite the popularity of social media studies in academic literature, significant gaps remain in our knowledge of how organisations are using social media. This paper critiques the current body of social media research in public relations, highlighting areas where research is lacking, and suggests future directions for the discipline. Specifically this paper highlights three areas where significant gaps in social media research currently exist: scope, theory application and development, and methodology and calls for more research on how social media is enacted in organisations and how it informs the cultural practice of public relations inside the organisation.
Abstract Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few yea... more Abstract Social media has dramatically impacted the public relations industry in the last few years. Publics are increasingly geographically dispersed, traditional media and user-generated content are converging, and the discrete titles of 'consumer'and 'producer'often no longer apply. There is also a growing emphasis on social media as an effective vehicle for two-way symmetrical communication between practitioners and publics. However, it is too early to assume the public relations industry has become 'borderless'.