Examines 251 responses to a battery of 45 professional standard items. Indicates public relations professionals surveyed across the nation underestimate the current state of professional standards in the field. Finds this state of affairs, described in coorientation theory as pluralistic ignorance, suggests the field may actually hold higher…

Interviews 18 public-relations professionals to provide grounding and refinement of the contingency theory of accommodation in public relations. Supports a continuum from pure accommodation to pure advocacy and a matrix of variables affecting the continuum. Concludes that the practitioners' view of their communication world offers validity to the…

Surveys 598 public relations professionals to assess the extent to which a professional standard exists for each of 24 elements of professional performance. Finds respondents believed ethical guidelines, accreditation, and writing/editing skills enjoy established standards, but that licensing, location of public relations on the organizational…

Describes an expert system (the artificial intelligence program "Publics") that helps users identify key publics for public relations campaigns. Examines advantages and problems encountered in its use in public relations campaigns classrooms. (SR)

A survey instrument operationalizing 24 elements of professional performance was administered to 291 public relations educators across the nation, yielding a 43.6% response rate. Respondents assessed the extent to which a standard of professionalism currently exists for each of the 24 items. Educators tended to view writing/editing and…

A number of recent studies have examined integration of advertising and public relations, but none reports what students think. Over three semesters, students in an introduction to strategic communication course were asked to assess an integrated public relations and advertising curriculum. Students supported integration and viewed a focus on new…

Surveys 291 public relations educators nationally to assess the extent to which a standard of professionalism currently exists for each of 24 items. Finds that educators viewed writing/editing and graphics/production skills, ethical guidelines, accreditation, and "public relations as advocacy" as enjoying well-established standards.…

Electronic newspapers offer a new media channel for public relations materials, but a study of their proposed use and implications for the profession does not fit well into already established research areas. This paper reviews the development and features of electronic newspapers and suggests new avenues of research and uses pertinent to the…

Surveys public relations practitioners in higher education. Finds that characteristics of individuals, not structural or environmental factors, were significant predictors of systematic research. Concludes that practitioners who are graduates of public relations programs can have an influence on the research of the field, especially when they work…

Surveys academic programs in public relations, finding that most pay only lip service to the goal of preparing public relations graduates for managerial responsibility. Offers recommendations for public relations management course content and highlights examples of innovative teaching strategies. (SR)

Despite exhortations from public relations practitioners, theorists, and educators as to the need to equip practitioners with management skills, a review of 59 academic programs in public relations finds that most undergraduate programs appear to pay only lip service to this goal. While many programs offer no undergraduate courses specifically…

Reports results from a national survey regarding courses on public-relations campaigns. Examines predominant pedagogical strategies and course-management text techniques used; intentions for the course; theory/research elements; the role of management skill and/or interpersonal dynamics in the student campaign both internally and externally, and…