Public Relations

Abstract

In many ways the profession of public relations has not been fully understood. Public relations, however, has a recorded history of almost a century. This article provides a brief survey of the historical development and current status of public relations. It also offers an insight into what public relations is, its growth, maturation and professionalisation, together with its position in the 21st century. Public relations is currently progressing into a serious academic area of study and a profession. Given rapid and increasing changes, both nationally and internationally, the profession offers a dynamic and challenging career in the next century. Both education and training are continuously reassessing and updating curricula to meet these challenges, with tertiary education now being undertaken up to doctoral level. A snapshot of the profession is offered in this paper through a study undertaken by Mercer Cullen Egan Dell (Public Relations Institute of Australia, 1998). Permission has been granted to report the findings.