Readings for Week 3

Chapter 3 - Theoretical Perspectives
Public Relations at the Crossroads
Gower, K (2006) In: Journal of PR Research. 18 (2), 177-190
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The theory chapter of the public relations book was quite interesting because it gave a brief overview over many important theories including how to use them as a practitioner. Additionally it was good that there were also shown the constraints of this theories. This helps to reflect and scrutinise the theory itself and to compare it to other theories. I guess I understood everything quite good, just the part with "rhetorical theory" I’ll have to repeat again.

Very interesting for me was the part about the "Theoretical implications of postmodernism and the internet", because these topics and questions are important roots for present and future challenges both in public relations theory and practice. Also the part about "Other theories in brief" was very appealing for me, because there were a couple of notions mentioned that I haven’t dealed with before. Especially "Opinion, Attitude and Belief", "Social learning theory" and "Social exchange theory" gave me quite adjuvant new insights, thought it would have been interesting, if this text would have been a little bit more detailed. Nevertheless, I think that these notions are rather insights then a guideline how to act as a practitioner.

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The article in the "Journal of public relations research" was very interesting as well, especially because it dealed with some major challenges that the field of pr has to face. I think its very important for both scientists and practitioners to think more about the "who we are", hence we nee to reflect the branch itself. This might be useful to get the practice and the theory more close together and to achieve a more coherent "value system" in the future - thus, public relations could make some more steps in direction of professionalisation or making the field of pr to a coherent, definable profession.

In the area of theories I agree with the author that the "first generation" of pr theorists builded a good fundament for what we are doing today. However, it will be an important challenge for the future to apply new theories (like the author mentioned) and to do studies in new directions. In my mind, one of the gravest defiance might be to face the diversity of the globalised post-modern society, like it is proposed by postmodernism. PR scientists have to get aware of the fluid structures in the field of audiences and publics which are caused by societal changes and technical developments through new media. Publics are changing, there are arising more and more sets of multiple stakeholders and the new forms of interaction with and between these publics causes that the old models of public are reaching it’s limits.

To reduce the gap between practice and theory I would firstly try to get them together through literature. There is a need of much academic literature, but on the other hand, literature has also to be easy to use for practitioners. At present, as I experience it in the literature at home, there is a big gap between complex scientific literature and rather trivial guidebooks like "10 steps to your pr plan" or so. Scientists should aim to reduce this gap in a way of creating more literature which is useful for practical purposes, but without falling into a trivial "guidebook-level".

Ok, that might be everything for this week,
time is running out again, I’ve to go to the tutorial...