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The First International History of Public Relations Conference 2010
Edited by Professor Tom Watson [Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, UK]
Introduction and overview
More than 30 years ago, during a meeting of the Public Relations Division of what was then the Association for Education in Journalism, [14] Cutlip and Bateman (1973, p. 1), criticized "the unsatisfactory and disparate state of public relations education in USA colleges and universities". These co-authors, the most published American public relations historian of all time, and one of the most recognizable practitioners of that era in the USA, wrote the following paragraphs:
The need for qualified, competent, professional assistance in this field was never greater than it is today. Yet the heavy hand of the past - its publicity genesis - still dominates public relations practice today when our divided society cries out for communication, conciliation and community. Call it "public relations," "public affairs," "corporate communications," or whatever you will, the need for trained persons in this area is likely to increase in coming decades, as our society becomes even more complexYet, we have already witnessed and are witnessing today a dearth of professional public relations practitioners capable of operating at the higher executive levels in all institutions - public and private - where their counsel is needed. The number of qualified people in public relations is incapable of meeting the demand for competent practitioners. Generally speaking, most of those in public relations work today were not specifically educated for this type of career. They are "retreads" from other fields of communication.In the last quarter-century, more and more institutions of higher learning have turned their attention to public relations as a field of study. To a very considerable extent, courses in public relations are offered on an elective basis at the undergraduate level. Many of the courses, however, are taught by instructors who themselves are not fully qualified in the theory and practice of public relations ([14] Cutlip and Bateman, 1973, pp. 1-2).
Ironically, nearly four decades later, much remains unchanged in public relations education the USA. Even though the need for qualified public relations practitioners is greater than ever and counsel of qualified public relations experts remains essential at the executive level in the most successful organizations there continue to...