Professor Anne Gregory and Jean Valin have asked readers of PR Conversations (PRC) to get involved in their project to produce a Global Body of Knowledge that defines the capabilities that proficient public relations practitioners should possess.  I am taking up that challenge here by critiquing their attempt to elevate public relations into a respected profession by defining the professional qualifications that PR pros must acquire. Read on ›

It is not former Co-operative Bank Chairman Paul Flower’s peccadilloes that bother me. That’s merely an amusing sideshow. It is the bankrupt Bank‘s audacious reinforcement of anti-business sentiment and its bashing of its competitors’ practices that drive me mad.  Read on ›

Here is the first of two essays on the rise to power of public opinion and the origin of public relations. This one deals with archaic Greece (circa: 800 BC – 500 BC). It outlines the emergence of artistic freedom and individualism on the rocky road toward democracy. The second will interrogate the contest system, the shame culture, mistrust, and openness to change and risk in Classical Athens. It will look at what happens when public opinion is not engaged critically. Read on ›

The Transparency of Lobbying, non-Party Campaigning, and Trade Union Administration Bill is soon to be debated in the UK’s houses of parliament. I am with Lord Bell in hating this proposal. But what foxes me is the way my great industry is so Guardianista. My every instinct tells me that this is a sophisticated case of shooting, or at least chaining, the messenger. Read on ›

On Wednesday I debated Professor Oyvind Ihlen at the London School of Communication’s conference PR and Disruption: Embracing and managing Change. I argued that PR’s main role should be to encourage economic growth, while Oyvind called for placing more emphasis on enhancing civil society. Here’s what I said. Read on ›

I’m going to debate Professor Oyvind Ihlen at a one-day conference, PR and Disruption: Embracing and Surviving Change, 10th July, 2013, at London College of Communication in central London.  Read on ›

This second installment of a two-parter on Queen Elizabeth I describes how PR acts in support of leadership and authority using rhetoric’s persuasive powers. It tells the story of the emergence of modern PR practice and the modern world it shaped. (It is work in progress for my book: On Message: Propaganda, persuasion and the PR game.) Read on ›

The name Gordon Macdonald probably doesn’t resonate today in the ranks of public relations practitioners. But it should. He was arguably the most influential press officer in the City of London during the 1980s. Read on ›

Here is the second in my series profiling important figures in PR. It is the first of a two-parter looking at Queen Elizabeth I of England (1558 – 1603). (I am working my back to the Romans and Greeks who got this whole game going.) Read on ›

By Richard D North

The big picture

Anyone who cares about Britain, its government and its wider official culture is shaken and stirred by recent media storms. PR professionals ought to be a great position to understand what’s been going on. After all, they are media-obsessed, and narratives and messaging are at the heart of the problem faced by our institutions. Read on ›