Thesis (M.A.)--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-74).

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This thesis is about public relations as an occupation and a business. The study is focused on investigating the nature of the expertise utilised in public relations, ways in which it is exploited commercially, and the consequences such practices have for the occupational group and its economic existence. The theoretical framework for this thesis combines insights from the sociology of the professions, studies of cultural/creative professions, Bourdieu's approach to the study of cultural practices, and critical examination of professional services, such as management consultancy. In empirical terms, the thesis combines a range of data and analytical approaches. The key part of the thesis is a model of public relations expertise derived from an analysis of participant observation of professional training. Its component parts are identified as: picture of the world; conceptual frame; and working knowledge, which in turn is composed of problems, tools and truths. The thesis also offers a narrative analysis of competition case studies, a particular genre of practitionars accounts of their own work, leading to the conclusion that their role is to show practitioners how to make sense of the immediate experience of work within a more abstract and ordered professional framework. A range of secondary data on the industry and the labour force are reanalysed to show how expertise is transformed into a commodity that can be priced and sold. The transformation involves an understanding of demand and supply dynamics for PR services. Finally, through the analysis of routine practices, the thesis draws attention to the occupation's "split personality" - two coexisting yet contradictory ways in which practitioners think about public relations - and pursues it at the level of the group's strategies designed to counteract the weaknessess resulting from this unsettled identity.

This thesis sought to test the null hypothesis that stated: There is no difference in the perceptions of public opinion research firm specialists toward their client relationships with public relations practitioners as compared to practitioners in marketing and advertising.A mail survey was sent to 129 opinion firm member organizations of the Council of American Survey Research Organizations. A total of seventy-one responses were returned representing 54.3 percent of the population. Of the returned surveys, twenty-one respondents, or 29.5 percent, had conducted research for public relations, marketing, and advertising practitioners within the last year and were able to complete the questionnaire.The findings rejected the null hypothesis and indicated areas where perceptions differ. According to the surveyed researchers, their public relations practitioners fell short of marketing and advertising practitioners in understanding research methods, in possessing the necessary research skills needed to interpret statistical data, and in fully using the available services of opinion research firms.In addition, sixteen client/researcher characteristics were explored to focus on specific strengths and weaknesses, as seen by researchers, in relationships with public relations, marketing, and advertising clients. These characteristics explorations were used to create an ideal client/researcher relationship profile for comparison. This clearly found distinct differences in opinion researchers’ working relationships with each practitioner. To begin, while public opinion researchers thought understanding long-term project goals was the most important characteristic in an ideal client/researcher relationship, it was one of the least practiced characteristics by public relations practitioners. Similarly, researchers thought characteristics, including decisiveness regarding decisions, clear-cut objectives, understanding a study's limitations, and support from top management were very important in relationships. These same characteristics were not regularly practiced by the surveyed researchers' public relations clients. Concurrently, among those characteristics considered to be the least important by the respondents in an ideal client/researcher relationship, public relations practitioners most regularly practiced them. These include freedom allowed the researcher to carry out a study, enjoyment between client and researcher while working together, and simple approval procedures.Advertising clients fell dramatically behind the preferred ideal relationship in only two areas according to the surveyed respondents, involving candid communications between researcher and clear-cut objectives. Marketing practitioners did not deviate far from the ideal client/ researcher relationships according to opinion researchers. Overall, marketing practitioners are the preferred client.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1982 M93 / Master of Science

This study determined attitudes held by television reporters nationwide toward PR practitioners' demonstrated knowledge of the technical side of television news. Findings. that emerged from the study were: 1. Television reporters were undecided whether practitioners needed an educational background in PR, and believed they needed an educational but not a professional background in television reporting. 2. They believed practitioners knew too little and should improve their knowledge, and that practitioners' employers would benefit therefrom. 3. They valued the assistance of practitioners. 4. There were moderate degrees of off-the-job contact and interest therein. 5. They divided evenly on the question concerning practitioners' specific demonstrated knowledge of the technical side of television news.

This study compared the levels of professionalism among Indiana corporate and agency public relations practitioners. The entire population, 339 individuals, was contacted via telephone and administered McLeod and Hawley's professional orientation instrument, yielding 183 usable responses.Respondents rated the importance of 24 items on a 5point Likert scale, and provided information on age, education, undergraduate major, salary, and length of time with current organization, in public relations, and in the workforce.Professionalism scores were calculated by subtracting the sum of answers to the non-professional items from the sum of answers to the professional items. Scores were ranked, then divided at the median. "Professionals" fell at or above the median; "semi-professionals" fell below the median,following McLeod/Hawley methodology.A multiple regression analysis determined the only significant relationship between level of professionalism and demographics occurred with undergraduate major--a slight negative correlation. Frequency distribution showed journalism/public relations majors had higher percentages of professionals than either English or other majors. / Department of Journalism

This study attempted to determine typical perceptions of public relations and news-editorial students of accepted ethical conduct in public relations and journalism. The researcher provided 32 students, half public relations majors and half news-editorial majors, with 51 individual statements. Each statement either supported or opposed a specific action that a public relations practitioner or journalist may take in an ethical dilemma, or a belief that professionals in those fields may hold. Each student was asked to indicate how strongly the student agreed or disagreed with each statement.A computer program developed for Q Methodology studies was used to extract two factors from the students' answers, resulting in the formation of two hypothetical groups, Type I and Type II. Type I consisted of 14 public relations majors and six news-editorial majors. Type II consisted of 10 news-editorial majors and two public relations majors.Most students in both groups agreed that they would not be asked to lie as professionals, that they would always produce original work, that professionals in their future fields believe they serve the public interest, and that professionals in their future fields believe their professions serve society. However, Type I students expected to function as channels of communication for their employers, while Type II students disagreed with that job description of themselves. Type I students strongly disagreed that practitioners in their fields do not care about public feedback; Type II students marginally agreed with that statement. Type I students seemed to believe it was normal for practitioners in their fields to maintain two codes of ethics, one for professional use and another for personal use. Type II students marginally disagreed with that concept. This finding appears to contradict those studies which suggest that practitioners are only as ethical professionally as they are personally. / Department of Journalism

This research compares the ethical values of public relations and political public relations practitioners. The study hypothesizes that a difference exists in the two groups' approach to ethical decision-making.A Q-study was completed by twenty-three midwest members of the Public Relations Society of America and the American Association of Political Consultants. The results identified two groups: one, a group of "communitarians" who relied on personal standards for ethical decision-making but believed the community-the public and the mediainfluenced those standards; and two, a group of "individualists" who relied on personal standards for ethical decision-making and were not influenced by the public, media, religion or law.This research determined that a significant difference did not exist in approach to ethical decision-making between political public relations and traditional public relations practitioners. All of the participants relied primarily on personal standards when making ethical decisions and no participants put personal advancement or pragmatism ahead of ethical decision-making. / Department of Journalism