The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on October 6, 2009). Thesis advisor: Maria Len-Ríos. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Except for employing their journalistic skills in traditional positions at newspapers and magazines, journalists today also have a choice of a variety of interesting communication careers. A journalist may choose to be, among others, a copywriter at an advertising agency, a translator, a presenter on television or radio, a publisher, as well as a public relations officer (PRO). Public Relations, especially, has become an increasingly popular career choice for journalists, mostly at a later stage of their careers. Public relations is a professional career, and practitioners have long been trained as specialist in their field. Also, career-orientated courses in public relations are offered at tertiary institutions countrywide. Despite this, experienced journalists are still top candidates for positions as PROs at a variety of organisations. However, because public relations has become considerably specialised and professional over the past 20 years, journalists should acquire extra, "specialised" skills to practise public relations. Their journalistic skills do, however, form a basis for a career in public relations. But the skills and techniques of public relations should still be acquired and applied. The purpose of this mini-thesis is to discuss these skills, and ultimately prepare journalists for a career in public relations. Many definitions of public relations exist, but essentially it is a continuous, systematic and cyclical process that aims to create and maintain a positive image of an organisation. This process consists of four phases. Research is the continuous gathering and interpretation of information to determine who the organisation's publics are (demographic information) and what their attitudes towards and perspectives of the organisation and its products and/or services are. Planning is in itself a process. Through planning the PRO determines the objectives and strategy of a communication programme, which should influence the attitudes and perspectives of the publics. Communication is the execution of the planning through the techniques of, among others, writing and public addresses. Evaluation determines whether the objectives of a communication programme have been met. In addition to these techniques, it should further be noted that public relations is applied differently within different organisations because the objectives and publics of organisations differ. A career change from journalism to public relations demands adjustment. This is discussed in the second part of the mini-thesis. For a journalist to become a successful PRO, he should acquire and apply the skills discussed, as well as be prepare to experience the adjustments that distinguish public relations from journalism. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Behalwe dat joernaliste hul vaardighede inspan in tradisionele poste by koerante en tydskrifte, kan hulle vandag ook 'n verskeidenheid beroepe in die kommunikasiewese beoefen. Joernaliste word, onder andere, kopie-skrywers in die advertensiewese, vertalers, aanbieders op televisie en radio, taalversorgers by uitgewers, asook openbare skakelbeamptes. Dit is veral die skakelwese wat 'n al hoe meer gewilde beroepskeuse word onder joernaliste, veral in 'n latere stadium van hul loopbane. Skakelwese is 'n professionele beroep, en praktisyns word reeds lank as spesialiste op dié gebied opgelei. Talle beroepsgerigte openbare skakelwese-kursusse word landwyd by tersiêre inrigtings aangebied. Maar, ten spyte hiervan, is ervare joernaliste steeds van die top-kandidate VIr skakelwese-poste by 'n verskeidenheid organisasies. Omdat die skakelwese oor die afgelope 20 jaar aansienlik meer gespesialiseerd en professioneel geword het, is dit moeiliker vir joernaliste om dié beroep te betree met net hul joernalistieke vaardighede. Dit vorm wel die basis vir 'n loopbaan in die skakelwese. Vir joernaliste om suksesvolle skakelbeamptes te word moet hulle ook die "gespesialiseerde" vaardighede van die skakelwese aanleer en toepas. Hierdie werkstuk se doel is om die vaardighede van die skakelwese wat joernaliste moet verwerf, te bespreek en uiteindelik die joernalis toe te rus vir 'n loopbaan in die skakelwese. Verskeie definisies van die beroep bestaan, maar essensieel is dit 'n deurlopende, sistematiese en sikliese proses wat poog om 'n positiewe beeld van 'n organisasie te skep en te behou. Om die proses in werking te stel moet deur vier fases gegaan word. Navorsing is die gedurige versameling en interpretasie van inligting waardeur die skakelbeampte bepaal wie sy gehoor is (demografiese inligting) en wat hul houdings teenoor die organisasie en sy produkte en/of dienste. Beplanning is 'n proses op sy eie. Hiermee bepaal die skakelbeampte die doelwitte en strategie van 'n kommunikasieprogram wat die houdings van sy gehoor moet beïnvloed. Kommunikasie is die inwerkingstelling van die beplanning deur die tegnieke van , onder andere, skryf en openbare optredes. Deur evaluering word bepaal of die gestelde doelwitte bereik is deur die inwerkingstelling van 'n spesifieke kommunikasieprogram. Hierby moet skakelbeamptes daarop let dat die skakelwese op 'n unieke manier binne verskillende tipes organisasies toegepas moet word omdat die doelwitte en gehoor van organisasie tot organisasie verskil. Om 'n loopbaanverskuiwing van die joernalistiek na die skakelwese te maak verg 'n aanpassing. Hierna word in die tweede deel van die werkstuk gekyk. As 'n joernalis 'n suksesvolle openbare skakelbeampte wil word, sal hy hierdie vaardighede moet aanleer en toepas, asook bereid wees om die aanpassings, wat die skakelwese anders as joernalistiek maak, te ervaar.

A national mail survey of 117 journalists and 127 PR practitioners in 2008 shows that a majority of journalists and PR practitioners are familiar with at least one mass communication theory; a majority perceive that at least one mass communication theory influences their work; a majority think it is important to teach mass communication theories to students; and a majority think it is important to conduct research on mass communication theories. Compared to journalists, PR practitioners perceive more influence on their work from mass communication theories. The results also show that familiarity with mass communication theories is a strong predictor of journalists' and PR practitioners' perceived theoretical influence on their work, and their perceived importance of teaching and conducting research on mass communication theories. Education has indirect influence on journalism and PR: those who have learned theories in school are more familiar with mass communication theories; the more familiar people are with mass communication theories, the more theoretical influence they perceive and the more important they think it is to teach and conduct research on mass communication theories.

The problem of this study was to determine specific competencies associated with the superintendent's role in public relations and to determine the relationship between school district size and public relations competencies needed by the superintendent. Conclusions of the study were Public relations competencies for superintendents can be identified in seven competency areas with specific competencies within each area. The seventy-seven specific public relations competencies identified in this study are all needed by practicing superintendents. There is a priority of importance among the seventy seven specific competencies with the competency area of "Relations With the Board of Education" receiving top priority and the competency area of "Personality Traits" receiving second priority. Superintendents from differing size school districts generally do not vary in their perceptions of the competency areas. Differences do exist between perceptions of superintendents of different size schools to specific competencies within competency areas.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Public Relations Management in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / According to George Bernard Shaw, “The main difficulty with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” Effective internal communication is crucial for successful organisations as it affects the ability of strategic managers to engage employees and achieve objectives (Welch & Jackson, 2007:177). According to Toth (2007:480), internal communication is one of the most important specialities of public relations, it is the force that develops “structures and cultures” within an organisation. Mersham and Skinner (2001:8) infer that communication permeates all activities in an organisation: it represents an important work tool through which individuals understand their organisational role and integrates organisational subunits. According to Grunig and Hunt (1984:23) symmetrical public relations models will increase the likelihood of employee job satisfaction and their satisfaction with the organisation as a whole. In addition, Toth states that “satisfied employees are more likely to be loyal to the organization they can identify with” (2007:481). The author further propounds that “the more participative the culture, the more symmetrical system of communication”. To augment the aforementioned statement, Kitchen argues that an organisation’s communication system and models are an important contributing factor for staff morale and productivity (2001:81). Employees tend to have higher morale and are more motivated in the workplace if all channels of communication are open. To extrapolate “open communication” systems, this paper will distil Grunig and Hunt’s (1984:21-31) symmetrical model of public relations as departure point to effective corporate communication, but also focus extensively on the internal communication matrix (Welch & Jackson, 2007:185) that will provide answers to the anti-luvial question on who communicates, to whom, in what way, with what content and for what purpose (Welch & Jackson, 2007:185). A modern organisation cannot function effectively without a positive internal climate and well-functioning channels of internal communication. To research the goals of the organisation’s internal communication strategy it should be responsive to employee needs and concerns (Seitel, 2004:288). The author further propounds the importance of internal publics as a stakeholder by arguing that in the new information era, managers have realised that the assets of the institution lie very much in the hands of the employees (Seitel, 2004:288). According to Garbarino (1977:32) the concept of culture is not new, as Ethnographers have studied the cultures of various societies since the 17th century. It is however only since the 1980’s that the impact of culture on organisational processes is being studied by scholars (Smircich & Calas, 1987). Organisational-or corporate culture is understood to be the firmly implanted values and assumptions of the organisation (Ouchi, 1981; Schein, 1990). Martin, Sitkin and Boehm (1985:99-124) identified two schools of thought regarding the question of cultural change. Cultural pragmatists argue that it can be changed due to the fact that it is a cultural efficiency managed to suit organisational goals set by the dominant coalition. Wilkins and Ouchi (1983:479) on the other hand argue that corporate culture is something that develops over time through unconscious evolution among a majority of people in the organisation, not through the dominant coalition. “Cultures specific to an organization evolve over time and influence the way in which individuals in the organization interact and react to the challenges posed by the environment” (Sriramesh et al., 1992:584). Sriramesh, Grunig and Dozier (1996) followed the lead of other organisational scholars (e.g. Wilkins 1983a) by using organisational culture to explain variables of primary interest to scholars in the field of public relations. They used corporate culture in particular to explain the nature of the communication system inside organisations. Grunig, Grunig and Dozier (2002:482) generated theoretical propositions about two distinct types of organisational culture which they contrasted as “authoritarian” and “participative” cultures in the Excellence study. This study further aims to establish the importance of values, symbols, meanings, beliefs, assumptions and expectations as an integral part of corporate culture, and that there is a symbiotic, reciprocal relationship between culture and communication. According to Sriramesh et al. (1996:239) altering one “will facilitate a modification in the other”. Siehl (1985) emphasised, after looking at change of leadership in organisations, that “once the desired value system was identified and articulated, the entire workforce (not just the managers) may have to strive to change or manage the organisation’s culture.” (Sriramesh, Grunig & Dozier 1996: 237). Sorge and Warner (1997:09) argue that “the core of culture is values”. Deal and Kennedy go so far as to say that they are of the opinion that successful companies succeed because their employees can “identify, embrace, and act on the values of the organization” (1982:21). The aim of this study, based on theory, is that there is a reciprocal relation between internal communication and corporate culture based on open symmetrical communication at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) can potentially modify the organisational culture of the University.

Thesis (MTech (Sport Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / Although the concept of place branding is still relatively new, there is an increasing awareness of the significant impact which sport can have on a city‟s brand. Cities are now considering the addition of sport to their brand traits and are focusing on sport re-imaging, due to the advanced nature of international sport, and the economic and social gains associated with hosting major sport events. The hosting of sport events is increasingly being viewed as part of a broader tourism strategy aimed at enhancing the profile of a city. This particular study was based upon investigating the strategic value of sport to the city brand of Cape Town. The aim of the study was to investigate the role which key sport brands and city stakeholders and all-encompassing sport entities play for the city brand. This has been achieved via a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 key industry stakeholders in Cape Town. A review of case studies, academic journal articles, and other relevant secondary sources of information has been used to contextualise these findings. This study clearly identifies the extent to which sport holds a strategic value for the Cape Town city brand. It clarifies that sport events, facilities, sport teams and personalities, and sport brands and sponsors all add valuable contributions to the city brand. The study reveals the strategic elements of sport that create city branding opportunities for establishing a national and global competitive position. / National Research Foundation

Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / This study investigated the professional status of female public relations practitioners in Rwandan public and private institutions by using direct managers as a focal point to get their perspectives about their staff. The study used a structured questionnaire to get information from the managers in public relations or communication departments. While different authors such as Aldoory & Toth, (2002); Wilcox and Cameron (2006:35) and Hon (1995) indicate that the public relations industry is feminised to the extent of 70 percent, the results of this study present it otherwise. The findings reveal that the trend of feminisation in Rwandan public relations industry is not on the same speed as the one in the industry worldwide. This means that based on the findings from different studies worldwide, females are represented by a big number in the public relations industry than males do. Furthermore, there is a gender gap in terms of responsibilities whereby women are more clustered in technical tasks rather than managerial ones. Although Rwanda has opted to empower women in its reconstruction process, they are still affected by the legacies of indigenous culture in terms of stereotypes associated with them and salary gaps which shows that the promotion of a female professional continue to be a problem in some organisations. Considering the research results, the public relations industry in Rwanda is still a new field and hence its practitioners' professional status especially women is not well depicted. However, the results show that female practitioners are able to offer good services to their customers due to their innate caring character and professionalism. The results recommend that local high learning institutions should include public relations courses in their program to ensure long run availability of public relations professionals. In addition the Rwanda private sector is encouraged to open up public relations agencies which will contribute to the improvement of customer care in Rwanda. Finally, the researcher recommends that public relations activities should be well planned in organisations to avoid confusion with other related fields such as marketing, for instance. The researcher further recommends that advance studies should be conducted to engage in the evaluation of the implementation of gender promotion laws and its efforts in various organisations.

Med grund i ett för journalistiken fallande förtroende, vilket i kombination med PR’s ökade inflytande anses medföra en demokratisk utmaning, är syftet med denna studie att komparativt se på publikens förtroende för varumärken respektive journalistik. Inledningsvis intresserar den sig för vilka, om några, skillnader och effekter det finns på förtroendet beroende på avsändartyp. Den undersöker också om förtroendet influeras av publikens individuella faktorer och/eller socioekonomiska förhållanden. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats med ett webbexperiment och en tillhörande enkät som metod. Sammantaget har 141 respondenter, uppdelade i fem grupper, besvarat totalt tio frågor. Av dessa sökte åtta stycken efter individuella och socioekonomiska förhållanden, medan resterande två avsåg mäta förtroendet och upplevelsen kring ett innehåll. Experimentets sample bestod av svenskar, vilka nåddes genom en efterlysning på Facebook. Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk består av Agenda Setting Theory, Uses and Gratifications och Kulturellt kapital, tillsammans med föregående forskning rörande journalistik, PR, förtroende, digitalisering samt medier, demokrati och samhälle. Sedan tidigare finns en vetenskaplig grund beträffande förtroendet för journalistik, däremot har detta inte satts i relation till varumärken. Man har inte heller engagerat sig i andra faktorers eventuella påverkan på en individs förtroende. Resultaten visar inga signifikanta förtroendeskillnader mellan varumärken och journalistik, inte heller i en jämförelse specifika aktörer emellan (Dagens Nyheter, Aftonbladet, Volvo och Volkswagen). Istället för avsändare, har individfaktorer visat sig vara av större relevans för förtroende. I synnerhet utmärker sig utbildningsnivå och grad av politiskt intresse, där högt utbildade och högt politiskt intresserade tenderar ha ett lägre förtroende i förening med ett mer kritiskt förhållningssätt. Samma samband yttrar sig också ju mer politiskt högerställd individen anser sig. Som konklusion baseras individens förtroende inte på avsändaren, utan snarare på dennes socioekonomiska och individuella faktorer. / The purpose of this essay is to study the public’s trust in journalism and brands respectively, as well as potential effects and differences that exists within this trust, depending on the messenger. The research also investigates the socioeconomic and individual factors of the public that might affect their trust. The study departs from the facts that trust in journalism is currently in a down-moving spiral, which, in connection to the expansion of Public Relations, creates a problem for both democracy and society. The study was conducted through a quantitative method in the shape of a web experiment, accompanied by a survey. 141 respondents, divided into 5 groups, answered a total of 10 questions, out of which 8 asked about the respondents’ individual and socioeconomic factors, and 2 asked about the respondents’ experience of a specific content from different messengers. The sample in the experiment consisted of Swedish men and women whom were found via Facebook. The theoretical framework of the study comprises Agenda Setting Theory, Uses and Gratifications and Cultural capital, together with previous research affecting journalism, PR, trust, digitalization, media, democracy and society. There are already quite a lot of research regarding trust in journalism, but never before has this been compared to the trust in brands. Neither has socioeconomic factors been looked at as a contributing factor to an individuals’ level of trust. The results of the study show that there are no significant differences in trust towards journalism and brands, neither have we found differences between specific senders (Dagens Nyheter, Aftonbladet, Volvo and Volkswagen). Neither age, gender, profession, news consumption nor internet use seemed to have any effect on trust. However, education and political interest stand out. Higher education, as well as higher political interest, gives a lower trust and a stronger criticism of source. A rightward political orientation can be linked to lower trust as well. Thus, the audience’s trust is not based on the messenger, but rather on individual attributes and characteristics.

The International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in their Gold Paper No.7 (1990:6) recognises two schools of thought about education and training for public relations : one that it is preparation for a technician level post and the other that it is preparation for management. These two approaches broadly represent that of public relations education in the USA and that in Europe, respectively. These two different approaches differ markedly. South African tertiary education utilises both of these approaches, university education in public relations following the European model, and technikon education following the model of the USA. This has created confusion in industry and, as a result, graduates of both universities and technikons are often not given due recognition. It also results in public relations not realising its true potential. Added to the foregoing, there are fundamental problems in the field of public relations itself, such as its lack of definition and also of scientific status and professionalism. South Africa is currently introducing an outcomes-based approach to education throughout its tertiary education system. While the introduction of a particular curriculation approach such as outcomes-based education would be problematic in the general sense because of the fundamental problems of public relations, it is particularly so in the South African context where public relations education is being offered in accordance with the two different approaches to education. For this reason, this study seeks to provide guidelines for the curriculation of technikon level public relations education within an outcomes-based approach to education. The compilation of a set of guidelines for technikon level public relations education will serve a useful purpose in several directions, as set out below:- (1) The confusion in South African industry with regard to the recognition of the abilities of public relations graduates can be alleviated. (2) The path can be opened for the accreditation of public relations graduates to be instituted. (3) The chances of graduates gaining managerial positions and of becoming members of the dominant coalition of an organisation and of being able to utilise the Excellence Model of public relations practice will be promoted. (4) Research is more likely to be theoretically-grounded and is likely both to increase in volume and to make a worthy contribution to development in South Africa. (5) The chances of the fundamental problems of the field of public relations being engaged will be enhanced and this could make significant contributions to the field on a generic scale. (6) The fulfilment of the requirement of The White Paper (1997) that South African tertiary education carry out its function with economy and efficiency will be facilitated. In order to fulfil the primary purpose, current approaches to tertiary level public relations education will be analysed and assessed in various contexts; weaknesses and strengths in current curriculation perspectives adopted for tertiary level public relations education will be identified; the impact of the educational context on the curriculation of technikon level public relations courses will be analysed; and a theoretical framework for understanding the context of technikon tertiary level public relations education will be developed. The foregoing yield information for the compilation of guidelines and recommendations for technikon level public relations education in South Africa. / Prof. S. Verwey

M.A. / This study determines the role of public relations as a marketing communication function in RAU's integrated marketing communication approach. The research topic was selected for numerous reasons. Firstly, dramatic changes have occurred in the tertiary educational domain, which causes universities to adapt their marketing communication approaches. Based on these environmental changes, the Public Relations Division at RAU commissioned the study on the research topic, which is the second consideration for the study. The debate on integrated marketing communication shows, in the third place, that this approach is increasingly important. On closer investigation there is a definite need for a thorough literature review with an authentic integrated marketing communication approach, driven by the integrated organizational functioning and processes. From a public relations perspective, on closer investigation, there is a need for the direct empirical examination of the role of public relations as a contributing function of integrated marketing communication in order to narrow the gap between literature and empirical evidence. To achieve the research objectives, an extensive literature study had to be undertaken. Integraled marketing communication had to be researched in depth, to achieve a thorough understanding of the philosophy of integrated marketing communication. Hence, the contextualization of integrated marketing communication was examined to understand how the concept is applied within an organizational setting. Following from this, it was established that the integrated marketing communication programme can be seen as the advanced application of integrated marketing communication within the organizational context. The role of public relations as a marketing communication function was then explored within this integrated marketing communication approach. It was established that a shift towards a more marketing:oriented approach to public relations was increasing, thus the importance of marketing public relations. The study was enhanced by two phases of research conducted within RAU to meet the objectives of the study. The first, quantitative phase determined the extent to which RAU's communication activities is integrated. The measuring instrument used is the integrated marketing communication mini-audit scale. It is essential to note that all organizations are integrated to a certain extent (Duncan & Moriarty, 1997:14). Therefore, this study did not focus on establishing whether RAU as an organization is integrated. In the second, qualitative research phase, the role of public relations as a marketing communication function within RAU's integrated marketing communication approach was determined. The issue that became apparent throughout this study was that integrated marketing communication in any organizational context is of strategic importance for the "unity of effort" of the greater well-being of the organization. It was found in this research project that there are fundamental concerns for RAU regarding integrated marketing communication, and that public relations is practised on a technical, traditional level. The results of this study are primarily based on three key findings: firstly, the lack of core competency within the Division of Public Relations, secondly, the lack of cross-functional planning and operations within this department, and thirdly, a lack of interactivity with stakeholders. It is put forward that RAU should concentrate on the basic requirements and infrastructure necessary to utilize integrated marketing communication and that marketing public relations should be an integral part of the functioning of RAU as a tertiary educational institution.