Competing identities

The state of play of PR in the 2010s

The end of the first decade of the 21st century has been marked by significant shifts in the power, practice, and theory of public relations. Alongside the continuing global expansion of connectivity, ecological degradation, and social media, more recent events – such as the global economic downturn and changing public attitudes to business – are creating different operating conditions. Academically, the rise of different voices in journals, books, and research has been paralleled by the declining power of the ruling paradigm of late 20th century public relations. The old centre has not held and a diversity of opinion that is less insular, and more socially concerned, continues to emerge. These newer voices differ on perceptions of present, past, and future – not only are there disagreements on what public relations is now, but on what public relations has been, and on what public relations might be. In examining public relations and identity construction in these more visibly competitive and uncertain times, Barcelona Meeting COM #1: International PR 2011 Conference looked beyond business competition to competition between nations and cities, between practitioners in different professions, and between different academic disciplines. The conference invited a wide range of contributions: that reflect, and that reflect on, the spectrum of possibilities of these conditions; that address current issues and trends; and that speculate on future pathways. This book includes a selected group of papers that were presented at the International PR 2011 Conference.