Damaged reputation in New Zealand

When I was reading Sriramesh book (The Global public relations handbook) my attention became attached to sentence, that just mentioned the reputational problems which PR practitioners had occured in New Zealand.

I thought to seek more information about this issue and here are some backround (source is again Sriramesh) and links to my discoveries:

Lobbying government on behalf of organizations has an important role for public relations consultancies in New Zealand. Political activism over a range of issues is continuing concern not only for the government but also for other organizations in New Zealand.

Public Relations practitioners in New Zealand have not always dealt with sensitive political issues in a way that has brought credit on the profession. These kinds of situations, like for example one public relations firm’s tactics used to discredit environmental activist opposing the logging of native forest or other PR consultancy’s tactics to prevent publicity about mutations occurring in genetically modified salmon, has seriously damaged the reputation of PR as a profession. These incidents have led PRINZ to rewrite its code of ethics and have made professional ethics an important topic for debate in national forums.

If you are interested, explore also Weaver’s & Motion’s article about Sabotage and subterfuge: public relations, democacy and genetic engineering in New Zealand. This article can be also found trough e-resources in Nelli from Sage journals online database.

Interesting, don't you think?

Written by Sanna

Briefly PR nowdays

Relationship between New Zealand and Australia can be seen as a “friendly rivalry” for example in sporting contests. But there is cooperation in Public Relations, which is seen as joint conferences and the frequent interchanges among practitioners of the two countries. Also the practitioners from both countries often find themselves working for the same global companies. The presence of these consultancies ensures that the standard of public relations in New Zealand and in Australia reflects international best practice, whereas competition from local providers ensures that pr is adapted to fit local circumstances and priorities.

Practitioners from both countries face similar professional issues. One of these- technology- has been alluded already in the previous writings. Also professional codes of ethics and professional practice are topics that have been out on both countries.

source
Sriramesh: The global public relations handbook, pages: 121-127

Written by Sanna

Little about PR's history

Public relations have evolved in remarkably similar way in New Zealand and Australia. Profession began in both countries when journalist, mostly men of course, began to conduct media relations on behalf of organizations and clients. In New Zealand this happened around year 1954 and in Australia around 1947-1949.

Australia and New Zealand were quite isolated from other countries at the beginning of their PR evolution. That has been one of the reasons why the pioneering public relations practitioners decided to circulate whatever books or papers they had among members of group. They also seek information actively, particularly from USA and Europe, because they were seen to be leading the development of the field of public relations. However, because of the isolated location, it was difficult to get hands on these newspapers and other publication. It could take months for releases to arrive by sea to Australia and that’s why they were often out of date when distributed.

First airmail and later technologies, including internet, email, databases, mobile telephones and personal computers have all had a significant impact on the development of public relations in Down Under. Internet has offered instant access not just for information but also to professional networks for geographically isolated New Zealand and Australia.

source
Sriramesh: The global public relations handbook, pages 121-124

Written by Sanna