Week 10

The ways we communicate have fundamentally changed in the last decade. Advances in digital technology have engendered a shift in communication patterns characterized by the shift from the ‘one to many’ broadcast paradigm of mass media to the ‘network paradigm’ of ‘many to many’ communication. Much writing about new media and public relations celebrates the interactivity or conversational nature of new media, which is considered to have the potential to develop relationships and build communities. This shift has major implications for traditional public relations practices and concepts. Not surprisingly, new media is cited by practitioners and scholars as one of the biggest challenges facing the public relations profession. As Katie Delahaye Paine writes: “the implications for twenty-first century practitioners are all at once far reaching, terrifying and enormously exciting”

Technological advances have the potential to transform the relationships and communication between organizations and publics, audiences and communities. Internet use varies between and within countries, with factors such as age, education, socioeconomic, and geographical location impacting on levels of access and use. The rapid development of digital technology makes it difficult to predict how publics, and audiences will use new software, and which applications may be useful for public relations professionals in even one year’s time. Public relations practitioners are beginning to use media in campaigns, but do not yet exploit their potential to promote two-way communication and dialogue. New media pose legal and ethical challenges; practitioners should always disclose their professional and personal interests. Social media offer opportunities for greater interaction with publics, but public relations may need to be reconceptualised in terms of the social relationships and connections between organization and publics.