Periodical Publications

Because I am interested in pursuing a career in public relations, I chose Public Relations Quarterly and Public Relations Journal for my publications to research. Public Relations Journal is published quarterly by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), while Public Relations Quarterly, which was once published by Howard Penn Hudson Associates Inc., stopped production in 2008.

Because Public Relations Quarterly is no longer in print, there is no direct way of accessing the articles except through periodical libraries, such as Samford’s online database. Also, the ex-publisher Howard Penn Hudson Associates Inc. either no longer or never had a website to access information. All that can be found is that it is or was a publishing company located in New York. But from my own conclusions from reading its articles, it was directed at a younger audience that is actively involved in PR and interested in reading and learning more to enhance their business.

According to the PRSA, Public Relations Journal is an “open-access, peer-reviewed electronic research journal facilitating the transfer of knowledge from the educational community to the professional community.” Dr.  Donald K. Wright Fellow, editor of the journal, quotes on the website:

 Our goals are to support and facilitate an increase in quality public relations research within the academic community, promote research necessary to grow and build public relations as a profession, and earn respect throughout the academic community as a highly thorough juried publication.

Public Relations Journal is an online publication. Therefore, access to the publication is found at http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/PRJournal/ and is of no cost to the reader. “The site states that the articles are written by “academics or practitioners, who examine public relations in depth and/or create, test or expand public relations theory. “ The journal’s main audience is practitioners, scholars, and students of public relations.

The publication is found on the Public Relations Society of America webpage, so it provides access to lots of information for PR practitioners and students and acts as a gateway into the PR world.

I specifically focused on the periodicals' articles that discussed social media because of the obvious influence social media plays in mass communication today. Public Relations Journal’s “Can you see the writing on my wall: A content analysis of the Fortune 50’s Facebook social networking sites” and Public Relations Quarterly’s “Social media…the hunted can become the hunter” both discuss the topic of social media in regard to public relations and marketing for business. Although both articles argue the importance for Facebook and other social networking sites for public relations, they also vary tremendously in their overall presentation.

The Public Relations Journal comes across as very serious and intellectual literature for PR practitioners.  “Can you see the writing on my wall: A content analysis of the Fortune 50’s Facebook social networking sites” could be seen as more of a thesis than an article. Written by Dr. Tina McCorkindale, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Appalachian State University, the analysis covers the basics of Facebook. Her work is obviously written for the computer illiterate, because it is explains each aspect of Facebook and how it is used. Because there is so much research and explanation, it seems to be more appropriate for the older generations. It could easily be compared to a “how to” book.

McCorkindale’s research took an in-depth look at some of the Fortune 50 companies’ social media marketing.  She begins with an overview of her work and explains that fifty-five company Facebook pages were used for experimentation; however, she never states the companies that are used for sampling. McCorkindale does include numerous statistics of Facebook analytics to introduce the importance of engaging with customers on their turf in order to gain customer loyalty. She also explains that understanding Facebook is absolutely essential to successful public relations.

On the contrary, Public Relations Quarterly is more of an easy read. Author Andy Marken writes in a very conversational manner, using short sentences and slang in order to engage and intrigue the reader. He even begins with a quote from the Bourne Supremacy: “Nothing in those files makes their sacrifice worthwhile. You have to let go. We’re professionals, when an operation goes bad, we tie it off.” Marken uses more quotes from the movie throughout the article to keep the discussion of Facebook and his theme of “hunting” interesting.

Along with his on-going conversational writing, he also supplies several statistics and bar graphs to explain Facebook and prove his points. Unlike McCorkindale, Marken only goes over the basics of Facebook briefly. Alternatively, he answers more of the why questions for PR practitioners.  Marken makes it very clear to his readers that Facebook is crucial in marketing to customers in this new age of technology. He also gives advice and examples of what really works, such as videos grabbing most of the audience’s attention. Furthermore, Marken makes the point that the integration of “traditional” media and new media is vital and very relevant in today’s business.

Although the periodicals differ quite a bit, both articles assure the reader that Facebook is a must in marketing to customers. Both Marken and McCorkindale discuss the importance of engaging with the customer and how the online interaction will provide much needed feedback.  They also state that continuous and consistent updating is vital in the engaging process. Furthermore, they state that the majority of companies are not using their online resources to their fullest potential.  The articles bring a lot of valid and necessary information to the table for PR practitioners.

Overall, I think Public Relations Quarterly is a much easier and interesting read compared to Public Relations Journal. Although it is hard to find much information on the retired publication, I feel like it was very worthwhile and most likely popular among PR practitioners.