Initially, I created this website to support the public relations courses I taught at Northern Kentucky University, but, now that I've retired, I'm making it available, free of charge, to all public relations students and PR practitioners who may find it useful, especially those seeking professional accreditation. The cornerstone of the site remains my Online Readings in Public Relations which now include more than 100 textbook-style articles, how-to-do-it tipsheets, and fill-in-the-blank templates for public relations planning and project completion.

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Emeritus Professor Michael Turney, Ph.D., ABC

The title says it all: "AI Activated."

For a second consecutive year, the Annenberg Center's annual Relevance Report is focused on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on public relations and other communication professions. But, the differences in substance and tone are dramatically different than last year.

"A year ago, fears dominated the conversation," according to the report, "but now we see big PR agencies ... experimenting with AI in every aspect of their business." Previous fear and suspicion of AI seem to have been replaced with unbridled enthusiasm.

And, the Center's director points out, "This is just the beginning."

In fact, the 2025 Relevance Report was reportedly "written as an AI guidebook" meant to encourage widespread adoption and use of AI. Make no mistake, there will still be challenges in mastering AI, but, for the PR profession, the opportunities now seem to outweigh the drawbacks.

Get the 2025 Relevance Report

 
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Are "special events" really "pseudo-events?"

A recent news brief noting the anniversary of Daniel Boorstin's death got me to thinking about The Image, the only one of his more than 20 books that was devoted to public relations. If you haven't read it yet, you probably should. It was a landmark book when it came out in the early 1960s, and it still is today.

Boorstin was an historian and observer of modern society, a prolific author, and Librarian of Congress for four terms under four different Presidents during the 1970s and `80s.

You probably won't like reading The Image, if you're a public relations person. It's quite critical of our profession and the impacts it has on society, but it was carefully and thoughtfully written. And, whether you agree or disagree with Boorstin, it's important to take his views into account by thinking about them. At the very least, doing so could better prepare you to respond to critics you personally encounter while working in public relations.

Whether you're a long-time practitioner or a student just starting in public relations, you undoubtedly know something about special events and how effective they can be in promoting your client's interests. And, by creating and promoting a special event you won't have to wait for happenstance to give you a reason/excuse to publicly "congratulate" or celebrate your client; you simply make one up.

You can, for instance, randomly schedule an "open house," recognize an anniversary, host a "Thank God it's Friday" (or any other day of the week) party, launch a new product, host a guest speaker or concert for the public, or just for your employees and/or customers, promote a charitable fund-raiser or celebrity "meet and greet," or any number of other activities that will almost certainly draw and excite a crowd.

And, since you create and control such events, you can orchestrate every element to ensure they occur when, where, and how you want to best serve your organization.

What's not to like about that? -- For Daniel Boorstin, it was their artificiality; they were a result of intentional human planning, not a spontaneous, real, or natural occurrences. In his eyes, they weren't special; they were fakes. And, he refused to call them "special events." Instead, he coined the term "pseudo-events," with "pseudo" meaning "false or sham" to clearly show his disdain and disapproval of them.

Read more about Daniel Boorstin's view of pseudo-events.