Examining PR and journalism in a ‘post-truth’ world

Professor Anne Gregory

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 09:52:00 GMT

Academics and Communications professionals joined forces at an industry round table in Melbourne, Australia this March to examine how ‘fake news’, ‘alternative facts’, and the ‘post-truth world’, are forcing journalists and communications professionals to address issues around reputation.

These professional disciplines find themselves increasingly challenged by the turn away from fact and evidence towards emotion and motivated reasoning at the same time that the value of expertise has become diminished.

Attended by senior communication professionals, the roundtable, hosted by RMIT University and Cropley Communication’s Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence in Melbourne, deliberated on whether ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’ are new phenomena or are merely repackaged iterations of propaganda and publicity that have been common in every era.

Credit: Cropley Communications

Huddersfield Business School’s Professor of Corporate Communications Anne Gregory is one of nine international partners embarking on a two-year research project studying the capabilities of public relations and communication professionals around the world.

The study, funded by the University of Huddersfield, undertaken the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management aims to address these issues by assisting professional bodies, organisations and individuals frame their professional development

Discussing the preliminary findings of the Global Capabilities Framework research, Professor Anne Gregory highlighted the importance of ethical and responsible communication:

“The challenges in this ‘new world’ impact on judgements about the professional integrity of public relations and journalists alike,” she said. “There is a stronger consciousness among communication of their contribution to society, not just to their organisations.”

The group agreed that more engagement between industry and academia, and between journalism and public relations is needed to better prepare students for the common challenges they face in their future practice.