Technology presents credibility, ethical challenges

The survey, “Wired for Change – A Survey of Public Relations Professionals and Students: Attitudes, Usage and Expectations in the New Communication Technology Environment,” was conducted to explore how professional and student members of PRSA and the Public Relations Student Society of America view the role of technology in shaping current and future communication practices.

A majority of respondents in both groups raised concerns about the credibility of information being generated through new media sources, such as social networking sites, and placed the greatest amount of trust in traditional media, including more technology-driven traditional media, such as online newspapers.

“New media and communication technology are widely embraced by populations of all ages, resulting in a virtual cornucopia, a wealth of media sources and endless consumer choice,” said Rhoda Weiss, PRSA chairwoman and CEO, in a news release. “New media represent a highly effective means for breaking news and commentary.”

More students than professionals indicated that the use of some of the new communications channels could present significant ethical challenges for public relations professionals.

According to the survey, 46 percent of the students and 35 percent of professionals think technology makes it difficult to conduct public relations ethically. Additionally, 41 percent of students responded that technology makes defending against skepticism about public relations more difficult, compared to 33 percent of professionals.

“The proliferation of blogs and social networking sites are definitely changing the rules of public relations, and the survey results indicate that both professionals and students are quite aware of the challenges they present,” said Alan C. Scott, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group, in the release. “Both groups also recognize that new communication technology helps them to better manage their organizations’ reputations, so I think we’ll see an increased adoption of tools that help public relations professionals monitor Web conversations and engage with stakeholders.”

Nearly all students (97 percent) and professionals (95 percent) agreed that technology has positively impacted the practice of public relations. According to the survey, professionals and students believe that online news, online video and personal digital assistants have had the most significant impact on how public relations professionals do their jobs.

Both groups believe that the technology-driven channels that provide the best opportunities for the practice of public relations are online news Web sites, blogs and social networking sites. Students are more optimistic than professionals about the potential usefulness of social and professional networking sites. According to the survey, 19 percent of students reported that social networking sites present the most significant opportunity, compared to 10 percent of professionals.

The survey suggests that both groups believe new technology channels, such as instant messaging, are most effective for disseminating information quickly, reaching broad audiences and monitoring trends. Eighty-eight percent of professionals and 75 percent of students indicated that technology enables public relations professionals to easily reach mass markets. However, they also acknowledged that while blogs and social networking sites are clearly increasing in popularity, they are unregulated, and the potential for reputational harm and rumors to spread quickly exists.

“We are hoping to repeat this survey later this year to determine evolving trends in the new and next media and how opinions of public relations professionals and students have changed,” Weiss added.