Public relations is defined here as a management function that uses two-way communication to mesh an institution’s or person’s needs and interests with the needs and interests of the various publics with which the institution or person must communicate. In its maturation as an industry, public relations has passed through four stages, culminating in advanced two-way communication.

Some 200,000 people work in public relations in the United States, in 4,000 firms and in in-house PR operations. They typically carry out 14 activities, including publicity, communication, public affairs, and government relations. PR is not the same as advertising, in part because of its policy-making component.

Globalization, specialization, and converging technologies are trends in public relations. An important issue in the industry is ethical standards, one example being the proliferation of video news releases and their challenge to media literate consumers.

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