Future of Communications and Public Relations (PR). (Re)Imagining the Role, Function and Purpose of the Communication Profession

Abstract

Every crisis brings opportunities and challenges. In this special edition, the future of communications and PR in and beyond the context of the Covid-19 pandemic is being (re)imagined by scholars addressing the topic from theoretical, practical and educational perspectives. Following Thomas Kuhn’s insight that paradigm shifts are often triggered by – epistemological and practical – crises, this special edition invites and encourages the exploration of alternatives to established ways of thinking, the challenging of established mindsets.  In doing so, this edition addresses the future of public relations and communications from multiple perspectives: paradigmatic (metamodernism) and theoretical (astroturfing), organizational (newsrooms), competences vs capabilities and educational (the heritage and challenges of neoliberalism) while also revisiting current premises including PR’s role in deliberative democracies. In a time of seemingly growing polarization of perspectives, we need to get beyond dichotomies and toward integration and synthesis.