ABSTRACT

In a narrowed definition of public relations comparing it to advertising, it has been noted that public relations can be distinguished from advertising largely through the third-party endorsement theory. The theoretical framework of third-party endorsement values the credibility of a public relations message over advertising content. However, under the current digital media environment, traditional media has yielded the role to online portals or search engines, which play the agenda-setting function and decide the rank and order of news content to be displayed. The chapter explores how the public relations landscape is presented in a different cultural context compared to the traditional public relations paradigm. It explains the controversial issue of the blurred line between editorial content and advertising content in a digital media environment in Korea. Although the digital media environment brings an array of new formats to communicate with the public's, the fundamental value of public relations credibility-should be taken into account in a public relations discipline.