ABSTRACT
The chapter begins with an overview of the status of the discipline of public relations and its critiques, particularly from socio-cultural and critical schools of thought. It outlines the methods used in this study, consisting of content analysis of public relations journals and interviews with public relations scholars. While content analysis is common in introspective studies, the use of interviews offering insights into trends and processes behind published scholarship represents a rather unique approach. Based on the results of the study, the chapter presents academic experiences, views, perceptions, evaluations and opinions of the discipline of public relations in combination with the theoretical, topical and methodological landscape manifested in journal articles to determine trends and gaps. It finally concludes by comparing the findings to those of ten years ago, offering a reflection on scholarly efforts and their implications for the progress of the discipline, and identifying directions for the future.
