ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the breadth of strategic communication and public relations (PR), including how it fits in to organisations and society more broadly. It examines the changing nature of the discipline, the people who carry out PR and strategic communication roles, its widespread adoption across many industries, and growth in the field within the tertiary sector and as a profession. A popular definition of strategic communication has most recently been revised to: Strategic communication encompasses all communication that is substantial for the survival and sustained success of an entity. The term 'communicative relationship' is useful to describe how communication is the central tenet of relationships. Zaharna describes how 'since relationships and communication are intricately interlinked, relationships are most distinctively described as defining communication'. The PR industry in Australia and New Zealand saw rapid growth in many sectors from the 1960s onward—across industry, education and professionalisation.
