ABSTRACT
The idea of running a public relations (PR) operation, whether it is a company department, an independent agency, or any organized group focused on PR, is a highly advanced one. Wherever it is housed, the business and practice of public relations is an advanced, strategic, and highly collaborative process. To prepare people for careers in public relations, PR curricula across colleges and universities offer courses from an introduction to the field and profession to developing specific kinds of PR discourse, to analyzing PR cases, to the planning of campaigns. In fact, the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE, 2018) specifies that undergraduate PR programs (at a minimum) comprise five courses: an introduction to PR, research methods, writing, campaigns (case studies), and internships. Interestingly, a course that would build a fundamental understanding of the “business side” of public relations is missing. However, the report of the CPRE’s 2021 summit with public relations leaders in industry and academia found that
