ABSTRACT
The headline in Advertising Age, September 25, 2000, was bigand bold: “From the basement to the penthouse.” The sub-heads for the piece were equally optimistic: “PR’s new status: Thanks to high-tech and dot-com plays, public
relations is hitting heights as marketing’s power tool.” “PR is in its golden age today. You’ve got to be almost dead not to
be successful in PR today.” The article goes on to say, “The era of digital communications
and the hype and buzz surrounding high-tech and dot-com companies have ushered public relations into the limelight-so much so, the industry believes, it can never again be considered the Rodney Dangerfield of marketing communications.”1
