ABSTRACT
In this chapter I argue that PRPs are immersed in continuous processes of emotional labour to fulfil the demands of the market: this includes their management, their clients, and multiple media actors. This argument is premised on the structural aspects of society and culture that influence PR as a commercial service. Neoliberalism and promotional culture wereimportant explanatory frameworks for the expansion and institutionalisation of PR during the past 40 years. Further, PR is among the new ‘entrepreneurial professions’ that has a low barrier to entry and responds flexibly to the market. PR draws its power from the market in providing services that protect and enhance organisational or brand reputation by influencing public perceptions. While the knowledge base that is required to practise PR successfully is changing rapidly as a consequence of technological developments, PRPs within agencies continue to draw on personal and emotional resources to legitimise their practice. While there is a continued requirement for PRPs to build trust with journalist contacts, PRPs’ emotional effort has been diverted to the demands of social media influencers as more powerful endorsers of PR messages in some sectors, thus disrupting established media ecologies.
