Professional Roles of Public Relations in South Asia: A Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Sectors of Pakistan

Abstract

The existing circumstances of PR field in Pakistan are examined in this qualitative study by investigating the adoption patterns of four PR roles (Manager, Technician, Media relations and Communication Liaison) proposed by Broom and Smith (1978-79). Twenty public relations practitioners heading PR departments in various public and private sector organizations were purposely online-interviewed by the researcher. The participants of this qualitative study were particularly chosen from organizations working in education, telecommunication, health, tourism, rehabilitation and reconstruction, hoteling, national security and development fields. The results of this study indicated the presence of adoption patterns of all the four roles by the Pakistani PR practitioners with varying tendencies. This study concluded that that media relations role is the most frequently performed obligation by the practitioners in Pakistan. Similarly, majority of the public-sector practitioners were mostly involved in media relations role as their first preference. But majority of the practitioners in private-sector institutions were mostly involved in technician role.