Some Less Flattering Terms

Некоторые менее привлекательные (выгодные, лестные) термины

The public and the press on occasion describe PR people as

“flacks” or “spin doctors.”

18. A flack [from 1939 - business publication] or flak is a derisive (насмешливый) slang term (критика, нападки; взбучка; матерщина) that journalists often use for a press agent or anyone else working in PR.

19. A spin doctor is a purveyor of deception (поставщик обмана), manipulation, and misinformation; spin букв.: крутить/вертеть; прясть; пряжа. “Spin is antithetical to legitimate PR... Spin is to PR what pornography is to art...” (Robert Dilenschneider, president of his own PR firm in New York). Other PR people by ‘spin’ mean all modern methods of communication to tell the most positive story about their clients.

• Indeed, spin seems to have well established itself as a popular slang term for any information with a point of view. It has even become popular as a title in many books about PR.

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• In public relations community, feeling also exists that “PR” is a slang term that carries a somewhat denigrating connotation (порочащее сопутствующее значение). The use of the abbreviation “PR” was probably originated as a nickname for ‘press relations,’ the primary activity of public relations in its early years. (The viewpoint of late Sam Black, a public relations consultant in the UK).

Although “pr” is now more than press relations, the nickname is commonly used in daily conversation and is widely recognized around the world.

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IV. Additional texts

IV.1. Global Scope 1-4

1. It is difficult to estimate worldwide figures, but Reed’s Directory of Public Relations Organizations lists 155 national and regional public relations associations with an aggregate membership of 137,000 people. Included are such groups as the Public Relations Institute of Souther Africa (PRISA), the Public Relations Association of Mauritius (PRAM), the Association of Public Relations Practitioners in Thailand, and the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).

2. Such memberships, however, are usually only a partial indication, because large numbers of public relations practitioners don’t belong to professional organizations. The president of the China International Public Relations Association, for example, says that the country has more than 100,000 practitioners and that up to 500,000 are studying aspects of public relations in colleges and institutes.

3. In terms of economics, the public relations field is most extensively developed in the United States, where organizations spend as estimated $10 billion annually in such activity. Although statistics are scarce, European companies are estimated to spend $3 billion annually on public relations. This figure continues to increase through implementation of the European Community (EC) and the development of market economies in Eastern Europe and the new nations of the former Soviet Union. Areas with strong growth potential in Europe are public affairs, corporate relations, health care, and marketing communications.

4. The second area of major growth of 20 to 30 percent in such nations as Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and China. Increased privatization of national industries and expansion of free market economies are also fueling major growth in Latin America and Southern Africa.

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