RESEARCH PROGRAM

Commission on International Public Relations
This new commission, formed by the Institute to focus on its special field of practice, completed these initial projects:

• The Polish Public Relations Consultancies Association and the International Public Relations Association cooperated with the Institute on a study of media bribery in Poland. This was a follow-up to our 2003 International Index of Bribery for News Coverage and will provide a benchmark for subsequent surveys in other countries. The published paper was authored by Dr. Katerina Tsetsura of the University of Oklahoma.
• To better understand what exists today - and where future research should focus - Dr. Juan-Carlos Molleda and Alexander Laskin of the University of Florida authored a paper entitled Global, International, Comparative and Regional Public Relations Knowledge from 1990 to 2005. This report is the first step in a long-term effort that will include publications in many countries and languages.

Commission on Public Relations Measurement & Evaluation
Our original commission defines the model of personal expertise and pro bono service. This body continued its work of establishing standards and methods for public relations research and measurement, and producing authoritative best-practices white papers that included:

• Putting PR Research and Evaluation Into Historical Perspective by Dr. Walter Lindenmann reviews 60 years of progress and draws lessons for today.
• A New Model for Media Content Analysis by Dr. David Michaelson and Toni Griffin suggests that commonly used analysis methods fail to address the fundamental information needs of practitioners. The authors propose a better approach based on four overlooked factors and support their argument with MetLife case histories.
• 3M and Hunter PR committed $38,000 in restricted funding to study the relative credibility of editorial coverage versus advertising relating to consumer purchase. Drs. Don Stacks and David Michaelson, both members of the Commission on PR Measurement & Evaluation, will conduct the research.

Commission on Public Relations Education
The Institute serves as a member of this commission, which traces its roots as far back as 1975 and the first guidelines for undergraduate and graduate public relations curricula. The guidelines, which have been revised at approximately five-year intervals since 1975, will be re-issued again in 2006.

Other Research Projects and Free Publications
Anthropology and Public Relations is an annotated bibliography of recent anthropological research with important implications for public relations. This interdisciplinary paper was authored by Marcia Watson, University of Miami, as part of a series sponsored by General Motors.

Awards

• The Alexander Hamilton Award for lifetime contributions to the practice of public relations was bestowed on Dr. James E. Grunig, professor emeritus of the University of Maryland and the first educator to win the Institute's highest award.
• The Pathfinder Award for outstanding contributions to scholarly research and public relations professional knowledge was presented to Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk of Virginia Commonwealth University and Dr. Douglas Newsom of Texas Christian University.
• Northwestern Mutual Best Master's Thesis Award went to University of Florida grad Yimin Wang.
• The Ketchum Excellence in PR Research Award and related internship went to Trent Seltzer, a University of Florida doctoral student.
• The Golden Ruler Award for excellence in public relations research and measurement went to Southwest Airlines and SEO-PR for their program, "You Are Now Free to Link PR and Sales."

EDUCATION-INDUSTRY AFFAIRS

• The 8th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference, The Impact of PR in Creating a More Ethical World, featured 75 new research papers discussed by more than 100 academics and practitioners. The Institute supports this conference in conjunction with the University of Miami and other sponsors. It has become one of the top venues for presentation of new PR research and for interaction among scholars and PR professionals.
• Continuing to bridge the academic and professional worlds, the Institute hosted a breakfast for public relations educators at the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communications (AEJMC) Conference in San Antonio. There, we presented a proposed internship program to bring senior educators into corporate and agency settings as faculty in residence.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Institute for Public Relations Forums

• Combining theory and practice, academic and professional views, our Forums series expanded to include the Summit on Measurement. In its first year under Institute management, the Summit brought together leading lights of PR measurement and evaluation with working professionals seeking to improve their use of research.
• The Public Relations Leadership Forum for communications managers at agencies plus corporate professionals who work with them (sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Society and the Council of Public Relations Firms) and the Public Relations Executive Forum for high-potential corporate executives (sponsored by the Arthur W. Page Society) were filled to capacity and again received high marks for content and networking opportunities.
• The second in our Business School Seminar series with Henley Management College and PRWeek in the United Kingdom covered The Value of Reputation: How to Build it and Avoid Risks. Institute Trustees Ray Jordan, Gary Grates and Sandra Macleod participated on the faculty.

Media and Speaking Forums Outreach

• The Institute's new "Science Beneath the Art" column appeared five times in PR News, covering topics such as investor communications and wave theory, familiarity's impact on favorability, and measuring relationships.
• PRWeek published an op-ed by Institute President and CEO Frank Ovaitt featuring papers from the International Public Relations Research Conference.
• O'Dwyer's and PRNews ran articles on the Institute's new strategic plan and trends in measurement.
• The Evolution of Public Relations: Case Studies From Countries in Transition by Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk and Linda Scanlan was promoted on the Ragan Communications website and in the International Public Relations Association's FrontLine magazine. The Ragan Report also recommended Dr. Don Stacks' Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement and Research and the Institute website.
• The Holmes Report and PRNews were media sponsors for the Institute's Summit on Measurement.
• A paper on the International Index of Bribery for News Coverage appeared in Transparency International's Global Corruption Report 2005. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Dean Kruckeberg, Dr. Katerina Tsetsura and Frank Ovaitt.
• The Council of Public Relations Firms published a booklet on Measuring the Impact of Public Relations on Sales. A number of Trustees and measurement commission members were interviewed, along with references to specific papers on our website.
• PR News published a new measurement guidebook with articles contributed by members of the Commission on PR Measurement & Evaluation.
• Dr. Katerina Tsetsura presented the International Index of Bribery for News Coverage at a conference organized by the Polish PR Consultancies Association and Warsaw University.
• An O'Dwyer's event entitled Greatest Generation in PR featured past and present Institute Trustees, awardees and lecturers including Margery Kraus, Don Bates, Mark Weiner, Harold Burson, Dan Edelman, David Finn and Al Golin.
• Ragan Communications, media sponsor of the 2004 Golden Ruler Awards program, presented a webinar that featured our award winners.
• Speakers at the World Public Relations Forum in Trieste, Italy (presented by the Global Alliance and the Italian public relations association FERPI) included: Frank Ovaitt, President and CEO of the Institute, Trustee Sandra Macleod, former Trustees Lauri Grunig and Michael Morley, measurement commission members Fraser Likely and Jim Grunig, and Commission on International PR members Krishnamurthy Sriramesh and Toni Muzi Falconi.
• The Bledcom research conference at Lake Bled, Slovenia (presented by the European Public Relations Education and Research Association) featured international PR commission member Jon White, both Grunigs and Ovaitt.

Distinguished Lecture
The 44th Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner featured Bill Nielsen, just retired as corporate vice president-public affairs and corporate communications for Johnson & Johnson, speaking on The Character of Public Relations at 2005.

Website
The Institute for Public Relations website has become one of the most visited sites in the world for information on our profession, according to Google search results. We revamped the site to make it easier to use and more attractive, drawing more than 15,000 visitors to our site each month.

IN MEMORIAM
Allen H. Center, a pioneer in public relations practice and education and co-author of the landmark textbook Effective Public Relations, died November 13, 2005, at the age of 93. Center served as president of the Institute's predecessor organization in the mid-1970s and founded the Pathfinder Award, which the Institute still bestows annually for original scholarly research in public relations.

THANK YOU FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR
Whether you attended, sponsored or spoke at an Institute for Public Relations event, contributed to our organization, or accessed the wealth of papers available on our website - we owe you a great big "thank you." The year 2005 was by so many measures our best ever, including financially as we topped $500,000 in revenues for the first time while improving our bottom line and reserves. The Institute is an independent nonprofit supported solely by contributions and program revenues - no membership dues. And you make all of this possible!