Public Relations Licensing

Licensing and The Public Relations Professional: (Will They Ever Be Card Carrying Members?)

PR's Pioneers

The public relations field has the opportunity to connect its past and present to garner a powerful future, by making the PR profession a licensed one. Since the time of such PR pioneers like Edward Bernays (1891 - 1995), argued to be the "father of public relations" and Ivy Lee (1877 - 1934) also argued to be the "father of public relations, PR practitioners have desperately fought to amass respect and maintain legitimacy in the eyes of the public and other professional groups.

Bernays is of special interest because he pioneered the PR industry's use of traditional press techniques with the addition of psychology and other social sciences to design public persuasion campaigns. He proved that it took an expert to "engineer consent" as he termed it. Bernays spent many years trying to have the vocation of public relations licensed, elevating it, in his words, "to the level of a profession." Bernays stayed the course and in 1992 even introduced an eloquent bill to establish registration and licensing for PR practitioners. Unfortunately the bill did not pass, but the proposition of licensing was actively addressed, leaving the opportunity available for expansion.

What Does Licensing Mean For the Professional?

Highly regarded professions require a specialization that can only be gained and recognized through educational minimums, a certification process, and required responsibility to their profession and the public. This process is known as licensing. Real Estate Agents, Lawyers, Doctors and Accountants must be licensed to hold themselves as professionals to the public and to practice their vocation. The state of Michigan has over 1000 licensed professions and occupations. It does not say much for the PR practitioner

that under the letter "P" on Michigan's license list, their profession is not listed. They fail to be recognized amongst a group, which includes pet groomers and package delivery services (See Table 1).

Table 1- MICHIGANS DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND INDUSTRY SERVICES REQUIRED LICENSING* (UNDER THE LETTER "P")

List provided by The Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services

Table 1- Michigan Licensed Occupations/Professions Under "P"

Think about the standards by which you select a professional. A license and what it means to have one is what makes the differnce in your choosing to go to a licensed Medical Doctor rather than a friend who assures you that thanks to that health class he atended in college, he can get the job done. Burneys pointed out in the Introduction to his Bill:

"Today, a counsel for public relations does not enjoy the status and responsibility of esteemed professions such as law, medicine, architecture and engineering -- professions which require licensing and registration... The status quo produces two victims: (1) clients or employers of public relations practitioners who usually have no standard by which to measure qualifications and (2) qualified practitioners whose positions are demeaned by those lacking the experience, education, skills and integrity that true professionals have long labored to attain. Equally important, the public interest is poorly served when those who heavily influence the channels of communication and action in a media-dominated society are inept or worse."

Burneys' words help PR practitioners to appreciate that not only do they owe it to their profession but to the public to become licensed.

PR at Present: APR

While the field of Public Relations has continued to evolve and unite, many are still divided on the issue of licensing. In the interim, ther is however a compromise. The compromise is known as the Universal Accredidation Program. According to the PRSA, (Public Relations Society of America) the largest organization of PR practitioners, Accredited in Public Relations (APR) is a mark of distinction for public relations professionals who demonstrate their commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice.