U.S Leadership is Public Relations is being Threatened

rise of multinational corportations, global marketing, newtheir European and Asian counterparts in knowing a
communica¬tions technologies, and shrinking culturalsecond language. Less than 5 percent of
differences have led to an unparalleled increase inBurson-Marshall's U.S. employees know two languages.
global public relations or PR.Ogilvy and Mather has about the same percentage.
Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an AmericanConversely, some European firms have half or more
invention, the U.S. leadership in public relations is beingof their employees fluent in a second language. Finally,
threatened by PR efforts in other countries. Ten yearspeople involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer
ago, for example, the world's top five public relationseye on international affairs. In the financial PR area, for
agencies were American-owned. In 1991, only one was.instance, most Americans read the Wall Street Journal.
The British in particular are Patek Philippe ReplicaOverseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well
becoming more sophisticated and creative. A recentas Bulgari Replica Watches the Financial Times of
survey found that more than half of all BritishLondon and The Economist, publications not often read
companies include PR as part of their corporatein this country.
planning activities, compared to about one-third of U.S.Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted
companies. It may not be long before London replacesTurned of CNN (Cable News Network). Turner
New York as the capital of PR.recently announced that the word "foreign" would no
Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race?longer be used on CNN news broadcasts. According
First, Americans as a whole lend to be fairly provinciallo Turner, global communications have made the
and lake more of an interest in local affairs. Knowledgenations of the world so interdependent that there is no
of world geography, for example, has never beenlonger any such thing as foreign.
strong in this country. Secondly. Americans lag behind