The role of public relations practitioners in state owned entities

Purpose of Paper: the role of public relations practitioners in state owned entities is under-researched in South Africa. This limits the practitioners in the industry to address relevant issues and opportunities about their discipline; specifically in the public sector which are widely perceived in a negative light. The aim of this paper was to explore the role of public relations practitioners in state owned entities in South Africa. Methodology: The study was qualitative in nature. It was constructed to answer the research questions using an interview schedule as a research instrument. The population comprised of the PR and communication practitioners that work in the State Owned Entities of South Africa. Findings: It was found that PR practitioners are the agents of relationship building between the SOEs and their stakeholders. It was also proved that PR practitioners have excellent skills and expertise however those are limited by the unsatisfying devaluation of communications by management and political interference in SOEs. Furthermore, negative reputation of SOEs was not mere shortfalls of PR practitioner but senior management instability. Research limitations: Due to lack of availability and co-operation of practitioners, time constrains and lack of finances, study was not able to attain the desired number of respondents (12 respondents instead of 15). Responses were not always substantial, however, the researcher attempted to achieve the most accurate results possible. Value or significance of paper: the study aimed to provide academic framework on the roles of PR practitioners in South Africa’s public sector and enhance existing knowledge on the challenges that practitioners face in different organisations