About the Conference

The conference is organised by the Centre for Public Communication Research in BU’s Media School as an international opportunity for academic researchers, historians and interested practitioners to meet, hear papers and discuss this emerging area of research.

At the first conference 34 peer-reviewed papers were presented by speakers from 13 countries. There were two keynote speakers – eminent public relations historians, Dr Karen Russell, University of Georgia, and Dr Jacquie L’Etang, University of Stirling. A selection of conference papers will be published in another Special Issue of the Journal of Communication Management in 2011.

The venue is Executive Business Centre (EBC) in Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth. Situated near the town’s mainline rail station, with its direct connections to London, the EBC is also a short walk from Bournemouth’s famed sandy beaches and hotels.

The cost of the conference is £240 per delegate. There is a special rate of £80 for doctoral and postgraduate students. Online registration and payment can be found here. Travel and accommodation information can be found on the Bournemouth University website.

You can follow conference news at the conference website, on Twitter at
@historyofpr, on LinkedIn at the History of Public Relations group, and on Facebook at The First International History of Public Relations Conference.

About Tom Watson

Prof Tom Watson is conference chair for the International History of Public Relations Conference (IHPRC) at Bournemouth University in England. He is Professor of Public Relations and Deputy Dean (Education) in the Media School. Tom can be contacted at twatson@bournemouth.ac.uk or +44 (0)1202 961986.

Tom tweats under historyofpr. You can also find him on Facebook and Linked-In, where he has set up a History of Public Relations group. His academic profile and publications can be found here.