About the Conference

The conference is organised by the Institute for Media & Communication Research in Bournemouth University’s Media School as an international opportunity for academic researchers, historians and interested practitioners to meet, hear papers and discuss this expanding 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 were published in a special issue of the Journal of Communication Management, Vol 15, No 3, 2011.

In 2011, the second conference was held again at Bournemouth University, with 28 papers presented from 15 countries. The keynote speaker was the leading US PR historian and journal editor, Ray E. Hiebert. Eight papers were chosen from the conference for a ‘Public Relations and History’ special section in Public Relations Review and have been published in the September 2012 edition (Vol 38, No 3).

The 2012 Conference was held on July 11-12 at Bournemouth University and featured a keynote address by Prof Dr Gunter Bentele of Leipzig University, who discussed aspects of historiography. He was followed by 33 peer-reviewed papers presented by speakers from 14 countries. Eight papers from the conference have been published as a Public Relations History 2013 special edition  in Public Relations Review (Vol 39, No. 2), June 2013.

The dates for the 2013 Conference are earlier than normal at Monday, June 24 and Tuesday. June 25. It is hoped that delegates attending the International Communication Association conference in London the previous week will also chose to join us at IHPRC. A record number of abstracts were received for the conference and 36 authors have been invited to present papers.

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 £275 per delegate, with an ‘early bird’ rate of £225 per delegate for booking on or before Friday, April 12. The full delegate rate applies until the conference commences. One-day (either Wednesday or Thursday) attendance is £160 per delegate with no early payment discount. (Note: The one-day rate date does not apply to speakers). There is a special rate of £100 for doctoral and postgraduate students.

Travel and accommodation information can be found on the Bournemouth University website and in the Registration section of this 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 International History of Public Relations Conference.