Perception and Contribution of Public Relations to Society: What Does the Public Think? Insights from Türkiye

The aim of this study is to understand how the public perceives public relations and why it is perceived in that way by society. This research is related to the perception of public relations and is conducted in Türkiye. Semi-structured interviews with 30 people from different occupations/professions are conducted to identify their views on public relations. In addition to the perception of public relations, this study aims to find out the contribution of public relations to the organizations and society. Findings state that public relations is considered to have an important function for the organization and society. The Turkish participants of the study have an idea of public relations and are accurately describing some aspects of public relations. Their view is not negative, and they think that public relations contributes to society because it provides information to society from organizations. They also state that public relations should pay attention to the values of society. However, the public relations practitioner is perceived to favor the interest of the organization when a conflict between the organization and the public occurs.