Reconsidering the public relations professional–blogger relationship: A coorientation study

• We reconsider the organization–public relationship using coorientation theory.
• The findings emerge from separate surveys of public relations professionals and bloggers.
• Highlights include that PR professionals and bloggers have significantly different views on the relationship, primarily with respect to trust and satisfaction.
• We conclude that the relationship between these two parties may have uncertainty and may need greater transparency from both parties.
• Failing to find agreement in this relationship may hinder organizations’ interactions with bloggers.

Although considerable attention has been placed on the journalist/public relations professional relationship, scholars have yet to fully investigate the blogger/public relations professional relationship. This coorientation study compares bloggers’ attitudes toward the quality of their relationship with public relations professionals with the public relations professionals’ attitudes about this relationship. Findings indicate that public relations professionals and bloggers have markedly different views on the relationship, most notably when it comes to trust in and satisfaction with each other. In order to reduce any confusion that may arise between these parties, it is argued that additional dialog about each party's respective intentions is needed and added transparency in this communication may give the relationship a stronger ethical grounding.

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