South Africa, Jan. 20 -- To understand the public relations' ambiguous reputation, looking at its origins focuses on the industry's roots in the media industry.

In a scathing article by Paul Holmes in 2011, he proclaimed that,

"The conflation of media relations and public relations is a venal sin."

Yet in an article dated April 2019 (preceding the pandemic), Richard Edelman disagrees in an interview stating, "If my theory is correct, earned creative is really going to be a very important means by which companies communicate directly with the end user. We're unique in that we come to the table with earned creative that can actually lead."

Since the pandemic, it is as if Edelman were a fortune teller. Facing the same situations as our p...