The annual Global Communications Report conducted by the USC Center for Public Relations is designed to provide insight into the evolution of the global communications industry by analyzing emerging trends. Each time we survey professionals working in the field, we discover new insights into what makes PR one of the most dynamic profession in the universe.

Past research has predicted the convergence in marketing and public relations, and the scale of change disrupting the public relations industry.

The 2018 Report focused on the evolution of ethics and other changes within paid, earned, owned and shared media. The 2018 Global Communications Survey predicts that future consumers will not know or care where the information they consume is coming from. In early 2018, we asked public relations leaders from agencies and corporations around the globe to predict where the communications field is headed. We also asked PR students to tell us what they think about the profession they will someday lead. This year’s research indicates that the clear-cut lines between news stories written about a product or company (earned media) and advertisements bought to promote a product or point of view (paid media) are becoming increasingly blurred. Read more in this year’s report here.