The lecturers of Postgraduate Certificate in Public Relations at Murdoch University

Kate Fitch - Image

Meet Kate Fitch

Senior Lecturer

"I teach public relations because I am interested in communication. My background is not particularly corporate - I have done a lot of work in the arts, in state and local government and on community events.

My interests include how public relations is used by very different groups to achieve their goals, and the increasing internationalisation of the field. Because public relations is a relatively new discipline, there are many exciting areas for research.

For instance, the Murdoch degree is taught in three countries, and attracts students from all over the world so we have to think about global perspectives in both our teaching and our research. I’m supervising two PhD students who are researching the role of communication in public campaigns promoting animal health in Southeast Asia and an Honours student who is exploring the world of corporate blogs."

Education

  • BA (Hons), MPRIA


Published articles

  • Fitch, K. 2009. ‘Communities and Public Relations’, Ch. 13 in Public Relations: Theory and Practice (3rd edn), Johnston, J. (ed), Crow’s Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
  • Fitch, K. 2009. ‘New media and public relations’, Ch. 12 in An Introduction to Public Relations: from theory to practice, Chia, J. & Synnott, G. (eds), Sth Melbourne: Oxford University Press. (Forthcoming publication – August).
  • Surma, A and Fitch, K. 2007. 'Spin with ethics': discourses of Corporate Social Responsibility in Singapore and Malaysia. World Communication Association conference, Brisbane, Australia. Available http://wcaweb.org/Conferences/WCA07/paper1.html
  • Fitch, K. and Surma, A. 2006. ‘The challenges of international education: developing a public relations unit for the Asian region’. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 3, 2, 104—13. Available http://jutlp.uow.edu.au/
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