Measurement specialists honoured for "extraordinary contribution to PR"
Public relations pioneers Tom Watson Hon FCIPR and Paul Noble Found.Chart.PR, Hon FCIPR have been appointed Honorary Fellows of the CIPR for their outstanding contribution to public relations practice.
Having co-authored three editions of Evaluating Public Relations, Tom and Paul are globally renowned for advancing understanding of public relations measurement.
Professor Tom Watson Hon FCIPR began practicing public relations in 1978, before joining the Institute in 1983. He is the Emeritus Professor of Public Relations in the Faculty of Media & Communication at Bournemouth University, as well as the founder of the International History of Public Relations Conference, held annually in Bournemouth since 2010.
Paul Noble Chart.PR, Hon FCIPR has more than 30 years' experience in senior consultancy, in-house and academic environments. Having joined the Institute in 1992, Paul has become a leading public relations trainer, consultant, academic, mentor and speaker. He has advised OPEC, NATO and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and is a lead assessor for the CIPR's Chartered Practitioner programme.
I have been a member of CIPR since 1983 and the honorary fellowship is a special (and very unexpected) recognition of a working life in public relations as a practitioner, educator and researcher. I hope it encourages practitioners to engage with research and learning, which have widened and enriched my horizons and led to development of new practice-facing thinking as well as fulfilling research into public relations’ history.
I’m very grateful to have received this prestigious accolade. For the last 25 years I have been promoting and developing the role of research & evaluation in public relations in general, and the CIPR in particular. I have also been heavily involved in PR education, training and qualifications. I appreciate this recognition of my modest contribution to the professionalism of public relations practice.
The names Paul Noble and Tom Watson have become synonymous with measurement and evaluation. Together, they have made an extraordinary contribution to the way we understand and value public relations. It is a privilege to award them with Honorary Fellowships and I look forward to their continued contribution to modern practice.
Notes to editors
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK and overseas. The CIPR is the largest membership organisation for PR practitioners outside of North America. By size of turnover and number of individually registered members, we are the leading representative body for the PR profession and industry in Europe.
The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).