PR professionals believe that the current state of online communications, with the dominance of social media in breaking and disseminating stories, is making their jobs harder.

That’s the opinion of 67% of respondents to a survey by the PRCA, the representative body for UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and PR freelancers.

The survey was designed to take the opinions of PR leaders on the current Twitter/super-injunction debate. Of 98 respondents – 27 of whom were in-house comms directors – 64% feel that the communications opportunities offered by social media still outweigh its potential risks to reputation.

On the subject of the hotly-contested privacy laws, which have drawn so much recent attention, a majority of PR leaders (62%) believe that Parliament, rather than the Courts, should be responsible for formulating privacy legislation, whilst there was a split as to whether laws governing traditional media should also apply to Twitter and social media channels, with 45% thinking they should, and 44% in opposition.

Francis Ingham, chief executive of the PRCA, comments: “The on-going super injunction debate is yet another example of technology outpacing legislation. PRs can’t afford to be left behind.” Ingham also emphasised the vitality of having crisis management processes in place to ensure swift response to news that breaks unexpectedly and suddenly.