The Visual Literacy of Public Relations Practitioners: The Operationalized Media Competencies to Communicate Between Modern Organizations and Publics

The aim of this article is to analyze visual literacy in evaluating and measuring PR competencies. It contributes to communication competence research, focusing on skills of PR professionals working with media and highlighting the visual dimension essential for organizational–audience dialogue. This conceptual article is based on a review of media and PR literature, identifying where visuality appears in contemporary studies on PR skills and competencies. The focus is on visual skills rather than communication goals. Findings explore the value of visual competencies and situate them within broader organizational communication debates. The article’s significance lies in its pioneering integration of visual skills into the assessment of PR practitioners’ competencies in media relations, moving beyond language-focused frameworks by incorporating the often-overlooked visual dimension.