Public relations is a uniquely pervasive force in our modern economy, influencing every aspect of our lives from the personal to the political. This comprehensive volume provides an expert overview of current scholarship, reflecting the impact of technology, society, and demographic shifts in a complex global environment.
The last century saw the emergence of the public relations discipline. This expertly curated collection explores the dynamic growth in thinking about public relations’ role in our changing global society, now and into the future. It reflects the challenges and perspectives of postcolonial, postmodern, feminist, critical race theory, social responsibility, sustainability, activist standpoints, as well as the profound and unpredictable impact of technological change and social media. Each chapter provides an overview of current knowledge and its roots, while engaging with emerging new directions and old debates – and advocates for where the research agenda is likely to advance in the future.
This unique Companion will be an essential resource for students and researchers in public relations, communication, marketing, media, and cultural studies. It provides an authoritative reference for educators and a one-stop repository of public relations knowledge, scholarship, and debates for the enquiring professional.
Author(s): Donnalyn Pompper, Katie R. Place, C. Kay Weaver
Series: Routledge Companions in Marketing, Advertising and Communication
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 490
City: London
Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
List of illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgements
UNIT I Introduction: Assessing the discipline to envision a critical, radical, inclusive public relations future
UNIT II Public relations’ conceptual underpinning
1 Toward better global thinking through Latin America’s understanding of public relations
2 Public relations ethics from advocacy to ethical leadership
3 Public relations and the racial reckoning: Exploring race, activism, and Black Lives Matter
4 Public relations history impacts the present and the future
5 Revisiting intersectionality: The stray, strain, and performativity of social identity dimensions in public relations over the past decade
6 Public relations and the law
UNIT III Theorizing the discipline
7 Paradigm shifts in public relations theory
8 The situational theory of problem solving (STOPS): Past, present, and future
9 A sociological lens on public relations
10 The eclipse of trust and systemic vulnerability: Theorizing crises in an increasingly complex world
11 The cultural-economic model of public relations theory and practice
12 Public relations in a post-truth world
UNIT IV Building the practice
13 Media relations today
14 More substance, fewer half-truths: A critique of image, promotion, and propaganda in public relations
15 Tracing the evolution of public relations education
16 PR girls and spin doctors: The public relations profession in popular culture
17 Measurement, evaluation + learning (MEL): New approaches for insights, outcomes, and impact
18 Is communication integration good for public relations?
UNIT V Public relations as social responsibility
19 Stakeholder networks and corporate social responsibility
20 Public relations and social responsibility: For-profit and nonprofit perspectives
21 Public relations and sustainability across the African continent: Using Afro-centric philosophies to remember what’s been “forgotten or lost”
22 Public affairs and lobbying: Public relations and the unequal contests to construct the public interest
23 Public relations as responsible persuasion: Activism and social change
UNIT VI Public relations tools: Social media, artificial intelligence, and analytics
25 Mobile first: Public relations in an evolving digital landscape
26 Artificial intelligence and public relations: Growing opportunities, questions, and concerns
27 “Big data” analytics: Technology, tools, and strategic change
UNIT VII Public relations moving forward
28 Evolving our conceptualizations of “publics” and “the public” to reimagine public relations and sustain democratic society
29 Public relations practice equipped for the future: Evolution or radical change?
30 The public strikes back: Subaltern organizing and in surgentpublic relations
31 New avenues for public relations research
32 The complexities of contemporary communicator roles and the future of public relations
Author biographies
Index
