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Exploring

Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication

Develop a clear understanding
of the concepts and best
practices in public relations
Public Relations
and Management
Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication, 5th Edition by Tench
and Waddington is the definitive text on public relations. Blending theory with
real-life applications, the book offers critical analysis with updated case studies,

Communication
the latest PR campaigns, exercises and discussion questions that provide you
with a holistic subject understanding. This fundamental yet very practical text
recognises the strategic importance of public relations to organisations, the
growing conversation about professionalism in practice and professional ethics.
A comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic helps you understand the
implications of this global crisis on public relations and strategic communication. Fifth Edition
A perfect accompaniment for undergraduate and postgraduate students, this
comprehensive textbook is also preferred by those studying for professional
qualifications.

'A great overall introduction to the key theoretical models, history and different
practice areas around PR and related marketing disciplines. I recommend it as
the one essential book for all our undergraduates.'
Carmel O’Toole, Senior Lecturer and Public Relations courses leader, Sheffield Hallam University

Ralph Tench is Professor of Communication Education and Director of Research at Leeds

Business School, Leeds Beckett University, where he also oversaw the expansion of the
undergraduate, postgraduate and professional course portfolio. He is the past President of
the European Public Relations Research and Education Association, runs global research
Fifth
projects and teams and is widely published in books and academic journals worldwide.
Edition
Stephen Waddington is a public relations moderniser, thought leader and consumer
Stephen Waddington
Ralph Tench
engagement advocate. In addition to his role as Visiting Professor in Practice at Newcastle
University, Stephen is also Managing Partner at Wadds Inc., a professional advisory firm
for marketing and PR agencies and communication teams.

Pearson, the world’s learning company. www.pearson.com/uk

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Ralph Tench
         
Stephen Waddington

CVR_TENCH_5_21745.indd 1 10/11/2020 14:40

 Exploring Public Relations and
Management Communication

F01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 1 30/10/2020 13:53
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F01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 2 30/10/2020 13:53
 Exploring Public
Relations and
Management
Communication
Fifth edition

Ralph Tench
Professor of Communication and Director of Research for Leeds Business
School, Leeds Beckett University

Stephen Waddington
Managing Partner, Wadds Inc. and Visiting Professor, Newcastle University

Harlow, England • London • New York • Boston • San Francisco • Toronto • Sydney • Dubai • Singapore • Hong Kong
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Previously published 2006, 2009 (print), 2014, 2017 (print and electronic)
Fifth edition published 2021 (print and electronic)
© Pearson Education Limited 2006, 2009 (print)
© Pearson Education Limited 2017, 2021 (print and electronic)
The rights of Ralph Tench and Stephen Waddington to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted by them
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ISBN: 978-1-292-32174-5 (print)
978-1-292-32176-9 (PDF)
978-1-292-32178-3 (ePub)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library
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A catalog record for the print edition is available from the Library of Congress.
Names: Tench, Ralph, author. | Waddington, Stephen, author.
Title: Exploring public relations and management communication / Ralph
Tench, Stephen Waddington.
Other titles: Exploring public relations
Identifiers: LCCN 2020032033 (print) | LCCN 2020032034 (ebook) | ISBN
9781292321745 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781292321769 (ebook) | ISBN
9781292321783 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Public relations.
Classification: LCC HM1221 .T46 2021 (print) | LCC HM1221 (ebook) | DDC
659.2—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032033
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032034
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24 23 22 21 20
Cover design by Two Associates
Cover image © Walker and Walker/Stone/Getty Images
Print edition typeset in 9.5/12 pt Sabon LT Pro by SPi Global
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NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION

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 Brief contents

About the authors xvii

Foreword xxiii
Preface xxv

Part 1 The context of public relations 1

1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 3

2 Working with the media 21
3 Social media for public relations 37
4 Public relations, politics and democracy 51
5 Community and society: corporate social responsibility (CSR) 66
6 Intercultural and multicultural context of public relations 94
7 Role of the public relations practitioner 108

Part 2 Public relations theories and concepts 145

8 Public relations theories: communication, relationships and persuasion 147

9 Strategic public relations planning and management 175
10 Measurement and evaluation for effectiveness and impact 211
11 Disinformation, fake news and social reality 233
12 Corporate image, reputation and identity 244
13 Public relations’ professionalism and ethics 259

Part 3 Public relations specialisms 281

14 Media relations 283

15 Internal communication 306
16 Issues management 329
17 Crisis public relations management 344
18 Public relations and the consumer 365

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 vi Brief contents

19 Business-to-business public relations 381

20 Public affairs 395
21 Integrated marketing communications 417
22 Sponsorship 437
23 Corporate communication 459

Part 4 Sectoral considerations 473

24 Strategic non-profit communication 475

25 Celebrities and influencers 490
26 Health communication 506
27 Sports public relations 528
28 Fashion public relations 547
29 Public relations and finance 570

Part 5 What next? 589

30 Future issues for PR and strategic communication 591

Glossary 611
Index 617
Publisher’s acknowledgements 630

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 Contents

About the authors xvii

Foreword xxiii
Preface xxv

Part 1 The context of public relations 1

1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 3

Natalia Rodríguez-Salcedo and Tom Watson
Introduction 4
Proto-public relations: the antecedents of modern public relations 5
The expansion of public relations in the twentieth century 9
The worldwide development of public relations since the mid-twentieth century:
the springboards and restraints that shaped it 15
How public relations grew 16
Summary 17
Bibliography 18

2 Working with the media 21

Scott Davidson
Introduction 22
Media environments 22
Exchange theories: the information subsidy 24
Agenda setting and framing 27
Power shift towards public relations practitioners 30
Mediatisation 31
Summary 35
Bibliography 35

3 Social media for public relations 37

Karen Freberg
Introduction 38
Defining social media 39
Core theories that are utilised in social media and PR 39
Emerging theories and perspectives 40
Traditional viewpoints on PR for social media 44
Opportunities for public relations professionals 45
Challenges for public relations professionals to note 47
Best practices and future considerations 48
Summary 49
Bibliography 49

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 viii Contents

4 Public relations, politics and democracy 51

Øyvind Ihlen and Neil Washbourne
Introduction 52
Politics, democracy and communication 52
Communication strategies in the political realm 54
The contribution of public relations to democracy 55
Democratic concerns 56
Reflexivity and social change 59
Consensus and conflict 60
Summary 61
Recommended reading 62
Bibliography 62
Websites 65

5 Community and society: corporate social responsibility (CSR) 66

Ralph Tench
Introduction 67
Businesses are integral to our society(ies) 67
Social and economic change 68
Sustainable business: corporate social responsibility (CSR) 69
Business case for corporate social responsibility: why be socially responsible? 73
Organisational responsibilities to stakeholders 75
Organisational responsibilities to society 77
Regulatory frameworks 80
Ethics and business practice 84
Summary 87
Bibliography 90
Websites 93

6 Intercultural and multicultural context of public relations 94

Dejan Verčič
Introduction 95
The context of culture 95
Public relations and culture 96
Between universalism and relativism 97
Global principles and specific applications 99
Social media and activists in the global village 100
How to prepare for international and global public relations 101
Key principles in intercultural and multicultural public relations 102
Public diplomacy 103
Summary 104
Bibliography 104
Websites 107

7 Role of the public relations practitioner 108

Ralph Tench and Stephen Waddington
Introduction 109
Who are the public relations practitioners? 109
Who does what: the bigger picture? 110

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 Contents ix

Role of the communicator 117

Trust in communications 118
Trust in organisational advocates: external experts and leaders are top 118
Artificial Intelligence: high impact expected, but challenges and risks identified 119
Content creation and distribution: shared media and internal sources preferred 119
The PR practitioner as communicator 120
What public relations people do: individual practitioners 122
Skills for the ideal practitioner 124
Role of theory in practice 132
Professionalism 135
Education and research 138
Summary 139
Bibliography 139

Part 2 Public relations theories and concepts 145

8 Public relations theories: communication, relationships and persuasion 147

Martina Topić
Introduction 148
Communication theories in public relations 148
Relationships theories of public relations 149
Elaboration Likelihood Model 155
Theory of Planned Behaviour 158
Stages of Change Model 160
Nudge Theory 162
Inoculation theory 163
Cognitive Dissonance Theory 164
Summary 166
Bibliography 169

9 Strategic public relations planning and management 175

Anne Gregory
Introduction 176
The importance of context 176
External environment 177
Internal environment 184
Implications of context 185
Strategic public relations programmes and campaigns 187
Why planning is important 187
Systems and alternative approaches to planning 188
Summary 203
Bibliography 208

10 Measurement and evaluation for effectiveness and impact 211

Jim Macnamara
Why measure and evaluate? 212
Getting started with some definitions 213
Three types of evaluation: when and why? 215
Foundational theories of measurement and evaluation 216

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 x Contents

Applying measurement and evaluation in communication 218

Reporting measurement and evaluation 228
Summary 230
Bibliography 230

11 Disinformation, fake news and social reality 233

Jon White
Introduction 234
The role of public relations practitioners in the social construction of reality 235
Contributors to the social construction of reality 236
Disinformation and ‘fake news’ – their consequences 236
Countering disinformation and fake news 238
Public relations: obligations in countering disinformation and fake news 239
Staying ahead of developments in use of disinformation 241
Relevance of the growth of interest in fake news and extensive use of disinformation to public relations
practice 241
Summary 242
Bibliography 242
Websites 243

12 Corporate image, reputation and identity 244

Finn Frandsen and Winni Johansen
Introduction 245
The controversy of image in public relations 245
Understanding relationships 246
Reputation management and corporate branding 250
Measuring corporate image and reputation 254
A critical point of view 255
Summary 256
Bibliography 256
Websites 258

13 Public relations’ professionalism and ethics 259

Johanna Fawkes
Introduction 260
Defining professions – public relations and professionalism 261
Is public relations a profession? 262
Reframing the profession through a capabilities approach 263
Professional ethics and public relations 266
Summary 275
Bibliography 275

Part 3 Public relations specialisms 281

14 Media relations 283

Ramona Slusarczyk and Jonathan Ward
Introduction 284
Origins and development of media relations 284

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 Contents xi

Media relations as a strategic management function 285

The purpose of media relations 286
The media as gatekeeper 286
Media fragmentation 286
The rise of the influencer 287
Fake news: do audiences love being fooled? 291
Hacks versus flacks? An ongoing battle or an opportunity for excellence? 294
Shared spaces 294
Practical media relations 296
The techniques of media relations 297
Summary 302
Bibliography 303
Websites 305

15 Internal communication 306

Ezri Carlebach
Introduction 307
What is internal communication? Perspectives and definitions 307
What does an internal communication function do? 310
What matters to employees: motivation in the workplace 312
Planning internal communication 313
Outcomes rather than outputs: choosing effective channels 320
The importance of evidence in internal communication planning and evaluation 321
Approaches to information gathering 322
Professionalisation: attributes, competencies and skills in internal communication 325
Summary 326
Bibliography 326

16 Issues management 329

Tim Coombs
Introduction 330
Origins and essence 330
Models of issues management 331
Expanding issues management beyond public policy 336
The big picture for issues management 340
Summary 341
Bibliography 342

17 Crisis public relations management 344

Tim Coombs
Introduction 345
Crisis public relations management: the context 345
The value of strategic communication 348
Where do crises come from? 349
How to prepare for a crisis 350
Communicating during a crisis 352
The internet and crisis public relations management 359
Summary 362
Bibliography 362

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 xii Contents

18 Public relations and the consumer 365

Paul Willis
Introduction 366
Public relations and marketing 366
Targeting and tailoring 369
PR style over substance 369
Core activities 370
The media landscape: continuity and change 372
A shift to owned media 373
Branded content 374
Virtual influence 375
It’s going to be a bumpy ride 377
Land-grab and reinvention 377
New activities and practices 378
Summary 379
Bibliography 379

19 Business-to-business public relations 381

Helen Gill
Introduction 382
Core principles of business-to-business public relations 383
B2B PR as part of the wider marketing mix 384
B2B media relations 387
B2B social media 391
Summary 393
Bibliography 393
Websites 394

20 Public affairs 395

Danny Moss
Introduction: the what and why of public affairs? 396
Locating the role of public affairs within the organisation 398
Defining public affairs: a confused professional identity 399
The scope of public affairs 399
Lobbying 403
International perspectives on public affairs and lobbying 407
Public affairs management 408
Summary 415
Bibliography 415
Websites 416

21 Integrated marketing communications 417

Neil Kelley
Introduction 418
Defining integrated marketing communications 419
The planning process 422
Audiences 426
Marketing communications tactics 429
Touch points 431
Summary 434
Bibliography 435

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 Contents xiii

22 Sponsorship 437
Ryan Sosna-Bowd, Ioannis Kostopoulos and Ralph Tench
Introduction 438
Definitions of sponsorship 441
Effective sponsorship and its impact for contemporary organisations 444
Strategic planning and management of sponsorship 447
Sponsorship in our digital reality 451
The future of sponsorship 455
Bibliography 455
Websites 457

23 Corporate communication 459

Stefania Romenti and Grazia Murtarelli
Introduction 460
Defining corporate communication in theory and practice 460
The role of corporate communication in society 462
The role of corporate communication in organisations 463
Corporate communication and intangible assets 465
Coordinating all forms of communication 467
Summary 468
Bibliography 468

Part 4 Sectoral considerations 473

24 Strategic non-profit communication 475

Markus Wiesenberg
Introduction 476
The third sector and non-profit organisations 476
Strategic non-profit communication in general 478
Non-profit communication management as a multi-level approach 485
Marketisation of third sector organisations and its consequences for strategic
non-profit communication 487
Summary 488
Bibliography 488

25 Celebrities and influencers 490

Kate Fitch
Introduction 491
What is celebrity? 492
Celebrity and society 493
Celebrity, the internet and influencers 495
Celebrity and influencers in public relations practice 499
Summary 502
Bibliography 502
Websites 505

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 xiv Contents

26 Health communication 506

Audra Diers-Lawson and Noumaan Qureshi
Introduction 507
The high stakes of health communication require a stakeholder relationship approach 507
Using persuasion theory to better understand factors affecting the ‘healthcare stakeholder’ 510
The crossover between mass campaigns and interpersonal health communication 515
Two-way symmetrical communication in healthcare 519
Summary 523
Bibliography 523

27 Sports public relations 528

Sian Rees and Iwan Williams
Introduction 529
The business of sport 529
Sports as brands 532
Sports PR practitioners and the media 533
Digital sports PR 535
Promoting participation and fandom 537
PR and athlete transgressions 538
Sport social responsibility and ethics 540
Sport as culture 541
Summary 543
Bibliography 544

28 Fashion public relations 547

Martina Topić and Mirela Polić
Introduction 548
The fashion industry: management and challenges for working in the fashion industry 548
Fashion public relations 551
The role of celebrities in fashion public relations 557
The role of social media influencers in fashion public relations 560
The role of bloggers and vloggers in fashion public relations 561
Summary 566
Bibliography 567

29 Public relations and finance 570

Clea Bourne
Introduction 571
PR for global financial centres: changing contexts 572
Public relations for wholesale financial markets 575
Public relations for retail financial markets 577
Media in financial centres 579
Financial communication and social media 581
Public relations and the future of finance 583
Summary 585
Bibliography 586

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 CONTENTS xv

Part 5 What next? 589

30 Future issues for PR and strategic communication 591

Ralph Tench and Stephen Waddington
Introduction 592
Macro issues facing PR 592
Challenges facing the work of practitioners 593
The future of PR practice 595
Management, automation and AI 600
Media in pain 604
Bibliography 609

Glossary 611
Index 617
Publisher’s acknowledgements 630

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F01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 15 30/10/2020 13:53
F01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 16 30/10/2020 13:53
 About the authors

Professor Ralph Tench is Director of Research at Leeds another European-funded project exploring delibera-
Business School, Leeds Beckett University, with respon- tive engagement and working in the SME sector (sme-
sibility for the research strategy for over 150 academ- engagement.eu) as well as supporting research projects
ics representing accounting and finance, strategy and such as the Public Health England Whole Systems
economics, marketing, communications, public rela- Obesity multi-disciplinary project.
tions, journalism, leadership and human resource man- Ralph is a past external examiner for many UK and
agement. Ralph has led the Business School’s recent European universities, as well as a visiting professor.
Research Excellence Framework (REF) submission His doctoral students are engaged in research on issues
to Research England. of strategic communication related to trust, responsi-
Ralph is the former subject head for public rela- bility, reputation and branding, health communication
tions and communication at Leeds Beckett University, and relationship management. He also supervises stu-
where for 10 years he oversaw the expansion of the dents on issues of professionalisation and the develop-
undergraduate, postgraduate and professional course ment of the public relations discipline. He has chaired
portfolio. As professor he teaches on undergraduate over 30 PhD examinations and sat on panels for can-
and postgraduate programmes, as well as supervising didates in the UK, South Africa, Hungary, Ireland,
MA and PhD research students. His current focus is ­Australia, Slovenia and Denmark.
on developing and delivering major research projects Ralph is the past President (2017–2020) of the
in public relations and strategic communication in the European Public Relations Research and Education
UK and worldwide. He was the principal investigator Association (EUPRERA) and has been a member of
for the first and largest EU public relations funded the Board of Directors for the association since 2013.
programme, the ECOPSI (European Communications He is also past head of the Scientific Committee for
Practitioners Skills and Innovation) programme. This the Annual Congress (2009–2015). He is a member
project explored the education, skills and competency of the International Communication Association (ICA)
needs of European communication practitioners and sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Com-
(www.ecopsi.org.uk). The three-year project contrib- munication Management, the Journal of Further and
uted to competency frameworks for communications Higher Education, Corporate Communications: An
and the production of self-diagnostic tools (www. International Journal, Public Relations Review, Jour-
p4ace.org). This research builds on another interna- nal of Public Affairs and the International Journal of
tional longitudinal research project (that celebrated Strategic Communication.
its tenth year in 2016) funded by European bodies Ralph is a regular guest and keynote speaker at aca-
and private sector business, the European Commu- demic and practitioner conferences and his research
nication Monitor (ECM) survey. The ECM (www. has been published and disseminated in over 200
communicationmonitor.eu) is the largest transnational books and journals worldwide. Previous editions of
survey of public relations and strategic communica- Exploring Public Relations have been translated into
tion worldwide. It is a qualitative and quantitative several European languages. Ralph has edited two
trend survey of European communications directors volumes on his research interests in corporate social
using a sample of over 3000 practitioners from 46 responsibility with Emerald – Corporate Social Irre-
countries each year. In 2020 the project expanded sponsibility: A challenging concept (2013), Commu-
to a Global Communication Monitor Series with nicating Corporate Social Responsibility (2014) and
studies now in North America, Latin America and The Critical State of Corporate Social Responsibility
Asia Pacific regions. Reflecting the breadth of his in Europe (2018). In 2017 he published Communica-
research experience and application, Ralph directed tion Excellence: How to develop, manage and lead an

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 xviii About the authors

exceptional communication department, a book based Stephen originally trained as a journalist before fol-
on an empirical evaluation of 10 years of ECM data. lowing a career in public relations. He co-founded,
managed and sold two award-winning public relations
Stephen Waddington is a business adviser and trouble- agencies, Rainier PR in 1998 and Speed in 2009.
shooter who helps organisations with planning, strate- At Speed, Stephen led the merger of three public rela-
gic decision making and execution. He is the Founder tions agencies to develop a modern proposition, service
and Managing Partner of Wadds Inc., a professional model and workflow. Clients included The Associated
advisory firm. Press, Optical Express, The Economist, Symantec,
Stephen was previously managing director at Metia uSwitch for Business and Virgin Media Business.
Group (2019 and 2020), an international digital mar- Rainier PR was a technology PR agency founded
keting agency. It creates high-performance campaigns in 1998 focused on technology expertise and a senior
using research, content, demand and earned media. His client service model. Clients included ARM, ntl (now
clients included Amazon, BMW, Capita, Salesforce and Virgin Media Business), Toshiba and Wind River (now
Microsoft. Intel). In 2017 Stephen received the PRCA’s outstand-
He was Chief Engagement Officer at Ketchum ing contribution to digital public relations.
(2012 to 2018), an Omnicom-owned agency, respon- Stephen has been named a top 10 UK public rela-
sible for driving the integration of digital and social tions blogger by Vuelio for the last three years. He is a
capabilities in client engagements across the agency’s Chartered PR Practitioner, a CIPR Fellow (Hon), and
international network. He provided lead senior coun- a Fellow of the PRCA.
sel on integrated global accounts including IBM, IKEA
and Phillips.
His role at Ketchum included change agent, ambas-
sador and thought leader for the agency on modern The contributors
forms of engagement and public relations practice.
This included leveraging tools, resources and best Dr Clea Bourne is a Senior Lecturer in the Depart-
practice from across the global network for all client ment of Media, Communications and Cultural Stud-
engagements. ies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research
Stephen has held the role of Visiting Professor in explores how twenty-first century economies are medi-
Practice at Newcastle University since 2015, support- atised through various actors, practices and discourses.
ing the university and students through teaching and Clea is author of Trust, Power and Public Relations
mentoring. He is also an external examiner for CIPR, in Financial Markets (Routledge, 2017). She has also
the UK professional body for PR practitioners. published widely in a range of journals and edited
He is co-author of #BrandVandals (Bloomsbury, collections, and is currently writing her second mon-
November 2013) and Brand Anarchy (Bloomsbury, ograph, entitled Public Relations’ Professional Dis-
February 2012), plus editor and contributor to Plati- courses (Palgrave-Macmillan). Clea co-convenes the
num (CIPR, September 2018), Share This (Wiley, July ‘Financial Capital and the Ghosts of Empire’ network;
2012) and Share This Too (Wiley, September 2013); and convenes the Heretical Finance Reading Group, a
in addition to editor of Chartered Public Relations: public outreach project hosted at Goldsmiths.
Lessons from Expert Practitioners (Kogan Page, Febru-
ary 2015). Ryan Sosna-Bowd is an award-winning strategic sport
Stephen wrote the foreword for the first two edi- management, events, marketing and PR practitioner,
tions of #FuturePRoof, a community founded by Sarah who mixes a professional life of practice and academic
Waddington aimed at reasserting the value of public teaching and learning. Recent work includes advisory
relations. This follows the crowdsourced model that to Qatar Foundation, Qatar National Tourism Council,
he established through #PRstack. Columbia Sportswear, International Sporting Events
He was President of the CIPR in 2014, during which and Athletes Europe and GCC region. Prior to this he
time he helped return the organisation to its roots of worked for the Josoor Institute in Doha, Qatar and
professionalism as set out in its Royal Charter. He is IMG in London, United Kingdom. He has also lectured
the former chairman of its Artificial Intelligence panel at Leeds Beckett University, Manchester Metropolitan
and Social Media panel. The two groups have led the University and Leeds University at under/postgradu-
characterisation of machines and social media on mar- ate levels. He also worked at Weber Shandwick Public
keting and PR practice, the media and conversation in Relations and owned 1090 communications, the latter
the public sphere. of which he sold in 2004 to Connectpoint PR.

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 About the authors xix

Ezri Carlebach is a writer and consultant with virtual Dr Johanna Fawkes PhD is Visiting Research Fellow at
comms agency The PR Network and creative studio the University of Huddersfield and Visiting Fellow at
GW & Co. Drawing on more than 20 years’ experi- Leeds Beckett University. She was Principal Research
ence of leading in-house comms teams in non-profit, Fellow at Huddersfield (2016–18), leading an interna-
government and FTSE 100 organisations, Ezri deliv- tional team to produce a Global Capability Framework
ers public relations, brand strategy and stakeholder for Public Relations and Communications Manage-
engagement consultancy, runs training sessions and ment in conjunction with the Global Alliance. From
workshops, and writes speeches, articles, blogs, 1990, Johanna developed undergraduate, postgradu-
reports and reviews. He is a speaker and facilitator at ate and doctoral degrees in public relations in three
international conferences on business communication, UK Universities and in Australia (2011–16), follow-
anthropology, education, and arts and culture, and ing a career in public sector communication. She has
was a Visiting Lecturer in Public Relations and Corpo- delivered keynote speeches and published articles and
rate Communications at the University of Greenwich chapters on public relations and ethics. Her book, Pub-
from 2013 to 2019. lic Relations Ethics and Professionalism; The Shadow
of Excellence, was published by Routledge in 2015
Professor Tim Coombs (PhD Purdue University in Pub- (paperback 2017). She is working on a sequel.
lic Affairs and Issues Management) is the George T and
Glady H Abell Professor in Liberal Arts in Department Dr Kate Fitch is a Senior Lecturer in the School of
of Communication at Texas A&M University. His pri- Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University in
mary areas of research are crisis communication and Melbourne, Australia, where she coordinates the pub-
CSR including the award-winning book Ongoing Cri- lic relations specialisation. She previously worked at
sis Communication. He is the current editor for Corpo- Murdoch University. Her book, Professionalizing Pub-
ration Communication: An International Journal. His lic Relations: History, Gender and Education, offered
research has appeared in Management Communication the first sociological history of Australian public rela-
Quarterly, Public Relations Review, Corporate Repu- tions in the twentieth century. Her book with Judy
tation Review, Journal of Public Relations Research, Motion, Popular culture and Social Change: The Hid-
Journal of Communication Management, Business den Work of Public Relations investigated the impact
Horizons and the Journal of Business Communication. of public relations on contemporary culture. Kate is
the Asia-Pacific regional editor for Public Relations
Dr Scott Davidson is a lecturer at the University of Inquiry and served on the editorial board of Public
Leicester in the School of Media, Communication and Relations Review until 2018.
Sociology. Before becoming an academic he worked
for over a decade in public affairs and campaigns man- Professor Finn Frandsen is Professor of Corporate
agement for organisations such as AGE UK. He is the Communication, Department of Management, Aarhus
current director of the EUPRERA Network on Pub- University, Denmark. His primary research interests
lic Affairs and Lobbying in Europe. He was awarded include organisational crises, crisis management and
his PhD by Loughborough University in 2008. His crisis communication, environmental communication
research includes publications on framing and other and climate communication, stakeholder and interme-
rhetorical strategies in PR, and on the problems of diary theory, and the institutionalisation of strategic
reforming PR so it becomes a better servant of demo- communication in private and public organisations. He
cratic societies. has published articles in CCIJ, International Journal
of Business Communication, International Journal of
Dr Audra Diers-Lawson (PhD, University of Texas at Strategic Communication, Management Communi-
Austin) is a Senior Lecturer at Leeds Beckett Univer- cation Quarterly, Public Relations Inquiry, Public
sity, United Kingdom. She serves as chair of the Crisis Relations Review, Rhetorica Scandinavica, and Scan-
Communication Division of the European Communi- dinavian Journal of Public Administration. He is the
cation Research and Education Association (ECREA) co-editor of Organizational Crisis Communication: A
and is the editor for the International Journal of Crisis Multivocal, Approach (Sage, 2017) and Crisis Com-
and Risk Communication Research, and also sits on munication – Handbooks of Communication Science
several journal editorial boards with recent publica- (Mouton de Gruyter, 2020).
tions on topics like consumer trust, intercultural crisis
communication, crisis atonement, whistleblowing, and Dr Karen Freberg is an Associate Professor in Strategic
stakeholder anger at organisations in crisis. Communications at the University of Louisville, where

F01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 19 30/10/2020 13:53
 xx About the authors

she teaches, researches and consults in social media University, Denmark. Her primary research interests
strategy, public relations and crisis communication. Fre- include crisis management and crisis communication,
berg has written several books including The Roadmap social media, communication consulting, environ-
in Teaching Social Media (Amazon, self-published), mental communication and the institutionalisation of
Digital Media Writing for Strategic Communication strategic communication in private and public organi-
(TopHat with Emily Kinsky and Amber Hutchins) and sations. She is the co-editor of Organizational Crisis
Social Media for Strategic Communications: Creative Communication: A Multivocal, Approach (Sage, 2017),
strategies and research-based applications (with SAGE). International Encyclopedia of Strategic Communica-
tion (Wiley-Blackwell, 2018), Crisis Communication –
Helen Gill is Founding Director of award-winning B2B Handbooks of Communication Science (Mouton de
marketing agency Engage Comms. Established in 2012, Gruyter, 2020). She has published articles in Manage-
Engage Comms delivers integrated communications ment Communication Quarterly, CCIJ, International
strategies and campaigns for ambitious clients in niche Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Com-
sectors including manufacturing and financial services, munication Management, Public Relations Review,
to enable them to fulfil their long-term potential. Helen Public Relations Inquiry, Rhetorica Scandinavica and
has a Masters in PR and experience working in-house Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration.
and in consultancy comms roles for regional and global
organisations. She is an experienced speaker and lec- Neil Kelley is a Senior Lecturer and Course Director
turer and was named CIPR Outstanding Young Com- for the Marketing Subject Group at Leeds Business
municator Yorkshire & Lincolnshire 2010. In 2019, School. Neil is responsible for all undergraduate mar-
she founded the ’Internal Comms Network North’ to keting degrees; Marketing Management, Marketing
help SMEs in Northern England harness the power of with Retail Management and Marketing with Advertis-
internal communications. ing Management. In addition to this he is a Chartered
Marketer and a Lead Examiner with the Chartered
Professor Anne Gregory is Chair in Corporate Commu- Institute of Marketing for two modules, Digital Mar-
nication at the University of Huddersfield, heading spe- keting and Marketing and Digital Strategy. Neil has
cialist educational and research programmes for clients co-authored a number of marketing texts, book chap-
such as the UK Government and the European Commis- ters and published research into marketing education.
sion. Professor Gregory is a recent Chair of the Global
Alliance, has been awarded the Sir Stephen Tallents Dr Ioannis Kostopoulos is a Reader in Digital Mar-
Medal by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations keting at Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John
(CIPR) for her outstanding contribution to the profes- Moores University. Prior to his current position he
sion and the Pathfinder Award for outstanding research has taught Marketing and PR at several universities
by the US-based Institute of Public Relations. She has in the UK, Greece and Italy and has participated in
authored over 80 books, book chapters and academic many consulting and research projects. Awarded his
and popular journal articles and is an acknowledged PhD in 2012 from Athens University of Economics and
world-expert on strategic communication. Business, he has more than 50 publications, including
articles in peer-reviewed journals such as European
Dr Øyvind Ihlen is professor at the Department of Management Review, Journal of Strategic Marketing,
Media and Communication, University of Oslo and co- Information Technology and People and International
director of POLKOM – Centre for the Study of Politi- Journal of Innovation Management. In 2017 he pub-
cal Communication. He has over 130 publications, lished his first book on Marketing Communications.
including Public Relations and Social Theory: Key Fig-
ures and Concepts (2009, 2nd expanded edition 2018, Professor Jim Macnamarra is Distinguished Professor
with Magnus Fredriksson), the award-winning edited of Public Communication at the University of Tech-
Handbook of Communication and Corporate Social nology Sydney (UTS). He is also a Visiting Professor
Responsibility (2011, with Jennifer Bartlett and Steve at London School of Economics and Political Sci-
May), and Handbook of Organizational Rhetoric ence, Media and Communications Department, and
(2018, with Robert L. Heath). Ihlen was President of a Visiting Professor at the London College of Com-
the European Public Relations Education and Research munication. He is internationally recognised for his
Association (EUPRERA) 2016–2017. research into evaluation of public communication and
organisational listening, and is the author of more
Professor Winni Johansen is Professor of Corporate than 70 academic journal articles and book chapters
Communication, Department of Management, Aarhus and 16 books including Organizational Listening: The

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 About the authors xxi

Missing Essential in Public Communication and Evalu- Department of Media & Communications at Swansea
ating Public Communication: Exploring New Models, University. During her industry career, Sian worked
Standards, and Best Practice. as Publishing Director for the Stuff and What Hi-Fi?
Group of magazines and was managing director of her
Professor Danny Moss Professor of Corporate and own marketing and PR consultancy. Industry experi-
Public Affairs at the University of Chester Business ence has included developing and implementing stra-
School and co-director of the University’s International tegic PR and marketing campaigns for FMCG, retail,
Centre for Corporate & Public Affairs Research. He entertainment, medical, education and technology sec-
led the development of Master’s programmes in Pub- tors. Sian writes academically on authentic communi-
lic Relations at the University of Stirling and then at cations, PR and branding in the digital media age.
Manchester Metropolitan University and co-founded
the annual Global Public Relations Research Sympo- Dr Natalia Rodríguez Salcedo PhD earned a double
sium. Danny is the co-editor of the Journal of Public degree in Journalism and in Advertising and Public
Affairs and has published papers in range of journals Relations. She is deputy director of the Marketing and
and has authored a number of books, and book chap- Media Management department, and deputy director
ters including Public relations: A managerial perspec- of the Master’s Degree in Corporate Reputation at the
tive and International Public relation cases. School of Communication of Universidad de Navarra,
Spain, where she has been teaching since 2001. She has
Dr Grazia Murtarelli, PhD, is Assistant Professor of co-authored two books and published several chapters
Corporate Communication at Università IULM in and articles on the history of public relations in Europe
Milan (Italy), where she teaches Digital Communica- and Spain.
tion Management and Web Analytics. Her research
focuses on the analysis of online scenarios and, more Professor Stefania Romenti PhD is Professor in Stra-
specifically, on the following issues: social media-based tegic Communication and PR at Università IULM
relationship management, online dialogue strategies, (Milan, Italy) and Chair of the Master of Science in
digital visual engagement processes and social media Strategic Communication. She is Director of the Execu-
measurement and evaluation. She is the Public Rela- tive Master in Corporate Public Relations (IULM) and
tions Student & Early Career Representative at Inter- Adjunct Professor at IE Business School (Madrid). She
national Communication Association. She is also a is Rector’s Delegate for Sustainability and CSR. She is
faculty affiliate of the Center of Research for Strategic Founder and Director of the Research Center in Stra-
Communication at Università IULM. tegic Communication (CECOMS) and Member of the
Board of the European Association of Public Relations
Mirela Polic is a consultant in a public relations agency
Education and Research Association (EUPRERA). Her
IMC, Zagreb, Croatia. Mirela is also a PhD candidate
research focuses on strategic communication, corpo-
at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Uni-
rate reputation, stakeholder management and engage-
versity of Zagreb. After she had obtained a Master’s
ment, dialogue, measurement and evaluation.
degree in public relations and political communica-
tion at the Faculty of Political Science (University of
Ramona Slusarczyk is a lecturer in public relations at
Zagreb), Mirela began her career in public relations in
Newcastle University. A Chartered CIPR Practitioner
one of the largest Croatian public relations agencies,
she has taught public relations and media courses at
IMC, where she currently works as a public relations
RMIT International University, Vietnam, The Higher
consultant. Mirela is a researcher on the European
Colleges of Technology, UAE, and worked as a PR pro-
Public Relations Education and Research Association
fessional at a Dubai-based consultancy before return-
(EUPRERA) project, Women in Public Relations.
ing to her former alma mater in Newcastle in 2017.
Noumaan Qureshi is currently pursuing his doctoral Ramona has since introduced a new module, Global
research from University of Mumbai, India, focusing PR, to the University’s curriculum and co-authored a
on cultural context of communications for risks and couple of chapters dedicated to social media influenc-
crisis. He has done research work in understanding ers, food mediatisation, and cultural identity issues
reputation risks for healthcare organisations. Health- within the EU. Her main research interests focus on
care is his area of specialisation, with two decades of international PR, CSR and nation branding.
work experience, including public relations consulting.
Dr Martina Topić is a Senior Lecturer in Public Relations
Dr Sian Rees is Associate Professor in public relations, in Leeds Business School. Martina currently leads three
marketing and branding and is the current Head of the projects, a British Academy funded project on women

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 xxii About the authors

in the advertising industry, a EUPRERA project on Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and
women in public relations and a HEFCE funded project Culture, began his career in communication roles
on Women Journalists. She is a member of the editorial with the Government of Alberta, Canada, progressing
board of several academic journals including Sociology through university positions in Canada and the UK
(British Sociological Association) and she is an editor of to independent consultancy for organisations includ-
the section ‘Culture, Media and Film’ of Cogent Arts and ing large corporations and international governmental
Humanities Open Access journal (Taylor and Francis). organisations. Author of books and journal articles
More information on her projects and publications can on public relations, he is an Honorary Fellow of the
be found at https://www.martinatopic.com UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations and holds
a doctorate in psychology from the London School of
Professor Dejan Verčič is Professor, Head of Department Economics and Political Science.
of Communication and Head of Centre for Marketing
and Public Relations at the University of Ljubljana, and Iwan Williams is a Public Relations lecturer at Swansea
Partner in strategic consulting and communication com- University. Prior to his entry into academia in 2013, he
pany Herman & partnerji d.o.o., Slovenia. He received spent five years as Head of Media, Brand and e-democ-
his PhD from the London School of Economics and racy in the National Assembly for Wales. With over 20
Political Science, UK. He has recently received the Path- years’ experience as a strategic communications prac-
finder Award, the highest academic honour bestowed titioner, he managed multimedia PR, marketing and
by the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) in New York, advertising communications campaigns for organisa-
and he was named a Distinguished Public Relations tions such as the Royal Navy, Microsoft and the gov-
Scholar by the European Public Relations Education ernment’s Central Office of Information. As well as
and Research Association (EUPRERA). Since 1994 he extensive experience of working in the private and
has organised an annual International Public Relations public sectors in the UK, he has many years’ experience
Research Symposium – BledCom. of international communications in the USA, Australia
and New Zealand.
Jonathan Ward is a lecturer in public relations at New-
castle University and course director for the MA in Dr Markus Wiesenberg is a postdoctoral researcher at
Media and Public Relations. He leads modules on PR the Department of Communication Management at
theory, financial communications and postgraduate Leipzig University and freelance PR Consultant with
research. Prior to teaching, Jonathan worked as an Wiesenberg Communications. In his PhD project he
award-winning regional journalist specialising in local examined the strategic communication of the German
government and then as a PR practitioner in the char- mainline churches and studied the non-profit area from
ity sector. He founded his own PR agency in 2006 and diverse angels. During this time, he was a doctoral fel-
continues to provide consultancy for businesses and low of the European Public Relations Education and
community groups. Jonathan’s interests focus on com- Research Association (EUPRERA) and managed the
munity engagement, media relations and sports PR. He European Communication Monitor (ECM). His focal
is a member of the CIPR and Fellow of the HEA. points in practice and research are non-profit and start-
up communication as well as new trends in strategic
Professor Tom Watson is emeritus professor of public communication (e.g. Big Data, Automated and Algo-
relations in the Faculty of Media and Communication rithmic PR).
at Bournemouth University. He ran a successful PR
consultancy for 18 years and was chairman of the UK’s Professor Paul Willis is Chair of Corporate Commu-
Public Relations Consultants Association from 2000 nication at the University of Huddersfield. He was
to 2002. Awarded his PhD in 1995 from Nottingham previously Director of the Centre for Public Relations
Trent University, Tom has written books, book chap- Studies at Leeds Business School. Before joining aca-
ters and a wide range of peer-reviewed academic papers demia Paul was a board director in the PR consul-
in international academic journals. He established tancy sector advising organisations including BMW,
the annual International History of Public Relations BT, Proctor & Gamble, Walmart, UK Sport and The
Conference in 2010 and has edited the seven-volume Football Association. In 2016, he was appointed a
National Perspectives on the Development of Public member of the Government’s Future Communication
Relations: Other Voices series for Palgrave Macmillan. Council by the UK Cabinet Office and Prime Minister’s
Office. Paul is the co-author of Strategic Public Rela-
Dr Jon White is a visiting professor at Henley Business tions Leadership and his other published research can
School, University of Reading and honorary professor, be found in the field’s leading journals and textbooks.

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 Foreword

What public relations is and could be, how to manage relations field has a problem with its legitimacy, that
it for an organisation, what it does in and for society – there is no consensus whatsoever about what public
these are the themes of this book. In the first edition, relations is and what its value is for organisations of all
the editors promised a lively and comprehensive dis- kinds. The authors try to avoid taking a stand, leading
cussion regarding fundamental concepts and best us through all the discussions, rumours and evidence
practices of public relations. A student-centred book, about these issues. What a book! It is fresh and good,
a meeting place for students and teachers with well- it covers all current topics and simultaneously opens
known authors, taking the student by the hand to up a lot of perspectives. And all this in a very user-
explore what public relations is. The book is grown-up friendly manner. The book is built on the premise that
now. Very well established as one of the best introduc- a textbook should put the student at the centre of the
tory texts in our field, mainly oriented at Europe but learning experience. And that is exactly what it does.
very international in its context, fundamental but also It is an excellent book for undergraduates who want
very practical. With this 5th edition the editors and to know more about the field. But at the same time it
authors succeeded once more in presenting meaning- is also enlightening and very practical for profession-
ful updates of their contributions following the latest als who want to open their windows and learn more
national and international developments and insights about the field they are working in. It not only shows
in the fast-changing world of public relations. After so a variety of different approaches and models within the
many years, it is still one of a kind. discipline of PR but also interdisciplinary connections
I have studied numerous books on public relations, with communication studies and the wider context
and on corporate communication, communication of social sciences. This makes the book also relevant
management or strategic communication, as the field and important for master’s programmes in public rela-
is often called in other countries. Most books are very tions and communication studies. Public relations is an
technical ‘how to’ books, promising that you will be evolving discipline and its growth requires continual
able to do the job as long as you follow the tips of questioning to challenge its boundaries and establish
the author. Some books are very theoretical, analysing its terrain. The authors have brilliantly succeeded in
merely one single theoretical focus, with the promise doing that.
that you will become a good practitioner as long as The first edition of Exploring Public Relations
you follow this approach. Exploring Public Relations was a milestone. It was both very British and very
and Management Communication is none of these, or international. Exploring Public Relations not only
to put it differently: it is all of these books in one. It is provided helpful guidelines to practical action, but
theoretical and practical at the same time, it provides raised unsettling questions about impact and implica-
an insight in almost all theoretical approaches and dif- tions as well. It was diverse, different and consistently
ferent ideas on how to look at and do public relations, thoughtful in departing from the US norm. Instead
and it raises unsettled questions about the definition, of simple platitudes about equal exchanges, Explor-
the tasks of the professional, the debate about profes- ing Public Relations looked at how to actually per-
sional ethics, and the issue of its impact. This is the form public relations in an ethical manner across very
most open-minded book I know. diverse cultures. It was also theoretically inclusive,
Look at the prudent way in which the editors have with a light touch that challenged students to make
challenged almost everything that is commonly left up their own minds at the same time as they learned
un-discussed in the educational and practical fields of how to become competent practitioners. It was not
public relations. That public relations has to do with uncritical of a field where technical mastery can over-
persuasion and also with propaganda, that the public ride moral behaviour.

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 xxiv Foreword

Subsequent editions were updated in an enviable public relations is multifaceted and can be interpreted
way, including all kinds of new issues, for example through a number of theoretical perspectives. In part
about the media context of contemporary public rela- three the focus is laid on the practice of public relations
tions and journalism, about the intercultural and mul- and, finally, in part four all kinds of considerations
ticultural context of public relations, about corporate are explored, on health communication, on corporate
image, reputation and identity, and last but not least communication, on positioning celebrities and coun-
about research and evaluation. This fifth edition has a tries, and on the future of public relations.
further update, for example on communication theo- This is a book every public relations author wished
ries (Chapter 8). The book includes reference to almost (s)he had written. It will help to provide students with
everything that has been written in the last couple of an introduction into the field, and will also help teach-
years. It is updated with the newest insights from Euro- ers to discuss important topics with their students. You
pean as well as American and Asian perspectives. What will not be disappointed.
an effort!
The first part of the book provides you with the Betteke van Ruler
background knowledge you will require to understand Professor Emerita Corporate Communication
the role and purpose of public relations set against and Communication Management Department of
the broader business and societal contexts in which Communication Science University of Amsterdam
it plays an active role. Part two demonstrates that The Netherlands

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 Preface

A thank you first tutors as well as practitioners with an eye on deeper

understanding of the practice.
Professor Ralph Tench
Exploring Public Relations began in Leeds in the early
2000s with a collaboration between myself and Dr
Liz Yeomans. Through four editions of the book, and
working with exceptional friends and fellow academic
colleagues, this book has innovated and led the way in
Welcome to a refreshed 5th
the field of public relations and strategic communica- edition
tion textbooks. A path that – as a clear complement to
the project – many other writers around the world have This has been an extraordinary edition of Exploring
emulated and copied. We still think Exploring Public to write. Whilst the manuscript has been written and
Relations is the leading book to guide students, lectur- passed through the production phase, the whole world
ers and observers of the practice, and we get regular has experienced transformational change owing to
feedback to reinforce this point. COVID-19. The pandemic has and will affect all aspects
Since the 4th edition my good friend Liz has retired of society and the economy. It is most definitely going
from full-time academic life. I must therefore convey to affect the communications industry. In this version of
my thanks to Liz for her friendship and collegial collab- the book, as we went through the final edits, we capture
oration over the many years that we worked together some of those issues (see Crisis and the final chapter on
and particularly on the four enjoyable versions of this the Future as well as others). Whilst we are not able
book. Thank you, Liz. to address the breadth of impact that these economic
Since Liz has ended her collaboration with me on and social changes will have as the book goes to press,
the book I have of course thought long and hard about we can carry forward to readers the knowledge that
who to work alongside to take the book to the next things have and will continue to change in the world of
stage of its journey. My editorial partner, Stephen Wad- organisational communication. Watch this space.
dington, is someone I have known for many years – as We first conceived of this book in the early 2000s
have many of my international academic and practice and it started with the idea that a textbook should put
colleagues – because he is a rare breed, what I like to the student at the centre of the learning experience.
call a thinking practitioner. While it is true that textbooks in general are more
Stephen is a professor of practice at the University student-centred for subjects as varied as biology, law,
of Newcastle in the UK but also a well-known and media and psychology, this was not and has not been
respected senior communicator, author and commenta- the case in public relations.
tor on the practice. As such he brings an understanding Exploring Public Relations very much led the way
of education and research but also a clear and insight- in this approach for our discipline and the feedback
ful appreciation that much of what we discuss in the and compliments the book regularly receives are testi-
classroom and in our academic reflections plays out in mony to this. With this approach we wanted students
business and society. This is an invaluable asset and to have an improved learning experience by involving
positive contribution for the book. them in a personal journey that brought the subject to
I have enjoyed working more closely with Stephen life on the page and spurred them on to find out more.
over the past couple of years as we looked to build And this is what we have tasked ourselves to do with
on the strengths of the past editions of the book and this exciting fifth edition, Exploring Public Relations
make it even more relevant to students, lecturers and and Management Communication.

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 xxvi Preface

With our new editorial partnership, we have endeav- pleased to be able to include contributors from around
oured to reflect on Exploring Public Relations, to take the world who are closely associated with us individu-
on board the many positive reviews, comments and feed- ally and collectively and have the same aspirations
back from students, tutors and members of the practice to improve the subject knowledge and application of
community. This encouraged us to build on the solid and public relations in society. Again we feel this was and
successful foundations of the book and to critically evalu- continues to be a unique feature and strength of the
ate each chapter and theme to ensure its contemporary book as it has evolved.
relevance, a textbook for the discipline for the 2020s. So who to write such a comprehensive text? For
We’ve done this for the new edition. You’ll notice this we looked to our colleagues at Leeds Beckett Uni-
the change to the title. It’s a subtle but important shift versity who teach on our well-established undergradu-
that recognises the strategic importance of public rela- ate, postgraduate and research programmes. We also
tions to organisations and growing conversation about engaged with our wider network – senior academics
professionalism in practice. and practitioners worldwide who have contributed to
Our earlier editions brought challenges and so has our subject area.
this version of the book. But we have benefited from
the ability to listen to students and academic colleagues
in how they read, study with and educate using the first
four editions of the book and its supplements. And Target audience
through this listening we have attempted to answer any
questions or gaps in the earlier versions to ensure it Feedback suggests there is a diverse range of read-
is fit for purpose in a challenging, changing world of ers for Exploring Public Relations and Management
communication. ­Communication from senior practitioners to under-
Some of the key areas we have addressed are the graduate students. It is the preferred textbook for
most obvious ones in contemporary life of how the universities around the world as well as for profes-
techniques used in public relations and communication sional bodies and professional courses which adopt
have been influenced by rapid technological change it as their core text. Its content is comprehensive,
and its integration, a phenomenon that appears to which perhaps explains this broad appeal. That said,
speed up month by month. To reflect this we have the book is written in a way that it can be used and
introduced new and revised chapters on digital and read by someone who is totally new to the discipline
social media, democracy and political discourse, dis- as well as a student or practitioner with significantly
information and fake news, research and evaluation more depth of understanding. The contents pages of
methods and techniques, the new world of media rela- the book ­demonstrate how it can be used to support
tions, how we interact with employees inside organi- more practical and ­theoretical aspects of the discipline
sations (internal communications), how corporate and at different levels. Therefore it is a perfect accom-
communication operates, the importance of NGOs paniment for undergraduates and postgraduates who
and charities in modern life, celebrities and influencers, are studying public relations as a single subject (i.e. a
health and well-being, the increased interest in leisure bachelor’s or master’s in public relations), jointly with
and therefore issues like sport and sports public rela- another subject, or as a single module or unit within
tions and finally a little discussed but popular area of a wider programme.
practice, fashion PR.
On top of this we have ensured that all chapters
consider the implications of technology and change
on the theory and practice of the discipline. Clearly, Book style and structure
some chapters have integrated these influences more
than others. One of the key features of the book is The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 provides
that it is an edited textbook and all chapters are writ- important background knowledge to help students
ten and reviewed within a consistent framework. This understand the broad business and societal context
means that the book has a particular style and consist- in which public relations plays a role. Included here,
ency that we have been keen to preserve. This is partly for example, are chapters on democracy and on the
achieved by only working with senior and experienced intercultural and multicultural context of public rela-
academics and practitioners who share a mission to tions and digital and social media. In Part 2 there is a
understand and explain the discipline. We are therefore chapter on disinformation, fake news and social reality

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 Preface xxvii

as well as a chapter on professional ethics – a topic Mini case studies) which aim to exemplify and apply
of ever increasing importance; while Part 3 includes the principles under discussion.
emerging specialisms such as issues management, spon-
sorship, corporate communication and public affairs.
Part 4 comprises chapters that are not convention-
ally included within a public relations textbook; for
Over to you, the reader
example, the chapter on pressure groups and NGOS,
The warm response to the first four editions of the
health communication, celebrity and the importance
book has been both rewarding and motivating. These
of influencers as well as working in financial public
have been read and used for teaching literally all
relations and indeed fashion. The final chapter looks
over the world and with gratifying endorsements of
to the future and provides some themes and questions
the original pedagogic strategy of making clear links
that we hope student readers will take up as topics
between theory and practice. However, there are many
for investigation and research. Public relations is an
questions about public relations and its practice which
evolving discipline and its growth requires continual
remain under explored. These we aim to highlight in
questioning to challenge its boundaries and establish
this book, inspiring readers to investigate further, pos-
its terrain. As students, teachers, researchers and prac-
sibly through detailed research for undergraduate and
titioners we are all responsible for achieving this aim.
postgraduate projects, dissertations and theses. We
hope this revised fifth edition continues to bridge the
divide between theory and practice and, above all, is
Pedagogy and its place a thought-provoking and enjoyable read for students,
practitioners and tutors alike.
This is an educational textbook for public relations
and therefore includes a number of devices that we
hope will help both students and tutors to get the Acknowledgements
most out of the material. First, each chapter begins
with a list of the Learning outcomes which students In addition to the invaluable contributors already men-
should achieve after engaging with the material. We tioned, we would like to thank all those at Pearson
have structured the book to have a range of consist- Education for making this fifth edition possible.
ent pedagogy which support the reader in understand- Finally, but not least, we would like to thank our
ing the chapter subject. For example, there are regular families. For Ralph, this dedication goes to my father
Explore features which give instructions on where to John who passed away during the drafting of the man-
look for further information or how to engage further uscript for this edition. He was a man who loved to
with topics. Think abouts are included to encourage read anything, including a book on public relations.
reflection and for the reader to pause and think a lit- For Stephen, my dedication is to my wife Sarah
tle more deeply about the issues and ideas that are Waddington. She’s a vocal advocate of the drive
being presented and discussed. We have attempted to towards public relations as a management discipline.
define terms or phrases that may not be universally As President of the CIPR in 2018 she had a significant
understood or which form part of the specialist lan- influence on the book’s title and its scope. Her emo-
guage related to that topic or area of study which are tional and intellectual support is at the heart of all my
included in a glossary at the back of the book. Finally projects.
we have included many cases studies (Case studies and Ralph Tench and Stephen Waddington, 2020

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F01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 28 30/10/2020 13:53
 PA RT 1

The context of public

relations

This first part of the book provides you practice function. Arguably, public relations
with the background knowledge you will is essential to modern democratic socie-
require to understand the role and pur- ties. In Chapter 4 the relationship between
pose of public relations (PR) set against democracy and public relations is examined
the broader business and societal contexts and critiqued drawing examples from recent
in which it plays an active role. Chapter 1 uses of public relations in political discourse.
discusses how public relations is defined, Chapter 5 examines the societal context of
its early origins, including proto-public public relations from the organisation’s per-
relations practices, and how it evolved spective, highlighting the theme of corporate
across the globe as the contemporary social responsibility and how communicators
practice we recognise today. Chapter 2 help organisations to respond to the environ-
discusses frameworks for analysing and ments around them as increasingly the sus-
understanding the relationship between tainability of some businesses is drawn into
public relations and the media/­journalism, question. In Chapter 6, the international and
while recognising how both practices are multi-cultural context of public relations is
changing in response to technological introduced and debated. Finally, we turn to
and economic developments. Chapter 3 the role of the public relations practitioner in
examines technological developments in Chapter 7 to focus on what public relations
further depth, specifically digital and social practitioners do, how they deliver their role
media which continue to drive public and function and how they should continue
­relations and have become central to the to learn and develop for the future.

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M01 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 2 21/10/2020 12:19
 CH AP T ER 1 Natalia Rodríguez-Salcedo and Tom Watson

Public relations origins: definitions and

history

Source: Rafal Cichawa/Shutterstock

Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
■ identify, understand and discuss the main aspects of public relations development over time
■ review and critique different interpretations of public relations history
■ analyse and discuss different national and cultural interpretations of public relations and its history
■ examine your understanding of historical research and identify sources, such as articles, books and archives,
for future research.

Structure
■ Proto-public relations: the antecedents of modern public relations
■ The expansion of public relations in the twentieth century
■ The worldwide development of public relations since the mid-twentieth century: the springboards and
restraints that shaped it
■ How public relations grew.

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 4 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Introduction
In this chapter, the formation of pub- States in the latter part of the nineteenth public relations theory and practice
lic relations as a practice will be traced century. In the United Kingdom, were evolving in more sophisticated
from its earliest indications in the ancient public relations was noticeable from forms that focused on the formation of
world through two millennia and up to the mid-1920s onward, primarily in mutually beneficial relationships and as a
the end of the twentieth century. There government. Professionalisation in support for organisational reputation. In
are many antecedents of public relations, the form of university-level education this and following decades, it expanded
mainly methods of promotion and dis- and practitioner associations appeared internationally and, notably, attracted an
seminating information. It was not until after the Second World War. From the increasingly feminised workforce that
the nineteenth century that the term 1950s onwards, the practices of public was educated at university level.
‘public relations’ was first used although relations as promotion (or marketing PR) This chapter will consider the defini-
public relations-like practices (also called and public relations as communication tions of public relations as well as the
proto-public relations) were already management continued to expand antecedent, the springboard (impetuses
evident. across countries in the Western world, for expansion) and the restraints that
Organised communication practices, although it was suppressed in the Soviet held it back in some regions of the world.
recognisable as public relations, were bloc of Eastern Europe and in China Methods of interpreting the history of
introduced in Germany and the United until the early 1990s. By the 1980s, public relations will also be considered.

Box 1.1 ■ It is a planned communication and/or relationship-

building activity with strategic or deliberate intent
(Lamme and Russell 2015). Some definitions empha-
What is public relations? sise the management of communications (Grunig
and Hunt 1984; Broom and Sha 2013), the manage-
ment of relationships (Coombs and Holladay 2006)
At the outset of a chapter on the history and origins of and the creation and maintenance of reputation
public relations, a definition of the topic is needed. How (CIPR 2012).
does it differ from advertising, publicity, propaganda and ■ It seeks to create awareness among specific groups,
other forms of persuasional or promotional communica- often referred to as ‘publics’ or ‘stakeholders’, and
tion? There have been innumerable attempts to define engage their interest. The interest of the public
public relations. Harwood Childs offered one early but should result in a mutually beneficial relationship or
still insightful attempt: ‘Public relations is not the presen- response, possibly as dialogue (Gutiérrez-García et al.
tation of a point of view, not the art of tempering mental 2015). Thus, it is different from publicity which only
attitudes, nor the development of cordial and profitable seeks to disseminate messages.
relations. [. . .] The basic problem of public relations is to
reconcile or adjust in the public interest those aspects ■ In its most common form, public relations has been
of our personal and corporate behaviour which have a enacted through the media, which has been the
social significance’ (Childs 1940: 3 and 13). gatekeeper of communication. This is an important
difference from advertising which places messages
In the mid-1970s, the social scientist Rex Harlow (1977) through the purchase of advertisement space and
identified more than 400 versions or variations. Since airtime (radio, television and online). With the rise of
then, more have been proposed, discussed and, in some social media, public relations activity has increasingly
instances, dismissed. Watson and Noble (2014) comment become a form of direct communication, bypassing
that ‘some commentators see the surfeit of definitions media scrutiny.
as a weakness of public relations; others appreciate the ■ Although the US public relations pioneer Edward L.
debate that surrounds them as an indication of vigour in Bernays proposed that ‘public relations attempts to
the field’ (p. 6). This chapter won’t propose a single defi- engineer public support’ (Bernays 1955: 4–5), the
nition, but it will show there have been a wide range of term ‘to engineer’ is rejected by many as implying
cultural, managerial and political and religious influences manipulation rather than truth-telling. Many schol-
upon the formation of public relations theories and prac- ars and practitioners contend that ethical com-
tices. There are, however, some characteristics that shape munication is the bedrock of professional public
the wide variety of forms of public relations: relations.

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 5

This chapter will thus consider how public relations grad- organisational promotion, benefited from technologies
ually became identified as a planned, strategic practice such as print and, later, mass media, became an important
whose purposes were to communicate and build rela- element in empire- and nation-building, and has formed
tionships in a mutually beneficial and ethical manner. As worldwide practices with increasing employment and eco-
it evolved, public relations developed from personal and nomic importance (see Explore 1.1).

Explore 1.1

Defining public relations ■ Is it based on your observation of PR practitioners at

work or personal experience of PR work?
As a group exercise, each member is going to write a defi-
nition of public relations. But how? ■ Is it influenced by representation of PR work and
practitioners in popular culture such as TV, movies
First, let us spark some reflection. Start creating two col- and books? Is it based on reporting of PR activity in
umns on your computer, tablet or sheet of paper. The left the media (for example, ‘a PR disaster’)?
side should be labelled ‘in’ and the right side ‘out’. Use ■ Is it based on what lecturers have told you about PR?
the ‘in’ column to write words or expressions related to
what you consider public relations is about, and the ‘out’ Now compare the definitions each member wrote:
column to write words or expressions which you think ■ How different are they?
are definitely NOT related to public relations activities.
Compare and discuss your columns with the rest of the ■ What do they have in common?
members of your group. ■ What are the differences and why do they exist?

Now, try to incorporate the ‘in’ column ideas to write As a group exercise, work together on the preparation
your own definition of public relations (PR). Think about of a common set of ideas. Then share them with other
how you arrived at that definition: groups and see how you agree or disagree.

Proto-public relations: the Caesar, when he was Roman Consul in 59BC, arranged
a daily news tablet or sheet called Acta Diurna (Daily
antecedents of modern public Gazette) that offered information to the Roman populus
and showed him as an active leader. In the Christian
relations era, Robert Brown (2015) presents the Apostle Paul
as a first-century example of a public relations prac-
When did public relations (or similar practices) start? titioner because of his influence on others, his cam-
Karl Nessman (2000: 211), in a tongue-in-cheek com- paigns to build relationships with faith communities
ment, suggests that it ‘would date back to Adam and and his writing and publication of ‘letters’ (books) of
Eve, to the point when people had to win over the con- the Bible.
fidence of others’. See Explore 1.2. Other suggestions Other examples are the formation and promotion
include Sumerian wall-markings from 2000 BC (in of saintly cults (Watson 2008). These are not speci-
modern Iraq), the persuasive rhetors of Ancient Greece mens of public relations, because they were not ‘seen
(400 BC) and Roman emperors. Al-Badr (2004) claims as strategically planned activity in medieval times
that a 4000-year-old cuneiform tablet found in Iraq was and . . . did not use the framing of language and accu-
similar to a ‘bulletin telling farmers how to grow bet- mulated best practice that are applied now’ (Watson
ter crops’ and thus a form of promotional information. 2008: 20). ‘They were PR-like but were not PR’ but are
A precedent of election campaigns handbooks can be ‘proto-public relations’ (ibid.), a term which is based
found in Roman orator Cicero’s brother Commentari- on ‘proto’ meaning ‘first in time’, ‘begining’ or ‘giving
olum Petitionis (Comments on elections), in which he rise to’ (Merriam Webster) (OED 2005) and draws to
advised how to win over public opinion if he wanted to mind the term ‘prototype’ (Watson 2013: 12).
become Consul of the Roman Consulate (64 BC). Julius

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 6 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Asia
Explore 1.2
Around the world there were other antecedents to
public relations. In China, PR-like activities can be
traced for thousands of years, occurring mainly at state When did PR start?
level ‘with the intention of the ruler or the emperor to Although the term, public relations, has been widely
establish a credible reputation among his people, or used for a little more than a century, when do you
to maintain a harmonious relationship with different consider that ‘public relations’ started as a practice?
sectors of society’ (Hung-Baesecke and Chen 2014: Was it at the beginning of the twentieth century or
24). These occurred in three forms: collections of folk- did it exist as an unnamed practice before then? You
lore and culture such as folk songs, lobbying between may want to consider the characteristics that define
rival states in order to avoid war and prevent attacks, those activities as public relations and thus differ-
ent from other promotional or persuasive means of
and diplomacy to open trade links such as the Silk
communication.
Road across Asia. Chinese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese
researchers also point to the tenets of Confucianism as
both ancient and enduring influences on proto-public
relations and modern practices. Keeping promises newspaper sector and ‘press agencies were the first
and valuing reputation, an emphasis on interpersonal organizations to systematically engage in the publicity
relationships and ‘relational harmony’, being firm on business’ (ibid.). Unlike China, Taiwan, Vietnam and
principles and ethics yet flexible on strategy and the Thailand, ­Japanese press ­agencies did not continue
importance of propriety (‘respect, benevolence, fair- cultural and religious traditions.
ness, friendship, and harmony and being knowledge- India, which was a British colony from the eighteenth
able’) (Hung-Baesecke and Chen 2014: 23) led to the century to 1947, has a proto-public relations history
formation of proto-public relations that was based that can be traced to the reign of King Ashoka (272
on guanxi (personal connections). It is also found in BC–232 BC) whose edicts and inscriptions on rocks and
Vietnam as quan hê· (personal network) (Van 2014: pillars ‘were imperial communications to the subjects of
148). Confucianism emphasises ‘the importance of his vast empire’ (Vil’Anilam 2014: 35). During subse-
public opinion’ (Wu and Lai 2014: 115) and thus has quent eras of Maurya, Gupta and Mogul rulers, rulers
given a strong cultural base to modern public relations communicated with society through formal meetings
in East Asia in a manner not seen in other parts of (Darbar) at the emperor’s court at which representations
the world. Proto-public relations in Thailand, which were made and decisions given. Vil’Anilam (2014: 35)
was never colonised, evolved through royal institu- argues that ‘early practices of maintaining relations with
tions from the thirteenth century onwards and was the public cannot, however, be compared with modern
expressed in Buddhist religious beliefs and supported public relations’. In this first phase of India’s commu-
the unity of the nation (Tantivejakul and Manmin nication history until 1858, a ‘propaganda’ era (Reddi
2011). King Rama IV in the late nineteenth century 1999), there was communication from the East India
‘used royal gazettes, printed materials, royal photo- Company and the formation of India’s first but short-
graphs and the release of information to the press’ lived newspaper in Calcutta in 1780. It was followed by
to provide clear evidence ‘of PR type activity to sup- the ‘publicity and information’ era until independence
port national governance and imperialism avoidance’ in 1947. Notably, this period included the formation
(Tantivejakul 2014: 130). Although the western forms of governmental Central Publicity Board during the
of public relations are practised in Japan, a culturally First World War which was India’s first organisational
different form, kouhou (widely notify), was devel- communication operation (Bardhan and Patwardhan
oped (Yamamura, Ikari and Kenmochi 2014: 64). 2004) and the development of public relations activities
The term first appeared in a leading newspaper and undertaken by Indian Railways. Some authors consider
denoted an advertisement or announcement. In the that Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian move-
Meiji restoration starting in 1867, many older social ment for independence from the British and a former
and political structures were broken down as part of newspaper editor, was the ‘spiritual founder of Indian
modernisation although a more democratic society public relations’ (Reddi 1999) because of his use of mass
did not evolve. The government formed news agen- media in campaigns against the coloniser and to address
cies to supply information to the rapidly expanding poverty.

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 7

Middle East and Africa Australia as an independent dominion of the British

Empire. Galloway (2014: 14) comments that nine-
In the Arab world, before technology accelerated the teenth-century New Zealand ‘began to develop some
speed of communication, traditional gathering points, skill in the press agentry then beginning to emerge in
such as the mosque and the majlis or diwaniyya (a the United States’. Strategic publicity for the colony
public gathering place for men), were both formal and took place in the London Great Exhibition of 1851 and
informal channels for dissemination and discussion the Vienna International Exposition of 1873.
of news (Badran 2014). Some scholars have traced
antecedents back 1400 years to the era of the Prophet
Mohammed when the new religion of Islam began to Latin America
be disseminated among the tribes of the Arabian penin-
sula (Abdelhay-Altamimi 2014: 84). Poetry was impor- In Latin America, public relations is mostly seen as a
tant in this culture and the poet ‘was considered to be recent phenomenon, dating from mid-twentieth century
the press secretary of the tribe, attacking the tribe’s onwards. Only in Argentina, a Spanish colony until
enemies, praising its accomplishments and strengthen- 1810, is there clear evidence of publicity-type activities
ing the fighter’s morale’ (Fakhri et al. 1980: 34). It is in support of the nascent colony and its ambitions to
a tradition that is still ‘alive and well’ in the modern attract investment from Europe. These included news-
Arabian Gulf region (Badran 2014: 8). The practice of papers promoting political groups and the national
public relations, prior to the arrival of Western cor- interest, and a diplomatic lobbying campaign (Car-
porate communication departments and agencies, was bone and Montaner 2014). The start of public rela-
limited to a protocol role of organising events and tak- tions in Brazil is set at 1914 when a C­ anadian-owned
ing care of visitors (Abdelhay-Altamimi 2014; Badran ­tramway company in Sao Paolo set up the ­Public Rela-
2014). In colonial Africa during the nineteenth and tions Department, but progress was very slow until the
early twentieth century, proto-public relations was in 1950s. In Central America, corporate public relations
a governmental information form, often supporting the activity supported the Panama Canal in 1914 but, like
formation of newspapers in British colonies in East- Brazil, this was a false dawn.
ern and Southern Africa (Kiambi 2014; Natifu 2014)
and Nigeria in West Africa (Ibraheem 2014). Kiambi
has found evidence of a British Colonial Office infor- Europe
mation methodology that may have been applied in
European antecedents vary and are subject to consid-
African, Asian and Caribbean colonies in the early to
erable debate. In Eastern Europe and Russia, some
mid-twentieth century.
scholars (Boshnakova 2014; Ławniczak 2005; 2014)
consider that public relations arose only after the fall
of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse
Australia and New Zealand of the Soviet bloc. It was an outcome of the new demo-
Australia and New Zealand, both British colonies cratic politics and governments. Others, however, have
until the start of the twentieth century, also saw gov- mapped out proto-public relations activity in preceding
ernment communication as the preparatory stage for decades and centuries, including among former Soviet
public relations. In Australia, ‘Government attempts bloc nations such as the Czech Republic, former East
to inform, convince and persuade the widely spread Germany, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. In Western
population relied on and exploited PR strategies more Europe, it is Germany whose public relations sector
than any single entity private enterprise could hope to was best developed with evidence of organised strategic
achieve’ (Sheehan 2014: 11). Promotional activities communication in the eighteenth century.
undertaken by the province-type colonies that made Early proto-public relations activity can be traced
up nineteenth-century Australia attracted immigrants to leading writers being employed ‘as publicists and as
to new settlements and miners to the mid-century Gold state employees in the 1790s’ and a Karl Varnhagen
Rush, as well as lobbying the colonial master in L
­ ondon van Ense was hired as a ‘full time “press officer”’ by the
about independence and trade issues. Promoters of the Prussian Chancellor von Hardenberg during the Vienna
New Zealand colony sought immigrants and investors Congress (1814–1815)’ which sought to solve bound-
and to position the country for a future separate from ary issues arising from the French Revolution and the

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 8 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Picture 1.1 The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 led to rapid expansion of public relations and political communication in
Eastern Europe. However, the German Democratic Republic, which is now part of the Federal Republic of Germany, had
‘socialist public relations’ which employed more than 3000 people in the 1980s. (source: Luis Veiga/Stockbyte Unreleased/
Getty Images)

Napoleonic Wars (Bentele 2015: 48–49). In 1841, a the world and can spread the knowledge of these com-
press bureau was started in Prussia ‘to correct wrong panies’ (Binder 1983: 170). In 1867, a full-time ‘Lit-
press reports’, with a succeeding Literarisches Cabi- erat’ (man of letters) was appointed as the manager of
net or Buro (Literary Cabinet or Bureau) continuing Krupp’s corporate communications, followed in 1870
until 1920. Official newspapers were established and by a corporate press department whose role was to
government-friendly newspapers given financial sup- monitor coverage of the company in newspapers and
port. Outside of political changes, ‘economic and tech- prepare articles and brochures to promote Krupp and
nical progress also shaped PR’s development’ (­Bentele its products (Wolbring 2000). Other G­erman compa-
2015: 50). Coal mining and steel manufacturing were nies also developed press relations operations. By the
the basis of German heavy industry; electronics and beginning of the twentieth century AEG was evaluat-
chemicals were innovative sectors. From companies ing its press coverage in an organised manner and the
like Krupp (steel), Siemens and AEG (electronics) and sociologist Max Weber began research in 1910 into the
BASF, Bayer, Hoechst and Agfa (chemicals), which sources of newspaper coverage. These actions demon-
were seeking national and international markets, the strate how well the media economy and promotional
beginnings of systematic, planned corporate and mar- communication sectors were established.
keting public relations were established. Alfred Krupp In much of the rest of Western Europe, there is lit-
was a leader and along with Werner Rathenau and tle evidence about proto-public relations or planned
Werner von Siemens ‘simultaneously became leading publicity and press relations that can be compared
businessmen as well as architects of PR in the nine- with the German experience. Although the United
teenth century’ (ibid.). Krupp had a publicity coup of a Kingdom appears to have had well-organised prac-
2.5-ton block of cast steel at the 1851 Great Exhibition tices for informational communications in its colo-
at Crystal Palace, London. The reason that led Krupp nies, these were not evident in the four home nations
to become the best ‘public relations’ for his company until after the First World War. There are exceptions
might be found in a phrase he wrote in 1866 and was such as the Marconi Company issuing news releases in
found in his personal correspondence of the company’s 1910 about new trans-Atlantic telegraph services. In
archives: ‘I think the time has come for people, who the Netherlands, there was a long tradition of voorli-
are true to truth, to write reports about factories and chting (a literal translation of ‘Enlightenment’), giving
companies for newspapers which are read throughout people information in order that they could participate

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 9

He was chosen in 1956 when a petition was brought by

Box 1.2 Cardinal Lecaro of Bologna for his nomination as patron
saint of public relations practitioners in Italy. In 1960, Cardi-
The patron saints of nal Feltin, Archbishop of Paris, obtained a similar designa-
tion of Bernardino as patron saint of French public relations
public relations professionals. Since then, the Italian preacher-writer has
become the universal patron saint of public relations.

Saint Bernadine of Siena is the patron saint of public rela- Saint Paul (also known as the Apostle Paul) lived during
tions, commemorated on 20 May each year. Bernardine the first century in ancient Cilicia (which is now part of
(also known as Bernardino) was a Franciscan preacher Turkey), Syria, Israel, Greece and Italy. He is also consid-
born in 1380. He was a successful evangelist who trav- ered as a patron saint of public relations workers as well as
elled throughout Italy for 30 years. Following his death at for journalists, authors and many others. Saint Paul trav-
L’Aquila, near Rome, in 1444, a basilica was built in the elled widely as a promoter of the new Christian faith and
town and his relics are on display there. wrote many letters (books) of the Bible’s New Testament.

in discussions about their society. Voorlichters trav- its expansion was primarily in the United States with
elled around giving information about health, farming, some disrupted progress in Germany. The United King-
education, politics, etc. (van Ruler and Cotton 2015: dom’s engagement with public relations commenced
91–2). Voorlichting, however, can be interpreted as a after the First World War, but expanded more rapidly
communication mechanism ‘to show people how to from 1945 onwards, as did much of Western Europe
conduct themselves as good citizens and to control and other regions of the world outside of Eastern
them’. The history of PR in the Netherlands can there- Europe. In Asia, Thailand established governmental
fore be seen as a history of the battle for information communications in the 1930s but other nations in that
and emancipation on the one hand and education and continent and in Africa developed public relations
persuasion on the other but always under the (‘Dutch structures after independence, which mainly came in
uncle’) dogma of ‘knowing what is best’ (van Ruler and the 1960s. The People’s Republic of China was closed
Cotton 2015: 91). In Norway, socially radical poli- by its Communist government from 1949 until 1979
cies were promoted by potetprest (potato priests of the after which public relations practice were gradually
Lutheran church) in public information campaigns in introduced as the economy re-opened. The advance of
the mid-late eighteenth century aimed at alleviating public relations in Latin America was varied as many
poverty through the planting of potatoes. The priests countries were under forms of military government,
used lectures, handbooks and their enthusiasm in these often until the mid-1980s.
planned activities (Bang 2015).

United States
The expansion of public Public relations practices were developed in the United
States from the final decades of the nineteenth century
relations in the twentieth onwards. These have been well recorded and taught
around the world through popular textbooks and the
century example of US education. Although most countries
have national approaches to public relations, there are
As previous sections demonstrated, public relations has ‘International PR’ models of practice in general and
many, time-varied beginnings. In some countries and specialist areas that are used by multinational corpora-
regions, it has been influenced by religion and culture; tions and international organisations that have derived
in others, it has been linked to political, governmental from US practice.
and economic developments such as industrialisation Railways companies, religious organisations and
and the development of parliamentary democracies. In travelling entertainments (notably circuses) were all
general, public relations is a phenomenon of the twen- engaged in public relations activity in the final two or
tieth century. During the first half of the last century, three decades of the nineteenth century (Lamme and

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 10 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Mini case study 1.1 our plan is, frankly and openly, on behalf of business
concerns and public institutions, to supply to the press
Ivy Lee’s Declaration of and public of the United States prompt and accurate
information concerning subjects which it is of value
Principles and interest to the public to know about. Corporations
and public institutions give out much information in
which the news point is lost to view. Nevertheless, it is
This iconic statement was sent to newspaper editors by quite as important to the public to have this news as it
Ivy Lee in the spring of 1905 as a declaration of princi- is to the establishments themselves to give it currency.
ples for its publicity agency, Parker and Lee. The journalist I send out only matter every detail of which I am
Sherman Morse made it public when he wrote to contrast willing to assist any editor in verifying for himself. I am
the years of silence, ‘abuse and inaccuracies’ (1906: 457) always at your service for the purpose of enabling you
of big corporations and trusts and the new manners of to obtain more complete information concerning any
what he called ‘the beginning of wisdom’ (1906: 458). In of the subjects brought forward in my copy.’
the words of Morse (1906: 460):
(Morse 1906)
These principles reveal the position that will have to be
taken by all publicity agents of corporations if they are This declaration has become a reference point for the his-
to make a ‘go’ of their business. ‘This is not a secret tory of public relations in the US. While some consider it
press bureau,’ said Lee. ‘All our work is done in the as the beginning of modern public relations, others offer
open. We aim to supply news. This is not an a more sceptical view of what they call a ‘new experiment
advertising agency; if you think any of our matter of corporate press agentry’ (Miller and Bishop 2009) at
ought properly to go to your business office, do not use the beginning of the twentieth century.
it. Our matter is accurate. Further details on any
subject treated will be supplied promptly, and any What is your opinion? How does this ‘declaration of prin-
editor will be assisted most cheerfully in verifying ciples’ relate to its historical context? What was the rea-
directly any statement of fact. Upon inquiry, full soning behind it? Why could it be considered by many
information will be given to any editor concerning as the beginning of public relations? On the other hand,
those on whose behalf an article is sent out. In brief, why could it have raised suspicion in others?

Russell 2010; Lamme 2015). The term ‘public rela- adviser and a major influence on US practice until
tions’ appeared around that time but it did not gain his early death in 1934 (see Mini case study 1.1).
strong recognition for three or four decades. The most Lee’s partner was George Parker, who had served as
common practices, as shown in the examples of cir- President Grover Cleveland’s press agent in his three
cuses, were press agentry and publicity. Press agents presidential campaigns for the Presidency. Apart from
earned their living by selling stories about their clients Parker, all founders of the pioneer US agencies came
into newspapers (Russell and Myers, 2019). Publicists from newspapers. This set the style of practice as media
also sought media coverage for clients who paid them. relations for publicity purposes. Ivy Lee, however,
One US innovation which has been widely imitated would become a highly controversial policy adviser
is the external, advisory agency for communication to clients such as the Pennsylvania Railroad and the
activities. The Publicity Bureau of Boston, started by magnate John D. Rockefeller (see Explore 1.3). Lee
three former newspaper reporters as a ‘general press put forward the case for companies to make their cases
agent business’ in 1900, was the first of this type (Cutlip to the public: ‘If you go direct to the people and get
1994). It lasted for only 12 years but represented the people to agree with you, you can be sure that
some leading universities and American Telephone ultimately legislatures, commissions and everybody else
& Telegraph (AT&T). It was followed in 1902 by a must give way in your favor’ (Lee 1925: 60). Although
New York agency set up by another newspaperman, Lee is portrayed as a public relations pioneer, he used
William Wolf Smith, whose agency was a ‘publicity the term ‘publicity’ as evidenced in his 1925 book,
business’ aimed at assisting corporations in countering Publicity: Some of the Things It Is and Is Not and did
press attacks and regulatory legislation. The third not promote a clear, organised vision of public relations.
agency, Parker & Lee in 1904, is especially notable The agency business grew gradually and it was not
as its co-owner was the former newspaperman Ivy L. until after the First World War in 1919 that the earliest
Lee who became the first high-profile public relations active promoter of ‘public relations’ as a term and a

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 11

contested area. Media owners loathed press agents and

Explore 1.3 publicists and called them ‘space grabbers’ because they
obtained coverage in newspapers for clients without the
PR and activism need to buy advertisements (Tedlow 1979). They were
also recruiting journalists to do their work, a practice
Public relations has often been presented as a tool that still continues.
of powerful organisations, such as governments and
corporation, but it has activist roots especially in US
labour movements. In 2014, a three-month advocacy
campaign ( July–October) through social media and
After the First World War
public demonstrations by the environmental group In Europe, public relations and publicity activity
Greenpeace against toy manufacturer Lego and expanded in Germany and the United Kingdom after
energy corporation Shell led to the end of their the First World War. In Germany, it was well developed
partnership. Can you identify other campaigns by
in industry, national government and, especially, local
advocacy groups and charities that have successfully
and regional government. This halted in 1933 when
influenced public opinion and led to changes on
government policy and laws? the Nazis came to power (Bentele 2015). The most
important development in the United Kingdom was
the formation of the ‘first public relations agency’,
communications practice set up in business. This was Editorial Services Ltd, by Basil Clarke in 1924 (Evans
Edward L. Bernays (1891–1995), who with his soon-to- 2013). Clarke used the term ‘industrial propaganda’,
be wife Doris Fleischman started their agency in New especially in relation to communication with
York. Bernays’s importance is more related to his books, employees. Propaganda, prior to its blackening in the
Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923), Propaganda Nazi era, was widely used in government and industry
(1928) and The Engineering of Consent (1955), and less as a synonym for informational communication and
for his leadership in public relations in the 1920s and awareness-creating publicity. Stephen Tallents, another
1930s, when he was seen by peers as a relentless self- British pioneer in the establishment of public relations,
promoter. On starting his business, ­Bernays titled it as led the work of the British government’s promotional
‘Edward L. Bernays, Counsel on Public Relations’, thus agency, the Empire Marketing Board (see Picture 1.2),
presenting the concept of ‘public relations counsel’ as a to develop trade and business amongst nations,
higher professional skill and calling than those of ‘pub- dominions and colonies of the British Empire. Tallents,
licist’ or ‘press agent’. He engaged with developments in who later went on to advise the BBC and government
psychology and sociology, as well as the study of public departments, was the foundation president of the
opinion. His importance, which came later among US Institute of Public Relations in 1948 (Anthony 2012).
practitioners from the 1950s until his death at 103 in Other countries that were introducing public relations
1995, was promoting public relations as being much
more than the negotiation of coverage in the media; as
a persuasive communication professional activity on
behalf of clients. Lee and Bernays were not alone in writ-
ing about publicity and public relations activity in the
1920s. Often overlooked are Robert Wilder and Kath-
arine Buell who ran a public relations firm in New York
from 1919 to 1925 and published Publicity: A Manual
for the Use of Business, Civic, or Social Service Organi-
sations and Irving Squire and Kirtland Wilson’s Inform-
ing Your Public (1924), which Ivy Lee recommended
to Edward Bernays (Lamme 2015). By 1930, the work
of publicists and public relations people was of such
importance that they were being mentioned in major
US novels such as John Dos Passos’s USA Trilogy which Picture 1.2 The Empire Marketing Board campaigns run
had the publicist, J. Ward Morehouse as an important if by Stephen Tallents in the 1920s and 1930s used rich visual
morally crossed character in its first and third volumes. images in posters and films to promote British Empire
Public relations and publicity work grew through the trade. (source: Granger Historical Picture Archive/Alamy
1920s until slowed by the Great Depression. It was a Stock Photo)

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 12 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

included Australia, whose first self-styled public 1945 onwards

relations adviser was George Fitzpatrick in 1929
(Gleeson 2012; Crawford and Macnamara 2014). After the end of the Second World War in 1945, public
Many state governments had information and publicity relations’ expansion gathered pace, especially in North
departments by 1930. In Thailand, the government set America and Western Europe. Eastern Europe, which
up a Publicity Division, modelled on German practices, was under Soviet control, and China, which would
in 1933 to provide information to the public. It has come under Communist Party rule in 1949, were
since evolved into the Government Public Relations extensive, highly populated exceptions. Asia, Africa
Department (GPRD) and plays a major role in and Latin America would follow later.
managing government communication and relations In Western European, American influence was at
with media industries (­Tantivejakul 2014). its height in the nations that had been affected by the
wartime conflict. US funding of the ‘Marshall Plan’
(the European Recovery Program) encouraged democ-
ratisation of politics, open economies and infrastruc-
The Second World War ture reconstruction. In some countries, communicators
During the Second World War, all combatants estab- travelled to the United States and were briefed on pub-
lished propaganda and information operations. In the lic relations and promotional activity. Belgium, which
United Kingdom, the Ministry of Information ran inter- had pre-war experience of propaganda and promo-
nal propaganda and public information campaigns. It tional activity in its colonial industries, sent economic
continued as the Central Office of Information for dec- missions to the United States ‘which led to the propaga-
ades until its closure in 2011. L’Etang (2004: 59) notes tion of PR in different parts of Belgium’ (van Ruler and
that ‘by the end of the Second World War, the British Cotton 2015: 92). These visits found that successful
State had invested heavily in a variety of propaganda companies nurtured relationships with publics through
activities to support political, economic, and diplo- communication that had human dimensions. Germany,
matic objectives’. In the United States, the armed forces Greece, the Netherlands and Italy also benefited from
had public relations staff who were trained to accom- the Marshall Plan. German public relations historian
pany units into war zones, as well as keep domestic Günter Bentele calls the period from 1945 to 1958 a
audiences informed. An example was Daniel J. Edel- ‘New beginning and upswing’:
man, who later formed the international agency of the Postwar upswing and orientation towards American
same name. Edelman joined the US Army in late 1942 models in the early 1950s; emergence of a new pro-
and underwent the Army Specialized Training Program fessional identity in the context of democratic struc-
as a public relations specialist before going to Europe tures of the public sphere (PR defined as distinct
in the final year of the Second World War (Wisner from propaganda and publicity); rapid development
2012). He, and other veterans, would drive the expan- of the professional field, particularly in the eco-
sion of public relations in the US and internationally in nomic sphere. (Bentele 2015: 47)
decades to follow. The main propaganda organisations
in the United States were the Office of War Informa- Thanks to the ‘missions de productivité’, sponsored
tion (OWI), which focused on disseminating informa- by the Marshall Plan, French businessmen travelled
tion worldwide, and the War Advertising Council, to the United States where they discovered public
which produced public service announcements. Both relations, which was applied on their return. French
provided platforms for public relations and publicity subsidiaries of North American companies, especially
employment, although as Lee (2015) found, employ- the oil industry which was fearful of nationalisation,
ment in government departments dropped rapidly were the first to promote their adoption. Hence, some
as the war ended. In Germany, a previously diverse authors point to the oil companies as responsible for
media sector was forced to follow National Social- the introduction of public relations in French territory.
ist doctrines after 1933 with information centralised Esso-Standard became the first to open a public rela-
under the Reich Ministry of Public Information and tions department in France, under the direction of Jean
Propaganda headed by Propaganda Minister Goebbels. Choppin de Janvry. The British Shell Petroleum and
‘Needless to say, the entire system of public communi- the American Caltex, whose public relations efforts
cation gained a propagandist character’ (Bentele 2015: were managed by Lucien Matrat, followed (Rodríguez-
52). By the beginning of the war in the Pacific in 1941, Salcedo 2012: 349).
Japan had an established information division in its In Greece, the exposure to American advertising
Cabinet office and the ‘propaganda machine was in agencies and public relations practices in the tourism
place’ (­Yamamura et al. 2014: 65). market in the early 1950s was the springboard for

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 13

the formation of early agencies (Theofilou 2015). In returned in the mid-1970s that it gained momentum
Italy, the United States Information Service (USIS) was (Rodríguez-Salcedo and Xifra 2015). Portugal shrugged
very active in recruiting Italians, producing films and off the Salazar regime at the same time but took a dec-
documents, offering exchange visits, and assisting the ade longer than its Iberian neighbour to start develop-
Christian Democracy (DC) party combat the influence ing a national public relations sector (Santos 2016).
of Communist Party (Muzi Falconi and Venturozzo
2015). However, Portugal and Spain, which were non-
combatants in the Second World War and ruled by Professionalisation
military dictatorships since the 1930s, were not part of
the Marshall Plan funding and programmes. Develop- Other aspects of the post-war expansion of public rela-
ment of their national public relations sectors would be tions were the formation of professional associations
delayed until the mid-1970s when both dictatorships and the introduction of university-level education.
broke down. Spain started its public relations sector
during the final 15 years of the Franco regime (see Professional associations
Mini case study 1.2) but it was not until democracy Although the Public Relations Society of America
(PRSA) was formed in 1947, it had antecedent
organisations that dated to 1936 (National Association
of Accredited Publicity Directors). In the United
Mini case study 1.2 Kingdom, the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) was
launched in 1948 with the assistance of a trade union,
Joaquin Maestre – the National Association of Local Government Officers.
Other national bodies were formed at a similar time:
founding influence of Australia (1949), Belgium (1953), Denmark (1950),
Finland (1947), France (1949), Germany (1958), Greece
Spanish PR (1960), Netherlands (1946), New Zealand (1954),
Norway (1949), Spain (1961) and Sweden (1950).
Italy had three associations in the late 1950s, which
Despite working under the censorship and political
merged into a single organisation in 1970. In 1955,
control of the Franco regime in 1960s Spain, Joaquin
after several years of talks, the International Public
Maestre identified the opportunity to develop public
relations services from a base in Barcelona and estab- Relations Association (IPRA) was launched in London
lished the first Spanish successful agency business in and, for around 15 years, became the cross-roads for
1960. Influenced by the French pioneer Lucien Matrat, international public relations. Although an organisation
he also helped form the first public relations associa- composed of individual senior practitioners, it played
tion in his country and the first school of public rela- a leadership role in defining aspects of public relations
tions. He was also the external face of Spanish public practice such as codes of conduct and of ethics, early
relations during the Franco era and beyond. After the planning of public relations education and training, and
dictator Franco died in 1975, Spanish public relations seeking recognition for public relations as a profession.
expanded quickly as a result of Maestre’s and others IPRA was important from 1955 to 1970 in promoting
leadership.
public relations through its Congresses, publications
and by bringing practitioners together. From some of
Source: Rodríguez-Salcedo 2015
these connections, networks of agencies were built,
Maestre who sent an invitation to IPRA to hold its some being acquired by the US agencies as they extended
Council Meeting and General Assembly of 1966 in Bar- their offices and resources around the world. Also in
celona. He believed that by doing so IPRA would be Europe, the Confédération Européenne des Relations
providing support to a country did not have a national Publique (CERP) was formed on the initiative of Lucien
association, whilst helping to establish better compre- Matrat of France in 1959. Matrat was its first President
hension of true public relations work in a setting where and also a prominent IPRA member. CERP’s Research
many people were offering their services and calling and Education wing later became the European
themselves PR consultants when, in reality, they were Public Relations Education and Research Association
not legitimate colleagues’.
(EUPRERA) in 2000. IPRA continues as an organisation
although its role of international coordination and
Source: Archivo General de la Universidad
de Navarra (AGUN) / Fondo Joaquín Maestre
leadership has been taken over by the Global Alliance
144 / Box 494 for Public Relations and Communication Management
(see Think about 1.1).

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 14 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

several books and leader of some of IPRA’s policy-

Think about 1.1 making on university-level education.
IPRA took the lead in shaping international
Academics versus practitioners approaches to education. Its Gold Paper No. 2, Pub-
lic Relations Education Worldwide, published in 1976,
Why does there appear to be a gap between academ- was primarily researched and written by the German
ics and practitioners? The history of their relationship public relations leader, Albert Oeckl. Unlike later Gold
is illustrated by different approaches to definitions of Papers, it proposed that public relations topics should
PR and the development of education and training. be part of a general humanities degree. It was followed
■ How do the definitions differ between those pro- by three other Gold Papers in the succeeding 20 years
posed by academics and practitioners? (1982, 1990 and 1997), all of them used by universities
■ Why do the differences exist?
and national associations to prepare degree programmes
and accreditation processes. The Gold Papers increas-
To explore this relationship, find examples of aca- ingly focused education and training on skills for public
demic definitions and compare them with those relations practice, rather than a rounded syllabus. This
from the professional association in your country. created a tension that has long existed between practi-
Consider the interests of the people who prepared
tioner organisations and universities around the world.
the definitions and who the audiences they were
prepared for.
The adoption of public relations degree studies did
not follow a continental or regional pattern. Early intro-
ductions, after the United States, were Japan (1951), Bel-
gium (1957), Taiwan (1963), Thailand (1965), Turkey
Education (1965), Egypt (early 1970s), Mexico (1976), Australia
The education and training of practitioners was seen (mid-1970s) and Saudi Arabia (1976). Much of Europe,
as a vital element in building the skills base of pub- both Eastern and Western, launched courses in the 1980s
lic relations and defining it as a professional activity. and 1990s. In many countries, public relations courses
Although the first public relations course was offered were taught within other degree programmes or at
at the University of Illinois in 1920, it was not until Diploma level for one or two decades. The introduction
the late 1940s that the new professional associations in Eastern Europe came from 1991 onwards, after the
started to actively discuss education. In the United collapse of the Soviet bloc.
States, Boston University established the first degree The United Kingdom, which had started discuss-
programme in 1947, although around 10 courses were ing education and training in 1948, waited 40 years
offered at other universities. The first Canadian univer- before the first degrees commenced, firstly a Master’s
sity PR course was taught at McGill University in 1948, programme at the University of Stirling which started
but the first university degree was offered by Mount in 1988; followed by bachelor programmes in 1989
Saint Vincent University in 1977 (Wright 2011; Wright at Dorset Institute of Higher Education (now Bourne-
and Flynn 2017). For at least two decades, the United mouth University); Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds
States was the leading provider of university-level stud- Beckett University) and the College of St Mark & St
ies, mainly in second- and third-tier establishments. John, Plymouth.
The professional associations had education and
training as a priority. Sir Stephen Tallents said in his
1949 IPR presidential address that members’ ‘first
function . . . was to educate themselves’ (L’Etang
International public relations
2004: 188). IPR drew up its first draft syllabus in Western Europe became the target for American corpo-
1954, although many senior members were dubious rations as economies revived in the 1950s and 1960s.
about the value of education. Sam Black, later to be This impetus gave the platform for the establishment of
an honorary professor of public relations and an inter- the international arms of major public relations agen-
nationally recognised educator, dismissed education as cies and multinational corporations’ corporate com-
a requirement for practice: ‘It is not necessary to have munication departments. The first agencies to expand
had any specialised training to have a good public rela- from the United States were Hill & Knowlton, Burson-
tions outlook. So much depends on commonsense and Marsteller and Barnet & Reef. Hill & Knowlton was
good taste’ (L’Etang 2004: 190). He was to change his established before the Second World War in Cleveland
stance and became one of the most widely travelled and then New York. Burson-Marsteller was set up
public relations educators and trainers, the author of in 1953 and Barnet & Reef, which no longer exists,

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 15

started in 1959. The agencies started by linking with and Hunt 1984: 4) is the most commonly cited. Other
partners or associates in the new markets and later academics began to undertake research and the first
acquiring either the partner agency or another busi- academic journal, Public Relations, was established by
ness. This enabled them to support American clients Rex F. Harlow in 1945. For much of the next 20 years,
as they expanded into new territories and grow the American research and theorisation would dominate
agencies’ businesses. This development and that of the public relations, until the academic base became much
corporate communication expansion also led to the use more international.
of common public relations and publicity approaches Through the 1960s and 1970s, public relations was
that could be planned and monitored from a central mainly focused on media relations. This was a reflec-
position. The outcome was that American models of tion of the journalistic background of many entrants
public relations became known as ‘International PR’ and the expectation of employers in companies and
with ubiquitous practices attempted in many countries governments that media coverage was beneficial.
of greatly varying culture, politics and societies. They Media relations remains a major part of practice today.
have been very successful, as shown by their decades This emphasis would change as graduates who had
of operation, but not in all countries. In Thailand, for studied public relations and related communication
example, international agencies have come and gone. topics increasingly entered agencies and organisations
Often they tried to impose an international model of from the 1990s onwards. Now, around the world,
PR to satisfy clients but failed to gain desired results public relations is a field in which the vast majority
because they did not appreciate Thailand’s Buddhist of practitioners have a bachelor degree or similar aca-
values and relationship culture (Tantivejakul 2014). demic award. Although the most common form of
public relations activity is in the tactical, publicity-ori-
entated form often called ‘marketing PR’, the increased
educational input led to the introduction of strategy-
The worldwide development led campaigns and the understanding that publics and
stakeholders could be contacted by methods other than
of public relations since the through media gateways. This became known as the
‘relationship management’ model (Ledingham and
mid-twentieth century: the Bruning 1998).
springboards and restraints
that shaped it 1990s
During the 1970s, the momentum built for the world- After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse
wide expansion of public relations practices. Already, of the former Eastern Bloc, public relations began to
the early international agency networks were in place, flourish in these countries. For some this development
corporate public relations departments were growing was wholly new, as it arose from the introduction of
as governments and multinational corporations sought democratic governments while others interpreted public
to expand their influence and the technology for faster relations’ rapid growth as the continuation of practices
communications, such as telephone, satellite commu- from the former socialist countries. They argued that
nication and television, was evolving. News media was many former governmental communications and propa-
also expanding. In many Western countries, newspapers ganda people left their old jobs and became PR entrepre-
could be printed in several cities; television news was neurs using many of the same techniques and contacts.
less reliant on film and able to access satellite-­distributed In the 1990s, Europe led the PR world in two areas.
material. All these developments sped up the news The first was the formation of the International Com-
gathering and dissemination processes (Gorman and munications Consultants Organisation (ICCO) which
McLean 2009) and increased pressure on organisations brought the world’s PR trade bodies together and the
to respond quickly. It was also the decade in the United second was the interpretation of the Quality Assurance
States and Germany in which theoretical research began (QA) movement into the public relations field. One fac-
to flourish. James Grunig, a noted academic theorist, tor that supported growth of employment and budg-
led the way in the United States by positioning public ets had been the formation of national public relations
relations as a management function. His definition of professional and trade bodies. In addition to ICCO,
public relations as ‘the management of communica- the professional bodies formed the Global Alliance for
tion between an organisation and its publics’ (Grunig Public Relations and Communication Management

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 16 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

later in the same decade. IPRA was behind the forma-

tion of the International Quality in Public Relations
organisation which promoted QA approaches to public
Mini case study 1.3
relations. This was adopted in the UK as the Consul-
tancy Management Standard created by the-then Pub-
Women in public
lic Relations Consultants Association and adopted by relations
several countries.
In this decade, there was rapid expansion of public
relations in consultancies, government and corpora- Since the mid-1990s women have become the majority
tions. An important springboard was the privatisation gender in public relations in most countries.
of governmental organisations in many countries. This
But in the field’s history, women are under-­represented.
fuelled further internationalisation of agencies and
Of the US pioneers, only Doris Fleischman, business
corporate communication operations as companies partner and wife of Edward L. Bernays, has been
moved rapidly into new markets through acquisition. accorded the standing which she deserved. After
Another sector to emerge strongly was public relations the Second World War, it was not until 1973 that the
for non-profit organisations, such as charities and social Public Relations Society of America elected its first
organisations. female president, Betsy Ann Plank. She was followed
A second springboard was technology public rela- by Margaret Nally, elected by the Institute of Public
tions from the mid-1990s onwards. This brought Relations in the UK in 1975–76. Other national pro-
new types of expertise and communication methods fessional associations were also slow to elect women
such as email and the early internet that were used to leadership posts, although this has changed in the
past two decades. In the UK, for example, six out of
by practitioners and organisations as communication
12 past presidents of the Chartered Institute of Public
and promotional tools. The period was called Web 1.0
Relations (since 2007) were women.
and was the beginning of the biggest transformation of
public relations practices and strategies since the end of
the Second World War. Until then, technology change
was relatively slow with facsimile (fax) machines only
recently replacing telex and post. With Web 1.0, the
How public relations grew
pace of change accelerated. In a study of the public relations histories of more than
In Latin America, the ending of several military 70 countries, Watson (2015) analysed the antecedents
governments and controlled economies led to greater of modern public relations, the factors that aided the
democracy in politics and open markets, which in expansion of these practices (springboards) and the
turn fostered communication such as public relations, restraints that slowed growth.
political communication and advertising. Watson
(2015: 14) notes that after restraints were eased ‘PR
grew in all forms, as did education and training’. In Antecedents
the Middle East and Africa, a relatively liberal period There were three common forms:
allowed the expansion of public relations especially as
the media environment became much more open and ■ early corporate communications (e.g. Krupp in
international. In Israel, the period since 1995 has been Germany; railways in the United States);
a ‘golden age’ for public relations (Magen 2014: 53). ■ governmental information and propaganda meth-
Although the bursting of the dotcom bubble around ods, especially in British colonies;
2001 slowed the growth of public relations, it was only
■ cultural influences linked to dominant religions
temporary as employment continued to expand. For
(Buddhism, Confucianism and Islam) in North
example, in 2004, it was estimated that 45,000 peo-
Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
ple worked in PR in the UK (CEBR 2005). By 2011,
it had risen to about 60,000 and in 2016 to 83,000
Springboards
(PRCA 2011; 2016). Similar growth has been expe-
There was a frequently observed sequence of influences
rienced in many countries. For example, the annual
that enabled the expansion of public relations:
European Communication Monitor survey is sent to
40,000 mid-to-senior level corporate communicators Governmental PR → Corporate communication →
in 50 countries every year and is the longest running Formation of a professional association → Education
trend survey of the profession worldwide (see www. at universities and colleges → Establishment of
communicationmonitor.eu). agencies

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 Chapter 1 Public relations origins: definitions and history 17

There were exceptions, especially in the focus on nation- adjacent countries, for economic and political reasons.
building and politicised communication in post-colonial Among the historic reasons were:
societies in Asia and Africa, but this sequence is seen in
■ closed or statist economies, one-party and military
many more countries. In post-Second World War West-
governments that stifled free expression, the media
ern Europe and in Eastern Europe after 1989, there was
and the emergence of public relations;
strong influence from American models of practice, but
these have been modified into national forms of public ■ propaganda was dominant in some countries (nota-
relations. bly Eastern Europe) until democratic politics was
allowed;
Restraints ■ public relations was practised as a protocol activity
Since the middle of the twentieth century public rela- to support rulers and not to foster dialogue (Middle
tions has not expanded at a uniform rate, even in East).

Box 1.3 relations (L’Etang 2004) and there were papers, books
and a conference in Germany in the mid and late 1990s.
However, the launch of the International History of Pub-
Studying the history of lic Relations Conference in 2010 resulted in an explo-
sion of research and publication in article and book form
public relations from around the world.

Researchers have used all the methods of historical

Study of the history of a profession or organisation is research – the creation and investigation of archives
valuable as it can shape understanding as to why and based on documents and visual material from individual
how current practices and theories emerged and it let organisations; interviews with practitioners have been
us learn from the past. It indicates the influences, oppor- recorded and transcribed; biographical methodologies
tunities and pressures that have affected development explored; documents such as industry journals and ‘how-
(or decline) and shows that professions haven’t always to’ books have been read and analysed. The ­minutes of
developed with a constant upward progression. meetings and correspondence have, for example, proved
valuable in establishing accurate accounts of important
Historical research into public relations is a relatively new initiatives that had become mythologised over time.
scholarly activity which, until recently, was strongest in
the United States. One of the first biographies was about To research PR’s history further, you can access online
the pioneer Ivy L. Lee (Hiebert, 1966) but there were resources such as websites (www.bournemouth.ac.uk)
few books and articles until the 1990s when Scott Cutlip and a growing selection of texts from leading academic
produced two histories of US public relations in mid- publishers. Leading public relations research journals,
decade. Soon after, there were biographies of Edward such as Public Relations Review, Journal of Public Rela-
L. Bernays (Tye 1998), John Hill and the Hill & Knowlton tions Research and Journal of Communication Manage-
agency (Miller 1999) and Arthur W. Page (Griese 2001). In ment have special issues devoted to the history of public
the UK, Jacquie L’Etang published a history of UK public relations.

Summary relations has become a major communication practice

around the world. The very small beginnings, such as
Overall, public relations has expanded as a practice Krupp in G­ ermany and the first US PR agency business
mostly in democratic environments in which there is in 1900 led to widespread employment, extensive use of
an open economy. There are exceptions but these are practices and increasing research and education. It is a
mainly, as in 1960s Spain, when the controlling regime long way from circuses, regional steam railways and tel-
was beginning to ease controls on the media and politics. ephone companies publicising their activities to a very
By the second decade of the twenty-first century, public limited range of print media.

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 18 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

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 CH AP T ER 2 Scott Davidson

Working with the media

Source: Martin Mecnarowski/Shutterstock

Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
■ recognise some of the key theoretical approaches to understanding PR’s relationship with the media
■ explore how different theories attempt to evaluate PR’s power and influence over media content
■ explore how agenda setting and framing theory can be used to research mediatory power
■ identify how theory can explain the day-to-day relationship between PR practitioners and journalists
■ understand how the media influences PR practice and the long-term growth of the profession.

Structure
■ Media environments
■ Exchange theories: the information subsidy
■ Agenda setting and framing
■ Power shift towards public relations practitioners
■ Mediatisation

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 22 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Introduction
This chapter presents several different Governments, business, NGOs, chari- organisations and corporations are
theories or frameworks for researching ties, trade unions, professional asso- debated, but also where products,
and understanding the close relationship ciations and activist groups all attempt services and political viewpoints are
between public relations, journalism and to coordinate and strategically pursue promoted (Ihlen and Pallas 2014). The
the media more widely. The production their interactions with the media. As chapter will look at the media systems
of news requires access to information. sources they allocate staff and resources that influence PR and then turn to the
In the language of journalism studies to cultivate and manage their relation- main form of ‘exchange theory’ that has
‘sources’ hold that information. Sources ship with journalists. These employees been used to explore and explain the
are often private individuals who may can have varied job titles such as press PR–Media relationship – the concept
have been eyewitnesses or participants officer or media relations manager, but of the information subsidy. It will then
in an event, but the focus for this chap- regardless of job titles practitioners are move on to agenda setting, framing and
ter is on how organisations and institu- normally closely integrated into the PR mediatisation as key concepts for think-
tions are integral sources in the process strategies of their employer. The media ing more deeply about PR’s relationship
of gathering information by journalists. is a space where the role in society for with the media.

Media environments has been lost to the tech giants such as Google and
Facebook who promise advertisers they can locate
their target audience with much more precision.
The social and technological trends that forge the
Some newspapers have stopped printing and shifted
shape of the media are a constant factor in under-
to online only; many others have closed altogether, no
standing the growth and practices of PR. The ini-
longer considered economically viable by their par-
tial growth of PR as a profession was closely linked
ent company. But there is evidence to suggest that
to the growth of literacy and the mass media. For
some mainstream media institutions have adapted to
example, in the first part of the twentieth century
the new digital world, will do more than just survive
in the UK and Europe populations became increas-
and will continue to exert considerable influence over
ingly literate and were winning the right to vote in
public information seeking or the process of agenda
elections. At the same time there was an associated
setting. The UK’s Guardian newspaper has continu-
rise of mass-circulation newspapers, followed by
ally declined in physical sales since the 2000s, now
new broadcast technologies: first radio, and then
selling well below 200,000 copies per day, but has
television. In both business and politics mass pub-
found new success online with over 12 million unique
lic opinion mattered and the media were central to
browsers visiting its site every day. Likewise, the
the flow of information and public debate. Concur-
Daily Mail enjoys over 13 million unique browsers
rently, demand for professionals who help organi-
per week (source: newsworks.org.uk).
sations participate and influence the new mediated
Radio remains a popular form of media that is dis-
democracies grew.
tinctive for the way in which it is consumed when trav-
The structural relationships between the PR and
elling to work in the car or in the workplace itself. The
media industries are constantly evolving in the con-
additional ability to broadcast digitally and through
text of rapidly shifting media landscapes. Not least
internet streams, alongside the availability to listen-
by the way in which digital technology and social
ers of time-shifting listening through podcasts, have
media are transforming the production of media con-
meant radio has been less vulnerable to losing its mar-
tent (see Box 2.3 Rise of the robots, page 34). News-
kets because of new technology. Likewise, television
papers and the wider print media peaked in sales in
remains a mass medium, although patterns of viewing
the 1950s and have been in steady decline ever since.
are shifting. There has been a decline in the time people
However, they remain significant, with close to half
spend watching TV on TV sets in recent years, along-
of UK adults reading a daily newspaper at least three
side an increase in the use of the on-demand services
times a week (DCMS 2015). In many countries news-
that most broadcasters now provide. Nonetheless,
papers have lost sales as readers stop buying printed
there has begun to be a decline in the overall minutes
editions in favour of reading web versions of the same
per day people spend watching live or time-shifted TV,
title, while at the same time income from advertising

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 23

Box 2.1 all other staff. A fifth of the staff were furloughed. Reach
publishes The Daily Mirror, The Daily Express and the Daily
Star, and regional titles including The Manchester Evening
Newsprint in pain as the News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Mail and Bristol Post.
Similar stories unfolded at local newspaper companies JPI
COVID-19 virus bites Media and Newsquest.

Traffic to news websites surged during the crisis as peo-

The COVID-19 crisis hastened the structural changes ple at home consumed news online but advertising rev-
already underway in newsprint media. enues, where brands were prepared to invest during the
crisis, were a fraction of print. This is the challenge that
Newspaper circulation in the UK during the COVID-19 the news industry has faced since the advent of the inter-
crisis was hit by as much as a third by newsagents closing net. The COVID-19 crisis is hastening the digitisation of
and a reduction in footfall on the high street, across travel news from print to internet services. Few news organisa-
hubs and in supermarkets. tions have been able to make the shift at the same time
as maintaining revenue and profit. There are notable
Commuter newspapers such as City AM, The Evening winner-takes-all exceptions such as The Financial Times
Standard and The Metro all lost their means of distribu- and The New York Times that have successfully built value
tion. City AM temporarily stopped publishing and The around the knowledge and expertise of their journalists.
Evening Standard has switched its central London dis- Long form, reflective and specialist news journalism also
tributors to door-to-door deliveries albeit with a much- appear to be robust. The Economist, Private Eye, The Spec-
reduced circulation. tator and The Week are all holding ground.

Further financial pain was inflicted by advertisers who

pulled campaigns, either because businesses themselves The numbers no longer add up
were impacted by the crisis, or they simply didn’t want The Reuters Institute suggests that newspapers account
their brand appearing alongside COVID-19 news. for about two-thirds of investment in news provision in
the UK. Print accounts for 80 per cent of UK newspaper
Local and national newsprint impacted revenues and digital 20 per cent. The split in advertising
The crisis was indiscriminate in its impact on local and is roughly equal.
national media. According to the Reuters Institute for the
Study of Journalism, the income for local media fell by 50 The inescapable fact is that the news business will be a lot
per cent and national media by 30 per cent. smaller and leaner than it has been in the past. The media
think tank Nieman Lab goes further. It described the crisis
Reach, one of the largest newspaper publishers, as a potential extinction event for US print media.
announced a pay cut of 20 per cent for directors, sen-
ior management and editorial staff, and 10 per cent for (Nielsen 2020)

with UK viewers watching an average of 202 minutes In this new media environment, the traditional
per day (OFCOM 2018). Within this trend a steady media institutions which survive increasingly find
decline in viewing figures for news programmes on themselves in a much more complex network of pro-
television has been detected over the last five years, ducers of what can be considered as news and media
with a pronounced decline in viewing by younger peo- content. This new media world includes citizen jour-
ple: ‘while major television channels are still pulling nalists, expert bloggers and organisations themselves as
in large audiences, these audiences are eroding and significant producers of content. PR practitioners are
ageing while a range of new entrants seem to pick up increasingly employing or commissioning journalists to
younger audiences’ (Nielsen and Sambrook 2016: 5). produce that content. This trend sometimes is described
An important qualification of the trend towards online as brand journalism, as organisations draw on journal-
news sources is that social media is most often used istic skills of creating stories, distributed through their
for celebrity, music and fashion news, but TV is most own communication channels that attract the attention
often used for more serious current affairs news, and of target publics. Some brands such as Red Bull have
that also held true for children aged 12–15 (OFCOM become prolific producers of TV, short movies, mobile
2019: 107). video and game content (Verčič and Verčič 2015).

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 24 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Exchange theories: the Explore 2.1

information subsidy
Fracturing television audiences
Exchange theories typically draw on the ideas and
concepts used in economics, but they have been fre- On Christmas Day 1977 27 million people in the
quently applied to other academic fields. Exchange UK watched the television specials of both the Mike
Yarwood and Morecambe and Wise Shows (Wash-
theories assume individuals or groups interact with
bourne 2010). This was not only before the ability to
each other by one side giving something and the other
digitally download and watch programmes later, but
receiving it. In sociology, people can be rational pur- also before most households owned a VHS or Beta-
suers of their goals who regularly exchange valuable max video recorder. The viewing figures for these shows
resources with others if the transaction is believed to approached nearly half of the whole population. It
help move towards attaining those goals. For these was the zenith of popular TV programmes as events
social exchanges to become a regular interaction they that made an impression on the whole nation and its
need to constitute a mutually rewarding process for cultural reference points. Today, TV audiences are dis-
both sides (Blau 1964). persed over an increasing array of terrestrial, digital,
In the exchange between PR and journalism, PR pro- satellite, cable, internet and other viewing options.
vides an information subsidy. Gandy provides a general Understanding changes in audience consumption
habits is an important task for PR practitioners devising
definition of this subsidy as reducing ‘the prices faced
their media relations strategies. The most recent trends
by others for certain information in order to increase
can be explored by reading the latest reports produced
its consumption’ (Gandy 1982: 12). The significance by OFCOM – the regulator of UK communications
is that the information subsidy provides a framework industries – at http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/
for exploring how PR can reduce the amount of time
it takes for journalists to identify topics and research
stories; in exchange the journalist’s media outlet supplies
public attention to the information and messages that
the PR practitioner would wish them to see (Fengler and
Ruß-Mohl 2008). As Turk (1985) neatly summarises:
‘Public relations practitioners use information subsidies
to systematize their attempts, on behalf of the organisa-
tions and institutions for which they work, to influence
media content and the opinions of those who rely upon
the media for information’ (Turk 1985: 12). To under-
stand how information subsidies operate, see Box 2.2 on
how PR helps journalists do their work.
The information subsidy can be seen as a mecha-
nism to explain how elites dominate media spaces.
Picture 2.1 TV shows such as Morecambe and Wise
Organisations that can dominate, or even flood, media
used to attract simultaneous audiences of more than
spaces with their information and their interpreta- 27 million (source: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy
tions of current affairs will be able to influence public Stock Photo)
life. PR-subsidised information and news reporting
becomes an indirect subsidy for influential political or
policy-making elites as they frequently rely on informa- and assumptions used in media reports. Information
tion provided by the media in their decision-making subsidies as a PR strategy are open to both elites and
(Gandy 1992). But the information subsidy also helps ‘outsiders’ (Davis 2002). A constant information sub-
us understand how relatively resource-poor charities, sidy can also build legitimacy. Being regularly quoted
NGOs and community groups can influence public or associated on stories about a topic builds the organi-
agendas. PR practitioners working for these organisa- sation’s reputation for holding expertise on the issue
tions have found that providing an effective informa- or being accepted as holding an interest in helping
tion subsidy on the issues and causes on which they find solutions to help communities perhaps negatively
campaign has influenced or even changed the language impacted upon by the issue.

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 25

Think about 2.1 Media systems

When thinking about PR’s relationship with the media, ■ Journalistic professionalism – this dimension includes
it is always important not to assume the ‘media’ work indicators of professionalism. For example, the degree
in identical ways across time periods, geographies to which journalists are autonomous – able to report
and cultures. The media clearly plays differing roles, independent of forces inside or outside of their news
depending on the country being considered. Hallin and organisation, i.e. politicians, advertisers, media owners –
Mancini (2004) famously tried to develop an academic as well as the degree of common ethical standards and
framework for understanding, for any country, why orientation to serving the public interest.
the media are as they are. They did this by compar- ■ Role of the state – this more complex dimension cen-
ing the media systems of different countries and put tres on the extent and ways in different countries that
forward four dimensions for analysing media systems. the state attempts to intervene and influence the
Brüggemann et al. (2014) amended and developed media. The state can intervene by supporting public
these further. service broadcasters such as the BBC, or it can attempt
■ Inclusiveness of the press market – the importance of to help newspapers by providing subsidies. The state
differences in terms of how far the press is only read might censor and prevent critical reporting of lead-
by local elites, or if they reach a broad audience with ers or their political parties. Many states have rules to
an emphasis on reaching working class and female prevent rich individuals or corporations owning too
readers. many newspapers or TV stations.
■ Political parallelism – this is an indicator to compare Using these four dimensions, how would you categorise
to what extent journalists see themselves as being and then compare the media in the UK, USA and Russia?
close to and supportive of political parties. In turn, (Of course, you can choose to compare other countries.)
how far do they allow this support to influence their Are there differences in the political parallelism of jour-
reporting? This dimension includes the extent of nalists working on newspapers compared to broadcast
political bias in news reporting and the degree to journalists on radio and TV? How would a stronger
which audiences choose to consume media that fit understanding of the media systems in these countries
with their own political preferences. influence the strategies pursued by PR campaigns?

Box 2.2 ■ Picture and events: All forms of media, including

traditional printed newspapers, place a high value
on securing striking visual images. Strong visuals help
How PR can make news tell the story but can also help increase newsstand
sales or lengthen the time an online visitor spends
reporting faster and on their website. Hiring professional photographers
or bringing lots of people together for a public event
cheaper are costly in terms of both time and money. PR prac-
titioners know any event that produces quality, per-
haps quirky, picture opportunities will have a good
PR practitioners help journalists in several ways: chance of securing coverage in target media.
■ The provision of information, statistics and fact ■ Real-life case studies: One highly time-consuming
checking for journalists: When researching a story, task for journalists is to find real people who have
journalists need to find out or reassure themselves been affected by the issue in their story. Not only that,
about the latest facts and research about the issue at they need to find real people who will agree to be
hand. Often through inter-personal communications quoted or be filmed talking about this issue. The task
they receive advice and data from PR practitioners. becomes harder as people will be naturally reluctant
The relationship works if the journalist believes the
PR practitioner will provide reliable information and
is a legitimate source of expertise on the topic. ➜

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 26 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

box 2.1 (continued)

to talk publicly about some issues such as personal, to the journalist. This process widens involvement in
financial or health problems. This explains why PR the forward planning process, and would be a signifi-
practitioners, in advance of issuing a news release or cant cost to the media organisation if they had to pay
organising a publicity event, will work hard on iden- for this creative advice coming from PR.
tifying people who are prepared to talk to the media. ■ Interviews and quotes: A typically structured news
■ Ideas for stories: PR can also subsidise the creative story will include quotes from relevant people,
process of forward planning future media content. In including senior leaders in organisations involved in
her 1999 study, Curtin found that, even if they didn’t the event. PR speeds up the process of asking for a
use any of their text, journalists were heavily reliant quote in response to an issue or story by supplying
on looking at news releases sent to them by PR prac- and distributing these quotes. Many organisational
titioners for ideas for new stories or features (Curtin news releases consist just of a quote from a senior
1999). This process also takes place in the inter- figure responding to a news event. Longer form inter-
personal communications between practitioners views are also a regular media format and the process
and certain journalists who speak on a regular basis. of finding and organising these interviews can be sim-
These form opportunities to float or pitch story ideas plified and accelerated by PR practitioners.

Some PR departments, such as government depart- journalists for the content of their previous stories.
ments (ministries) or global corporations, publish For example, refusing to reward a journalist with
huge amounts of information, with new exchanges an exclusive story because of unhappiness with their
taking place with journalists on an hourly basis. previous writing. The more a journalist is dependent
This presents government communicators with the on the information subsidy provided by PR, then in
opportunity to use their position to develop news theory the more there is scope for PR departments to
management strategies. Looking at the communica- implement proactive, or what some might consider
tions of the British government, Gaber (2000) was aggressive, news management strategies.
usefully able to break down news management strat- It is worth noting that the information subsidy
egies into their constituent parts. To begin with, PR is equally useful as a concept for exploring the
departments who handle the publication of a large relationship between PR practitioners working in
amount of information will, as much as possible, ­public affairs and lobbying and their relationships
time announcements to maximum effect. Sometimes with policy-­m akers and politicians. In this con-
this will be to ensure maximum media coverage for text, PR provides a constant supply of research that
an important or positive event; on other occasions decision-makers rely on to make sense of current or
practitioners might release stories as a ‘firebreak’ to future policy options (Gandy 1992). In media rela-
divert attention away from other perhaps embarrass- tions, PR seeks to provide information to journalists
ing stories. Equally, they will also sometimes pre- which fit with their concepts of what makes some-
empt Sunday newspaper exclusives by releasing the thing newsworthy; in public affairs, PR will trans-
story themselves on the Friday or Saturday. The story late information to show how it helps policy-makers
is still a negative one for the department, but an ele- understand and solve problems facing society, with
ment of control has been reasserted by choosing when the prospect of PR departments gaining a competitive
and how the information is released. Alternatively, advantage over their rivals if successful (­Davidson
disappointing statistics or reports can be released and and Rowe 2015).
buried while journalists are concentrating on another Finally, to conclude this section, as ever, it is
bigger event. Message coordination is another strat- important to consider social, economic, political and
egy: sometimes in the fear that different employees or cultural contexts before assuming any concept might
representatives will provide journalists with conflict- be universally applied to all relationships between
ing viewpoints, the PR team will use internal commu- PR and the media. Consider that, although most
nications to ensure anyone who speaks to the media is journalists and PR practitioners across the globe do
emphasising the desired message or narrative. These not believe it is professional for the media to accept
strategies can annoy and frustrate journalists, but a payments from PR sources in return for publishing
bigger source of tension in the relationship can come a story, international surveys have found the prac-
when PR practitioners attempt to reward or punish tice to be widespread. This practice includes PR news

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 27

releases being published in exchange for paid adver- the way in which successful media relations strategies
tisements in the same media outlet or direct payments could be a significant factor in shifting or entrenching
to a journalist by a news source (Tsetsura 2008). public opinion on various issues. The first of these will
For example, in Russia, payments, either directly or be the concept of agenda setting.
through patronage, are accepted as routine by some As communication studies moved away from
journalists (Pasti 2005) and there is a documented making simplistic assumptions that media content
history in southern Europe of payments of cash to would directly mould public opinion, there was
journalists from grateful connections (­Hallin and a shift to theories that accepted that media effects
­Papathanassopoulos 2002). were highly contingent on several factors. Agenda set-
These differences can be an important difficulty ting attracted interest and became credible because
for PR practitioners working across intercultural there appeared to be a strong link between issues that
locations. As Fitch (2012) discovered, attitudes and were prominent in news media and how audiences
expectations in relation to PR departments paying for ranked the importance of issues that faced society
journalists to write a story which clashes with the ethi- (McCombs and Shaw 1972). For example, influen-
cal norms of other PR practitioners, and the determi- tial studies of TV news in the USA found that news
nation of some organisations to refuse to make such programmes affect which social problems viewers
payments – even if they are non-controversial in a believe to be the most important, and suggested prob-
localised context. Where cash payments to journalists lems that were the subject of prominent coverage on
are widespread, there needs to be caution in assum- evening news bulletins were accorded more weight
ing that an exchange took place primarily because PR in how audiences evaluated the performance of the
practitioners were able to produce and subsidise genu- president (Iyengar et al. 1982). As Cohen (1963) so
inely newsworthy content. neatly summarised the concept: media content does
not successfully tell audiences what to think, but can
be stunningly successful in telling audiences what to
think about. But, as we will see, the power to influ-
Agenda setting and framing ence what audiences think about, in the right circum-
stances, will also impact on what they believe should
happen about that issue.
Agenda setting The logical assumption behind agenda setting is
While exchange theories such as the information sub- that the process of the media frequently reporting
sidy help explore and understand why PR practitioners and discussing certain issues will mean that large seg-
have such a close working relationship with journal- ments of the public will come to perceive these issues
ists, this section will look at what theories might help as being more important than others. It should also
assess further how this might translate into influencing be noted that there is not a singular agenda – different

))
Think about 2.2 PR paying journalists’ ‘expenses’
1. Press releases are still a common feature of media boss wants an exclusive interview for 10 minutes, the
relations in China; however, the host of a press event rate is much higher.’ (Source: Barboza, D. (2012). In
is expected to pay a travel allowance to journalists. China Press, best ­coverage cash can buy. New York
This is typically around £50 to £200 depending on Times, 3 April 2012. Available at: http://www.nytimes.
the seniority of the journalist. com/2012/04/04/business/media/flattering-news-
2. (In China) Newspaper and magazine advertising coverage-has-a-price-in-china.html?)
departments continue to openly discuss their rates — Can handing over envelopes full of cash to journalists
even when a researcher making inquiries identifies to write stories be justified if other companies are also
herself as working for The New York Times . . . an doing it? Or if it helps boost the income of reporters on
account manager at Yashi Media, a Beijing agency that low pay? What ethical responsibility do PR practition-
helps companies obtain coverage in print and broadcast ers working for international brands have regarding the
media . . . said . . . ‘If your boss wants to comment reliability of the media in countries such as China? Does
on something brief and we shoot him in a news pro- the existence of this practice mean information subsidy
gram for 15 seconds, it would be $9,000. And if your theories need updating?

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 28 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

communities and sectors of society will each hold a Fake news and agenda setting
variation in the configuration of issues they perceive
to be important. So, for example, as well as the gen- Ethical PR relies on the integrity and trust of main-
eral public agenda, there will be a policy agenda for stream media in order to convey information to publics
people involved in government and public affairs and to attempt to influence agendas in a manner that
(Coleman et al. 2009). Put another way, this is a pro- enables citizens to make informed decisions.
cess where real-world issues are drawn to the atten- Historical processes for inhibiting the flow of mis-
tion of the media by organisations through their use information to the public have been weakened and
of media relations strategies: the media increases its the problem of ‘fake news’ has become a prominent
coverage of the issue; in turn, the media coverage feature of current events. Fake news is a widely used
amplifies the public’s interaction with the issue in its phrase which has been open to abuse. To identify the
real-world context; finally, an opinion leader, such problem of fake news and find ways of fighting back
as a large organisation or government, reacts to the against misinformation we need to share a proper
rising public interest/concern (Johnson et al. 1996). definition and understanding of the phenomenon.

Explore 2.2 The public versus other agendas

There is no one public agenda that accurately describes Media and policy agendas
the priority concerns of all citizens. Differing sections of
society will have variations in the issues they believe to There are several high-quality email newsletters that can
be the most important, as well as differing views on what be subscribed to that offer daily summaries of what issues
should be done about those issues. are high on the media agenda and how politicians are
responding. Two good examples are the daily email from
There are several freely available resources to help us Paul Waugh on the Huffington Post and the alerts from
research the issues, concerns and attitudes of the pub- the policy and politics news organisation Politico.
lic, the media and of those in politics and policy-making.
Here are some suggestions. ■ Paul Waugh of the Huffington Post daily briefing: sign
up by visiting: huff.to/1CKGj5Y
Public attitudes ■ Politico have several email briefings you can sub-
scribe to, including the daily London Playbook on
■ British Social Attitudes – an annual survey looking at a
what is happening in politics and media in the UK:
wide range of social and political attitudes in the UK:
https://www.politico.eu/
http://www.natcen.ac.uk/
■ Pew Research Center – conducts regular surveys of To complement the briefings from journalists, daily sum-
public opinion and attitudes in the USA: http://www. maries from authoritative websites attached to the major
pewresearch.org/ political parties are also a good information resource:
■ The polling and research company YouGov publish
■ Sign up for the daily email from LabourList via: http://
regular updates on the results of their work.
labourlist.org/
■ YouGov findings on social attitudes: https://yougov.
■ Sign up for the daily email from ConservativeHome
co.uk/
via: http://www.conservativehome.com/
■ YouGov data on public responses to issues affect-
■ The Secretary General of the United Nations pro-
ing brands in the news: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/
duces a daily briefing which gives insights into what
consumer/all
is on the international agenda: http://www.un.org/
■ Every month for decades the research company Ipsos press/en/content/noon-briefings
MORI have been asking people what they believe
are the most important issues facing Britain. Their In addition to searching for stories and topics on news-
results from 1974 until the current day are avail- paper websites, for students most university libraries sub-
able on their website: https://www.ipsos-mori.com/ scribe to databases that allow you to search newspaper
researchpublications/ and magazine archives.

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 29

What is immediately obvious is that fake news can’t Framing

be simply defined as information that you don’t agree
with. The core feature of fake news is that it is infor- PR practitioners are not simply supplying an informa-
mation that imitates the forms of traditional news tion subsidy for an issue to gain media attention; they
media content – it is very easy to set up websites to also pay great attention to assessing how this cover-
look like they might be a mainstream magazine or age could best advance their objectives on any given
news organisation – but does not have journalism’s issue of the day. For any PR campaign, the objective
norms for ensuring the accuracy of the information will be to do more than merely set the agenda: fram-
(Lazer et al. 2018). ing theory provides a framework for exploring how
News fabrication is the main category of fake news issues are framed in order to build consensus on what
that causes concern. Articles that are often deliber- needs to be done. Framing assumes that differences in
ately deceptive, published in the style of news articles how information is presented to us will influence the
to create legitimacy. The producer of this kind of fake decisions we make. Research evidence suggesting vari-
news has the intention of misinforming, in contrast to, ations in how information is presented on essentially
according to Tandoc et al. (2018), categorisations of identical decision-making scenarios will influence audi-
fake news such as news satire and parody content that ence choices (Scheufele and Tewksbury 2006).
is popular on social media. Producers of satire and par- Framing involves a process of strategically highlight-
ody content primarily promote themselves as a form ing a few elements of perceived reality and assembling
of entertainment that uses humour or exaggeration to a narrative that highlights connections among them to
provide critiques of current affairs and politicians. TV promote an interpretation, a decision to select some
satire such as the Mash Report in the UK or the Daily aspects of a perceived reality and make them more sali-
Show in the USA mimic news formats but sketches ent in a communicating text (Entman 1993). Entman
are usually backed up by research. Parody media such suggested that fully developed frames typically perform
as Private Eye or The Onion might use non-factual four functions: problem definition, usually succinctly
information to generate their humour. But neither sat- summarising a problem and the negative costs of its
ire nor parody content typically seeks to pass itself as impact; causal analysis that suggests who or what is
real news content (Tandoc et al. 2018). creating the problem; moral judgments are intimated
Part of the problem of fake news is how success- regarding the people or values being associated with
fully it gets amplified and spread around the inter- the cause of the problem; and remedy promotion where
net. False information generates more retweets than the frame suggests actions that would solve or at least
true information and bots – automated social media alleviate the problem. But also, we can understand the
accounts that impersonate humans – are estimated mechanics of how framing influences public opinion
to be more than 10 per cent of Twitter accounts and through priming: ‘frames introduce or raise the sali-
as many as 60 million have been found on Facebook ence or apparent importance of certain ideas, activat-
(Lazer et al. 2018). Fake news sites can be influential ing schemas that encourage target audiences to think,
through their relationship with partisan media, that is feel, and decide in a particularly way’ (Entman 2007:
blogs, social media accounts and websites who frame 164). So, in that way we can understand that the objec-
stories to advance an ideological or some other belief tive of media relations components of PR campaigns
standpoint. Partisan media inspire fake news sites and is to frame and prime and this makes it patently clear
conversely popular fake news memes impact on the why PR practitioners typically take great care when
content of partisan media, who in turn then influ- selecting the words, visuals and message medium.
ence the agendas and talking points of mainstream One essential element to framing theory is that PR
media (Thurman and Fletcher 2019). These circuits campaigns, and their attempts to frame issues, take
are further amplified as research is finding that ‘people place in highly competitive environments. For any sig-
prefer information that confirms their pre-existing atti- nificant social or economic issue there will be differ-
tudes. . . view information consistent with their pre- ences of opinion with some groups likely to benefit, but
existing beliefs as more persuasive. . . and are inclined equally some likely to lose out, depending on what poli-
to accept information that pleases them’ (Lazer et al. cies are adopted. So, it will frequently be the case that
2018: 1095). The quality of decision making, and the the public will see and hear competing frames that make
trust in both PR and journalism is undermined by the contradictory claims and recommendations for action.
prevalence of misinformation circulating online. Fake Chong and Druckman (2007) explored this aspect of
news should also be understood as unethical attempts framing by considering the issue of a hate group wanting
at agenda setting. to march through a town centre. This could be framed

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 30 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

to them in order to ensure the media use their ­framing

Think about 2.3 of an issue. For example, some PR practitioners will
have access to greater resources to research the frames
Framing that appeal the most to the public or recruit important
personalities or celebrities to help generate media inter-
Entman’s model of framing suggests frames typically est (Chong and Wolinsky-Nahmias 2003).
perform four functions:
■ problem definition
■ causal analysis
■ moral judgement
Power shift towards public
■ remedy promotion. relations practitioners
Consider the following three alternative descriptions Research and debates around concepts such as the
of the same incident. Each accounts highlights or information subsidy, agenda-setting and framing have
omits relevant information. For each account, how recently been contextualised by what some believe is a
might an audience be expected to respond using power shift away from journalism and towards public
Entman’s four functions of framing? relations. The speculation on the changing power rela-
Description 1: An infant left sleeping in his cot tionships is grounded in how changes in economics
was bitten repeatedly by rats while his 16-year- and technology have impacted upon the news media
old mother went to a local post office to pick up a as an industry.
welfare payment. A neighbour had to respond to Academics have long been interested in understand-
the cries of the abandoned child and took him to ing how much news content is the result of proactive
the local hospital. journalistic inquiry, and what proportion originates
Description 2: An eight-month-old boy was from the activities of public relations practitioners.
treated in hospital yesterday after being bitten This question is seen as important by some as it might
by rats while sleeping in his cot. Other tenants indicate who is setting public agendas and the balance
living in neighbouring flats said that repeated between ‘pure’ news values driving the agenda versus
requests for the landlord to organise a visit from
the possibility that outside interest groups are success-
pest control had been ignored. Meanwhile, the
landlord claimed that the tenants had ignored
fully moulding news agendas. Some believe PR’s power
her reminders to properly dispose of their over the media is a modern reality with a ‘PR-saturated
rubbish. media environment’ (Davis 2002) where ‘Journal-
ists . . . have generally become mere passive proces-
Description 3: Rats bit eight-month old Michael
Burns five times yesterday as he napped in his cot.
sors of unchecked, second-hand material, much of it
Burns is the latest victim of a rat epidemic plagu- contrived by PR to serve some political or commercial
ing inner-city neighbourhoods. A spokesperson interest’ (Davies 2008).
for the city council explained that central govern- There is some longstanding evidence for the abil-
ment cut backs had led to short-staffing at pest ity of PR to influence media content. In the 1970s it
control and environmental health departments. was estimated 45 per cent of newspaper stories origi-
A spokesperson for the local hospital confirmed nated in PR materials (Cutlip 1976), which were also
admissions due to rodent bites had doubled over highly influential on the content of TV news (Golding
the last two years. and Elliot 1979). One study tracked press releases and
found that more than 98 per cent were successful in
Source: Adapted from Ryan (1991)
generating media interest, with up to 70 per cent of
the content of some small trade, specialist and sub-
urban media being sourced from PR activity (Mac-
as an issue of the right to free speech, or one of a threat namara 1993). Changes in the economic models of
to public safety. Some members of the public could the media may have increased PR’s influence. One
potentially agree that both free speech and public safety more recent, and influential, study (Lewis et al. 2008)
are important to them. With such a conflict of reason- found that national newspapers in the UK on average
able arguments, individuals will tend to assess which included 24.4 pages of content, not including adverts;
frame is closest to their own personal values. the number of pages had increased 30 years later to
However, this is not to say that all organisations 41.0. However, the number of journalists employed by
will have the same opportunity or resources available the newspapers has not increased in the same way and

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 31

journalists are expected to fill more pages. If we con- resources. Some forms of media, such as local news-
sider that it is also normal practice now for national papers, have lost readers and advertising income to
newspaper journalists to write additional stories that the internet and have reduced staffing levels. Finally,
are only published on the web version of the paper organisations can also create their own media content
and also contribute to the production of video and and distribute this to their publics via websites and
podcast content, we can see how they might lack the social media platforms.
space and time to do extensive research for new stories,
and so accordingly may become more reliant on the
information subsidy produced by PR. As with other
debates about the extent of PR’s ability to exert com-
Mediatisation
municative power, in regard to the power to influence The theories and concepts that have been the focus so
media content, PR’s influence is highly contingent – far for this chapter are without doubt valid and use-
it depends on a number of factors. PR practitioners ful for studying the way the PR and media industries
are sometimes portrayed as being in some form of have become so closely intertwined. However, there is
ascendency where they can manipulate and exploit a potential problem in the way that they could suggest
beleaguered journalists desperate for news content. that the relationship was a binary one, where if one side
However, after conducting a set of interviews, Jack- is gaining power, then automatically that must mean
son and Moloney (2015) found that practitioners were the other side is losing influence. Exchange theories,
telling them that they believed journalists working on agenda setting and framing are clearly useful theories
national newspapers were still powerful and independ- for understanding day-to-day PR–media interactions
ent figures and, furthermore, the growth of the use of and for exploring the contests to influence the produc-
PR by all kinds of organisations meant that journalists tion of media content. But what if the relationship was
were in a position to select from a large number of less of an exchange or a power struggle, but was instead
well-pitched story ideas. Although journalists work- more of a free-flowing circuit of interaction and influ-
ing for national newspapers may retain much of their ence, with no visible joins or borders between the two
power, in other types of media the journalists could be industries? This final section will look at the process
said to hold much more subservient roles. For example, that arises out of the actions initiated by organisa-
in the entertainment industry where it was revealed tions who believe the media is powerful, and because
during the proceedings of the Leveson Inquiry into of this power they place considerable effort in trying
the culture, practices and ethics of the press, the high to influence the media, so much effort that they begin
proportion of stories that appear in celebrity-focused to mirror or internalise the media’s logics, values and
magazines that are pre-agreed – that is to say a process assumptions.
of copy approval took place where the PR representa- Mediatisation theory can broadly be separated
tive would have the right to see the story before it was into an institutional and a social-constructivist tra-
printed and be able to suggest changes they wanted dition (Hepp and Krotz 2014). The focus here is the
to see, or withdraw the magazine’s right to print the institutional paradigm which assumes the media are
interview. The editors of Hello! and OK! magazines
told the inquiry that between 70 and 80 per cent of
celebrity stories or interviews were pre-agreed with PR
representatives (Leveson Inquiry 2012). This strongly
suggests that, in contrast to the independence of the
national news media, PR practitioners can exert high
degrees of control over journalists working for enter-
tainment and celebrity-focused magazines (see also
Chapter 27 ‘Celebrity public relations’).
A combination of structural changes to the PR and
media industries is leading many to believe that PR
is increasingly able to exert high levels of influence
over journalists. These changes are driven by con-
tinuing growth in the employment of PR practitioners
by large organisations, but also by the realisation by
smaller organisations that good media relations strat- Picture 2.2 The fragmentation of media has led many to
egies might allow them to punch above their weight. believe that PR practitioners have an assertive role (source:
At the same time there has been a decline in editorial Thinglass/Shutterstock)

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 32 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

a network of independent social institutions that oper- people and organisations will adapt to their logic (Alt-
ate according to their own sets of rules and practices. heide and Snow 1979). In many modern societies the
Together these rules constitute media logic. Organisa- ability to secure media attention is a vital component
tions will need to understand and make compromises of potential influence, so PR practitioners across vari-
with media logic if they want to be recognised and ous sectors, but particularly those who wish to influence
attain media coverage of their brand or issue. There is public opinion on issues and policies, place a high value
also the social-constructivist paradigm, which places on publicity initiatives and building relationships with
the media as holding a ubiquitous presence in everyday journalists. They do so in the understanding that their
life and as such the media have become central to the competitors are seeking to implement a similar strategy
social construction of reality. As Hjarvard summarises, and that to be successful their events and news content
overall mediatisation can be defined as ‘the process need to conform to the logic of their target media (Blum-
whereby culture and society to an increasing degree ler and Gurevitch 1996).
become dependent on the media and their logic in that Some caution is required. There could never be a
the media have become integrated into the operations single unified media logic, one that applied equally to
of other social institutions as a consequence [. . . ] all media institutions in all situations. Also, it would be
social interactions [. . . ] increasingly take place via the unwise to assume all PR practitioners work for organi-
media’ (Hjarvard 2013: 17). sations who will always automatically bend to media
logic, not least because their organisation and the sec-
tor within which it is located, is likely to also hold their
Institutional mediatisation and own needs and logic.
One important area for studying this issue has been
media logic in assessing how the logics of the media and of politics
Institutional mediatisation is primarily concerned with intermittently clash or harmonise with each other. In
understanding the rules and routines that underpin politics, the primary focus is on issues and problems
media practice and how organisations and social institu- that face society, with processes and motivations cen-
tions adapt themselves in order to fit in with media logic. tred on potential solutions and the need to gain legiti-
PR practitioners can be conceptualised as boundary macy for a chosen path of action (Patterson 1993). In
spanners who attempt to harmonise and reconcile the any country, Strömbäck (2008) has argued that the
logic and needs of their own organisations to the logic degree to which politics has been mediatised depends
and the needs of the media. Because media coverage on four factors: 1) how far the media are the most
is frequently viewed as a vital component in any issue important source of information on political issues; 2)
campaign or branding exercise, PR is at the forefront of the level of media independence from political control;
accommodating the logic of news values, editorial rou- 3) the degree to which the media themselves accept
tines and journalistic techniques for storytelling. Indeed, political logic when reporting on issues; 4) conversely,
this is an important way of conceptualising the media’s the degree to which politicians believe they need to
power over PR: the media are powerful exactly because bend to media logic to be successful.

Mini case study 2.1 working in two organisations: the Norwegian Ministry
of Justice and the Directorate of Immigration.

How mediatisation The researchers identified four characteristics of a pro-

impacts on the work of cess of intensifying mediatisation of the working lives of
civil servants. The first characteristic was an adaptation
civil servants in Norway to the rhythm of news. Interaction with journalists has
become part of the normal daily routine of civil serv-
ants. In contrast to some of the long-term projects that
Research in Norway (Thorbjørnsrud et al. 2014) has civil servants are working on, journalists are typically
found how media logic transfers, initially via the PR and working to tight deadlines and expect a quick response
communications department, and alters the daily prac- to their requests. Attending to these urgent deadlines
tices, routines and priorities of civil servants. The study meant that other important tasks would be delayed
focused on the daily working practices of civil servants and, even though civil servants would initially ask the

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 33

journalists to speak to the PR team, they would still be civil servants see the media as vital in managing their
needed if the journalist required a detailed briefing own reputation or issue campaigns. Consequently, this
on a policy or set of statistics. Because the needs of belief in the legitimacy and significance of the news
the media were being attended to daily, pressure was media leads to the fourth characteristic, the realloca-
exerted on the civil servants to come up with ideas for tion of resources and responsibilities. Most obviously this
positive news stories about the work of their organisa- has resulted in increasing financial and time resources
tion. The second characteristic was the visible adapta- being devoted to media relations. But, this effect also
tion of the language and format of news. News writing manifests itself in changes to the personal skill sets seen
is typically short form and favours simplicity, use of as important for senior civil service jobs, such as the
everyday language and is centred on personalised sto- ability to work quickly in order to respond to fast-mov-
ries and narratives. In contrast, following the logic of ing 24-hour news cycles. The research also tells us that
good governance, civil servants are orientated towards if an issue is gaining a lot of media attention, this issue
correctly following procedures and producing compre- becomes a priority, not just for PR staff, but for non-
hensive documents full of information and often using communications civil servants who will prioritise the
technical or legalistic language in order to be compli- issue over others. For example, when the media take
ant with legislative requirements. In order to improve an interest in an individual immigration case involving a
the daily interactions with journalists, media training family, this would be brought to the front of the queue
is organised for civil servants by their PR colleagues for attention, raising the prospect that the decision on
and this has started to impact on their style of writing, immigration status might result in a different o ­ utcome
often adopting journalistic styles when communicat- than the one likely if there had been no media interest.
ing directly with the public. The third characteristic is
a belief in the significance of news. In this instance civil Source: Thorbjørnsrud, K., T. U. Figenschou and
servants, politicians and communications staff accept Ø. Ihlen, (2014). Operationalizing mediatization:
and invite the media to carry out its democratic func- A typology of mediatization in public bureaucracies.
tion of being a watchdog scrutinising the work of Communications: The European Journal of Communication
government. But, also the politicians with power over Research, 39(1), 3–22

Mediatisation is an overarching theoretical concept way a neutral or objective process – power is a constant
which can be used to study any of the relationships and variable when attempting to understand PR’s interac-
interactions between media and PR, as well as how these tion with the social world. Some PR practitioners work
relate to cultural or technological change in society. As for powerful organisations with a high profile; oth-
seen in this section, the continual process of mediated ers work for smaller organisations who may need to
social change has prompted organisations to draw on engage, sometimes reluctantly, with powerful media
PR expertise to understand how they might be able to institutions. As Bentele and Nothaft (2008: 36) sum-
accommodate media logic. The role the media play in marise: ‘While one organisation may be very powerful
social change also applies to: how it extends human and able to impose its own rules on journalists, another
communication capacity with increasing time and space; organisation may find it necessary to make concessions
the manner in which the media substitute social activi- in order to attract any journalistic attention at all.’ This
ties such as online banking in place of high street banks, could lead to a belief that there exists in some form
or apps for internet chat replacing face-to-face conver- a mutually influential relationship between PR prac-
sation; and the amalgamation or merger of media and titioners and journalists, although caution is required
non-media activities such as jogging and listening to the as there is no reason to believe this in any way trans-
radio, or watching TV while simultaneously discussing lates into constituting a balanced or mutually beneficial
TV on a social media platform (Schulz 2004). relationship, or indeed, one that might meet normative
Through the combination of the information sub- expectations of producing media content that informs
sidy and the relentless activism and creativity of PR or empowers citizens in a democracy.
practitioners, it could be argued that the mainstream Finally, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, digital
media have become dependent on PR. Mediatisation technology and social media are transforming jour-
suggests this comes at the cost to organisations of privi- nalism and public relations. A glimpse into the chang-
leging media conceptions of what constitutes a news ing methods of media and PR content ­production,
story (news values), and the best timing of an event discussed in Box 2.3, suggests that a chapter on PR
(news routines). But, this process should not be in any and the media may look very d ­ ifferent in the future.

M02 Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication 21745.indd 33 23/10/2020 04:49
 34 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Box 2.3 on game statistics and a set of stock phrases (van Dalen
2012). Significantly Clerwall (2014) found that readers
were not able to tell apart automated content from
Rise of the robots: ­content written by a human.

how algorithms are ‘Robot PR’

influencing journalism As algorithmic journalism evolves, so we see mirror
trends in PR.
and PR
The PR industry is driven by a need to understand and
interpret shifts in public attitudes and behaviours. Dig-
Although still in its early stages, we can see the emergence ital technology has opened huge flows of potentially
of a wave of automation in the generation of media con- useful data to practitioners, particularly in relation to
tent, and in the way citizens encounter and discursively sentiment expression on social media. Several compa-
interact with PR content. By automation we mean how nies seek to monetise this demand by offering, often
software and technology is used to support, and replace, rather rudimentary, analysis that assists sense-making
the need for human workers. Part of this process is the role of online content, which is then utilised to categorise
of algorithms. citizens into segmented clusters. This has begun to
enable the automation of the creation of media con-
These are rules which tell social media and other digital tent that is targeted and transmitted to individuals. At
apps how to respond to data generated on the inter- the time of writing this chapter (2019), the cosmetic
net; for example, Google and Facebook use algorithms brand Dove tracked tweets that were possible utter-
to determine what content is giving the most promi- ances by females of negative self-esteem, which then
nence on user accounts, often creating filter bubbles automatically generated ‘positive’ advice tweets in
where the algorithm chooses to highlight content and response.
viewpoints which it believes the user already agrees
with or likes. Some examples of this trend are outlined At the level of global geo-politics both the US and R
­ ussian
below. governments have been documented as developing pro-
grammes of ‘online persona management’, or in more
‘Robot journalism’ everyday language, armies of ‘sock puppets’: creating
The news wire service Associated Press (AP) have feasible online personas so that comments and opinions
already begun to publish stories written by ‘robots’. can be posted on newspaper websites that appear to be
Working with a company called Automated Insights, AP from real people.
now uses ‘automation technology’ to regularly convert
financial data in news stories on subjects such as cor- Communicators are also using algorithms alongside
porate results and estimates for future share earnings. ‘nudge’ theories to design online interactions with con-
In 2011 Statsheet began to use algorithms to automati- tent to prompt publics into making ‘better’ decisions in
cally generate stories and baseball match reports based areas such as health and personal finance.

Think about 2.4

Kaku (2014) argues that no one is going to accidentally bad robot’ and before that a ‘not-so-bad robot’. Think about
build a robot, or an algorithm, that wants to rule the world; the quote from Kaku: in what ways will the automation of
for that to happen, first someone would need to build a news and information benefit society, but equally, what are
‘super-bad robot’, before that someone must build a ‘mildly the potential risks or unintended outcomes?

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 Chapter 2 Working with the media 35

Summary the process providing conceptual tools for exploring the

debates around if and how PR is able to influence media
This chapter locates a large proportion of the PR industry content, and in turn, public attitudes to issues or brands.
and its practitioners as holding a close, rather symbiotic When thinking critically about PR and the media this chap-
relationship with the media. Indeed, the line between ‘real’ ter provides tools to support discussions and debates as
journalism and the informational or promotional content to whether their relationship is beneficial or harmful to
produced by PR practitioners is increasingly blurred. It modern, democratic societies. Finally, this chapter briefly
has examined several theoretical approaches for under- considers how both journalism and PR are being shaped
standing the relationship between PR and the media, in by developments in digital technology and social media.

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 CH AP T ER 3 Karen Freberg

Social media for public relations

Source: Kletr/Shutterstock
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
■ identify current global trends, opportunities and challenges in social media within public relations
■ review social media core principles, skills, and expectations for public relations professionals
■ evaluate current areas of specialisation of social media within public relations
■ analyse and apply social media theories and principles into practice
■ explore future trends and best practices for public relations professionals working in social media.

Structure
■ Defining social media ■ Opportunities for public relations professionals
■ Core theories that are utilised in social media and PR ■ Challenges for public relations professionals to
■ Emerging theories and perspectives note

■ Traditional viewpoints on PR for social media ■ Best practices and future considerations

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 38 Part 1 THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Introduction
Social media has transformed public It is at the forefront and focus of some others, engage in crowdsourcing tasks
relations both in terms of research and of the more recognisable campaigns and contribute ideas to solve prob-
in practice. The importance of social as well as crises in the public relations lems, conduct strategic monitoring
media to practice is reflected in the profession. and analytic analysis online, and build
rise of social media research over the Freberg (2016) described social relationships within a community shar-
past decades (Duhé 2015). With each media as providing the ultimate per- ing common interests, investments and
advance that occurs in the social media sonalised online networked hub of needs.
industry, public relations research adapts information, dialogue and relationship The overall purpose of this chapter
and explores these various changes management. Essentially, social media is to outline the key conceptualisations
and discusses the implications this has combines the use of innovative strate- emerging from the literature on social
on the field, society and the practice. gies with digital communication tech- media, how it is integrated within public
Social media has been at the forefront nology platforms, enabling the user relations, main theoretical foundations
of bringing both pain and delight for to share knowledge, engage in digital for social media, and the best practices
brands, organisations and public rela- storytelling through conversations and for public relations professionals to con-
tions professionals over the past decade. visual components, collaborate with sider for the future in social media.

Mini case study 3.1 After the crisis, Nike issued a statement that said, ‘The
quality and performance of our products are of utmost
importance. While this is an isolated occurrence,
we are working to identify the issue.’ (A Blown-Out
Sneaker, An Injured Superstar And A Night To Forget
For Nike n.d.)
Nike is one of the leading global brands in the athletic
market and has established itself as a brand that has inte- With both campaigns, they are ‘crazy’ for different rea-
grated itself not only with its strong product lines, but also sons, and both drew different feelings towards the brand.
iconic campaigns and slogans. The timing of the ‘Crazy’ campaign was an element to
consider, especially considering what happened to Zion
Considering its recent and previous engaging cam- during the basketball game. There were certainly some
paigns with athletes like Serena Williams, Nike wanted to key strategies that took place here.
increase its market share and presence in the female mar-
ket of athletic shoe and apparel market. The commer- First, the overall message and launch of the ‘Crazy ’
cial, which was called ‘Crazy’ (Gallucci n.d.) was released commercial was integrated. While the commercial was
during the Oscars and was voiced by Serena Williams launched officially at the Oscars, the video was also
and focused on identifying certain stereotypes of how uploaded on YouTube and shared across different social
female athletes are portrayed as well as providing words media platforms. Second, not only was this shared by
of empowerment and encouragement to being different, Nike on their channels, but the company utilised their
or in other words, ‘crazy’ as others have labelled these network of athletes (like Serena) to share the video on
athletes who are different. their own networks with their community, which made
them influencers for this campaign. This is an example of
This commercial was indeed released during the Oscars, how building relationships with key publics and influenc-
but it also came right after the crisis that sparked on ers can help amplify the messages in a campaign such
the college basketball floor. Zion Williamson, the as this. In addition, this case resulted not just in a wide-
dominant freshman basketball player from Duke spread viral sensation on social media, but it integrated
University, was injured during the Duke vs. UNC rivalry the various social media components that did significant
game when his Nike shoes fell apart at the seams (Nike damage for Nike as a brand. When brands are in crisis, it
dreams ‘Crazier’ in powerful new Oscars spot | CMO is one thing to handle a small number of critics towards
Strategy – Ad Age n.d.). This caught the attention for the situation which the brand is involved in. However,
most marketing and public relations professionals as a when the situation is live for the world to see and react
hit towards Nike’s overall brand image (Winchel 2019). to on social media, and having high-profile reactions

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 Chapter 3 Social media for public relations 39

(e.g. President Obama) displayed and created into gifs, Here are some questions to consider in both cases:
that raises the situation to a whole other level for the
1. Creative thinking: evaluate the ‘Crazy’ campaign
brand (Zion Williamson’s Ripped Sneaker Puts Nike in a
from a strategic point of view. Do you think this is a
Bad Spot – WSJ n.d.).
good brand move for Nike? What are three things
the company could do to expand this message to
Lastly, this campaign showed how one brand can have
more audiences?
both a hit, as well as a crisis, all at the same time. Yet,
even though the brand took some damage during the 2. Social strategy: with both cases involving Nike, the
shoe crisis with Zion, they were still able to sustain their main content form that was used was video. How
overall brand perception with an empowering message. would these cases turn out if the ‘Crazy’ commercial
It is important to note that the key player in both cases is was just photos and text? Would the Zion Williamson
timing. Time is always a factor in a story, especially those shoe crisis have been as big if it was just a picture?
that emerge on social media, which makes this an impor- Explain and support your perspectives on this.
tant element for public relations professionals to consider 3. Critical thinking: what are the reputation and brand
as they move forward in their careers. implications Nike has in both campaigns?

Defining social media key audiences more effectively across multiple plat-
forms. Industry professionals, scholars, and social
media users have contributed several different defi-
Social media has been at the forefront of bringing
nitions and conceptualisations of the concept of
both pain and delight for brands, non-profit entities,
social media. (Freberg 2016)
academic institutions and organisations over the past
decade across various areas of society and the commu- As presented, disciplines will evaluate and define
nications industry (Allagui and Breslow 2016). It is at social media in different capacities. Yet, each defini-
the forefront and focus of some of the more recognisa- tion focuses on specific elements that are unified across
ble campaigns, as well as becoming a rising area of spe- the board. Social media is also not an area of focus that
cialisation within the academic community. These new is housed in ‘one discipline’. It is a hub area of focus
communication technology tools allow individual users where many different disciplines from the humanities
and organisations to engage with, reach, persuade, and to social sciences come together to explore, discuss and
target key audiences more effectively across multiple elaborate on the growing trends happening in these
platforms. As social media has evolved, it has given rise digital communities and platforms.
to new business practices, technologies and even new
challenges and opportunities (boyd 2015).
Key definitions of social media. In the academic lit-
erature, there are many definitions focused on specific Core theories that are utilised
platforms (Mangold and Faulds 2009), construction
of profiles to build digital connections (boyd and Elli-
in social media and PR
son 2008), and a collection of tools and practices that
Theory needs to be focused on explaining behaviour
emerged from the dot-com crash (boyd 2015). Felix et
as well as being able to predict behavioural actions by
al. (2017: 123) defined social media as ‘an interdisci-
others. Social media theoretical research has been more
plinary and cross-functional concept that uses social
along the lines of applying other theories from other
media (often in combination with other communica-
disciplines rather than solidifying unique and specific
tions channels) to achieve organisational goals by cre-
theories that are applied and integrated within the plat-
ating value for stakeholders’. Freberg (2016) defined
forms themselves.
social media as:
As Taylor and Kent (2010) noted, public relations
Social media provide a personalised, online net- focuses on building relationships and understanding
worked hub of information, dialogue, and relation- between organisations and their key publics. Public
ship management. These new communication relations seeks to create meaning in conversations
technology tools allow individual users and organi- among different parties, which can take place in per-
sations to engage with, reach, persuade, and target son or on social media. Most of the literature that

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