Abstract In 2018, the fracking industry in Colorado embarked on a public relations initiative to defeat Proposition 112, a measure that the industry saw as an existential threat. This study reviewed the messaging used by the fracking industry and its supporters, examining 1,515 text articles (e.g., news accounts, op-eds, etc.) and also 38 Facebook posts from pro-fracking groups. Using Schudson’s (1997) binary framework for public talk, we found that public relations messaging often moved beyond the two realms of problem-solving and sociable messaging. In this case, pro-fracking interests emulated public talk, or conversation, by also offering a blend of problem-solving and sociable talk, what this study calls an “interface” point between Schudson’s binary. This case study found this interface point to be characterized by cohesion messages, or messages that emphasized to audiences that the well-being of fracking operations and Colorado communities were interwoven. This study’s findings point to implications regarding how public relations can attempt to emulate public talk across a spectrum so as to influence democratic deliberation on contemporary issues.

中文翻译：

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对话的模拟：反对 112 号提案的公共关系案例作为说服的范围

摘要 2018 年，科罗拉多州的水力压裂行业启动了一项公共关系计划，以挫败 112 号提案，该提案被行业视为一种生存威胁。本研究回顾了水力压裂行业及其支持者使用的消息传递，检查了 1,515 篇文本文章（例如，新闻帐户、专栏等）以及来自支持水力压裂团体的 38 篇 Facebook 帖子。使用 Schudson (1997) 的公共谈话二元框架，我们发现公共关系消息传递经常超出解决问题和社交消息传递两个领域。在这种情况下，支持水力压裂的兴趣通过提供解决问题和社交谈话的混合来模拟公开谈话或对话，这项研究称之为舒德森二元之间的“接口”点。这个案例研究发现这个接口点的特点是内聚消息，或向观众强调压裂作业和科罗拉多社区的福祉相互交织的信息。这项研究的发现指出了公共关系如何试图模仿跨领域的公共谈话以影响对当代问题的民主审议的影响。