ABSTRACT

This study explores the confluence of moral reasoning and strategic framing in public relations tactics to address cultural variations in national policy debates. While much scholarly attention has been paid to the ways in which news media both represent and misrepresent U.S. Muslims through the ways stories are framed, much less work has been devoted to Muslim self-framing in public discourse, and its implications for public relations theory. To address this gap in understanding the ways some Muslim Americans use public relations as a tool of self-representation, this study examines more than 700 press releases issued by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) during the first year of the Donald Trump presidency. Using Moral Foundations Theory to operationalize the moral evaluations present in the frames, this study found four strategic frames: Islamophobia reactions, legal responses, public sphere engagement, and interfaith solidarity. It also examines the calls to action employed in the press releases. The findings show that the press release as a public relations tactic served as a critical venue for emphasizing individual rights and participation in public life through the deployment of moral language.

摘要

本研究探讨了公共关系策略中道德推理和战略框架的融合，以解决国家政策辩论中的文化差异。虽然学术界对新闻媒体通过故事的框架方式来代表和歪曲美国穆斯林的方式给予了很多关注，但很少有工作致力于公共话语中的穆斯林自我框架及其对公共关系理论的影响。为了解决在理解一些穆斯林美国人使用公共关系作为自我表达工具的方式方面的差距，本研究审查了美国伊斯兰关系委员会 (CAIR) 在唐纳德特朗普总统执政的第一年发布的 700 多份新闻稿。总统职位。使用道德基础理论来操作框架中存在的道德评价，这项研究发现了四个战略框架：伊斯兰恐惧症反应、法律反应、公共领域参与和宗教间团结。它还检查了新闻稿中使用的号召性用语。研究结果表明，新闻稿作为一种公共关系策略，是通过道德语言的部署来强调个人权利和参与公共生活的重要场所。