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Book Review: Visual citizenship: Communicating political opinions and emotions on social media Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-09-18 Alison Stieven-Taylor
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Special issue of Public Relations Inquiry Public Relations in the Middle East and North Africa: Critical Perspectives Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-09-01 Ahmed Farouk Radwan, Fatima Barakji, Jairo Lugo-Ocando
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Special issue of Public Relations Inquiry PR and Social Justice: Interdisciplinary Reflections and Future Directions on the Impact of Public Relations and Promotional Communication on Human Rights and Social Inequalities Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-31 Lee Edwards, E Ciszek, Jenny Hou, Kate Fitch
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A radical agenda for public relations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-08-14 Kate Fitch, Alenka Jelen, Kristin Demetrious
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A political economy of communication analysis of PRNEWS: Intern status, skills, and conflict within the public relations industry Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-07-20 Joseph Giomboni
A textual analysis of PR News was conducted to understand the evolution of internship programs and explore how the industry articulates, rationalizes, and positions these workers as valuable sources of labor. This study featured articles about interns who were primarily participating in internships at colleges and universities in a U.S. context to consider the range of positions and professional development
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Selling schools: U.S. educational publicity in the early twentieth century Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-06-21 Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen
This article explores educational public relations by analyzing publicity material that urged public school administrators and educators to adopt formal public relations programs in the 1920s and 1930s. This moment represents a critical juncture for the United States’ public schools, and understanding the motivations behind the push for publicity programs can help us better understand the diverse contexts
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All the city’s a stage: Greenpeace, #VWDarkside, and the popular appeals of urban climate activism Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-05-30 Derek Moscato
Through the lens of Kenneth Burke’s dramatistic pentad, this study examines the role of the city as a consequential forum for environmental activists—providing efficient and dynamic platforms of expression and contestation and opportunities for public communication outreach. Building on the view of urbanist Jane Jacobs that cities only reach their democratic potential when they are inclusive, responsive
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Towards new directions in public relations activism and advocacy research Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-05-28 Alenka Jelen, Kristin Demetrious, Kate Fitch
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The origins of public relations in Greece: Tracing the missing link and excavating landmark cases Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-04-27 Prodromos Yannas, Amalia Triantafillidou
The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical narrative tracing precedents of Greek Public Relations (PR) practice as far back as the organizing of mega events in mid-nineteenth century culminating in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. The analysis documents that PR activities are interwoven with Greek governments’ initiatives aimed at tourism promotion. The paper is based on
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Book Review: Consumer Activism Promotional Culture and Resistance Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-03-25 Vassilis Charitsis
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Responsibility, sustainability, or environmental justice? Strategic communication and evolving expectations for stewardship and citizenship Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-22 Luke Capizzo, Monique Luisi
This conceptual paper analyzes the definitions and the explicit and implicit relationships among Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and environmental justice. We explore their roles in public relations theory and practice. Furthermore, we suggest a path for articulating justice and equity more explicitly for future ESG communication. This synthesis
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Don’t say “the D word”: Exploring death taboo and biopower in pregnancy loss awareness advocacy Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-16 Sarah A. Aghazadeh
Public relations (PR) has explored a host of taboo and stigma riddled health topics to understand the role of communication and advocacy to improve wellbeing. However, PR scholarship has not sufficiently investigated taboo as a mechanism of social control within sociocultural theory or the role of the discipline in shaping meanings about death and bereavement. As a step in this endeavor, this study
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Undergraduate public relations education in the United Kingdom: Quo Vadis? Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-13 Michal Chmiel, Raluca Moise
In the current context of the undergraduate PR academic education in the United Kingdom degrees being shut down or merged with other communication disciplines, the present essay represents a timely reflection on the results and internal incoherence of PR education provision in the United Kingdom. Starting from the key idea that public relations is a mature occupation and academic social discipline
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Challenge or resist dominant discourses: Authenticity as a strategic component of activist public relations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-02-09 Naíde Müller
Although there is evidence that perceived authenticity has a positive impact on corporate reputation, the implications of authenticity in activist communication for social change have not been addressed. Within a sociocultural theoretical approach this paper provides an ethnographic account of how and why human rights activists enact authenticity and aims to better understand the implications of authenticity
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All creatures great and small: Faith, spirituality, environmental-animal rights activism and public relations as covenantal stewardship Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2024-01-16 Donn J Tilson
This study extends the historical record of faith/spirituality-inspired social activism, an under-explored area of advocacy, by examining such campaigning for environmental and animal rights and the worldview and model of public relations that guide such efforts. A combination of qualitative methods was used to obtain data on public relations as conceptualized and practiced including a textual analysis
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Examining the characteristics and virtues associated with servant leadership in public relations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-03-17 Marlene S Neill, Juan Meng
Are servant leadership and ethics of care being practiced by public relations leaders? This study involved in-depth interviews with 32 public relations leaders working in a variety of organizationa...
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Quintus Cicero’s Commentariolum petitionis: The importance of personal relationships and clientship in the history of public relations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-02-11 César García
This paper is about the importance of personal relationships in the history of public relations. It suggests that clientship and exchange of favors were at the core of the history of public relatio...
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Curating conversations in times of transformation: Convergence in how public relations and journalism are “Doing” communication Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2023-01-28 Franzisca Weder, C. Kay Weaver, Lars Rademacher
Purpose: In an era of networked production of the public sphere and with the arrival of new communicator roles such as citizen journalists, influencers and bloggers, the “old” roles and professions...
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Voicing an identity: Unpacking the identity sources of member voicing Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-11-28 Emma Christensen
The communication of nonnominated members who voluntarily disseminate organization-supportive messages on their social media platforms has become a central topic in the field of public relations. W...
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The female chief communication officer: An exploration into her leadership traits Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Breann Murphy
This study uses leadership theory, specifically leadership styles, to explore the leadership traits female Chief Communication Officers (CCOs) believe they exhibit. A qualitative, phenomenological ...
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Opening spaces for researching feminism and public relations: Perspectives from Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-06-23 Kate Fitch, Treena Clark, Kiranjit Kaur, Deborah N. Simorangkir, Rizwanah Souket
Drawing on communication, feminist studies and public relations scholarship, this interdisciplinary paper contributes to feminist perspectives on public relations in order to draw attention to the ...
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Organizational stigma: A complementary approach to individuating evaluation of organizations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-05-26 Ivy Wai-Yin Fong
Mainstream Public Relations literature concerns primarily with individuating, positive evaluation of organizations, such as relationship or reputation management. Comparatively, limited attention h...
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Empowering and Examining Voice: Marking the 10th Year of Public Relations Inquiry and Contextualizing the Latin American PR Special Issue Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-05-16 Damion Waymer
While European and United States approaches to public relations are lumped together often as “Western” approaches, I would like to highlight a distinction. Public relations scholars in the United States were not traditionally granted the academic space like many of our European counterparts to engage on critical matters because we do not share the long-standing history and rich legacy of critical,
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‘I’m a PR person. Let’s just deal with it.’ Managing intersectionality in professional life Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-04-16 Lee Edwards
A key focus of intersectional research is to engage with the power dynamics resulting from the sameness/difference paradox that Crenshaw (1991) originally identified in Black women’s legal status. ...
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Book Review: Byung-Chul Han, Undinge: Umbrüche der Lebenswelt No cosas: Quiebras del mundo de hoy Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-04-06 César García
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Examining the role of social media, employee voice, and the National Football League’s organizational response to NFL athlete racial justice protests Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-25 Natalie Brown-Devlin
During Summer 2020, the murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests for racial justice, as collective voices insisted that organizations express a commitment to racial equity. Following a dis...
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Factors affecting turnover intentions among Millennial public relations professionals: The Latin American case Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-25 Angeles Moreno, Cristina Navarro, Cristina Fuentes-Lara
As the Millennial generation becomes the largest generation of the global workforce, it is vital that organizations understand Millennials’ work values, motivational factors, and expectations to ad...
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Strategic topics and main professional trends in public relations: Results from 19 Latin American countries Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-25 Alejandro Álvarez-Nobell, Juan Carlos Molleda, Andréia Silveira Athaydes
Although Latin America has a long history of well-established academic development and public relations professionals, multiple North American and European conceptualizations and trends still prevail in theoretical debates and professional practices. Nevertheless, a series of international studies sponsored by the EUPRERA and a broad network of researchers, universities, and local professional associations
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Quantitative analysis of the convergence between public relations and sustainability: Application in Ecuadorian, Colombian, and Chilean businesses Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-24 Ana María Durán, Melita Vega, Caroline Avila, Pablo Matus, Jaime Alberto Orozco-Toro
The present study examines the relationship between public relations management and sustainability in large companies in Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile through an analysis of the results of an online survey of 96 in-house executives who were asked about five key management variables at their companies. The authors propose indicators that enable the measurement of the convergence between these two areas
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Organizational listening and its implementation in the Chilean multi-store sector Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-23 Cecilia Claro M
The following article addresses how organizational listening is being carried out in five Chilean retail institutions. Through a methodological analysis that combines a mixed character through semi-structured interviews with the application of questionnaires and document analysis, it attempts to establish whether and how customers and collaborators of these companies are being listened to. The above
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Trust as a contextual variable for public relations: Reflections from Latin America Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-22 Claudia Labarca, Constanza Mujica
This conceptual paper contends, considering the Latin American context, that public relations as a discipline and practice needs to address the relevance of trust in understanding of and theorizing on public relations practice. Furthermore, it hopes to critically address the current gap within the academic literature by placing generalized and institutional trust as key contextual variables in the
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Disciplinary approaches and theories in Argentinian public relations undergraduate programmes Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-18 Gabriel Sadi, Maria Aparecida Ferrari
The purpose of this study is to verify the utilisation of the existing public relations general approaches and theories at a global scale in the public relations undergraduate programmes of the five leading Argentinian universities. A qualitative approach with an exploratory scope that employs data collection techniques such as the qualitative content analysis of academic documents, semi-structured
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Evolution of the public relations profession in Latin America: A brief review of the development of public relations in Latin American countries Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-17 Ana-María Suárez-Monsalve
This paper reviews the historical background of public relations and its development in Latin America in order to understand the evolution and current state of this profession. The questions are how has the academic study of public relations evolved, and what is the current state of the modern public relations profession in Latin America? The following is an explanation of how the academic development
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Some reflections left over from the work of editing a special issue on public relations in Latin America Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-03-05
In 2019, several public relations scholars from Latin America developed the idea to present a panel at the International Communication Association (ICA) focused on current trends within Latin American PR theory and practice. Unsurprisingly, we were told at the time that was the first initiative of the kind within the PR division. So, following that ICA panel, we decided to push the boundary further
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Organizational activism undertaken and its ramifications faced by public relations practitioners, examined through the lens of postmodernism Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-01-27 Soumitro Sen
In mainstream public relations, the word “activist” has a negative connotation of one who disrupts an organization’s financial well-being. This is because mainstream public relations takes a modernist stance that valorizes the organization’s interests above all else. Postmodern scholars such as Holtzhausen (2012), however, urge public relations practitioners themselves to take an activist stance when
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Rethinking political PR: A theoretical framework towards supporting social integration in the UK Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2022-01-19 Sarah A Okour
Political, social and demographic change has resulted in a search for new techniques for building public trust and reconciling relationships between the Muslim community and others in society. In this study, extremism and social cohesion have been chosen as potential new aims for the PR industry. This study assesses whether political PR can be diverted from its role in spin doctoring towards new cultural
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Political public relations within foreign affairs: Ireland’s public diplomacy campaign for a security council seat Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-12-21 Phillip Arceneaux
This study investigates the storytelling discourse in Ireland’s public diplomacy campaign to win a seat on the UN Security Council. It dissects public relations materials to ascertain what system, identity, and issue narratives constructed the narrative component of Ireland’s UNSC campaign. Results of a strategic narrative analysis suggest Ireland built the campaign around themes of Empathy, Partnership
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Calm the farm or incite a riot? Animal activists and the news media: A public relations case study in agenda-setting and framing Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-11-25 Deborah K Williams, Catherine J Archer, Lauren O’Mahony
The ideological differences between animal activists and primary producers are long-standing, existing long before the advent of social media with its widespread communicative capabilities. Primary producers have continued to rely on traditional media channels to promote their products. In contrast, animal activists have increasingly adopted livestreaming on social media platforms and ‘direct action’
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Dealing with disappointment: How can a ‘coexisting imperatives’ view help us understand the unfulfilled dialogical promise of digital media Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-09-22 Andrés Shoai
The association between the concept of dialogue and the expansion of digital media in public relations started as a theoretical ‘promise’ and was later followed by a feeling of disappointment. This article argues that the dialogic promise of new media was in great measure a consequence of a well-established belief according to which the field was rapidly moving from a ‘functional’ to a ‘cocreational’
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Book Review: Simon Moore, Public Relations and Individuality: Fate, Influence and Autonomy Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-09-01 Chris Galloway
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Does your corporation “care”? Exploring an ethical standard for communicating CSR relationships online Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-07-20 Virginia S Harrison
A qualitative content analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) webpages of top-ranked corporations was conducted to determine the ethical nature of online communications surrounding nonprofit partnerships. Are corporations giving nonprofits their fair share of online publicity? All CSR-related webpages from the top 30 Fortune’s 500 Most Admired Corporations for 2017 were examined. Ethical
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Deep canvassing: Persuasion, ethics, democracy and activist public relations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-07-20 Kristin Demetrious
In the run up to the 2020 US presidential elections, some activist groups promoted the practice of ‘deep canvassing political persuasion’ as an inclusive, values-based communication strategy, to turn Trump voters favourably towards left leaning or progressive agendas. Deep canvassing emphasises non-judgemental listening to voters’ stories and emotions, in order to avoid any threat that voters may feel
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Discordant storytelling, ‘honest fakery’, identity peddling: How uncanny CGI characters are jamming public relations and influencer practices Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-06-25 Elena Block, Rob Lovegrove
This article critically explores whether and how computer-generated imagery (CGI) characters are jamming public relations and influencer practices. We use Miquela, a virtual character with 3 million Instagram followers as a case study. We examine Miquela’s (and her creators’) communication strategies to identify what makes her so appealing to postmillennial audiences, luxury and indie brands, and civil
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Strategic problematization of sustainability reframing dissent in strategic communication for transformation Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-06-23 Franzisca Weder
Involving stakeholders in organizational decisions is essential in the present sustainability movement, associated with the social license to operate and specific forms of communication in, from and about organizations with an impact orientation. This paper introduces a concept of strategic problematization of sustainability for transformation as innovative approach to Public Relations (PR), acknowledging
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Silencing the virus? Government communication and MMR vaccination campaigns – the Australian case Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-12 Roumen Dimitrov
In this paper I analyse a series of Australian MMR (measles-mumpsrubella) vaccination campaigns and policies from the last decade. Using the Bruno Latour’s Actor Network Theory (ATN), I locate human and non-human mediators – including the virus and vaccine – in the complex pro-vaccination alliance led by government campaigners. I identify the vaccine hesitant parents – a large group that ‘sits on the
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“Recovery warriors”: The National Eating Disorders Association’s online community and rhetorical vision Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-12 Sarah A. Aghazadeh
Mental health advocacy organizations play an important role in mitigating stigma and questioning the social norms that can create negative health outcomes. This essay explores how a U.S. advocacy organization attempted to facilitate shared meaning about a stigmatized health issue with its online community via rhetorical vision, or narrative that connects people in shared reality. Through the lens of
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Including the animal standpoint in critical public relations research Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-10 Núria Almiron, Laura Fernández
In this paper we argue that adopting critical animal studies perspectives in critical public relations can not only be very fruitful, but that it is also a necessity if the aims of the latter are to be achieved. To this end, this text introduces the challenges and opportunities that the field of critical animal studies brings to critical public relations studies. First, a short explanation of what
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Editorial Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-10
This issue is broad ranging in topics and approaches tackling those outwith the mainstream as is the purpose of this journal - critical animal studies, marginalised peoples, historical thinking and the use of historical data, the challenges of what used to be called ‘internal public relations’, auto-ethnography and Covid 19.
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Èèwọ̀: Cultural issues mediating the coverage of maternal and child healthcare experiences in the Nigerian press Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-05 Raheemat Adeniran, Ganiyat Tijani-Adenle, Lai Oso
Although the Nigerian government appears committed to improving maternal and child healthcare (MCH), studies consistently show high maternal and child mortality in the country. Studies have also shown that a lack of awareness about symptoms and their severity prevents women from seeking medical attention until complications arise. The media can help address these issues by enlightening and empowering
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When public relations can heal: An embodied theory of silence for public communication Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-05 Cristina Archetti
This article extends the conceptualization of silence in public relations beyond strategic communication. It develops a new theoretical framework to explain the mechanisms through which suffering and pain felt inside the body translate into silence, exclusion from public debate, and communication gaps in health communication. This happens through intermediate steps that involve, among others, the role
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‘Unmentionable’ condoms vs. ‘glamorous’ pills: How the London Rubber Company tackled an image problem in 1960s Britain Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-05 Jessica Borge
This article responds to a special call for papers on the subject of ‘Taboos in Health Communication: Stigma, Silence and Voice’ and presents the historic case study of the London Rubber Company, manufacturers of Durex condoms, who used PR techniques to undermine confidence in the oral contraceptive pill over 1961–1965. It is argued that continuities between the public discussion of birth control products
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Expanding the discussion on internal management of risk communication: A critique of the current risk communication literature Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-05-05 Laura L. Lemon, Matthew S. VanDyke
The purpose of this paper is to build from the infrastructural approach to risk communication, rethink the internal management of risk communication, and critique the current literature’s discussion of how risks emerge, the role of the risk communication manager, and the decentralization of the risk communication function. Some of the risk communication literature is too general in terms of recognizing
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“We’re not treated equally as Indigenous people or as women”: The perspectives and experiences of Indigenous women in Australian public relations Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-04-22 Treena Clark, Shannan Dodson, Nancia Guivarra, Yatu Widders Hunt
This paper argues that the public relations sphere needs to have better understanding and more representation and acknowledgment of Indigenous women’s contemporary experiences and contributions. Indigenous Australian women experience multiple oppressions, such as Eurocentric and patriarchal control and, within the broader areas of Indigenous, women’s, and feminist public relations scholarship, their
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Crisis history and hindsight: A stakeholder perspective on the case of Boeing 737-Max Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-04-21 Wouter Jong, Paula Broekman
This study assesses the so-called effect of crisis history, based on two crashes with the new Boeing 737-Max. While Boeing’s responsibility was not clear cut after the first crash, the developments in the second crash led to a reinterpretation of initial responsibility for the first crash. This reinterpretation intensified the threat on Boeing’s reputation, and raised doubts on the appropriateness
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New insights into crisis communication from an “inside” emic perspective during COVID-19 Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-04-10 Jim Macnamara
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world, requiring emergency management by health authorities and providers, it created flow-on crises and “crisis contagion” for organizations ranging from international airlines and tourism operators to local businesses, schools, and universities. In addition to the risks directly associated with the health emergency, many organizations were plunged into crisis
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Discursive stickiness: Affective institutional texts and activist resistance Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-04-03 Erica Ciszek, Richard Mocarsky, Sarah Price, Elaine Almeida
Pushing the bounds of public relations theory and research, we explore how institutional texts have produced and reified stigmas around gender transgression and how these texts are bound up in moments of activism and resistance. We considered how different discursive and material functions get “stuck” together by way of texts and how this sticking depends on a history of association and institutionalization
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Editorial Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-02-25 Magda Pieczka
As I write this editorial, the end of the extraordinary and testing year 2020 is now very near. Normally, as the editor introducing a new issue of the journal, I highlight the important themes running through the articles collected in the issue and reflect on the scholarship we publish as representing a coherent and orderly processes of inquiry. This issue, however, eludes such discipline. And so,
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Media coverage of the unfolding crisis of domestic terrorism in the United States, 1990–2020 Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-02-23 Diana Zulli, Kevin Coe, Zachary Isaacs, Ian Summers
Public relations research has paid considerable attention to foreign terrorist crises but relatively little attention to domestic ones—despite the growing salience of domestic terrorism in the United States. This study content analyzes 30 years of network television news coverage of domestic terrorism to gain insight into four theoretical issues of enduring interest within the literature on news framing
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Envisioning PR research without taking organizations as collective actors for granted: A rejoinder and extension to Hou Public Relations Inquiry (IF 2.7) Pub Date : 2021-01-18 Alexander Buhmann, Dennis Schoeneborn
In a recent article in Public Relations Inquiry, Jenny Hou has fittingly argued for a stronger focus on agency and actorhood in PR research. We point to two crucial aspects in which we think her arguments need to be extended, namely: (a) embracing the constitutive role of communication for organizational actorhood and agency, and (b) rethinking the role of PR in the constitution of organizational actors