This volume provides a critical look at public relations practice, utilizing case studies from public relations, advertising, and marketing to illustrate the deconstruction and analysis of public relations campaigns. Author Thomas J. Mickey uses a cultural studies approach and demonstrates how it can be used as a critical theory for public relations practice, offering real-world examples to support his argument. Through the interpretive act of deconstruction, this book serves to challenge the myth of public relations as an objective "science," allowing the social importance of public relations to be redefined and encouraging public relations to take a fuller place in the interdisciplinary study of text and knowledge. Intended for public relations scholars and students in public relations cases/campaigns, public relations criticism, and media studies courses, Deconstructing Public Relations: Public Relations Criticism demystifies the act of deconstruction and shows how it can give insight into the theory and practice of public relations.

Critical theory has a long history, but a relatively recent intersection with public relations. This ground-breaking collection engages with commonalities and differences in the traditions, whilst encouraging plural perspectives in the contemporary public relations field. Compiled by a high-profile and widely respected team of academics and bringing together other key scholars from this field and beyond, this unique international collection marks a major stage in the evolution of critical public relations. It will increasingly influence how critical theory informs public relations and communication. The collection takes stock of the emergence of critical public relations alongside diverse theoretical traditions, critiques and actions, methodologies and future implications. This makes it an essential reference for public relations researchers, educators and students around a world that is becoming more critical in the face of growing inequality and environmental challenges. The volume is also of interest to scholars in advertising, branding, communication, consumer studies, cultural studies, marketing, media studies, political communication and sociology.

In this unique book, Thomas Mickey looks at public relations from a humanistic definition that is focused on understanding publics rather than controlling them or predicting their behavior. Most public relations books assume several theories, which are more positivist in their approach, because they view public relations as a science. Sociodrama moves beyond that assumption to take public relations as a form of interaction. In this application of the theory of Sociodrama to public relations, Mickey describes Sociodrama's focus on language as the way to constitute the organization rather than as a tool to get something done. The author explains how the theory of Sociodrama proposes elements and levels of a drama present in our language. His study makes use of 2 qualitative research methodologies: focus groups and Q sorting, with a whole chapter of the book devoted to case studies. Mickey's study allows students to obtain a different view of public relations and makes the reader aware of the drama in the language of the organizations and the language of the public. The practitioner can use the knowledge gained from this book to interact in a way which builds a relationship with the publics, talking with them, and not to them.

Building the Fourth Estate reveals the crucial part played by the Mexican media in the country's remarkable recent political transformation. Based on an in-depth examination of Mexico's print and broadcast media over the last twenty-five years, Chappell Lawson traces the role of the media in that country's move toward democracy, demonstrating the reciprocal relationship between changes in the press and changes in the political system. In addition to illuminating the nature of political change in Mexico, Lawson's findings have broad implications for understanding the role of the mass media in democratization around the world. -- from back cover.

Depending on the source, Julian Assange, the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, is regarded as either a genius or terrorist, and this exploration of the man and the organization seeks to find the truth. Delving into the heart of the business of keeping and leaking secrets, this work shows how the enterprise of WikiLeaks and Assange is shrouded in mystery, but nonetheless, seeks to expose Assange as an intelligence asset tasked with sustaining the global status quo. Through careful analysis, interviews, and scrutiny of the organization as a whole, this inquiry gets to the bottom of the intriguing and mesmerizing story behind WikiLeaks.

Stigma continues to play an integral role in the multifaceted issues facing mental health. While identifying a clear operational definition of stigma has been a challenge in the field, the issues related to stigma grossly affect not only the mental health population but society as a whole. Deconstructing Stigma in Mental Health provides emerging research on issues related to stigma as a whole including ignorance, prejudice, and discrimination. While highlighting issues such as stigma and its role in mental health and how stigma is perpetuated in society, this publication explores the historical context of stigma, current issues and resolutions through intersectional collaboration, and the deconstruction of mental health stigmas. This book is a valuable resource for mental health administrators and clinicians, researchers, educators, policy makers, and psychology professionals seeking information on current mental health stigma trends.

All PR, whether for charities or arms manufacturers, is weak propaganda. Though it has its undeniable benefits (it grabs attention and helps circulate more information), it also has costs (such as selective messaging). This extensively revised edition of a classic text fully investigates PR, updating and expanding earlier arguments and building upon the successful first edition with new thoughts, data and evidence. Thought-provoking and stimulating, Rethinking Public Relations 2nd Edition challenges conventional PR wisdom. It develops the accepted thinking on the most important question facing PR - its relationship with democracy - and finds a balance of advantages and disadvantages which leave a residue of concern. It tackles topical issues such as: PR as a form of propaganda which flourishes in a democracy the connections between PR and journalism the media, promotions culture and persuasion. Designed to appeal to final year undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers studying public relations, media and communications studies, this book explores the most important relationship PR has – the connection with democracy – and asks what benefits or costs it brings to politics, markets and the media.

This book reconfigures the field of public relations so that it can better engage with the changing world of the 21st century. It identifies the virtual absence of contemporary theories that are core in other disciplines and fills the gap by integrating critical, postmodern, poststructural, postcolonial and other relevant theories into public relations. Reconfiguring Public Relations reenergises thinking about diversity through equity and in terms of business enterprise and environmental sustainability. It makes the case for more equitable diversity strategies in an era of increasing globalisation and establishes their relevance to organisational identity and core values. The book clarifies the present by taking a look back at the past and projecting forward to possible futures, including scenarios.

Journalism is in crisis. The rise of the internet through social media and citizen journalism and the financial crisis of 2008 have taken their toll. Thousands of reporters and editors have been laid off; nightly news on the major networks is losing close to one million viewers a year; newspapers have seen declining ad revenues and circulation figures cut in half; and the old business model for newspapers based on advertising and subscriptions appears to be collapsing. Filling the void is commentary, punditry, and even bigotry. It may have an audience, but it's not journalism in the professional sense: a commitment to objectivity and a separation of news and opinion. At this important juncture in the evolution of journalism, Media Smackdown takes a close look at the history of the news media in America in order to address the historical, legal, economic, theoretical, and political issues that affect the practice as well as the changing face and future of journalism.

As media continues to evolve, social media has become even more integral to public relations activities, presenting new opportunities and challenges for practitioners. Relationships between publics and organizations continue to be first and foremost, but the process and possibilities for mutually beneficial relationships are being rewritten in situ. This volume aims to explore and understand highly engaged publics in a variety of social media contexts and across networks. The hope is the expansion and extension of public relations theories and models in this book helps move the discipline forward to keep up with the practice and the media environment. Contributors analyzed a range of organizations and industries, including corporate, entertainment, government, and political movements, to consider how public relations practitioners can facilitate ethical and effective communication between parties. A consistent thread was the need for organizations and practitioners to better understand the diverse backgrounds of publics, including age, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, beyond surface-level demographic stereotypes and assumptions. This book will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the field of public relations and communication, especially those with a particular interest in online engagement and social media as a PR tool.