journal article
Download Only Collection
Home
2005 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1207/s1532754xjprr1701_3
Symmetrical public relations theory acknowledges primacy of the dominant coalition in making organizational decisions and influencing public relations practices but reveals little about this powerful inner circle. Drawing from interviews with 21 public relations executives, this article opens up the dominant coalition and reveals its complex power relationships and a matrix of constraints that undermine and limit the function, rendering it difficult for practitioners to do the "right" thing, even if they want to. If public relations is to better serve society, professionals and academics may need to embrace an activist role and combine advocacy of shared power with activism in the interest of shared power.
2005 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1207/s1532754xjprr1701_4
In this case study, the contamination of the world food supply with genetically modified (GM) corn in 2000 by the transnational corporation, Aventis CropScience, provides the context for considering how theory and practice can be adapted to support a more dialogue-based approach to public relations. As a poststructural alternative, Giddens's theory of structuration is presented as a paradigmatic alternative to the traditional functionalism that is evident in the Aventis public relations experience.
2005 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1207/s1532754xjprr1701_5
Critical public relations scholarship is increasingly required to justify the contribution that is made to theory and practice. Within this article, an integrated political economy and discourse analysis is deployed to examine a progenetic engineering advocacy campaign conducted by the Life Sciences Network in New Zealand. The analysis demonstrates the value of examining the sociopolitical contexts in which public relations operates and the discourses that it seeks to produce or influence and thus provides a constructive foundation for further critical research.
2005 Journal of Public Relations Research
doi: 10.1207/s1532754xjprr1701_6
This article examines the process of symmetrical communication, as described by J. E. Grunig, through the critical lens of the concept of hegemony. The practice of symmetrical communication is commonly considered to be the model for excellent and ethical public relations. However, this article questions the ethics of a process that is often one of compromise to deflect criticism and maintain power relations rather than one of open, collaborative negotiation.
Showing 1 to 6 of 6 Articles