Journal of Public Relations Research

Sweetser, Kaye D.; English, Kristin; Fernandes, Juliana

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.976824

Contributing to the development of digital political public relations scholarship, this study examines the political organization–public relationship cultivated via social media. Using Twitter as a vehicle, this posttest-only experimental design looked at whether interaction with a political organization facilitated a relationship. Furthermore, the study examined whether that relationship might manifest into political support. Results indicate active engagement (tweeting at an organization), even for a short term, increases the sense that there is a real conversational exchange, enhancing the organization–public relationship. Internal political disposition such as political cynicism, political information efficacy, or strength of ideology in some cases can help predict organization–public relationship.

Place, Katie R.

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.976825

This qualitative study examined the role of ethics in public relations evaluation and the ethical issues that complicate the evaluation process. Findings suggest that the role of ethics in evaluation is integral, centered on truth, focused on benefiting an organization's publics or, in contrast, irrelevant. Ethical issues regarding evaluation include manipulation of evaluation data and use of tainted data to persuade clients or publics. This study further exposes an ethical conflict where professionals prioritize duty, truthfulness, and precision, yet face constraints on their ethical autonomy or selectively represent evaluation data to cultivate client relationships or corporate image. Increased sensitivity to online contexts and descriptive theorizing of ethics are needed.

Kinsky, Emily S.; Drumheller, Kristina; Gerlich, R. Nicholas; Brock-Baskin, Meagan E.; Sollosy, Marc

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.976826

Lowe's decision to pull advertising from All-American Muslim and Susan G. Komen for the Cure's announcement of new granting criteria impacting Planned Parenthood prompted angry outcries, as well as apologies, on social media. Through 2 online surveys, this study gauges people's thoughts about purchasing from or donating toward the organization in crisis and discusses the use of online apologies. Attitudes and social norms held the most sway over respondents’ reported intentions to donate or buy. We suggest a paradigm shift in how social media have expanded the referent others to whom people listen and about whose reactions people care.

Olsson, Eva-Karin; Nord, Lars W.; Falkheimer, Jesper

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.976827

If well managed, crises do not only pose a threat to political actors but also provide opportunities to show action, strengthening credibility and launching new policies. Within the field of crisis communication, research has primarily taken an interest in the rhetorical strategies of actors when explaining successes or failures. In this article, we examine key characteristics of what we refer to as crisis exploitation coverage in the news media. We do so based on a comparative quantitative study of 3 crisis cases (terror, floods, and financial crisis) selected due to their differences in journalistic routines and preparedness. The results of the study revealed that the similarities in the cases were more pronounced than their differences. All three cases showed high levels of descriptive journalism and issue framing in combination with unbalanced reporting—characteristics that were all favorable toward the governmental actors in charge of managing the crisis.

Yang, Sung-Un; Kang, Minjeong; Cha, Heewon

2015 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2015.1007998

Although there is a wide range of discussion on dialogic communication, or dialogue, in the field of public relations, little research has dealt with the empirical measurement of organization–public dialogue. The primary purpose of this study was to test the proposed scale for measuring organization–public dialogic communication (OPDC). Additionally, this study aimed to demonstrate the link between dialogic communication and trust/distrust between organizations studied and their publics. For the research purpose, two anonymous online surveys were used to collect the data. The participants were American consumers randomly selected from a representative research panel of online survey participants (N = 704). According to the results, the proposed 2-factor, 28-item scale of OPDC was valid and reliable. Also, for further empirical validation, this study found that the proposed scale of OPDC is significantly related to public trust and distrust. Given the scarcity of the empirical research on OPDC, the results of this study can contribute to further research in communication management.