| 1. |
- Nothhaft, Camilla, et al.
(författare)
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Public Relations: Rules, Gamesmanship and the Professional Project : Why Academics Must Confront the Realities of Practice
- 2013
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Ingår i: Trust and the New Realities : Proceedings of the 20th International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom - Proceedings of the 20th International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom. ; , s. 23-33
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- ‘Some textbooks treat PR as though it is a branch of moral philosophy. Such an approach leaves most PR practitioners bemused and is of limited practical use.’ (Morris & Goldsworthy 2012, 41) The grand narrative of the public relations-field in the 20th and 21st century arguably is that of professionalization. The story presented by professional associations and academics alike tells of a practice that, in the course of the 20th century, groped its way out of the darkness of unethical, undemocratic manipulative tactics into the light of a mature understanding, where strict adherence to values such as transparency, honesty, integrity etc. is recognized as the only viable long-term strategy. Professional associations, such as the PRSA in the U.S., the CIPR in the U.K., the DPRG in Germany or Sveriges Kommunikatörer in Sweden, assure us that professional behaviour in PR is not only desirable? but is the key to success. Almost without exception academic framings of PR, theories, first and foremost through Excellence Theory, argues along the same lines and such are reproduced, in spirit or letter, in the majority of academic textbooks. Now on the 20th BledCom conference, we may assume the teenage years of academic reflection about public relations are over. It is time to ask whether “doing it by the book” – be it textbook, guidebook or whitebook – really is the key to success in public relations? The core proposition of this paper is that it is not - or at least not in the straightforward way commonly suggested. We argue that the officially sanctioned discourse about public relations and its resonance in academic textbooks is to a degree disconnected from the realities of the practice, and perhaps deliberately so. Thus we challenge the way professional associations present the link between professionalism and success as self-evident. While the connection, in principle, might hold for, say, dentists or pilots, we see reasons to believe that it does not hold for PR practitioners. We develop our reasons by pursuing the three indirect lines of investigation: First, our paper contrasts the official expositions of ‘what PR does’ with recent non-fiction insider accounts or authorized media portraits of senior practitioners. The controversy that followed in the wake of e.g. Tim Burt’s Dark Art, for example, demonstrated that the onus is on the defenders of the professionalism-equals-success paradigm to prove that the (unethical? Unprofessional?) practices mentioned are both rare or exceptional and are in fact negatively connected with success. Persistent attempts to brand outstandingly successful practitioners as black sheep are becoming less and less convincing.Second, we contrast the "official" versions of PR practice with fictional representations of PR that appear in popular culture. For this study we have taken examples from novels written by UK writers, some of whom who are or have been PR practitioners themselves (Graham Lancaster, David Michie, Michael Shea etc). To be effective, fictional representations must resonate with the framings used by their audiences (who may not have actual experience of PR practice); thus we can argue that fictional accounts can more closely reflect the true nature of PR practice than the idealised picture painted by professional associations. (Furthermore, it may be the case that fictitional accounts are influenced, even inspired, by practitioner biographies, such as Alastair Campbell’s diaries or Max Clifford’s third person autobiography, Read All About It). The third part provides a game-theoretical argument. We believe the only valid argument put forward by professional associations centres on a supposed long term strategy: PR practitioners might be tempted to cut corners, professional associations seem to argue, but they are ultimately dissuaded from doing so because of possible reputational damage such behaviours might bring. We point out that this argument, when modelled from a game-theoretical and population-ecological perspective, holds water only under certain circumstances. We wish to discuss what the circumstances are and seriously question whether they are prevalent in current PR practice. Our contribution constitutes first and foremost an exploration of the professionalism-success-divide. The reason to pursue the matter leads back to academia, however. Our suspicion is that many of the problems PR academics face – such as limited acceptance by practitioners, continuous doubts about the value of ‘studying PR’ – are due to our inability, or unwillingness, to face up to the divide. It will be recognised then that this paper is not a condemnation of PR practitioners, rather it is a plea for PR academics to stop writing between the lines to locate their discussions with greater candour and a more robust appreciation of real world behaviours. We must come to the point where students no longer have to read between the lines to learn how the real job is done in the real world.
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| 2. |
- Falkheimer, Jesper, et al.
(författare)
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Terrorism and Global Public Relations
- 2019. - 3rd
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Ingår i: The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research and Practice. - 9781315173290 - 9781138043145
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Nothhaft, Howard, et al.
(författare)
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Dealing in Facts
- 2018
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Ingår i: Experiencing public relations: International Voices. - 9781138632448 ; , s. 26-38
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 5. |
- Nothhaft, Howard, et al.
(författare)
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Editors’ Introduction
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Strategic Communication. - Heidelberg : International Association for Energy Economics. - 1553-118X. ; 39:1, s. 257-, s. 7-16, s. 1-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 6. |
- Nothhaft, Howard, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic Communication : Reflections on an Elusive Concept
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Strategic Communication. - 1553-118X. ; 12:4, s. 352-366
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article explores how strategic communication successfully established itself as an academic discipline despite (or perhaps because of) being centered on an elusive concept. Drawing on ideas about the evolution of academic disciplines proposed by Alexander M. Shneider, we argue that strategic communication is currently caught in a cycle of constant reinvention obscured by a discourse of emergence. Although the discipline is undoubtedly becoming more sophisticated, it is doubtful whether there is genuine progress. The authors examine facets of strategic communication that contribute to the current state of affairs. Although clearer conceptualization and a more realistic understanding of the discipline are identified as a prerequisite for maturation, progress—as opposed to sophistication—ultimately depends on the development of discipline-specific, unique, and robust methods.
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| 7. |
- Werder, Kelly Page, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic Communication as an Emerging Interdisciplinary Paradigm
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Strategic Communication. - 1553-118X. ; 12:4, s. 333-351
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explores future directions in strategic communication scholarship by examining the emergence of strategic communication through the lens of interdisciplinary science. The disciplinary status of strategic communication is described through a content analysis of manuscripts published in the International Journal of Strategic Communication since its inaugural issue in 2007 (N = 207). Results reveal positive trends in research productivity, authorship, and globalization of the discipline over an 11-year period. However, analysis of the methodological and theoretical attributes of strategic communication scholarship suggests that more interdisciplinary research is needed. This study proposes definitional refinements that may strengthen the consistency of purpose among strategic communication scholars for future research and theory building. In addition, this study proposes that scholars embrace an interdisciplinary worldview to further the development of strategic communication as a unique and innovative domain of study in the future.
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| 8. |
- Zerfass, Ansgar, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic Communication : Defining the Field and its Contribution to Research and Practice
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Strategic Communication. - 1553-118X. ; 12:4, s. 487-505
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article draws on a decade of research in strategic communication and especially on the contributions in this special issue to propose a new and more comprehensive definition of strategic communication. We argue that strategic communication encompasses all communication that is substantial for the survival and sustained success of an entity. Specifically, strategic communication is the purposeful use of communication by an entity to engage in conversations of strategic significance to its goals. Entity includes all kind of organizations (e.g., corporations, governments, or nonprofits), as well as social movements and known individuals in the public sphere. Communication can play a distinctive role for the formulation, revision, presentation, execution, implementation, and operationalization of strategies. While there are many ways to investigate these research objects, strategic communication as a discipline takes the perspective of the focal organization/entity and its calculus to achieve specific goals by means of communication under conditions of limited resources and uncertainty. The article takes a critical look at the current state of the field and outlines several requirements that will help scholars and practitioners alike to build a unique body of knowledge in strategic communication.
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