Synopses & Reviews
Whether one sees it as unwelcome, underappreciated, or unnoticed, public relations has an important influence on modern society. In the second edition of their award-winning book, W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay provide a broad and thorough look at the field of public relations in the world today and assess its impact on society’s values, knowledge, and perceptions.
The authors show how public relations affects society—both positively and negatively—and use a range of global, contemporary examples from multi-national corporations through to the non-profit sector to prove their point. The authors have thoroughly revised and updated the book with discussion of new issues, including the search within the profession for a definition of PR; the role and limitations of social media; the emergence of Issues Management; how private politics is shaping corporate behavior; and the rise of global activism and the complications of working in a global world. The authors also provide a nuanced and balanced discussion of ethical concerns for professionals in the field that doesn’t rely on oversimplification of the issues. Well organized and clearly written by two leading scholars, this is a must-read for students and professionals in strategic communication.
Review
“Concise and thought-provoking examination about ‘what counts’ as public relations and the field’s impact on society; an excellent discussion primer about the issues facing the profession today and in the foreseeable future.”
Michael J. Palenchar, University of Tennessee“This is an engaging introduction to PR. I like its quick overviews of key authors, ideas and debates, its easy style, but most of all, that it makes the reader think.”
Magda Pieczka, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Synopsis
Whether one sees it as unwelcome, underappreciated, or unnoticed, public relations has an important influence on modern society. In the second edition of their award-winning book, W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay provide a broad and thorough look at the field of public relations in the world today and assess its impact on society’s values, knowledge, and perceptions.
The authors show how public relations affects society—both positively and negatively—and use a range of global, contemporary examples from multi-national corporations through to the non-profit sector to prove their point. The authors have thoroughly revised and updated the book with discussion of new issues, including the search within the profession for a definition of PR; the role and limitations of social media; the emergence of Issues Management; how private politics is shaping corporate behavior; and the rise of global activism and the complications of working in a global world. The authors also provide a nuanced and balanced discussion of ethical concerns for professionals in the field that doesn’t rely on oversimplification of the issues. Well organized and clearly written by two leading scholars, this is a must-read for students and professionals in strategic communication.
Synopsis
In the second edition of their award-winning book, W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay provide a broad and thorough look at the field of public relations in the world today and assess its positive and negative impact on society’s values, knowledge, and perceptions.
- Provides a broad and thorough look at the field of public relations in the world today and assesses its positive and negative impact on society’s values, knowledge, and perceptions
- Uses a range of global, contemporary examples, from multi-national corporations through to the non-profit sector
- Updated to include discussion of new issues, such as the role and limitations of social media; the emergence of Issues Management; how private politics is shaping corporate behavior; and the rise of global activism and the complications of working in a global world
- Covers the search within the profession for a definition of PR, including the Melbourne Mandate and Barcelona Principles
- Balanced, well organized, and clearly written by two leading scholars
Synopsis
Public relations shapes and spins our news, influencing society’s values, knowledge, and perceptions. Despite this, it often goes unnoticed.
It's Not Just "PR" takes a balanced approach in assessing its impact, drawing on a diverse range of contemporary examples from global corporations through to the power of PR in the non-profit sector.
- Investigates a broad range of examples, from Coca-Cola and corporate pharmaceutical companies, to the non-profit sector and reform labour practices in Latin America
- Charts new territory by focusing on the effects and influence of public relations, both intended and unintended, in a discipline that has all too often concentrated on skills with little or no reflection on societal impact
- Helps reveal why public relations is useful to society and how it has developed a negative public reputation
- Includes practical debate about power issues in public relations theory and practice
- Winner of the 2007 PRIDE award given by the PR Division of the National Communication Association
About the Author
W. Timothy Coombs is Professor in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida. His books include the award-winning
Ongoing Crisis Communication (2007) and
Code Red in the Boardroom (2006). With Sherry J. Holladay, he is co-author of
Managing Corporate Social Responsibility (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) and
PR Strategy and Application (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) and co-editor of
The Handbook of Crisis Communication (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). He has worked with consulting firms in the U.S. and Europe on ways to improve crisis communication efforts for their clients.
Sherry J. Holladay is Professor in the Nicholson School of Communication at the University of Central Florida. She teaches courses in public relations and corporate communication and her research interests include corporate social responsibility, crisis communication, reputation management, activism, and stakeholder relations. Her work appears in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Communication Management, and International Journal of Strategic Communication. With W. Timothy Coombs, she is co-author of Managing Corporate Responsibility (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) and PR Strategies and Applications (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), and co-editor of The Handbook of Crisis Communication (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments viii
Introduction to the Second Edition 11 Does Society Need Public Relations? 4
2 Ethical Implications of Public Relations 36
3 Who Practices Public Relations? 60
4 Public Relations Influences Society 90
5 Shifting the View of Public Relations 123
References 141Index 159