1st Edition
Public Relations Theory III In the Age of Publics
This important book chronicles, responds to, and advances the leading theories in the public relations discipline.
Taking up the work begun by the books Public Relations Theory and Public Relations Theory II, this volume offers completely original material reflecting public relations as practiced today. It features contributions by leading public relations researchers from around the world who write about new developments in the field. Important subjects include: a turn to more humanistic, social, dialogic, and cocreational perspectives on public relations; changes in the capacity and use of new information technologies; a greater emphasis on non-Western international and intercultural public relations that considers an increasingly politically polarized culture; and issues of ethics that look beyond how clients and the traditional mass media are treated and into much broader questions of voice, agency, race, identity, and the economic and political status of publics.
This book is a touchstone for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations theory and a key reference for researchers.
Acknowledgements
Organization of the Book
1. Introduction: In the Age of Publics
Carl H. Botan, Erich J. Sommerfeldt
Section 1: Publics Take Center Stage
2. In the Age of Publics: Evolving Understandings of Theory and Publics
Carl H. Botan
3. A "Public" by Any Other Name: Reclaiming Publics Theory, and Liberating Publics From "OPR"
Erich J. Sommerfeldt & Jeannette Iannocone
4. Theorizing Digital Engagement in Public Relations
Kim Johnston
5. Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS): A Foundational Theory of Publics and its Behavioral Nature in Problem Solving
Myoung-Gi Chon, Lisa Tam, Hyelim Lee, Jeong-Nam Kim
6. Applying the Network Perspective to Public Relations Theory and Practice
Adam Saffer, Aimei Yang
7. Development of Intercultural Public Relations Theory
Lan Ni, Bey-Ling Sha
8. Agenda Building Through Community Building: Theorizing Place and Digital Space in Grassroots Activist Public Relations
Stephanie Madden, Mikayla Pevac
Section 2: New and Revised Theories
9. Dialog Theory in Public Relations
Michael L. Kent
10. Capturing the Complexity and Dynamism of Decision Making in PR: The Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management
Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, Glen T. Cameron
11. Crisis Communication Theory: Emergence of a Vibrant Sub-Field of Public Relations Theory
W. Timothy Coombs, Elina R. Tachkova
12. Digital Crisis Communication Theory: Current Landscapes and Future Trajectories
Brooke Fisher Lui, Yan Jin, Lucinda Austin
13. Social theory in Public Relations: Insights and Directions
Lee Edwards, Øyvind Ihlen
14. The IDEA Model Theoretical Framework: An Explication of Risk Communication as Engaged Public Relations
Tim L. Sellnow, Deanna D. Sellnow, Bengt Johansson, Derek R. Lane, Matthew W. Seeger
15. Public Relations in a Postdisciplinary World: On the Possibility of Establishing a Constitutive Theory Within the Tribal Struggles of Communication Disciplines
Howard Northhaft, Ansgar Zerfass
Section 3: Race, Gender and Culture Interact With Theories
16. Introduction and Advances in Feminist Theory in Public Relations
Elizabeth L. Toth
17. Critical Race Theory, Identity and Public Relations
Nneka Logan
18. Public Relations Theory Development In China: In the Areas of Dialogic Communication, Crisis Communication, and CSR Communication
Yi-Ru Regina Chen, Chun-Ju Flora, Hung-Baesecke, Yang Chen
19. Culture and Dialog Theory in Public Relations: The Middle Eastern Context
Ganga S. Dhanesh, Ruth Avidar
20. European School of Public Relations: Origins,Main Traits, and Theoretical Contributions
Chiara Valentini, Vilma Louma-aho
21. Public Relations Theory in Latin American Culture And Context: A Post-Colonialist Perspective
Ana-María Suárez-Monsalve, Carlos Molleda
22. Inviting an Ubuntu-Based Approach to Public Relations Theory Building in Sub-Saharan Africa
Prisca S. Ngondo, Anna Klyueva
Section 4: Applications of Theory
23. Health Communication Theory in Public Relations
Sarah A. Aghazadeh, Linda Aldoory
24. Relationship Management Theory: Its Past, Present, and Future
Eyun-Jung Ki, Yi-Hui Huang, Tugce Era-Etem
25. Media Relations: Research, Theory, and the Digital Age
Xiaomeng Lan, Spiro Kiousis
26. The Implications of Character Assassination and Cancel Culture for Public Relations Theory
Sergei A. Samoilenko, James M. Jasper
27. Strategic Issues Management: A Rhetorical Theoretical Perspective on Contestable Questions of Place
Damion Waymer, Robert L. Heath
28. Theoretical Models for Corporate Social Media Use
Alvin Zhou, Linjuan Rita Men
29. A Theoretic Perspective on the Evolution of Ethics
Shannon A. Bowen
Conclusion
30. Reflections on the Evolving Theories of Public Relations
Maureen Taylor
Biography
Carl H. Botan is Emeritus Professor of Communication at George Mason University, USA.
Erich J. Sommerfeldt is Associate Professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, USA.
