Cultural intermediaries and the circuit of culture: The Digital Ambassadors project in Johannesburg,South Africa

The question raised by Cheney and Christensen (2001) as to “what a non-Western, non-managerial and non-rationalist form of public relations will look like” (p.182), together with the call made by Gregory (2014) for public relations practitioners (PRPs) to be active social change agents, motivated this paper. The aim of this research is to follow a culture-centred approach and apply the circuit of culture (Curtin & Gaither, 2005) to investigate the meanings that young people (aged 18 to 34), as cultural intermediaries, ascribe to their participation in a digital empowerment project implemented by the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. This research forms part of a larger, ongoing multi-disciplinary research project.The research highlights the complexity of projects of this nature, the wide variety of stakeholders involved, the significance of structure, the importance of training of cultural intermediaries, and the benefits such intermediaries gain from their involvement. A key finding is that self-development and financial benefit contribute significantly to the success of cultural intermediaries. This paper contributes to the field of public relations by providing an analysis of cultural intermediaries’ contribution to the circuit of culture as influenced not only by production and consumption but also by identity and regulation as seen in the way they represented the meaning created during their experience.     

Exploring articulation in internal activism and public relations theory: A case study

This paper answers Dozier and Lauzen’s (2000) call for critical theoretical examinations of activism and public relations to provide new perspectives and avoid the paradox inherent in organizational-level analyses. It also fills a literature gap by examining a case of internal activism, Girl Scout members protesting the use of palm oil in Girl Scout cookies, thus blurring organizational boundaries and rejecting Us/Other dichotomies. The basic precepts of the cultural-economic model (Curtin & Gaither, 2005, 2007) are expanded to provide greater heuristic power to the model (Curtin, Gaither, & Ciszek) and to delineate a more nuanced understanding of the public relations/activism relationship.     

Soccer, civil religion, and public relations: Devotional–promotional communication and Barcelona Football Club

The aim of this article is to provide a public relations perspective on the civil religion phenomenon through a study of Barcelona Football Club (BFC) as an institution and its public relations efforts. We believe that BFC can be seen as a form of civil religion that uses a devotional–promotional communication model which sets forth, upholds and reinforces relations with “faithful supporters”. The paper links to three main contributions: the work of [Salvador, J. (2004). Futbol, metàfora d’una guerra freda: Un estudi antropològic del Barça. Barcelona: Proa.] on anthropological approach to BFC, [Giner, S. (2003). Carisma y razón. Madrid: Alianza] on civil religion and its communicative dimension, and [Tilson, D. J. (2006). Devotional–promotional communicationa and Santiago: A thousand-year public relations campaign for Saint James and Spain. In J. L’Etang & M. Pieczka (Eds.), Public relations: Critical debates and contemporary practice (pp. 167–184). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.] on devotional–promotional communication. Thus, this article advances a public relations approach to civil religion.     

Towards the professionalisation of public relations in Malaysia: Perception management and strategy development

The aim of this study is to explore how the status and standards of public relations as a profession are perceived by the three main groups involved in public relations: academics, practitioners, and business leaders. It is concluded that public relations can be a ‘true’ profession if all parties involved are united and committed to developing standardised, universal forms of public relations practise.     

Soft power and public diplomacy: The new frontier for public relations and international communication between the US and China

The underlying assumption is that a gradual change in economic and financial power will also lead to changes in ‘soft power’ like media communication, public relations, public opinion, public diplomacy and (new and old) media consumption. In other words, culture and mass communication play a significant role in shaping the dialogue between organizations and publics in different countries in general, and between the US and China in particular.     

MA and doctoral public relations research in Turkey (1984–2007): A quantitative study of dissertations contribution to public relations field

In this article, MA and doctoral dissertations (673) on public relations written at Turkish universities (1984–2007) are examined in order to gain an understanding of the level of the theses within the discipline and that subjects are studied, too. The conclusion is that their contribution to public relations’ improvement and especially theory building has been negligible. Written theses are standing out the practical or operational, and no existence any dissertations related to public relations theory.     

Producing Postman Pat: The popular cultural construction of idyllic rurality

This paper concerns the popular cultural representation of English rurality. It focuses upon Postman Pat, a popular cultural phenomenon which has come to be routinely cited as exemplary and iconic of contemporary imaginings of the English countryside as idyllic. The idea that Anglocentric popular culture (re)produces this sort of ‘rural idyll’ – and that these idylls are particularly laden with cultural and ideological baggage – has been well rehearsed. However, this paper considers a question which has too often been overlooked or taken for granted: how, exactly – and I mean literally, actually, in detail, in practice – does this sort of idyllic rurality come to be constructed? Through conversations with two key figures in the creation of Postman Pat, the paper begins to develop an understanding of some of the everyday, banal, nitty gritty practices, decisions and encounters which must be understood as fundamentally part of the production of (this) ‘rural idyll’.     

Forty years of doctoral public relations research in Spain: A quantitative study of dissertation contribution to theory development

In this article, doctoral dissertations on public relations written at Spanish universities (1965–2004) are examined in order to gain an understanding of the level of theory development within the discipline. The following subjects are studied: growth over time, universities where they were written, use of language, gender and the topics of doctoral dissertations. Although still in its early development, public relations doctoral research in Spain is a well-established and burgeoning field in terms of the total of theses examined (62). The conclusion, however, is that their contribution to theory building in public relations has been negligible, with the practical or operational side of public relations standing out more than the conceptual and theoretical side.     

The original bailout of US corporations: The public relations bailout

More than a trillion of taxpayer dollars are currently being used to bail out the US banking, mortgage and car industries. This invokes an interesting connection to public relations the last time drastic US government involvement with corporations was contemplated. This pre-First World War crisis of the free enterprise system involved a deficit not of money but of favourable public opinion. The requirement was for vast amounts of public opinion and public policy work by a reported at least 1200 – what were at that time called – press agents. This was the period when public relations emerged as a fundamental plank of US and ultimately of global culture. The thesis of this article is that many aspects of the world we live in cannot be properly understood without a better analysis of the first bailout of US corporations—the public relations bailout.     

Practitioners’ perceptions of their ethics in Korean global firms

This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to review the perceptions held by public relations practitioners who work in global public relations firms, regarding their ethics, and to identify elements that support their ethics. Results indicate that those practitioners are adamantly ethics-oriented but they have a limited understanding of ethics specific to public relations. No absolute universal ethical standards were found. This study identified nine elements affecting public relations practitioners’ ethics. The important and powerful elements were chiefly attributed to cultural influences. It finally provides critical clues to the process of enhancing public relations professionalism.     

PR goes to the movies: The image of public relations improves from 1996 to 2008

This qualitative analysis of public relations in popular Hollywood films from 1996 to 2008 looks at three questions: first, how is the PR practitioner portrayed in recent films? Second, what kind of public relations activities and models of public relations are depicted? Third, how do other scholars’ results in prior studies apply to the portrayal of public relations in current films? Results show that for major films from Mars Attacks! (1996) to Hancock (2008), public relations practitioners are more credible, respected and influential, and PR work is more varied and complex than found in studies of films through 1995.     

Comparative study of American and Korean practitioners’ dissent with perceived unethical management decisions

This study examined how similarly or differently American and Korean public relations practitioners use dissent tactics. The results showed that assertive confrontation was the most frequently adopted tactic among practitioners in both countries. However, Korean practitioners were more likely to work to sabotage implementation of unethical decision, and to leak information to external stakeholders than the US counterparts. This study will shed light on the impact of cultural difference on public relations practitioners’ dissent selection on unethical management decisions.     

The portrayal of public relations in the era of Ivy Lee through the lens of the New York Times

Public relations has and, it appears, always has had an image problem. From public relations’ protohistory, through the rise of the publicist and press agent, the history of the relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners remained rocky. Using the New York Times as a lens, this study seeks to examine, through a qualitative framing analysis (N = 106), how public relations was perceived and discussed by one of its most important audiences, the journalist, during the early years of the twentieth century. The study found that while the tasks and media used in the practice of public relations as framed by the Times may be accurate, the cultural context of the early 20th century called the very “doing” of public relations into question.     

Researching the occupational culture of public relations in Mexico

Within the field of international public relations, it is rare to find detailed accounts of the process of undertaking cross-cultural research. Yet researchers who collect data in cultural contexts different from their own face numerous ethical and cultural challenges. By failing to articulate these, researchers deny the accommodations they have to make in their methodological choices, limiting the explanatory power of their findings. This article reflects on how societal culture influenced the evolving research decisions and experiences in a study into the occupation of public relations in Mexico City. In considering how to explore in a culturally sensitive way the social reality of public relations practitioners, it raises ethical concerns regarding selectivity and relationship interactions in cross-cultural research.     

Congressional controversy over the federal Prohibition Bureau's public relations, 1922

Prohibition went into effect in early 1919, with the ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution. Yet, its adoption did not end the controversy. For ‘drys’ and ‘wets’ in Congress, conflict over the Prohibition Bureau's public relations became a proxy for the ongoing battle over prohibition itself. This is an historical summary of the 1922 battle over the appropriateness of that agency's public relations.     

Public relations and strategic issues management challenges in Venezuela: A discourse analysis of Crystallex International Corporation in Las Cristinas

This investigation, using critical discourse analysis (CDA), seeks to develop an understanding of strategic issues management through Crystallex International Corporation’s discursive construction and management of legitimacy in the Las Cristinas mine in Venezuela. This analysis of the Las Cristinas case unearths elements that could provide useful insights about the Latin American environment in general and public relations efforts in that region specifically. Additionally, this analysis contributes to ongoing efforts of finding the most effective public relations practices for this particular part of the world, as well as help to highlight what constitutes a “fully functioning society” [Heath, R. (2006). A rhetorical theory approach to issues management. In C. Botan & V. Hazelton (Eds.), Public relations theory II (pp. 63–99). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ] in developing countries.     

Reinventing religious land as urban open space: The case of kuang in Chiang Mai (Thailand)

Urban open spaces are highly valued for their contribution to the quality of life in the cities [Tenkel (1963). Cities and space: The future use of urban land. Baltimore:Johns Hopkins Press; Burgess, Harrison and Limb (1998). Urban Studies, 25, 455–473; Madanipour (1999). Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 26, 879–891]. Third world cities, for example, Chiang Mai (Thailand), are no exception with regard to the role of urban open space in achieving such a goal [Tantayanusorn (2003). Unpublished doctoral thesis. Melbourne:Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology]. However, the provision of urban open space as a social public facility is coming low in priority in comparison to other market-demanded facilities in the form of roads, car parks, clean water, electricity and the like. Such a fact was corroborated by a study conceived by Thailand's Social Research Institute (1996) which reveals that 73% of Chiang Mai population wanted more public open space.This paper aims at exploring the revitalization of existing traditional open spaces (kuang)—which is usually categorized as ‘religious land’, hence it is a religious property—in Chiang Mai as an intermediate strategy in providing the much needed public open space. In doing so, the physical and cultural characteristics of kuang have to be elaborated, while at the same time the local aspirations on urban open space were canvassed. The combined analysis of those two inquiries resulted in a proposal of kuang wat—a variance of kuang—utilization as an agent of urban open space provision in the project of achieving quality of urban life in Thai city of Chiang Mai.     

Public relations in Ghana: Work-related cultural values and public relations models

This study explores cultural influences on public relations practices in Ghana. This survey research brief reports data collected from Ghanaian public relations practitioners (n = 64) and describes work-related cultural values as well as the practices of public relations models in Ghana. The result reveals that Ghanaian public professionals tend to utilize international public relations and two-way communication models. The study extends knowledge of international public relations in African cultures.