A decade of social media in public relations research: A systematic review of published articles in 2010–2020

Social media (SM) has become a key operating channel in public relations (PR) and triggered PR scholars to learn more about the value of SM. Using a systematic review, this study was designed to investigate the authorship, topics, methodologies, and theoretical frameworks featured in SM-related PR research in the period of 2010–2020. A total of 575 articles from nine PR-focused peer-reviewed journals were selected and content-analyzed. The findings provide a better understanding of SM research in the field of PR and suggest future directions for SM research, including diverse SM platforms, big data, ethical challenges, and SM usage during COVID-19.     

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.     

Editors’ letter: New research and opportunities in public relations and visual communication

We are proud to present four articles exploring the intersections of public relations and visual communication as a way to move both fields forward, together and separately. The articles focus on health communication, crisis communication, social media, and corporate social responsibility, and the editors end with concrete suggestions for future research, including expanding theory and methodological applications.     

De-motivating employees’ negative communication behaviors on anonymous social media: The role of public relations

This study focuses on employees’ negative communication behaviors on anonymous social media and explores the effects of organizational antecedents on reducing their motives. Specifically, the effects of organizations’ symmetrical communication and organization-employee relationship (OER) on individuals’ social media usage motives (e.g., vent negative feelings, warn others) and negative behavioral intentions are examined. Results of an online survey of full-time employees in the United States show that the effects of OER on employees’ negative communication behavior intentions are mediated by their social media motives. Symmetrical communication had a large positive effect on OER, which in turn decreased their motives to share negative contents on anonymous social media. Theoretical and practical implications for public relations and employee behaviors are discussed.     

Protocol journalism as a framework for understanding public relations–media relationships in Kosovo

There is growing interest about the ways in which the public relations field can contribute to democratization and civil society initiatives. Some scholars see enormous potential for public relations by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help get important social issues on the public agenda in transitional nations while other scholars have critiqued the practice of public relations in newly formed nations as a form of hegemony that privileges Western ideas, values, and standards of practice. One thing is certain: more scholarly attention is required if the field of public relations is to truly understand its evolving role in civil society. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the public relations–media relationship contributes to civil society development in Kosovo. The researcher interviewed media professionals, public relations/organizational spokespersons, and civil society experts about the opportunities and challenges of the public relations function in building civil society in Kosovo. The findings suggest that “protocol journalism” is the guiding metaphor for explaining and critiquing the public relations–media relationship in Kosovo. The implications of protocol journalism for media development and public relations credibility are discussed.     

Building “foundational” linkages between development communication and public relations: A collaborative communication approach to development

Few scholars have examined the intersections between communication for development and public relations, creating a gap in the development communication scholarship and practice. Because public relations efforts are often used to achieve managerial tasks in development, rather than to serve marginalized groups, the value of public relations in development contexts is undertheorized. This essay uses the lens of power to bring the two fields of development communication and public relations together. With a detailed examination of the fields of Communication for Development and Public Relations, this essay aims to advance the understanding of communication in international development and propose collaborative approaches by establishing linkages between public relations and development communication.     

Who are the social media influencers? A study of public perceptions of personality

Social media influencers (SMIs) represent a new type of independent third party endorser who shape audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media. A mature public relations literature has identified the characteristics of effective spokespersons, but relatively little is known about audience perceptions of the SMI. A q-sort technique identified core perceived attributes of four sample SMIs. A better understanding of the perceived personality of SMIs provides tools for optimizing an organization's SMI capital.     

Negative connotations in the use of the term “public relations” in the print media

A taxonomy of the connotative meanings of the term “public relations” was developed using 100 articles chosen from the popular press that yielded 254 uses of the term. Eight categories evolved: public relations used correctly, public relations as a corrupter of the channels of communication, public relations as a corrupter of the democratic process, public relations as sleight of hand, public relations and winners and losers, public relations misused as a synonym, and public relations used as an identifier. Less than 5 percent of the citings were judged to use the term correctly; 37 percent were negative, and only 17 percent were positive.Henderson is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.     

The press and public relations through the lens of the periodicals, 1890–1930

This paper explores and analyzes the intellectual debate and discussion about the slow reveal of public relations and both the perceived threat to journalism and the corruption of public opinion in American life as it appeared in the periodicals in the early twentieth century. Despite Edward L. Bernays complaint that a “conspiracy of silence” prevailed in the mass media about the growing field of public relations prior to 1930, this review found more than a hundred essays and articles about public relations. The topics ran the gamut from historical explanations and explorations of what were essentially the early beginnings of our contemporary information society to discussions, debates, and warnings about the ramifications of public relations in the commercial, governmental, political, and social areas of life.     

Trends in public relations roles: 1990–1995

This study reported trend data on the roles of national Public Relations Society of America members. The authors posited that roles are constantly in process and illustrated this through analyses of activities within the broad manager and technician categories. The authors argued also that professional experience as a predictor of manager enactment should be defined not as number of years in the field but by looking at the kinds of experiences received on the job.Study results suggested that for this sample of PRSA members an agency role emerged in 1995 in addition to the manager and technician roleso found in 1990. There was still cross-over in the activities performed in each of the role profiles, indicating that public relations people do an assortment of activities. The agency role could be a result of the economic downturn that occurred in this five-year period. Women still seemed to be doing “it all” for less money. They did not carry out the same activities as the male role profiles that emerged and enacted a less pronounced agency role.     

Developing public’s information transmitting behavior (ITB) model in public relations: A cross-national study

The purpose of this study was to develop a multidimensional model of publics’ information transmitting behavior. Relevant literature in public relations, public communication, marketing communication, and interpersonal communication were reviewed. We composed a 6-dimensional public’s information transmitting behavior (ITB) model according to the three criteria—activeness, valence, and expressivity. The six dimensions were as follows: positive-proactive megaphoning, positive-reactive megaphoning, negative-proactive megaphoning, negative-reactive megaphoning, avoiding, and no-commenting. A series of surveys was conducted both in Korea (N = 500) and the United States (N = 500) for the development of the model. The results indicated that the 18-item ITB model was significantly reliable and valid, as we expected. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

What do we know about government public relations (GPR)? A systematic review of GPR in public relations literature

Despite the importance of public relations within local, national, and international government organizations, government public relations (GPR) is still an understudied field in public relations research when compared to its corporate and nonprofit counterparts and has been critiqued for lacking theoretical development (Liu & Horsley, 2007). To present the accumulated knowledge about GPR, this study used content analysis and bibliometric network analysis to systematically review 155 articles published in key public relations journals from 1976 to 2021. Our findings illustrate the status of GPR scholarship in terms of publication trends, authorship, research contexts, research topics, theoretical knowledge structure, methodological approaches, and ethical considerations. Findings suggest that GPR is a fast-growing field attracting international and multidisciplinary scholarly interests; yet has not been clearly defined and theorized. With strong theoretical roots in relationship management, GPR has the potential to develop context-relevant theories capturing the distinctive relational dynamics in various government communication situations. This study proposes a work-in-progress definition of GPR, identifies critical research gaps, and suggests future research directions to assist GPR in developing into a distinct and promising subfield of public relations research.     

The role of public relations in a counterhegemony: A case study of the 1968 poor people’s campaign

This study examined the role of public relations in Antonio Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony, specifically in a counterhegemony. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s preparation for the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign serves as a test case on how public relations can help subordinate groups confront a hegemony. This paper suggests that Gramsci’s philosophy provides an analytical heuristic for researching instances of contestation. Examining counterhegemonic campaigns offer public relations practitioners a means both to think about and to intervene in the world more effectively.     

Dialogue,strategic communication,and ethical public relations: Lessons from Martin Buber’s political activism

Dialogue and persuasive strategic communication are often perceived by public relations scholars as two distinct approaches to the practice. After revisiting and reassessing debates surrounding the two approaches, this article introduces accounts of the use of dialogue and strategic communication in the political life of Martin Buber, whose philosophy has inspired PR scholarship on dialogue. It traces Buber’s writings and activities as communicator in the service of the early Zionist movement and, in his later life, as campaigner against the establishment of the State of Israel, and as promoter of dialogue between Zionists and Arab Palestinians. Based on archival research the article uncovers Buber’s political and PR work to provide insights into his philosophy in the context of his political and life experiences. Inspired by Buber’s work the article argues that dialogue and strategic communication both have the potential to be deployed ethically, and for prosocial causes, or to be deployed in a self-serving and unethical way. In this, it supports other scholars’ argument that public relations should reconcile with the fact that both are legitimate tools and it further argues that both might be used either ethically or unethically. It concludes that ethical PR practice depends less on the form of communication, and more on transparency, honesty, openness, and respect in the way dialogue or strategic communication are conducted.     

Public relations identity and the stakeholder–organization relationship: A revised theoretical position for public relations scholarship

This paper addresses the challenge to differentiate public relations scholarship from other related communication disciplines (i.e., marketing, advertising, communication studies) by examining the concept of the stakeholder–organization relationship and public relations’ unique contributions therein. This paper proposes that public relations scholars move beyond discussing relationship attitudes and examine the central concept of a relationship, which comprises mutual orientation around a common interest point and the multiplicity of stakes and stakeholders. Research imperatives in the integration of relationship stakes and the value of social media in relationship analysis stand to further differentiate public relations from marketing.     

‘This is a stage’: A study of public relations practitioners’ imagined online audiences

Public relations (PR) practitioners are among those cultural intermediaries who privilege symbols, products, and communication rituals in society. Through interviews (n = 26) and analysis of practitioners’ Twitter accounts, this study considers how members of this field identify their personal social networking site audiences and how these behaviors are implicated in the performance of their online identity. Findings indicate practitioners feel pressure to use personal social media in accordance with field-constrained norms and that an “occupational publicness” pressure requires them to be visible online outside of the workplace. The persistent specter of public criticism from audiences and the prioritizing of organizational interests above their own self-expression limits performances of PR practitioners’ authentic selves online.