The rise and fall of the Institute for Government Public Information Research, 1978–1981

This historical case study recounts the short life of the Institute for Government Public Information Research at American University in Washington, DC. It was established in 1978 and was largely defunct by 1981. The significance of this brief event is that it helps illuminate the status of the subject of the Institute's attentions, namely the practice and study of government public relations. The somewhat shaky status of public information officers in the federal executive branch partly explains the fate of the Institute. It could not thrive in a field that itself was not thriving. The case study serves as an historical documentation of this (failed) effort to elevate the practice and study of public relations in the American national government in face of the second class status that Congress has relegated the profession to.     

A case study of Congressional hostility to agency public relations: The Federal Reserve and Senator Heflin, 1922

This is an historical case study of one US Senator's effort to reduce the public information activities of a federal agency. In 1922, Senator Thomas Heflin, an opponent of the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank, took especial umbrage at the Bank's use of public relations to reply to his own attacks on it. This is an example of a politician trying to muzzle government public relations regardless of fairness or reciprocity.     

New deal public relations: A glimpse into FDR press secretary Stephen Early's work

Long-time confidant and press secretary to US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Stephen Early served throughout FDR's 12-year administration. As such, he was chief White House communicator during the implementation of the president's New Deal policies and throughout World War II. In March 1934, on the first day of his second year as secretary, Early started a diary. He added to it until the end of the decade. This study examines 131 of Early's diary entries over its 6 years to construct a glimpse of his professional and personal life as a high-level government communicator. Compilations of his most common activities are made and compared over time, and a discussion of Early's day-to-day professional work, private time, and contributions within the context of modern public relations practice are included.     

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.     

Printing press without copyright: a historical analysis of printing and publishing in Song,China

This study looks at the effect of China's political freedom, economic development and public relations efforts on the US media's coverage of China, and on Americans' opinions of China in the past 30 years. China's political freedom was found to be significant in predicting US media coverage of China and Americans' opinion of China, with more freedom leading to more positive coverage and more favorable opinions. More positive news coverage is related to more favorable American opinions of China when controlling for political and economic development and for public relations efforts. The number of public relations contracts China has signed with the US is also related to the increase in positive US media coverage of China.     

Unveiling the public procurement market in Brazil: A methodological tool to measure its size and potential

Public procurement plays a key role both in the proper functioning of public administration and in the realization of broader policy objectives. This article aims to present a methodology to assess the Brazilian public procurement market based on government statistics, as well as reflect on the potential of public procurement policy for the development of the country. The article found that public procurement comprised an average of 13.8% of Brazil's gross domestic product during 2006−2012. The Brazilian public procurement market is comparable to that of a typical Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) country. These findings imply great potential for public procurement in Brazil as a policy instrument for promoting the country's development.     

The President's listening post: Nixon's failed experiment in government public relations

At the beginning of his first term, President Nixon engaged in an experiment to institutionalize and regularize a new channel for citizens to convey their views and ideas to the White House. He called it a President's Listening Post. The first one opened in Philadelphia to much hoopla and hopes in October 1969. Quickly, however, it became clear that the mechanism was not working as hoped. Trying to avoid political embarrassment, it was quietly shut down in early 1971. This article recounts the largely unknown experiment by the Nixon White House in presidential public relations.     

Global activism and new media: A study of transnational NGOs’ online public relations

This study examines how transnational nongovernmental organizations make use of new media tools in their public relation activities and what factors influence their online public relations. A survey of communication representatives at 75 transnational NGOs based in the United States found that promoting the organization's image and fund-raising were the two most important functions of new media for the NGOs. Organizational capacity and main objective of the organization were significant predictors of NGOs’ new media use in their public relations. However, organizational efficiency and revenue did not significantly predict NGOs’ use of new media.     

Public relations anthropologies: French theory,anthropology of morality and ethnographic practices

The protagonists of this article are Lucien Matrat and the group of academics he led, known as the “European doctrine (or school) of public relations” (Boiry, 2004, p. 1). These public relations academics and professionals, who were mainly French, represented a body of knowledge which was characterised by an ethical and anthropological approach to public relations. It is this approach that led to Matrat's drafting of the Code of Athens and the creation of a theory of public relations based on human beings. The European doctrine also advocated the application of ethnographic methods to create corporate culture, such as the projet d’entreprise (corporate project). This paper analyzes, from a historical and theoretical viewpoint, this anthropological approach to public relations.     

Power-sharing and political public relations: Government-press relationships in Northern Ireland's developing democratic institutions

Northern Ireland's democratic governance is consociational (i.e. power-sharing is mandatory) and therefore substantially different from the majoritarian electoral system which characterizes most Western democratic societies. Consociationalism has been advocated as a form of democracy which can reconcile post-conflict societies fragmented along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines. Political public relations within mandatory coalitions have received little attention from scholars to date. Drawing on data from elite interviews with Government Information Officers (GIOs), Ministerial Special Advisers (SpAds) and journalists in Northern Ireland, this paper analyses their perspectives on political public relations in Northern Ireland's evolving democratic institutions. Our findings suggest Northern Ireland's public sphere is characterized not just by the usual contest between government communicators and journalists over political stories, but also by competition across government departments and within departments between GIOs and SpAds. Our research investigates the role of public relations in Northern Ireland's developing democratic institutions and more generally identifies important issues surrounding government communication in post-conflict power-sharing democracies.     

What's wrong with sociology? Its public image

In response to editor Stephen Cole's question—"What's wrong with sociology?"—the answer is nothing that cannot be overcome by clearer communications and better public relations. The problem is that the field is not held in high esteem by college administrators, legislators, and the public. Many see us as rebels of the 1960s, political liberals, and impractical thinkers with a penchant for jargon. Even our research is derided by some as a waste of money. The solution consists of strategies for overcoming our poor public image. Seven strategies for doing so are discussed: (1) Write clearly. (2) Write for a mass audience. (3) Seek board positions. (4) Strengthen our identity. (5) Teach sociology in high school. (6) Develop academic partnerships. (7) Emphasize outcomes: increase in tolerance and research skills.     

Transforming the public sphere: the case of Moscow’s city libraries

ABSTRACT

This article aims to explore the link between civil society and the public sphere in present-day Russia by studying a recent library reform project in Moscow. In 2013, a comprehensive reconstruction of Moscow's network of 448 public libraries was initiated by a group of intellectuals, architects and urbanists. The project team aimed at modernizing Moscow's city libraries by making them more accessible and appealing to the public. The reconstruction gained support from the city administration that sought to strengthen the function of public libraries as cultural and educational institutions and, at the same time, improve the city's image in the eyes of its citizens. The article poses the question of whether this reform has been successful in making Moscow's city libraries more open, accessible and inviting for the public, and whether the reform has contributed to the development of a public sphere in the city by providing new spaces for participation and civic engagement. The article explores the reform process based on interviews with key informants and document analysis. It looks into the project objectives, its implementation process and its legacy. The analysis of the library reform project revealed contradictory results, as the reform did not develop beyond the pilot phase, but was stopped due to fading support from the city administration. Overall, the library reform thus remained an unfinished process. For developing the public sphere, the legacy of the reform project is ambivalent. On the one hand, the project has proved that creating new public spaces in Moscow is possible. On the other hand, it showed that the public sphere remains limited in today's Russia, as civic initiatives cannot develop beyond a cultural niche project. Due to a lack of political support for societal pluralism, a true autonomous public sphere remains beyond reach in present-day Russia.     

Institutionalizing government public relations in Romania after 1989

Public relations are a new profession in Romania, an Eastern European former communist country which changed to a democratic regime in December 1989. It is generally considered to have emerged after 1990, although publicity and political propaganda preceded it (Rogojinaru in Sriramesh and Ver?i?, 2009, p. 553). Although the Romanian practice of public relations evolved and developed quickly aligning with the international practice, several campaigns and programs receiving awards during the last editions of IPRA Golden World Awards, SABRE Awards, Cannes Lions Awards or European Excellence Awards, there is still very little focus on research and theory. Thus, there is no major study on the history of public relations in Romania prior to 1989 to either confirm or challenge the conclusion of Grunig, Grunig and Ver?i? (2004) that there was no public relations in Eastern Europe before 1989 because the concept was not acceptable for socialism (p. 137). Even after 1989 while there is a growing body of literature on public relations in general published in Romanian, few studies addressed Romanian public relations which are more frequently described in practice than researched from the viewpoint of public relations theory. This exploratory research aims at identifying the characteristics of government public relations in Romania in 2011, the main stages in institutionalizing government public relations after 1989 and correlates them with the general evolution of public relations in Romania between 1989 and 2011.     

International public relations’ influence on media coverage and public perceptions of foreign countries

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of international public relations on a target country's news coverage and public perceptions toward other countries. This study proposed a public relations influence model of national image formation and tested its relationships based on 27 countries’ public relations effort targeting the U.S. news coverage and publics. This study found that (1) public relations of other countries in the U.S. had a direct impact on how significantly the U.S. public perceived those countries; (2) the more prominently and favorably foreign countries were covered by the U.S. news media, the more significantly and favorably the U.S. public perceived and felt toward those countries.     

Flicks of government flacks: The sequel

This supplements the analysis of cinematic depictions of government public relations professionals published in PRR in 2001. Of seven additional films, the government PR professional is white, male, and an employee of the federal government or a police department. Sometimes their work was of questionable truthfulness or helpfulness.     

The never changing story: Eight decades of the government public relations department of Thailand

The Government Public Relations Department (GPRD) of Thailand has existed in various forms since the country’s governing system changed from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one in 1932. This study reflects on how the GPRD’s practices have been affected by the country’s governing and political environments over time. It has periodized the eighty-four-years of development of the GPRD into sequential phases based on a continuum approach. The GPRD’s roles and duties are detailed based on four periods: Beginning Period, Growth Period, Full Expansion Period, and Weak Period. The GPRD was firstly positioned to be the primary government tool for introducing the concept of democracy to the Thai populace and disseminating information about government policies, activities and propagandistic campaigns. Through Thailand’s periods of political instability, World War II, the Cold War and rise of communism in Indochina, globalization, and the current digital age, the GPRD has expanded in its role within the government as the center of communication for a wide variety of governmental organizations. However, even as it has expanded and undergone re-organization, it has been criticized for being a government mouthpiece rather that a reliable source of factual information. Working under the direct oversight of the various governments led by the military, as well as both appointed and elected politicians, the GPRD has struggled to maintain a balanced public relations role at the juncture of Thai politics and public interest.     

PR in the ER: Managing internal organization–public relationships in a hospital emergency department

Focusing on a university-affiliated emergency department, this case study investigates the antecedents and outcomes of internal organization–public relationships as well as the cultivation strategies used to manage internal organization–public relationships (OPRs). The case study includes interviews with members of the emergency department's (ED) dominant coalition and focus groups with ED staff, as well as field observations in the ED itself. Findings illustrate that structural and policy antecedents acted as barriers to relationship maintenance, that a reliance on asymmetrical cultivation strategies culminated in poor internal OPRs, and that these poor relationships fostered negative attitudes, non-compliant behavior, and an arguably toxic organizational culture. Also, there was some evidence of symmetrical cultivation strategies (e.g., positivity and networking) fostering positive OPR perceptions among some employees. This case study can be used to guide best practices in internal public relations and answers the call for more research on public relations and health communication. Moreover, the current study suggests avenues for extending the relationship management perspective by considering organizational culture as a possible outcome of internal relationships.     

The Public Secrets of Welfare

The discourses surrounding the abolition of the federal welfare system provide an excellent opportunity to investigate instances in which people cling to erroneous beliefs in the face of clear proof of error. Gendered and racialized stereotypes abound in public discourse about welfare, and it is tempting to assume that those stereotypes remain in play because alternative information is not available. This article shows that in a survey of editorial coverage just before and after the 1996 federal welfare law change, ample corrective information was available, but certain features of the discourse remained consistent despite such correctives, for example, sympathy for children at the expense of blaming their mothers and the belief that the welfare system then existing was too generous. What, then, could help to explain the attachment to error and to unsupported beliefs? One productive approach is to apply Taussig's (1999) concept of the “public secret”: that is, something generally known but not explicitly acknowledged, which gains in force each time it is revealed. In the welfare context, two such public secrets can be found: (1) that the welfare system is harsh and punitive; and (2) that race and gender bias pervades that system as well as the wider social terrain. This article traces the revelation and reestablishment of those two public secrets, thereby offering an explanation, at the social level, for subjects' attachment to certain forms of error.     

From the Last Frontier to the new Cosmopolitan: A history of casino public relations in Las Vegas

This research examines the use of public relations by the casino gaming industry in Las Vegas, NV. Many are familiar with Las Vegas's extraordinary growth into a tourist destination and cultural icon, but few realize that public relations played a significant part in promoting this growth. Based on archival research, this paper identifies ways in which public relations activities – even when not identified by that particular title – played a role in advancing Las Vegas's casinos into the modern era of corporate ownership and international prominence.     

The power of women: Flanley & Woodward and the woman’s angle in U.S. public relations

After working in corporate public relations during the 1930s, Mabel Flanley and Sally Woodward opened an all-woman agency in New York City in 1944. Their specialty was targeting women publics, and they drew on their experiences with home economics and women’s clubs to promote a variety of clients from agribusiness, heavy industry, and government and nonprofit organizations. They carved a path for other women, contributed to the development of professional standards, and influenced other practitioners to target women audiences, and their inclusion initiatives paralleled those of other groups based on diversity of race, ethnicity, and gender.