From the start, women were central to a century of westward migration in the U.S. Community Building and Early Public Relations: Pioneer Women’s Role on and after the Oregon Trail offers a path forward in broadening PR's Caucasian/White male-gendered history in the U.S. Undergirded by humanist, communitarian, critical race theory, social constructionist perspectives, and a feminist communicology lens, this book analyzes U.S. pioneer women's lived experiences, drawing parallels with PR's most basic functions – relationship-building, networking, community building, boundary spanning, and advocacy. Using narrative analysis of diaries and reminiscences of women who travelled 2,000+ miles on the Oregon Trail in the mid-to-late 1800s, Pompper uncovers how these women filled roles of Caretaker/Advocate, Community Builder of Meeting Houses and Schools, served a Civilizing Function, offered Agency and Leadership, and provided Emotional Connection for Social Cohesion. Revealed also is an inevitable paradox as Caucasian/White pioneer women’s interactional qualities made them complicit as colonizers, forever altering indigenous peoples’ way of life. This book will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate PR students, PR practitioners, and researchers of PR history and social identity intersectionalities. It encourages us to expand the definition of PR to include community building, and to revise linear timeline and evolutionary models to accommodate voices of women and people of color prior to the twentieth century.

The comprehensive guide to applied PR theory in the 21st century Public Relations Theory explores the central principles and theoretical components of public relations and their practical applications in actual situations. This informative text helps readers to understand the concepts, approaches, and perspectives of PR theory and learn development methods, implementation strategies, management techniques, and more. Chapters written by recognized experts on each topic provide readers with knowledge on how, when, and why appropriate theories are applied. Focusing on how organizations and individuals integrate theory in a public relations framework, each chapter explains one function, explores its potential challenges and opportunities, provides an example of the function in practice, and offers discussion questions and additional reading suggestions. Unique in structure, this text arranges chapters by function, rather than theory, allowing readers to see how multiple theories can be applied to each public relations function and how theories can be used in different professional settings. Comprehensive treatment of topics including social and emerging media, globalization, public diplomacy, corporate and investor relations, and others ensures relevant and timely coverage of contemporary PR issues. Demonstrates how public relations theory is applied in real-world practice Illustrates how successfully applied public relations theories lead to positive outcomes Discusses the relevance of public relations with accessible and engaging language Offers multiple perspectives from leading international public relations scholars Includes pedagogical tools including chapter discussion questions, practical examples, tables, and suggested reading lists Public Relations Theory: Application and Understanding is suitable for instructors and graduate and advanced undergraduate students in courses on public relations theory, as well as practitioners seeking further knowledge on the most current developments in the field.

What is public relations? What do public relations professionals do? And what are the theoretical underpinnings that drive the discipline? This handbook provides an up-to-date overview of one of the most contested communication professions. The volume is structured to take readers on a journey to explore both the profession and the discipline of public relations. It introduces key concepts, models, and theories, as well as new theorizing efforts undertaken in recent years. Bringing together scholars from various parts of the world and from very different theoretical and disciplinary traditions, this handbook presents readers with a great diversity of perspectives in the field.

As a formal occupation, public relations grew primarily in the United States through much of the twentieth century. In recent years, however, it has spread rapidly throughout the world. Broad outlines on how public relations practices differ from country to country have only recently begun to take shape in scholarly writing about the field. The existing literature on international public relations tends to focus on how those working for western organizations --particularly multi-national corporations--can best practice abroad. Although useful, such writings tend to focus on adaptation of western approaches, not on development of new ones designed specifically for varied sociocultural settings around the world. The editors have produced this book for a number of reasons. There has been tremendous growth in the teaching of public relations around the world--enhancing practice in many countries outside North America. There has also been rapid growth in the number of professors who demand theoretical perspectives which might facilitate a unified comparative analysis across countries and regions. Only a few U.S. universities--six documented in this book--now teach courses formerly called "International Public Relations." However, many professors are going abroad to teach and do research. This suggests increased interest in and a need for courses dealing with international public relations. Furthermore, there is a dearth of literature dealing in depth with international PR, an important component of international communication. This appears to be the first book-length comparative analysis of public relations as practiced in various countries and regions around the world. Although existing books on international PR focus largely on ways in which western practitioners, employers, and clients can operate effectively in other countries, this volume views public relations in each country or region covered from the perspective of practitioners in that country. It contains six chapters designed to provide a theoretical anchor for the 14 country and region analyses. Given the intense interest in public relations education as a factor in professional enhancement, it also discusses issues and practices relating to education.

Culture and Public Relations explores the impact of culture - societal and organizational - through the global lens of public relations. With contributors from Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, this collection offers international perspectives on an increasingly important area. It is required reading for scholars, researchers, and students in public relations and business.

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.

When initially published in 2005, the two-volume Encyclopedia of Public Relations was the first and most authoritative compilation of the subject. It remains the sole reference source for any library serving patrons in business, communication, and journalism as it explores the evolution of the field with examples describing the events, changing practices, and key figures who developed and expanded the profession. Reader’s Guide topics include Crisis Communications & Management, Cyberspace, Ethics, Global Public Relations, Groups, History, Jargon, Management, Media, News, Organizations, Relations, Reports, Research, and Theories & Models. Led by renowned editor Robert L. Heath, with advisory editors and contributors from around the world, the set is designed to reach a wide array of student readers who will go on to serve as opinion leaders for improving the image and ethics of the practice. The Second Edition continues to explore key challenges facing the profession, such as earning the trust and respect of critics and the general public. Much greater emphasis and space will be placed on a theme that was just emerging when the First Edition appeared: the Internet and social media as public relations tools. International coverage and representation has been greatly expanded, as well. Finally, biographies (which are now widely available on the Web) have been deleted to give room to areas of enhanced coverage, and biographical material are included where appropriate within the context of topical entries. However, a long entry on women pioneers in public relations has been included as an appendix.

In this third edition, The Global Public Relations Handbook: Theory, Research, and Practice offers state-of-the-art discussions of the global public relations industry, blending research-based theory with practice, and presented in essays from both academics and practitioners. This edition's 28 essays in three sections take into account changes in the global communication landscape especially in the last ten years. The first section contains essays that provide conceptual linkages between public relations and international political systems, economic systems and levels of development, societal culture, different media systems including digital media, and activism. Essays in the second section discuss the communication of various global actors such as corporations (including family-owned enterprises), non-profits, governments (and public sector enterprises), global public relations agencies, IGOs such as the European Union and NATO and "informal" organizations such as hactivist groups, terrorists, and failed states. The third section discusses key global communication issues such as climate change, character assassination as a communication tool, internal communication, risk and crisis communication, public affairs, and public diplomacy. This will be an essential resource for students and researchers of public relations, strategic communication, and international communication.

The emergence of relationship management as a paradigm for public relations scholarship and practice necessitates an examination of precisely what public relations achieves -- its definition, function and value, and the benefits it generates. Promoting the view that public relations provides value to organizations, publics, and societies through relationships, Public Relations as Relationship Management takes a in-depth look at organization-public relationships and explores the strategies that can be employed to cultivate and maintain them. Expanding on the work published in the first edition, this thoroughly up-to-date volume covers such specialized areas of public relations as non-profit organizations, shareholder relations, lobbying, employee relations, and risk management. It expands the reader’s ability to understand, conceptualize, theorize, and measure public relations through the presentation of state-of-the-art research and examples of the use of the relationship paradigm. Developed for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in public relations, Public Relations as Relationship Management provides a contemporary perspective on the role of relationships in public relations, and encourages further research and study.