Winner of The American Journalism Historians Association Book of the Year Award, 2015 This study of American public relations history traces evangelicalism to corporate public relations via reform and the church-based temperance movement. It encompasses a leading evangelical of the Second Great Awakening, Rev. Charles Grandison Finney, and some of his predecessors; early reformers at Oberlin College, where Finney spent the second half of his life; leaders of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League of America; and twentieth-century public relations pioneer Ivy Ledbetter Lee, whose work reflecting religious and business evangelism has not yet been examined. Observations about American public relations history icon P. T. Barnum, whose life and work touched on many of the themes presented here, also are included as thematic bookends. As such, this study cuts a narrow channel through a wide swath of literature and a broad sweep of historical time, from the mid-eighteenth century to the first decades of the twentieth century, to examine the deeper and deliberate strategies for effecting change, for persuading a community of adherents or opponents, or even a single soul to embrace that which an advocate intentionally presented in a particular way for a specific outcome—prescriptions, as it turned out, not only for religious conversion but also for public relations initiatives.

This is the seventh volume of The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series, which is the first to offer an authentic worldwide view of the history of public relations freed from a corporatist framework.. The series features seven books, six of which cover continental and regional groups including (Book 1) Asia and Australasia, (Book 2) Eastern Europe and Russia, (Book 3) Middle East and Africa, (Book 4) Latin America and Caribbean, (Book 5) Western Europe, and this volume, (Book 7) North America. The sixth volume featured five essays on new and revised historiographic and theoretical approaches. Written by leading public relations historians and scholars, some histories of national public relations development are offered for the first time while others are reinterpreted using new archival sources and other historiographical approaches. The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series makes a major contribution to the wider knowledge of PR’s history.

The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series is the first to offer an authentic world-wide view of the history of public relations. It will feature six books, five of which will cover continental and regional groups. This last book in the series focuses on historiographical and theoretical approaches.

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.

Public relations is a uniquely pervasive force in our modern economy, influencing every aspect of our lives from the personal to the political. This comprehensive volume provides an expert overview of current scholarship, reflecting the impact of technology, society, and demographic shifts in a complex global environment. The last century saw the emergence of the public relations discipline. This expertly curated collection explores the dynamic growth in thinking about public relations’ role in our changing global society, now and into the future. It reflects the challenges and perspectives of postcolonial, postmodern, feminist, critical race theory, social responsibility, sustainability, activist standpoints, as well as the profound and unpredictable impact of technological change and social media. Each chapter provides an overview of current knowledge and its roots, while engaging with emerging new directions and old debates – and advocates for where the research agenda is likely to advance in the future. This unique Companion will be an essential resource for students and researchers in public relations, communication, marketing, media, and cultural studies. It provides an authoritative reference for educators and a one-stop repository of public relations knowledge, scholarship, and debates for the enquiring professional.

Over the centuries, scholars have studied how individuals, institutions and groups have used various rhetorical stances to persuade others to pay attention to, believe in, and adopt a course of action. The emergence of public relations as an identifiable and discrete occupation in the early 20th century led scholars to describe this new iteration of persuasion as a unique, more systematized, and technical form of wielding influence, resulting in an overemphasis on practice, frequently couched within an American historical context. This volume responds to such approaches by expanding the framework for understanding public relations history, investigating broad, conceptual questions concerning the ways in which public relations rose as a practice and a field within different cultures and countries at different times in history. With its unique cultural and contextual emphasis, Pathways to Public Relations shifts the paradigm of public relations history away from traditional methodologies and assumptions, and provides a new and unique entry point into this complicated arena.

The promise of prosperity: transplanting the 'new realities' -- Communicating the 'practical faith ': the historical neoliberal and PR nexus -- 'We need a new narrative': neoliberalism and PR language practice -- Happiness, plastic truth, and the story of climate -- 'Borderlands': PR and the broken moorings of language -- Airborne: PR, plasticity and pandemic politics.

In 1973, Betsy Ann Plank became the first woman to chair the Public Relations Society of America in its twenty-five-year history. It was a tumultuous time to assume the national association’s leadership. Civil society seemed to be fraying at the edges, and trust in political institutions and corporations had plummeted in the aftermath of Watergate. Nevertheless, Plank, in her fearless style, took up the challenge head-on. From the start and throughout the span of her sixty-three-year career in public relations, she managed to overcome the very real barriers she faced due to gender-based discrimination in what was a male-dominated industry. As a PR practitioner, Plank served as executive vice president of Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., director of PR planning at AT&T, and assistant vice president of external affairs at Illinois Bell. Beyond her service in the professional realm, Plank grew her legacy by taking the time to mentor countless PR professionals, educators, and students. She saw this dissemination of knowledge as her greatest gift to the field of public relations. In this highly readable biography, Karla Gower explores Plank’s personal life and career, tracing her evolution from a low-level job in advertising through her contributions to the rise of the rapidly changing PR industry in the 1960s and the evolution of her personal devotion to the enhancement of public relations education.

This book aims to provide an interdisciplinary approach to highlight the importance of relationships in public relations, delving not only into the organization-public relationships but also into interpersonal relationships within the industry in order to offer new, empirical insights into the impact and formation of such relationships. Theunissen and Sissons theorize that public relations cannot exist without interpersonal relationships and the ability to create and maintain such relationships. Taking a critical stance, the book will move beyond mere rhetoric and conjecture by providing solid evidence-based research results to inform their theories about the impact of relationships and dialogue on public relations thinking. Rather than following contemporary thinking, it aims to embrace current changes, look ahead and prepare a new generation for the challenges of 21st century public relations practice.

Critical theory has a long history, but a relatively recent intersection with public relations. This ground-breaking collection engages with commonalities and differences in the traditions, whilst encouraging plural perspectives in the contemporary public relations field. Compiled by a high-profile and widely respected team of academics and bringing together other key scholars from this field and beyond, this unique international collection marks a major stage in the evolution of critical public relations. It will increasingly influence how critical theory informs public relations and communication. The collection takes stock of the emergence of critical public relations alongside diverse theoretical traditions, critiques and actions, methodologies and future implications. This makes it an essential reference for public relations researchers, educators and students around a world that is becoming more critical in the face of growing inequality and environmental challenges. The volume is also of interest to scholars in advertising, branding, communication, consumer studies, cultural studies, marketing, media studies, political communication and sociology.