International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

News media are the dominant way in which organizations of society disseminate information and persuasion to the general public (→ News ). Networking, relationship building, and producing works to be published in the media are daily work for most → public relations (PR) practitioners. The relation between the PR industry and the news media is therefore of interest for research in both PR and → journalism (→ Corporate Reputation ; Trust of Publics ). The relation between the groups can be studied from at least two starting points. One is functional and instrumental, with the aim of improving the knowledge and skill of PR practitioners on how to deal with the press, and is often taught in handbooks. The other is research in social and political science, together with cultural and rhetorical studies, with the purpose of depicting and explaining the relation as well as discussing its implications for society and democracy (→ Cultural Studies ; Rhetorical Studies ; Rhetorical Theory of Public Relations ). Several researchers argue that a media focus has, in fact, grown in importance to the PR industry, especially pertaining to those active on the scene of policy shaping in the broader sense. Manning (2001) argues that media work has become a more central part of political activity in recent years, in line with Blumler's earlier findings that publicity advisors, PR experts, ... log in or subscribe to read full text