Journalism and PR
Unpacking ‘Spin’, Stereotypes, and Media Myths
Summary
This book reviews 100 years of research into the interrelationship between journalism and PR and, based on in-depth interviews with senior editors, journalists, and PR practitioners in several countries, presents new insights into the methods and extent of PR influence, its implications, and the need for transparency and change, making it a must-read for researchers and students in media studies, journalism, public relations, politics, sociology, and cultural studies.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword
- Chapter One: The Contentious Relationship between Journalism and PR
- The Profession that Dares Not Speak its Name
- ‘Churnalism’
- The Discourse of Denial
- The Discourse of ‘Spin’
- The Discourse of Victimhood
- The Discourses of ‘Honest Brokers’, Dialogue, and Relationships
- The ‘Doctrine of Selective Depravity’ vs. the Moral Majority
- Chapter Two: Understanding Journalism
- Models and Theories of Media—What Media and Journalism Do (or Should Do)
- The Fourth Estate and Watchdog Journalism
- Key Political Actors in the Public Sphere
- Cornerstone of Democracy
- The Propaganda Model of Media
- Cultural Intermediaries
- The Decline of Journalism
- New Forms of Journalism
- Chapter Three: Understanding Public Relations
- Press Agents and ‘Flacks’—The Murky World of 19th-Century PR
- PR as Counsel
- The Four Models—PR Becomes Theorized and Legitimized?
- Excellence Theory of PR—Normative Notions and Professionalization
- Contemporary Critical Thinking in and about PR
- The ‘Sociocultural Turn’ in PR
- The Growth of PR
- The Activities of PR
- PR’s Skeletons—Toxic Sludge, the Gulf War, Asbestos, and Other ‘PR Disasters’
- Counter PR
- Chapter Four: What 20 Years of Practice and Case Studies Reveal
- Home Boy/Girl Stories—Everyday PR
- Saving an Outback Town in Prime Time
- The Journalism–PR Two-Step
- MACRO and Microsoft
- The Voice of Vodafone
- Humas and Brown Envelopes for Journalists in Jakarta
- Postscript to a PR Career
- Chapter Five: What 100 Years of Media Research Reveals
- The Influence of Press Agents in the Early 20th Century
- The Growing Influence of PR, 1920–2000
- PR-ization of Media in the 21st Century
- The ‘Culture War’ in Media Production
- Architects of Framing, Priming, and Agenda Building, Setting, and Cutting
- Strategic Vs. Communicative Action
- So Now We Know What Happens, Why and How Does it Occur and Does it Matter?
- Chapter Six: Journalism and PR Today—An International Qualitative Study
- Methodology
- Pilot Study Findings
- Journalists’ and PR Practitioners’ Perceptions of Each Other
- How and Why Journalists Use PR—The Pragmatic Perspective
- Relationships—The Glue that Holds Journalism and PR Together
- The Flawed Theory of Symbiosis
- The Construction and Deconstruction of Trusted Sources
- Acculturation of PR as Trusted Sources
- Ethics—Can Journalists or PRs Pass the Test?
- Transparency—Maybe!
- Regulation
- Education and Training
- The Role and Impact of Social Media—Practitioners’ Perspectives
- The Other Invisible Side of PR
- Structure of the PR Industry
- Professional PR Associations
- Developmental Media Relations
- A Taxonomy of PR Roles
- Chapter Seven: New Media Practices and the Blurring of Boundaries
- Social Media—Let’s All Be Friends!
- Citizen Journalism—The Fifth Estate or the End of Journalism?
- Revenge of the Bloggers and ‘The People Formerly Known as the Audience’
- PR 2.0 and 3.0
- Chapter Eight: Future Directions for Journalism, PR, and the Public Sphere
- Countering PRegemony through ‘Discursive Reflection’ and Debate
- Transparency—Disclosure and Attribution of PR Material
- Rules of Engagement
- Codes of Practice and Self-regulation Vs. Regulation
- Educating Journalists
- Educating PR Practitioners
- Educating Educators
- Rethinking Media and the Public Sphere
- Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations
- References
- Index
- Also by the Author
About the Author
Jim Macnamara, PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC*, brings a unique perspective to this analysis of the controversial relationship between journalism and public relations, having worked as a journalist, as a PR practitioner, and as a media researcher for many years, before becoming a media and communication academic.
He began his career writing for small country newspapers in Australia. These were “inauspicious and inconspicuous beginnings” according to the author. However, over the next decade he wrote as either a staff reporter or freelancer for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Land, Country Life, People magazine, Walkabout, Overlander, and Australian Playboy.
As happens with many journalists, the financial lure of public relations brought a career change and he then spent almost 20 years working in PR roles, including serving as deputy manager of international PR consultancy Hill & Knowlton in Sydney, before co-founding and heading a successful communication consultancy where he coordinated corporate and marketing communication for clients including Microsoft, Dell Computer, Vodafone, and Singapore Airlines.
← 283 | 284 → In 1994, after completing a Master of Arts by research examining the influence of PR on the media, he established the Asia Pacific office of the leading international media research firm CARMA International (Computer Aided Research and Media Analysis) and worked as a media researcher for a decade before selling the company and taking up an academic post as Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in journalism, media studies, and literary studies and a Master of Arts by research in media studies from Deakin University, Geelong; a Graduate Certificate in Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney; and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in media research from the University of Western Sydney.
Note
* Fellow of the Public Relations Institute of Australia; Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute of Australia; Certified Practicing Marketer; Fellow, International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication.
About the book
The interrelationship between journalism and public relations (PR) is one of the most contentious in the field of media studies. Numerous studies have shown that 50–80 per cent of the content of mass media is significantly shaped by PR. But many editors, journalists, and PR practitioners engage in a ‘discourse of denial’, maintaining what critics call the dirty secret of journalism—and PR. Media practitioners also engage in an accusatory ‘discourse of spin’ and a ‘discourse of victimhood’. On the other hand, PR practitioners say they help provide a voice for organizations, including those ignored by the media. Meanwhile, the growth of social media is providing new opportunities for governments, corporations, and organizations to create content and even their own media, increasing the channels and reach of PR.
This book reviews 100 years of research into the interrelationship between journalism and PR and, based on in-depth interviews with senior editors, journalists, and PR practitioners in several countries, presents new insights into the methods and extent of PR influence, its implications, and the need for transparency and change, making it a must-read for researchers and students in media studies, journalism, public relations, politics, sociology, and cultural studies.
“Jim Macnamara sets the stage for a long-needed dialogue between journalism and public relations, defining their respective roles and the relationship between the two fields. The evidence of their interdependence is abundant, and this dialogue is essential in today’s crowded communication landscape. Both journalism and PR have fringe operators and high-minded operators…significant codes of practice grounded in transparency must become paramount in both journalism and PR. The scholarly background needed to advance professional excellence is detailed in this book.” —MAX MCCOMBS, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
“A sharp and astringent account of the love that dares not speak its name—PR and journalism. Jim Macnamara’s book challenges stereotypes and makes a compelling case for the positive role PR can play in our democracy and our media, while at the same time cautioning about some PR practices and calling for improved standards and transparency in both journalism and PR.” —CATHARINE LUMBY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY
This eBook can be cited
This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.
← VIII | IX → Acknowledgments
I gratefully thank the journalists and public relations, public affairs, and corporate communication practitioners who generously agreed to be interviewed as part of research that informed this book. In addition, I wish to acknowledge and recognize media and PR professionals who offered suggestions and introductions, particularly Barry Leggetter at the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) and Nick Grant, the CEO of Mediatrack in London, as well as Amanda Millar in Sydney who undertook interviews in the pilot study while working with me as a postgraduate student.
I am also indebted to my publisher, Peter Lang New York, particularly Mary Savigar, who helped bring this book into existence—the second research monograph that we have worked on together—and to the University of Technology, Sydney, which funded and supported my research.
And as always, a special thank you for everything is due to my wife, friend, and intellectual partner, Dr Gail Kenning.
Jim Macnamara, PhD, FPRIA, FAMI, CPM, FAMEC ← IX | X →
← XX | 1 → CHAPTER ONE
“The fingerprints of PR are all over the news” (journalist Miriam Cosic, 2008, para. 7).
“It’s the invisible hand behind much of the news, the sophisticated spin machine that can rescue reputations or crucify a competitor. And some of its practitioners will stop at nothing” (journalist Jane Cadzow, 2001, p. 20, in a major feature article titled ‘The Hidden Persuaders’).
“The PR industry…consciously fabricates news” (Nick Davies, 2009, p. 203, in Flat Earth News).
“PR fabricates pseudo-evidence…pseudo-events…pseudo-leaks…pseudo-pictures…pseudo-illnesses…pseudo-groups” (Nick Davies, 2009, pp. 172–193).
“Increasingly…[news] is unfiltered public relations generated surreptitiously by corporations and governments” (critical media scholar Robert McChesney, 2013, p. 183).
“The PR industry now plays a powerful and pivotal role in the gathering, packaging, and distribution of news and information” (Andrew Currah, 2009, p. 61, in a report by The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University).
“This huge industry of manipulation—targeted at structurally vulnerable media—feeds falsehood and distortion directly into our news channels” (Nick Davies, 2009, p. 167).
← 1 | 2 → “The growth of PR is threatening the integrity of the press” (title of Westminster University debate, as cited in McCrystal, 2008, p. 47).
“Spin has been the most corrosive element to hit journalism in my lifetime…the tentacles of spin reach into every part of news gathering, clouding or corrupting the facts” (journalist Mark Day, 2013).
“In some cases the line between news story and press release has become so blurred that reporters are using direct quotes from press releases in their stories without acknowledging the source” (Christine Russell, 2008, para. 2, writing in Columbia Journalism Review).
“Some short-staffed newspapers are only too grateful to be stuffed full of scarcely rewritten news releases” (Tony Harcup, 2009, p. 32, in the journalism textbook Journalism: Principles and Practices).
“Journalists tend to take the line of least resistance and select those news items that are easiest to find and edit. The items are those provided by public relations companies, corporate communications departments and political image-makers” (Lynette Sheridan Burns, 2002, p. 27, in Understanding Journalism).
Details
- Pages
- XX, 284
- Publication Year
- 2014
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433124273
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781453913550
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781454197416
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781454197423
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781433124266
- DOI
- 10.3726/978-1-4539-1355-0
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2014 (October)
- Keywords
- interrelationship influence transparency
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2014. 284 pp., num. ill.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG
Biographical notes
Jim Macnamara (Author)
Jim Macnamara (PhD, University of Western Sydney) is Professor of Public Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, a position he took up in 2007 after a 30-year professional career spanning journalism, public relations, and media research. He is author of 12 books including The 21st Century Media (R)evolution: Emergent Communication Practices (Peter Lang, 2014) and Public Relations Theories, Practices, Critiques (2012).
