Title

Privileging an activist vs. a corporate view of public relations history in the U.S

Authors

Authors

W. T. Coombs;S. J. Holladay

Comments

Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

Abbreviated Journal Title

Public Relat. Rev.

Keywords

Public relations history; Activism; Activists; Corporate-centric; INTERNET; Business; Communication

Abstract

This article elaborates on the argument that the history of U.S. public relations has been distorted by the emphasis on corporate functions of public relations. The dominant corporate-centric view of U.S. public relations history often claim that public relations developed as a response to activists who attempted to interfere with business operations. That myopic, corporate-centric view has perpetuated a negative view of public relations as merely a tool of "big business". In the past as well as the present, corporations have been learning from and co-opting activists' innovative public relations techniques. By alternatively grounding U.S. public relations history in the works of activists, we open possibilities for re-imagining the field and legitimizing activists' works as a positive, central component in public relations theory and research. We end by providing resources educators can utilize to teach a more balanced view of public relations history in the U.S. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Journal Title

Public Relations Review

Volume

38

Issue/Number

3

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Language

English

First Page

347

Last Page

353

WOS Identifier

WOS:000306029200003

ISSN

0363-8111

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