Whether one sees it as unwelcome, underappreciated, or unnoticed, public relations has an important influence on modern society. In the second edition of their award-winning book, W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay provide a broad and thorough look at the field of public relations in the world today and assess its impact on society’s values, knowledge, and perceptions.
The authors show how public relations affects society--both positively and negatively--and use a range of global, contemporary examples from multi-national corporations through to the non-profit sector to prove their point. The authors have thoroughly revised and updated the book with discussion of new issues, including the search within the profession for a definition of PR; the role and limitations of social media; the emergence of Issues Management; how private politics is shaping corporate behavior; and the rise of global activism and the complications of working in a global world. The authors also provide a nuanced and balanced discussion of ethical concerns for professionals in the field that doesn’t rely on oversimplification of the issues. Well organized and clearly written by two leading scholars, this is a must-read for students and professionals in strategic communication.
