The global public relations handbook

THE GLOBAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

HANDBOOK

THEORY, RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE

EXPANDED AND REVISED EDITION

Communication Series

Jennings Bryant/Dolf Zillmann, General Editors

Selected titles in Public Relations (James Grunig, Advisory Editor) include:

Austin/Pinkleton • Strategic Public Relations Management: Planning and Managing

Effective Communication Programs

Culbertson/Chen • International Public Relations: A Comparative Analysis

Dozier/Grunig/Grunig • Manager’s Guide to Excellence in Public Relations and

Communication Management

Fearn/Banks • Crisis Communications: A Casebook Approach, Second Edition

Grunig • Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management

Grunig/Grunig/Dozier • Excellent Public Relations and Effective Organizations: A Study

of Communication Management in Three Countries

Ledingham/Brunig • Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational

Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations

Lerbinger • The Crisis Manager: Facing Risk and Responsibility

Spicer • Organizational Public Relations: A Political Perspective

THE GLOBAL PUBLIC

RELATIONS HANDBOOK

THEORY, RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE

EXPANDED AND REVISED EDITION

EDITED BY

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH

DEJAN VERČIČ

NEW YORK AND LONDON

First edition published 2003

This edition published 2009

by Routledge

270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

Simultaneously published in the UK

by Routledge

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

The global public relations handbook: theory, research, and practice/(edited) by Krishnamurthy

Sriramesh and Dejan Verčič.—Rev. and expanded ed.

p. cm.

1. Public relations—Cross-cultural studies—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Intercultural

communication—

Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Sriramesh, Krishnamurthy. II. Verčič, Dejan.

HM1221.G57 2008

659.2–dc22

2008023417

ISBN 0-203-88937-1 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN10: 0-415-99513-2 (hbk)

ISBN10: 0-415-99514-0 (pbk)

ISBN10: 0-203-88937-1 (ebk)

ISBN13: 978-415-99513-9 (hbk)

ISBN13: 978-415-99514-6 (pbk)

ISBN13: 978-203-88937-4 (ebk)

CONTENTS

CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES x

FOREWORD

KOÏCHIRO MATSUURA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, UNESCO

xxviii

PREFACE

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH xxx

INTRODUCTION

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH xxxii

I GLOBAL PUBLIC RELATIONS: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

1

A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL PUBLIC

RELATIONS RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH AND DEJAN VERČIČ

3

2

POLITICAL ECONOMY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

SANDRA C.DUHÉ AND KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH 25

3

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND PUBLIC

RELATIONS

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH

52

4

THE MASS MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH AND DEJAN VERČIČ 68

5

ACTIVISM AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

JEONC-NAM KIM AND KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH 85

II ASIA AND AUSTRALASIA

6

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN AUSTRALASIA: FRIENDLY RIVALRY,

CULTURAL DIVERSITY, AND GLOBAL FOCUS

JUDY MOTION, SHIRLEY LEITCH, AND SIMON CLIFFE

107

7

AN OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN JAPAN AND THE

SELF-CORRECTION CONCEPT

TAKASHI INOUE

130

8

PROFESSIONALISM AND DIVERSIFICATION: THE EVOLUTION

OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOUTH KOREA

YUNGWOOK KIM

149

9

BECOMING PROFESSIONALS: A PORTRAIT OF PUBLIC

RELATIONS IN SINGAPORE

CONSTANCE CHAY-NÉMETH

165

10

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MAINLAND CHINA: AN ADOLESCENT

WITH GROWING PAINS

NI CHEN AND HUGH M.CULBERTSON

187

11

SHARING THE TRANSFORMATION: PUBLIC RELATIONS AND

THE UAE COME OF AGE

BADRAN A.BADRAN, JUDY VANSLYKE TURK, AND TIMOTHY

N.WALTERS

212

12

PALESTINIAN PUBLIC RELATIONS-INSIDE AND OUT

R.S.ZAHARNA, AHMED IBRAHIM HAM MAD, AND JANE MASRI 236

13

THE ISRAELI PR EXPERIENCE: NATION BUILDING AND

PROFESSIONAL VALUES

MARGALIT TOLEDANO AND DAVID MCKIE

261

III AFRICA

14

THE NATURE AND STATUS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE IN

AFRICA

CHRIS SKINNER AND GARY MERSHAM

284

15

PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

ERIC KOPER, TAYE BABALEYE, AND JULIA JAHANSOOZI 312

16

STATUS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN KENYA

PETER ORIARE MBEKE 331

17

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA: FROM RHETORIC TO

REALITY

RONÉL RENSBURG

355

18

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN EGYPT: PRACTICES, OBSTACLES, AND

POTENTIALS

KEVIN L.KEENAN

393

IV EUROPE

19

THE UNITED KINGDOM: ADVANCES IN PRACTICE IN A

RESTLESS KINGDOM

JON WHITE, JACQUIE L’ETANG, AND DANNY MOSS

413

20

FROM LITERARY BUREAUS TO A MODERN PROFESSION: THE

DEVELOPMENT AND CURRENT STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC

RELATIONS IN GERMANY

GÜNTER BENTELE AND STEFAN WEHMEIER

441

21

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN NORWAY: COMMUNICATION IN A

SMALL WELFARE STATE

ØYVIND IHLEN AND KJELL S.RAKKENES

466

22

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE POLDER: THE CASE OF THE

NETHERLANDS

BETTEKE VAN RULER

488

23

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SWEDEN: A STRONG PRESENCE

INCREASING IN IMPORTANCE

BERTIL FLODIN

512

24

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN ITALY: MASTER OF CEREMONIES IN A

RELATIONAL SOCIETY

TONI MUZI FALCONI

526

25

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN AN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN

TRANSITION: THE CASE OF POLAND

RYSZARD ŁAWNICZAK, WALDEMAR RYDZAK, AND JACEK

546

26

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN A CORPORATIVIST COUNTRY: THE CASE

OF SLOVENIA

DEJAN VERČIČ

573

27

CHALLENGES OF REVIVED DEMOCRACIES: THE RISE OF

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN ROMANIA

ADELA ROCOJINARU

596

28

A HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY: THE EVOLUTION AND CURRENT

STTVTE OF HUNGARIAN PUBLIC RELATIONS

GYORCY SZONDI

627

29

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN RUSSIA: A

GEOPOLITICAL APPROACH

KATERINA TSETSURA

655

V THE AMERICAS

30

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES: A GENERATION OF

MATURATION

LARISSA A.GRUNIG AND JAMES E.GRUNIG

677

31

A DIFFERENT COUNTRY, A DIFFERENT PUBLIC RELATIONS:

CANADIAN PR IN THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTEXT

FRASER LIKELY

715

32

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY IN MEXICO: FROM

AMATEURSHIP TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DISCIPLINE

MARÍA ANTONIETA REBEIL CORELLA, ALBERTO MONTOYA

MARTÍN DEL CAMPO, AND JORGE ALBERTO HIDALGO TOLEDO

740

33

OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA

MARIA APARECIDA FERRARI 771

34

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN BRAZIL: PRACTICE AND EDUCATION IN

A SOUTH AMERICAN CONTEXT

JUAN-CARLOS MOLLEDA, ANDRÉIA ATHAYDES, AND VIVIAN

HIRSCH

797

35

PUBLIC RELATIONS IN CHILE: SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY AMID

IMPORTED MODELS

MARIA APARECIDA FERRARI

821

VI INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS: KEY DIMENSIONS AND

ACTORS

36

TRANSNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS BY FOREIGN

GOVERNMENTS

MICHAEL KUNCZIK

842

37

PUBLIC RELATIONS OF MOVERS AND SHAKERS:

TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS

DEJAN VERČIČ

872

38

NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL

PUBLIC RELATIONS

ANA TKALAC AND JURICA PAVICIC

887

39

PUBLIC RELATIONS, PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, AND STRATEGIC

COMMUNICATION: AN INTERNATIONAL MODEL OF

CONCEPTUAL CONVERGENCE

MARK A.VAN DYKE AND DEJAN VERČIČ

904

40

MANAGING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN

AFRICA: A COMMUNICATION ETHIC FOR THE GLOBAL

CORPORATION

CORNELIUS B.PRATT

929

41

How TO MANAGE YOUR GLOBAL REPUTATION: THE PUBLIC

RELATIONS AGENCY

MICHAEL MORLEY

949

42

PUBLIC INFORMATION IN THE UNESCO: TOWARD A STRATEGIC

ROLE

VINCENT DEFOURNY

958

43

THE UNITED NATIONS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC

INFORMATION: INTRACTABLE DILEMMAS AND

FUNDAMENTAL CONTRADICTIONS

SETH A.CENTER

975

EPILOGUE

44

THE MISSING LINK: MULTICULTURALISM AND PUBLIC

RELATIONS EDUCATION

KRISHNAMURTHY SRIRAMESH

995

INDEX 1016

CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES

The Editors

Krishnamurthy Sriramesh is Professor of Public Relations at the School of Business,

Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand. Prior to moving to Wellington, he had

taught at Purdue University, the University of Florida, and Nanyang Technological

University and had served as visiting professor at universities in three continents. He has

won the Charles W.Redding Award for Teaching Excellence (Purdue University),

Teacher of the Year (University of Florida) and the Faculty Award for Research as well

as the Golden Gator Award for excellence in research at the University of Florida. In

2004 he was awarded the prestigious Pathfinder Award from the Institute for Public

Relations (USA) for “original scholarly research contributing to the public relations body

of knowledge.” He has published over 55 journal articles and book chapters and has

presented over 60 research papers, seminars, and invited talks in over 20 countries in

Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North America. He has received five top paper

awards at international conferences. He is co-editor of the first edition of this book

(which received the prestigious PRIDE award from the National Communication

Association in the United States) and Public Relations Research: European and

International Perspective and editor of Public Relations in Asia: An anthology. He serves

as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Communication Management and is a member

of the editorial board of scholarly publications such as Journal of Communication,

Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations

Journal, Digital Review of the Asia-Pacific, and the Journal of Information and

Knowledge Management.

Dejan Verčič is a founding partner in Pristop, a communication management

consultancy based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Associate Professor of Public Relations at

the University of Ljubljana. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and

Political Science (LSE). He has published over 200 articles, books, chapters, papers, and

reports. In 2000 he received a special award from the Public Relations Society of

Slovenia, and in 2001 he was awarded the Alan Campbell-Johnson Medal for outstanding

service to international public relations by the UK Chartered Institute of Public Relations

(of which he is a Fellow). He has lectured at academic, professional and business

conferences and workshops in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria,

Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Macedonia,

Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland,

the UK, and the US. He is an active consultant serving major Slovenian and international

corporations, political and government agencies and international organizations. He

served, inter alia, as the chairman of the Research Committee of the IABC Research

Foundation and as the President of the European Public Relations Education and

Research Association (EUPRERA). Since 1994, he has organized an annual International

Public Relations Research Symposium—BledCom. He has recently co-edited Public

Relations Metrics: Research and Evaluation.

The Contributors

Andréia Athaydes earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the Federal

University of Rio Grande do Sul, Puerto Alegre. She graduated as a communication and

political economy specialist from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do

Sul, Puerto Alegre, and has a master’s degree in management and strategic marketing

from the University of Business and Social Sciences of Buenos Aires. Andréia is a

doctoral student of the University of Málaga’s program in organizational communication

and between 1998 and 2001, acted as general secretary and president of the Regional

Council of Public Relations Professionals of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.

Currently, she coordinates the Commission of Integration with Latin America of the

Federal Council of Public Relations Professionals. She is also professor and director of

the Lutheran University of Brazil’s Social Communication program and a visiting

professor of the Facultades Integradas de Taquara’s communication program. From 2000

to 2002, Andréia participated in the Ministry of Education’s Commission of Teaching

Specialists of Social Communication, evaluating public relations programs in various

states of Brazil.

Taye Babaleye, a media/corporate communication consultant, is an accomplished

agriculture and environmental journalist, public affairs commentator, and member of the

Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). Until December 2007 he was Public

Relations Manager of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan,

Nigeria, where he worked for 23 years. He currently teaches public relations at the

University of Ibadan, where he is a doctoral degree student in agricultural

communication. Taye holds a BA (French), Master of Communication Arts (MCA), and

Master of Education (MEd). He is an author, book editor, and newspaper columnist and

his love for journalism and development communication has taken him to several

countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Badran A.Badran is assistant provost and professor of communication at Zayed

University in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. He served as training director of the

Center for Media Training and Research and director of the Department of Public and

Cultural Relations at Zayed University. He holds a PhD in communication from the

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, an MA in Journalism from Indiana University,

Bloomington, and an International Certificate in Travel and Tourism from Oxford

University. He has consulted, lectured and published in public relations, journalism,

tourism promotion and publicity, population and environmental communication, and

communication and media systems in the Middle East.

Günter Bentele is a full professor for public relations at the University of Leipzig,

Germany. In 1994 he was invited to serve as the chair for public relations at the

University of Leipzig, a first for any German-speaking country. Prior to joining the

university, he was associate professor for Communication Science and Journalism at the

University of Bamberg and assistant professor at the Free University of Berlin (1974–

1989). He has served as a guest professor in Zurich and Lugano (Switzerland),

Jyvaeskylae (Finland), Riga (Latvia), Sofia (Bulgaria), and Klagenfurt (Austria) and was

a visiting research scholar at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In 1995 he served as

president of the German Association for Communication and Media Studies and in 2004

he was president of EUPRERA. He still works as a BoD member in this European

organization for PR Education and PR Research. He is author and co-author of 16 books,

has edited and co-edited 21 others, and has written more than 280 scientific articles in the

fields of public relations, communication theory, journalism and semiotics. He is editor

of three book series. In 2004 he received the award of “PR personality 2004” from the

German Association for Public Relations, and in 2007 he was honored by the German

award “professor of the year” from a field of more than 700 nominees.

Seth A.Center BA Cornell University, PhD candidate University of Virgina. The

essay for this volume was written while a Visiting Fellow at the Miller Center of Public

Affairs at the University of Virginia. Mr. Center has written on public diplomacy and

taught courses in American diplomatic history.

Constance Chay-Németh is an assistant professor at the School of Communication

and Information, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her areas of

specialization include public relations, issues and crisis management, health

communication, and critical and postmodern studies. She is currently interested in

studying the effects of the knowledge economy on public relations and knowledge

management. Among other professional duties such as reviewing articles for the Journal

of Public Relations Research, Constance has also worked with public relations

consultancies in the United States and Singapore.

Ni Chen is associate professor of communication at the City University of Hong

Kong. Before joining the faculty at CUHK, she worked for the Hong Kong Baptist

University and universities in the United States. She earned her PhD in mass

communication-journalism from E.W.Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in

1992. She is the author and co-author of refereed journal articles, book chapters, and

conference papers. She is also the co-editor of a book entitled Internal Public Relations:

A Comparative Analysis. She keeps close contacts with colleagues in Mainland China,

doing collaborative research and serving as their life-long distinguished guest lecturer.

Simon Cliffe has previously worked as a Marketing Executive for Cavalier

Bremworth Ltd, as a Public Relations and Marketing Communications Lecturer at the

University of Auckland, New Zealand, and as a Market Research Consultant. Simon is

now traveling and planning to work in the UK.

María Antonieta Rebeil Corella is the Director of the Centro de Investigación para la

Comunicación Aplicada (Center for Applied Communication Research (CICA)) at

Universidad Anahuac Mexico Norte. She is the Research Coordinator for the Consejo

Nacional para la Ensefianza y la Investigación de las Ciencias de la Comunicación

(CONEICC), has been named National Researcher by the Sistema Nacional de

Investigadores since 2004 and Organizational Communication Research Group Co Chair

for the Asociación Mexicana de Investigadores de la Comunicación (AMIC) since 2005.

She has edited and co-edited several books, among which are: in 2008, Etica, Violencia y

Television; in 2006 and 2008 (2nd ed.) Comunicacion estrategica en las Organizaciones;

in 2006, 2007 and 2008 XIII, XIV and XV Anuarios de Investigacion de la Comunicacion

CONEICC; in 1997 and 2000 (2nd ed.) El Poder de la Comunicacion en las

Organizaciones; in 1989, 1991 (2nd ed.), 1997 (3rd ed.) and 2005 (4th ed.) Perfiles del

Cuadrante: Experiencias de la Radio.

Hugh M.Culbertson is Professor Emeritus in the E.W.Scripps School of Journalism,

Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. He co-authored a widely used text, Fundamentals of

News Reporting, in addition to two texts: Research Methods in Mass Communication and

Mass Communication Theory and Research. He is senior author of Social, Political and

Economic Contexts of Public Relations: A Book of Theory and Cases, along with Public

Relations Ethics: Some Foundations. Also, he is senior editor of International Public

Relations: A Comparative Analysis. Culbertson has co-authored more than 58 articles in

refereed journals along with 11 published monographs and book chapters dealing with

varied topics in public relations and mass communication. In 1976, Hugh Culbertson was

named outstanding Graduate Faculty member at Ohio University; in 1985, he received

the Pathfinder Award for excellence in research from the PRSA Research and Education

Foundation; and in 1990, he was named Educator of the Year by the Public Relations

Society of America. He directed the foundations section of the PRSA Body of

Knowledge project in the late 1980s and early 1990s and served on the advisory boards

of the Journal of Public Relations Research (formerly the Public Relations Research

Annual), Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Newspaper Research Journal,

and Public Relations Review.

Vincent Defourny is UNESCO’s representative in Brazil. He joined UNESCO Paris

headquarters in 1997 and for five years worked as a program and project evaluation

specialist trying to use evaluation as an organizational learning tool. After being closely

involved in the elaboration of a new communication strategy for UNESCO in February

2002, he was designated web chief editor. Defourny holds a PhD in communication

studies from the Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-neuve, Belgium, where he

served in the 1980s as assistant lecturer and until 2004 as visiting professor. Along with

his academic activities, he has worked in France, Belgium, and Spain as a consultant for

private companies as well as for public and non-profit organizations. From 1981 to 1984,

he volunteered in Uganda where he worked in the field in education and on community￾based development projects. Defourny published his doctorate thesis on strategic

management of communication and wrote articles on other public relations issues. He is

also co-author of two books on quality management.

Alberto Montoya Martín del Campo is professor, researcher and consultant for

development and public policy at the Research Department of the Universidad

Iberoamericana, Ciudad de Mexico, and Vice President of the Centro de Estudios

Estratégicos Nacionales (CEEN). In past years he has been Director of Informatics

Policies for the Federal Government in Mexico; President of the National Institute of

Solidarity; consultant to the Chamber of Representatives; advisor in diverse industrial,

workers’ and peasant organizations in Mexico. He has written several articles among

which are: in 2007 (with V.Suarez), “Ley de Soberania y Seguridad Agroalimentaria y

Nutricional: un imperativo para la Nación,” in Rumbo Rural; and in 2004 “¿Cómo puede

Mexico ganar la batalla de la competitividad?,” in Cumbre de Negocios en Veracruz; and

a number of books: in 2004, Mexico hacia el 2025; in 2000, Mexico 2010: Pensar y

decidir la proxima decada; in 1992, Mexico ante la Revolucion Tecnologica.

Sandra C.Duhé, PhD, is assistant professor and coordinator of the public relations

program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Prior to joining academia in 2004,

she was a public affairs manager for three multinational corporations working in media

relations, corporate brand management, crisis response, community relations, and risk

communication. She holds Master’s degrees in public relations and applied economics

and received her PhD in political economy from the University of Texas at Dallas. Her

research focuses on corporate public relations with particular interests in political

economy, complexity science, and new media perspectives in public relations practice

and theory.

Toni Muzi Falconi is Senior Counsel to Methodos, an Italian based management

consultancy specializing in transformation management programs. Since 1962, his

experience is essentially in public relations: as manager, consultant and entrepreneur. He

now also teaches global relations and intercultural communication at NYU’s Master of

Science in Public Relations and Corporate Communication; public relations at the

Vatican’s LUMSA University in Rome, and international public relations at Milan IULM

University’s Master in Corporate Public Relations. Author of Il Governo delle Relazioni￾Gorel (2002–2004) II Sole 24 Ore; Relazioni Pubbliche e Organizzazioni Complesse

(2004) Lupetti Editore; In che Senso-Cosa Sono le Relazioni Pubbliche (2008) Luca

Sossella Editore. An honorary fellow of CIPR, he was Chairman of Ferpi (2000–2003),

Founding Chairman of the Global Alliance (2002–2004), and received the Alan Campbell

Johnson Medal in 2003. He is a member of the Commission for Global Public Relations

Research of the Institute for Public Relations.

Maria Aparecida Ferrari is the director of the School of Journalism and Public

Relations at the Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is also an associate

professor there in the undergraduate and graduate programs at the School of

Communications and Arts. She holds a PhD in Public Relations from the University and

an MSc in Public Relations from the same institution (1993). From 1982 to 1992 she

worked as a public relations practitioner at the National Industrial Apprenticeship and

Training Service (SENAI) and as a consultant with national and multinational companies

in Brazil. From 1992 to 1997, she taught public relations in three Chilean universities

(Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad del Pacifico, and Universidad de

Viña del Mar). In 2002, she founded and is currently the editor of the Journalism and

Public Relations Studies Journal (Revista de Estudos de Jornalismo e Relações

Publicas). She is a member of the board of ABRAP-CORP (Brazilian Association of

Public Relations and Communication Organizational Researchers) and also a member of

the editorial board for the International Journal of Strategic Communication. Her

research interests are PR theories, culture, and the practice of public relations in Latin

America.

Bertil Flodin has close to 40 years of experience in public relations. This includes

practical experience as public relations executive for corporations, nongovernmental

organizations, and governmental offices. He spent 12 years as an associate professor and

an associate dean at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the

University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Bertil is the proud recipient of the Gothenburg

University Pedagogic Prize, which he received in 1995 for his excellence in teaching. For

the past five years, he has worked as a full-time public relations consultant. His

assignments have involved strategic communications counsel in crisis communication,

public affairs, business intelligence and knowledge management, internal

communication, civic information, and the education of professional communicators. He

was involved in the creation of crisis communications plans for companies, wrote a

handbook on crisis communications for public authorities, and published a number of

research reports on public relations and crisis communication.