Depth Public Relations

<p>Contemporary global culture, rooted in neoliberalism and free market forces, increasingly emphasises appearance over substance. People and organisations are judged by image and reputation while social media encourages and enables us to develop our own public persona. </p><p>This book explores the rise of promotional communication with a particular focus on public relations (PR) and its role. Organisations, from local charities to multinational corporations, employ professional PR staff to manage promotional communication, and even public institutions must position themselves in the marketplace to secure funding and approval. To what extent has PR contributed to this culture of display, this masquerade of emptiness?</p><p>This book argues that the climate crisis demands not more performance but a new approach, one of ‘depth public relations’. This concerpt builds on ideas not only from public relations, but also psychology, sociology and philosophy, as well as introducing the voices of climate activists and others seeking a deeper relationship with the human and non- human worlds.</p><p>The proposed principles of depth public relations offer suggestions for theory and practice, with profound implications for PR and related fields, and will interest all scholars of the changing communication environment.</p> <p><em>Acknowledgments</em></p><p>Chapter 1. Overture: Introduction</p><p><strong>Act I Curtain Up</strong></p><p>Chapter 2. Playing the part: identity issues in public relations</p><p>Chapter 3. Roll up Roll up: public relations and promotional culture</p><p>Chapter 4. All the world a stage: public relations as performance</p><p>Chapter 5. Masquerade</p><p><strong>Act II After the Masquerade</strong></p><p>Chapter 6. Beneath the mask: a Jungian approach</p><p>Chapter 7. After the masquerade: down, not out</p><p>Chapter 8. Public relations and the planet: not a case study</p><p>Chapter 9. Curtain call: depth public relations</p><p>Chapter 10. Conclusions, observations, research directions and reflections</p><p>Index</p>