Top Trending Book: An Overview of the Public Relations Function

Summarily, Bowen, Rawlins, and Martin eliminate some long-standing false dichotomies, such as whether one must choose between being a PR professional and being ethical. Nor is it necessary to choose between writing for an academic or professional audience. Finally, it is not mandatory that an ethicist, whether in the classroom or in print, choose between taking a stand and being a credible source of information. In some exceptional situations, one may accomplish all of these goals concurrently. Excellent evidence is entitled An Overview of the Public Relations Function. -- Thomas W. Cooper (2011): Ethics in Public Relations Clothing, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26:2, 183-186.
An Overview of the Public Relations Function provides an executive overview of the field of public relations with a focus on what managers need to know to master the function quickly and effectively. The authors bring to bear on the topic of public relations management our research and academic knowledge in the areas of business management and strategy, mass communication, marketing, public relations, organizational communication, journalism, ethics, and public opinion along with years of professional experience in managing public relations. Throughout the text, we integrate the academic with the professional by asking: How can an executive use this knowledge to make the most of the public relations function, department, and initiatives in order to help their whole organization be successful?

So it is important to find a new book, An Overview of the Public Relations Function, by Shannon A. Bowen, Brad Rawlins, and Thomas Martin (2010) which is impressive and which flows the right way around. Yet, in an age of value relativism and moral continental drift, it is refreshing to find a text written about ‘‘the maestros of spin,’’ which both demonstrates and urges the right way around. -- Tom Cooper, Emerson College, Journal of Communication ISSN 0021-9916