Power, Diversity and Public Relations

147 Pages·2015·1.208 MB·English

by  Lee Edwards

In this fascinating study, Edwards ventures far and wide, drawing on a sophisticated
array of social and cultural theorists to critically dissect the PR profession. She thus
pushes PR scholarship far beyond its comfort zone and into exciting and challenging
new directions.
Aeron Davis, Professor, Goldsmiths University of London, UK
Lee Edwards makes a mark as a major sociologist of public relations with this
stimulating and challenging book on diversity (or the lack of it) in the profession.
Skilfully integrating theory and practice, she offers an incisive analysis of race,
racism, and identity politics in a field where such issues are usually hidden away
in the margins.
Debashish Munshi, Professor, The University of Waikato, New Zealand
Dr Edwards’ book makes a series of important contributions and provides a cul-
tural and institutional history of the development of public relations as an
emblematic profession for our times. It engages in a sophisticated and personal
way with leading gender, critical race and diversity theories, locating these
debates in the contemporary reorganization of professional occupations, and of
the political economy more broadly. And all of this is delivered through a clear
and very compelling narrative.
Daniel Muzio, Professor, Newcastle University, UK
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Power, Diversity and Public Relations
Power, Diversity and Public Relations addresses the lack of diversity in PR by
revealing the ways in which power operates within the occupation to construct
archetypal practitioner identities, occupational belonging and exclusion. It
explores the ways in which the field is normatively constructed through dis-
course, and examines how the experiences of practitioners whose ethnicity and
class differ from the ‘typical’ PR background shape alternative understandings of
the occupation and their place within it.
The book applies theoretical perspectives, ranging from Bourdieuvian and
occupational sociology to postcolonial and critical race theory, to a variety of
empirical data from the UK PR industry. Diversity emerges as a product of the
dialectics between occupational structures, norms and practitioners’ reactions
to those constraints; it follows that improving diversity is best understood as
an exercise in democracy, where all practitioner voices are heard, valued and
encompass the potential for change.
This insightful text will be essential reading for researchers and students in
Public Relations, Communications, Media Studies, and Promotional Industries,
as well as all scholars interested in the sociology of race and work relations.
Lee Edwards is Associate Professor at the School of Media and Communication,
University of Leeds, UK.
Routledge New Directions in Public Relations and
Communication Research
Edited by Kevin Moloney
Routledge New Directions in Public Relations and Communication Research is a
new forum for the publication of books of original research in PR and related
types of communication. Its remit is to publish critical and challenging responses
to continuities and fractures in contemporary PR thinking and practice, and its
essential yet contested role in market-orientated, capitalist, liberal democracies
around the world. The series reflects the multiple and inter-disciplinary forms PR
takes in a post-Grunigian world; the expanding roles which it performs, and the
increasing number of countries in which it is practised.
The series will examine current and explore new thinking on the key questions
which impact upon PR and communications including:
(cid:2) Is the evolution of persuasive communications in Central and Eastern Europe,
China, Latin America, Japan, the Middle East and South East Asia develop-
ing new forms or following Western models?
(cid:2) What has been the impact of postmodern sociologies, cultural studies and
methodologies which are often critical of the traditional, conservative role of
PR in capitalist political economies, and in patriarchy, gender and ethnic roles?
(cid:2) What is the impact of digital social media on politics, individual privacy and
PR practice? Is new technology changing the nature of content communi-
cated, or simply reaching bigger audiences faster? Is digital PR a cause or a
consequence of political and cultural change?
Books in this series will be of interest to academics and researchers involved in
these expanding fields of study, as well as students undertaking advanced studies
in this area.
Public Relations and Nation Building
Influencing Israel
Margalit Toledano and David McKie
Gender and Public Relations
Critical perspectives on voice, image and identity
Edited by Christine Daymon and Kristin Demetrious
Pathways to Public Relations
Histories of practice and profession
Edited by Burton Saint John III, Margot Opdycke Lamme and Jacquie L’Etang
Positioning Theory and Strategic Communications
A new approach to public relations research and practice
Melanie James
Public Relations and the History of Ideas
Simon Moore
Public Relations Ethics and Professionalism
The shadow of excellence
Johanna Fawkes
Power, Diversity and Public Relations
Lee Edwards
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Power, Diversity
and Public Relations
Lee Edwards
Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
(cid:3) 2015 Lee Edwards
The right of Lee Edwards to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Edwards, Lee (Lee M. S.)
Power, diversity and public relations / Lee Edwards.
pages cm. — (Routledge new directions in public relations and
communication research)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Public relations—Social aspects. 2. Public relations personnel.
3. Minorities. I. Title.
HM1221.E39 2014
659.2—dc23
2014009642
ISBN: 978-0-415-81195-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-06970-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Book Now Ltd, London
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