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GOVN 444/CMNS 444: Media Relations (Rev. 3) Report a Broken Link

In this course you will learn about the foundations of public relations as well as an overview of what is called critical public relations studies—perspectives on the study (and not just the practice) of public relations through a variety of theories and case studies.

Unit 1: Foundations of Public Relations

Cardin, M., & McMullan, K. (2015). Public relations in Canada. In Canadian PR for the real world (pp. 1–35). Pearson Canada.
Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (2002). A propaganda model. In Manufacturing consent: The political economy of mass media (pp. 1–36). Pantheon Books.
Lambert, C. A. (2017). Post-racial public relations on primetime television: How Scandal represents Olivia Pope. Public Relations Review, 43(4), 750–754.
Mackey, S. (2006). Misuse of the term “stakeholder” in public relations. PRism, 4(1).

Unit 2: The Day-to-Day of Public Relations

Thurlow, A. (2009). “I just say I’m in advertising”: A public relations identity crisis? Canadian Journal of Communication, 34(2), 245–263.
Clark, T., Guivarra, N., Dodson, S., & Hunt, Y. W. (2019). Asserting an Indigenous theoretical framework in Australian public relations. PRism, 15(1), 50–65.

Unit 3: Journalism and Public Relations

Ikonen, P., Luoma-aho, V., & Bowen, S. A. (2017). Transparency for sponsored content: Analysing codes of ethics in public relations, marketing, advertising and journalism. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 11(2), 165–178.
Cole, D. (2020). direct action (april). In The skin we’re in: A year of Black resistance and power (pp. 61–78). Doubleday Canada.
Billard, T. (2021). Movement-media relations in the hybrid media system: A case study from the US transgender rights movement. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 26(2), 341–361.
Trevisan, F. (2017). Crowd-sourced advocacy: Promoting disability rights through online storytelling. Public Relations Inquiry, 6(2), 191–208.

Unit 4: Digital Worlds and Public Relations

Hutchins, A. L. (2021). Participatory publics: #NASASocial events and fan engagement. In A. L. Hutchins & N. T. J. Tindall (Eds.), Public relations and online engagement: Audiences, fandom, and influencers (pp. 35–42). Routledge.
Harp, R., TallBear, K., & Callison, C. (2019, December 24). Putting an Indigenous frame on stock photography (189) [Audio podcast episode]. In Media Indigena: Indigenous current affairs.
Thurlow, A. (2019). Volkswagen: Truth, accuracy and plausibility. In Social media, organizational identity and public relations: The challenge of authenticity (pp. 78–84). Routledge.
Hagelstein, J., Einwiller, S., & Zerfass, A. (2021). The ethical dimension of public relations in Europe: Digital channels, moral challenges, resources, and training. Public Relations Review, 47(4). 
Arnaquq-Baril, A. (Director). (2016). Angry Inuk [Film]. National Film Board of Canada. 

Unit 5: The Environment and Public Relations

Ruiz-Blanco, S., Romero, S., & Fernandez-Feijoo, B. (2021). Green, blue or black, but washing–what company characteristics determine greenwashing? Environment, Development, and Sustainability. 
Michaels, L., & Ainger, K. (2019). The climate smokescreen: The public relations consultancies working to obstruct greenhouse gas emissions reductions in Europe—a critical approach. In N. Almiron & J. Xifra (Eds.), Climate change denial and public relations: Strategic communication and interest groups in climate inaction (pp. 159–177). Routledge.
Blacker, S., Kimura, A. H., & Kinchy, A. (2021). When citizen science is public relations. Social Studies of Science, 51(5), 780–796. 
Waldron, I. (2018). The road up ahead. In There’s something in the water: Environmental racism in Indigenous and Black communities (pp. 128–140). Fernwood Publishing.

Unit 6: Government and Public Relations

McVean, S. (2015). Government relations. In W. Wray Carney & L.-A. Lymer (Eds.), Fundamentals of public relations and marketing communications in Canada (pp. 341–364). University of Alberta Press.
Marland, A. (2017). Strategic management of media relations: Communications centralization and spin in the government of Canada. Canadian Public Policy, 43(1), 36–49.
Nathoo, T., & Ostry, A. (2009). Protecting, promoting, and supporting? 1990–2000. In The one best way? Breastfeeding hstory, politics, and policy in Canada (pp. 152–182). Wilfred Laurier University Press.

Unit 7: Panic! Crisis Communication and Public Relations

Koerber, D. (2017). Defining the field. In Crisis communication in Canada (pp. 15–35). University of Toronto Press. 
Ciszek, E. (2016). A corporate coming out: Crisis communication and engagement with LGBT publics. Case Studies in Strategic Communication, 5, 72–98. 
Klein, N. (2018). Shock-after-shock-after-shock doctrine. In The battle for paradise: Puerto Rico takes on the disaster capitalists (pp. 41–49). Haymarket Books.
Arbel, E. (2019). Rethinking the “crisis” of Indigenous mass imprisonment. Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 34(3), 437–456. 
Tuck, E. (2009). Suspending damage: A letter to communities. Harvard Educational Review, 79(3), 409–427, 539–540.