Protest Public Relations: Communicating dissent and activism

Description

Global movements and protests from the Arab Spring to the Occupy Movement have been attributed to growing access to social media, while without it, local causes like #bringbackourgirls and the ice bucket challenge may have otherwise remained unheard and unseen. Regardless of their nature – advocacy, activism, protest or dissent – and beyond the technological ability of digital and social media to connect support, these major events have all been the results of excellent communication and public relations. But PR remains seen only as the defender of corporate and capitalist interests, and therefore resistant to outside voices such as activists, NGOs, union members, protesters and whistle-blowers. Drawing on contributions from around the world to examine the concepts and practice of "activist," "protest" and "dissent" public relations, this book challenges this view. Using a range of international examples, it explores the changing nature of protest and its relationship with PR and provides a radical analysis of the communication strategies and tactics of social movements and activist groups and their campaigns. This thought-provoking collection will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of public relations, strategic communication, political science, politics, journalism, marketing, and advertising, and also to PR professionals in think tanks and NGOs. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of figures List of tables Notes on contributors Protest public relations: communicating dissent and activism – an introduction The chapters of this book Defining protest, dissent, and activist PR Conclusion References 1 The slow conflation of public relations and activism: understanding trajectories in public relations theorising Defining public relations and activism Pluralism, public relations and activism and as “the other” Public relations subjectivities: practitioners as activists Social-culturalperspectives: activism as public relations Public relations as “other”: critical, Marxist and postcolonial perspectives Conclusion Note References 2 Activist nation: Australia and the 1916 conscription referendum Establishing the tactics, networks and rhetoric Pro-conscription activism and government recruiting committees Anti-war activists and the anti-conscription movement – leveraging negative publicity Conclusion Notes References 3 Activists as pioneers in PR: historical frameworks and the suffragette movement Introduction Dominant historical frameworks overlook protest PR Expanding the history of PR to include its role in society Historical developments and the media context The suffragettes: historical analysis Branding National focus and photo opportunities (modern) Celebrity and human interest (modern) Co-creationand participatory tactics (post-modern) The suffragettes’ lesson for PR Enduring trends: referencing protest history Conclusion Notes References 4 Second-wave feminist movement in Turkey through an activist PR perspective The intersection of public relations and activism Second wave feminism in Turkey Consciousness raising meeting: an awakening Demonstrations, festivals, petitions Magazines, periodicals and books Outcomes of the movement Conclusion Notes References 5 Public relations for social change: shock tactics in feminist activism in Eastern Europe Historical trajectories of “shock” communication in feminist movements Feminism and dissent The “naked truth” of FEMEN Pussy Riot: “blasphemy” as provocation So similar, yet so different Notes References 6 Protesting the homeland: diaspora dissent public relations efforts to oppose the Dominican Republic’s citizenship policies Foreign media and image of nations The importance of diasporas Protesting the homeland Media advocacy in dissent public relations Case study: opposing the 2013 Dominican citizenship ruling The 2013 citizenship ruling Diaspora response to the 2013 ruling The Dominican government’s response: the 2014 naturalization law Media advocacy outcomes Conclusion Notes References 7 Activists’ communication and mobilization tactics to find Ayotzinapa’s 43 disappeared students Successful PR strategy History Activists’ communication and mobilization tactics Ayotzinapas 43’s lessons Conclusion Notes References 8 Reading Gezi Park protests through the lens of protest PR A brief history of public relations from a societal perspective From activist to protest PR Shared goals: saving the trees amidst increasing authoritarianism Conclusion Notes List of interviewees References 9 Archiving activism and/as activist PR: Occupy Wall Street and the politics of influence Introduction: archiving and activism Authority over image: “external” activism Accountability: internal activism Accessibility: long-term plight of archives Conclusion Notes References 10 Romania’s protest: from stakeholders in waiting to activists’ becoming PR practitioners Publics vs. stakeholders vs. PR practitioners as activists Activists, social movements and the Romanian winter From stakeholders in waiting to activism Notes References 11 Activist PR in Vietnam: public participation via Facebook to save 6,700 trees The 6,700 trees protection movement Social media and the uses and gratifications of public participation Public interaction on Facebook and message types Tone, motivations, and the effectiveness of public’s comments on Facebook A starting point in activist PR in Vietnam Conclusion Notes References 12 The beginning of the end: telling the story of Occupy Wall Street’s eviction on Twitter Public relations and digital technology Twitter as Occupy owned media The ethics of using social media data Mainstream media and the “protest paradigm” Shifting to a social media storytelling strategy Telling the story of the eviction Communication failure of authorities From participation to engagement: Twitter storytelling as PR for social movements Notes References 13 Activist public relations: moving from frames as objects to framing as a dynamic process Activist PR Social movement framing Conclusion Notes References 14 Digital media, journalism, PR, and grassroots power: theoretical perspectives Introduction Activism in journalism and public relations in the context of the dominant paradigms Journalism and public relations: advocacy and activism Digital networked economy, blurring of the lines between journalism and public relations in activism and beyond: continued debate Conclusion References 15 The activist reformation of PR in the attention economy Introduction Social media and global conversations Attention is the new oil From symmetry and excellence to critical theory and consilience The role and theory of activist PR in society Metamodernism – social theory for a reformed activist PR? Conclusion Notes References Index