Offers a comprehensive examination of the field of public relations. Divided into five sections, this book explains the role of public relations in society. It also examines the state of the practice by looking at various issues in management, ethics, gender, evaluation, public relations, education and media.

PART ONE: DEFINING THE DISCIPLINE Introduction - Robert L Heath Shifting Foundations: Public Relations as Relationship Building Two-Way Symmetrical Public Relations: - James E Grunig Past, Present and Future A Rhetorical Enactment Rationale for Public Relations - Robert L Heath The Good Organization Communicating Well Public Relations and Community - Kenneth Starck and Dean Kruckeberg A Reconstructed Theory Revisited Cultural Topoi - Greg Leichty and Ede Warner Implications for Public Relations Updating Public Relations - David McKie `New Science′, Research Paradigms and Uneven Developments In Search of a Metatheory for Public Relations - Roy Leeper An Argument for Communitarianism Interpersonal Communication and Public Relations - W Timothy Coombs Public Relations Field Dynamics - Jeffrey W Springston and Joann Keyton Bringing Publics into Public Relations - Shirley Leitch and David Neilson New Theoretical Frameworks for Practice Research Perspectives on `The Public′ - Gabriel M Vasquez and Maureen Taylor Public Relations and Crisis Communication - Matthew W Seeger, Timothy L Sellnow and Robert R Ulmer Organizing and Chaos Public Relations as Contested Terrain - George Cheney and Lars Thoger Christensen A Critical Response PART TWO: DEFINING THE PRACTICE Introduction - Robert L Heath The Dynamics of Change in Public Relations Practice Dynamics of Change The Mystery of Public Relations - Fritz Cropp and J David Pincus Unraveling Its Past, Unmasking Its Future Defining the Relationship between Public Relations and Marketing - James G Hutton Public Relations′ Most Important Challenge Extending Strategic Planning to Communication Tactics - Laurie J Wilson Public Relations and the Question of Professionalism - Magda Pieczka and Jacquie L′Etang How Feminist Theory Advanced the Practice of Public Relations - Elizabeth L Toth Public Relations Law - Michael G Parkinson, Daradirek Ekachai and Laurel Traynowicz Hetherington Integrating Planning and Evaluation - Tom Watson Evaluating the Public Relations Practice and Public Relations Programs Media Effects Research for Public Relations Practitioners - Beth Olson Stewardship - Kathleen S Kelly The Fifth Step in the Public Relations Process Activism - Michael F Smith and Denise P Ferguson Public Relations and Conflict Resolution - Kenneth D Plowman, William G Briggs and Yi-Hui Huang Organizational Legitimacy Public Relations and the Ecology of Organizational Change - James L Everett The Centrality of Organizational Legitimacy to Public Relations Practice - Maribeth S Metzler Issues Management - Cornelius B Pratt The Paradox of the 40-Year US Tobacco Wars Utilizing the Collapse Model of Corporate Image for Campaign Message Design - Mary Anne Moffitt Educating Practitioners The Workplace, Undergraduate Education and Career Preparation - Gayle M Pohl and Dee Vandeventer The Public Relations Academic and Practitioner Views Accreditation - Bonita Dostal Neff Is There Access to the Process for All Public Relations Academic Programs - If Desired? Case Studies and Their Use in Public Relations - John J Pauly and Liese L Hutchison Public Relations Ethics Public Relations and Social Responsibility - Emma L Daugherty Public Relations Ethics - Kenneth D Day, Qingwen Dong and Clark Robins An Overview and Discussion of Issues for the 21st Century Ethics in Public Relations - Patricia A Curtin and Lois A Boynton Theory and Practice Public Relations between Universality and Particularity - Tanni Haas Towards a Moral-Philosophical Conception of Public Relations Ethics The Measurement of Ethics - Kathie A Leeper Instruments Applicable to Public Relations PART THREE: IN SEARCH OF BEST PRACTICES Introduction - Robert L Heath Learning Best Practices from Experience and Research Best Practices in Planning and Organization A New Order for Public Relations - H R Hutchins Goodbye Cost Center, Hello Profit Center Best Practices in the Public Relations Agency Business - Catherine L Hinrichsen Strategic Media Planning - Kirk Hallahan Toward an Integrated Public Relations Media Model Improving Corporate and Organization Communications - Dean Kazoleas and Alan Wright A New Look at Developing and Implementing the Communication Audit Best Practices in Crisis Communication Crisis Communication - Kathleen Fearn-Banks A Review of Some Best Practices Anticipatory Model of Crisis Management - Bolanle A Olaniran and David E Williams A Vigilant Response to Technological Crises Corporate Apologia - Keith Michael Hearit When an Organization Speaks in Defense of Itself Race and Reputation - Gail F Baker Restoring Image beyond the Crisis Best Practices in Relationship Building Relationships Within Communities - Laurie J Wilson Public Relations for the New Century Managing Community Relationships to Maximize Mutual Benefit - John A Ledingham and Stephen D Bruning Doing Well by Doing Good Best Practices in Educational Public Relations Educational Public Relations - Julie Kay Henderson Strength in Diversity - Barbara J DeSanto and R Brooks Garner The Place of Public Relations in Higher Education Institutions Sports Information Directing - Nicholas C Neupauer A Plea for Helping an Unknown Field Best Practices in Context Political Power through Public Relations - Lori Melton McKinnon, John C Tedesco and Tracy Lauder Labor and Public Relations - Tricia Hansen-Horn The Unwritten Roles Public Relations in the Health Care Industry - Laurel Traynowicz Hetherington, Daradirek Ekachai and Michael G Parkinson PART FOUR: PUBLIC RELATIONS IN CYBERSPACE Introduction - Robert L Heath The Frontier of New Communication Technologies Cyberspin - Edward J Lordan The Use of New Technologies in Public Relations Online Research Techniques for the Public Relations Practitioner - Susanne Elizabeth Gaddis Public Relations and New Media Technology - Jeffrey K Springston The Impact of the Internet The Development of a Structuration Analysis of New Publics in an Electronic Environment - Zoraida R Cozier and Diane F Witmer PART FIVE: GLOBALIZING PUBLIC RELATIONS Introduction - Robert L Heath Globalization: The Frontier of Multinationalism and Diversity International Public Relations - Maureen Taylor Opportunities and Challenges for the 21st Century Effective Public Relations in the Multinational Organization - Robert I Wakefield International Public Relations - Doug Newsom, Judy VanSlyke Turk and Dean Kruckeberg A Focus on Pedagogy New Zealand Perspectivess on Public Relations - Judy Motion and Shirley Leitch The Development of Public Relations in China, Russia and the United States of America - Mark McElreath, Ni Chen, Lyudmila Azarova and Valeria Shadrova The Changing Shape of Public Relations in the European Union - David Miller and Philip Schlesinger Middle East Public Relations - Rise Jane Samra A New Frontier in the United States