Handbook of Public Relations

The Handbook of Public Relations is another in the series of communication handbooks which has distinguished SAGE Publications. Like its companion handbooks, it offers a comprehensive and detailed examination of the topic. It gives students, scholars, and practitioners a solid review of the status of the scholarly literature, stressing the role that public relations can play in building relationships between organizations, markets, audiences, and the public.

The Handbook is divided into five sections. 

• Section one defines the field, seeking to explain the role public relations play in society. 
• Section two examines the state of the practice by delving into the cutting edge issues of management, ethics, gender, evaluation, public relations education, and media. 
• Section three challenges academics and practitioners to identify the best practices that shape the daily activities of practitioners. 
• Section four looks at the fascinating and daunting challenges the new communication technology pose for scholars and practitioners. 
• Section five takes a global view, examining theories in international public relations as well as the trends in practice that will shape the field in the coming years.

No other book in public relations is as comprehensive in its inclusion of authors and its coverage of academic research, theory, and best practices. Global in scope, the book′s contributors comprise an academic "who′s who" of the public relations discipline. The Handbook offers one-stop shopping for the best insights into the definition of the field of public relations, the practice, and best practices. It has substantial insights into the impact of new communication technologies and the global challenges of international public relations. A must-have reference for libraries and practitioners, the book also is ideal for upper level and graduate study of public relations.

Robert L. Heath, professor emeritus of communication at the University of Houston, is an internationally recognized authority on public relations, crisis communication, issues management, risk communication, and business-to-business communication. He has published many award-winning books, including The SAGE Handbook of Public Relations (2010), Handbook of Risk and Crisis Communication (2009), Strategic Issues Management (2nd ed., 2009), Rhetorical and Critical Approaches to Public Relations II (2009), and Terrorism: Communication and Rhetorical Perspectives (2008).

Heath has 3 decades′ experience in corporate communication and positioning research. He has conducted research on risks related to various hazards, including those associated with chemical manufacturing and community right-to-know―key themes in community relations. In addition, he has published more than 100 chapters and articles and serves on the editorial and reviewer panels of several premier academic journals. He has received many honors from public relations professionals and academic associations and has lectured nationally and internationally on a wide array of topics.