The Public Relations Handbook (Media Practice)

In this updated edition of the successful Public Relations Handbook, a detailed introduction to the theories and practices of the public relations industry is given. Broad in scope, it; traces the history and development of public relations, explores ethical issues which affect the industry, examines its relationships with politics, lobbying organisations and journalism, assesses its professionalism and regulation, and advises on training and entry into the profession. It includes:

• interviews with press officers and PR agents about their working practices
• case studies, examples, press releases and illustrations from a range of campaigns including Railtrack, Marks and Spencer, Guinness and the Metropolitan Police
• specialist chapters on financial public relations, global PR, business ethics, on-line promotion and the challenges of new technology
• over twenty illustrations from recent PR campaigns.

In this revised and updated practical text, Alison Theaker successfully combines theoretical and organisational frameworks for studying public relations with examples of how the industry works in practice.

Alison Theaker is Head of Education and Training at the Institute of Public Relations and was formerly principal lecturer and course leader in Public Relations at Leeds Business School. In 2002-2003 she taught at Emerson College, in Boston, MA. She is the co-author of Effective Media Relations