The Public Relations Handbook (Media Practice)

The Public Relations Handbook, Fifth Edition provides an engaging overview and in-depth exploration of a dynamic and ever evolving industry. The diverse chapters are united by a set of student friendly features throughout, including clear chapter aims, analytical discussion questions, and key further reading.

Featuring wide ranging contributions from key figures in the PR profession, the new edition presents a new chapter on public relations and activism, alongside discussion of key critical themes in public relations research and exploratory case studies on public relations practices in relation to a variety of different institutions, including The Bank of Scotland, Queen Margaret University, Diabetes UK, Continental Tyres, and Action for Children.

Split into four parts exploring key conceptual themes of the context of public relations, strategic public relations, stakeholder public relations, and shaping the future, the book offers coverage of essential areas including:

• public relations, politics and the media
• media relations in the social media age
• using new technology effectively in public relations
• public relations and engagement in the not-for-profit sector
• business-to-business public relations
• the public relations of globalisation.

Alison Theaker has over 25 years’ experience in public relations and management as a practitioner and academic. She was the first Head of Education and Training at the then Institute of Public Relations, as well as Principal Lecturer and Course Leader in Public Relations at Leeds Business School and Scholar in Residence in the School of Marketing Communication at Emerson College, Boston, US. She is an elected Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and co-authored Effective Media Relations. She has delivered research papers at conferences in the UK, US and Australia on team-working in public relations, improving students’ writing skills and the future of PR as a profession. She is now a PR coach for small businesses, running her own consultancy, The Spark, in Devon, www.thesparkuk.com, as well as an Associate Lecturer at Birmingham City University and a Chief Examiner for the CIPR internal communications qualifications.