Comments on: Public Relations Theory II

By: Symmetry » Occupy Wall Street: A Lesson in Two-way Communication

Symmetry » Occupy Wall Street: A Lesson in Two-way Communication — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:50:03 +0000

[...] Erlbaum, L. (2006). Public Relations Theory II [Review of the book Public Relations Theory II]. EducationPR. Retrieved from http://educationpr.org/2007/01/12/public-relations-theory-ii/ [...]

By: paul baker

paul baker — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:18:52 +0000

Pat, I’m sorry to hear that. I realize the text is quite technical. Perhaps it’s best used by those already in the field with some years of experience. May I ask what school you attend? Paul

By: pat

pat — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:13:52 +0000

I hate this book. It does not make any sense and my professor is barely teaching out of it. Upon reading class notes and reading this text there is no method of understanding. This book is thick with non-sense words and isn’t helpful on any level.

By: paul

paul — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:34:50 +0000

HI. Thanks for the note. You might contact the publisher, or ask your library to purchase a copy.
The publisher is Lawrence Erlbaum http://www.amazon.com/Public-Relations-Theory-Leas-Communication/dp/0805833854/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233239645&sr=1-1

By: Adams

Adams — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:53:57 +0000

I have been much inspired by your book, am a third year university students in university of Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania, persuing Public Relations and Advertising.
i need your fever in accesing your book.
hope to hear from you the soonest.

By: PR Cogitations » It’s a two-way street

PR Cogitations » It’s a two-way street — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:58:34 +0000

[...] with two-way communication with the public yet? It has been said this is PR of the future and I can see it but I’m not hearing from the influencers [...]

By: toughsledding

toughsledding — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 20:46:21 +0000

That’s great to hear, Paul. As I recall, the legal profession was forced to move in this direction by plain-language legislation (though I’m not sure how one defines “plain”). It stands to reason that if we make our research efforts and monographs accessible, more will benefit from what we do. Also, the profession might just pony up more cash to fund our work. As a former PR professional, I got kind of attached to active voice and subject-verb-object constructions.

I’ve explored your blog a bit more since this morning. Keep at it. A very useful resource to be sure. Let me know if you ever want to teach this subject. I’m guessing you’d fit right in.

By: paul

paul — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:22:10 +0000

Thanks, Bill. You’re right that it takes determination to plow through some of the prose. When I was a grad student in English I found that the farther along I went, the more arcane the academic language became. Each discipline evolves its own metalanguage, accessible only to insiders. Fortunately, there’s a budding movement within the American Educational Research Association to alert researchers to the benefits of learning to write to a general audience. A panel at the April conference will address that issue. I’m giving a brownbag talk to some grad students here in Madison this week on how to put oneself in the place of different readers coming from different specialties and with different motivations. One brownbag talk won’t change much, but it may lead to more discussion.

By: toughsledding

toughsledding — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:50:32 +0000

Nice summary, Paul. And yes, there is indeed much of value in PRTII. We use this text in our first graduate course, PR Theory & Practice, at Kent State, as it articulates the symmetrical paradigm well, and it moves theory-building forward. That said, our students don’t share this high opinion of Botan & Hazelton’s book, as so much of the prose is downright difficult to access. I can’t argue their point.

Why we do this to ourselves I’ll never understand. As one of my esteemed colleagues likes to say: Before you submit anything (academic) for publication, you must run it through the “dull-a-tron.” He has accepted convoluted writing as part of the academic culture. I’m still fighting the battle for clarity. I await the day that academe places the same value on clear communication as our sisters and brothers in PR practice. Thankfully, I’m a patient man.