10.

1177/2046147X15569397 2015

Public Relations Inquiry

2015, Vol. 4(1) 3­–4
Editorial © The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/2046147X15569397
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Jacquie L’Etang
Queen Margaret University, Scotland, UK

Timothy Coombs
University of Central Florida, USA

Jordi Xifra
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

Our opening article takes us back to territory explored in our first ever issue 3 years ago.
Duhring explores what she sees as the fragmentation of the public relations discipline
(although she notes that the term itself is becoming taboo and being replaced by the ano-
dyne terms ‘communication management’ or ‘strategic communication’) and a gradual
absorption into business and management that implies an abandonment of communica-
tions. While she is encouraged by increased diversity, she regrets the lack of a consistent
and unique ‘body of knowledge’. She outlines the historical development of theoretical
approaches prior to exploring the interstices of varied nomenclatures to argue that public
relations as a discipline is broken up into several sub-disciplinary subfields to suggest
that public relations is ‘on its way to postdisciplinarity’.
Our next two articles contribute to debate concerning stakeholder theory. Maier dis-
cusses the relatively low impact of Freeman’s stakeholder theory on public relations and
cites De Bussy’s (2010) comment that ‘the stakeholder concept remains shrouded in
definitional ambiguity and handicapped by poorly conceptualised measurement tech-
niques’. Maier argues that the potential of stakeholder theory, which has heavily influ-
enced the management discipline (and also managerial perspectives on corporate social
responsibility), has been under-analysed within public relations. His article serves as a
corrective, using the pragmatic philosopher Richard Rorty to provide a new reading of
Freeman’s work that provides distinct insights for public relations thinkers. Maier’s
intervention highlights humanistic and therapeutic visions of social hope that offer an
insightful and reflective alternative to instrumental interpretations of stakeholder theory.

Corresponding author:
Jacquie L’Etang, Queen Margaret University, Scotland, UK.
Email: JLetang@qmu.ac.uk
4 Public Relations Inquiry 4(1)

Rorty’s response to contingency leads him to propose a way of viewing the world that
retains personal perspectives, simultaneously exploring and appreciating the dissonance
that results from understanding other ways of looking at the world. Thus, Maier argues
that Freeman’s stakeholder theory and Rorty’s pragmatic philosophy imply a new vision
for public relations as humane conversation. Mundy’s contribution is contextualised by
stakeholder theory, relationship management theory, and social movement theory. His
historically inflected empirical project draws to queer theory to explore Gay Pride activ-
ism over a 40-year period during which time the collective identities within the move-
ment became more clearly acknowledged.
Place’s empirical research examined how the essentialising of gender shapes the pub-
lic relations industry and explores gendered tensions evident through analysis of the
ways in which women define gender. She notes multiple sources that indicate gendered
stereotypes and sexism within public relations, and she draws on gender and feminist
theorists, intersectionality theory and race. Her analysis shows that ‘heteronormative,
masculine-based systems of gender socialization [are] embedded in our organisations,
the public relations industry and society’.
Tilley’s empirical research explored public relations ethics across 13 organisations
using poststructuralist feminist discourse analysis ‘to examine organizational public
relations practitioner’s testimony about ethical practice in their day-to-day working
lives’. The research also incorporated an action research strand employing an iterative
methodology to develop models relevant for the workplaces that had elected to take part
in the second stage of the research. Several key themes emerged, but perhaps of greater
significance was the elaboration of reflexive critical consciousness of participants.
Our final article explores discourse relevant to nation building in the context of a
study that explored speeches delivered by Singapore government leaders. Lee’s study
employed a critical metaphor analysis focused on political speeches and builds on nation
building and public diplomacy research in public relations.
Finally, we welcome additional editors to strengthen the existing team – Magda
Pieczka and Lee Edwards – and a new books review editor – Clea Bourne. We look for-
ward to their combined contributions as Public Relations Inquiry consolidates its explor-
atory and interdisciplinary scope.

Reference
De Bussy NM (2010) Dialogue as a basis for stakeholder engagement. In: Heath RL (ed.) The
SAGE Handbook of Public Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp.127–144.