August 24, 2021

By. Gregoria A. Yudarwati, Meganusa P. Ludvianto and Ina N. Ratriyana, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Ethic of care is a novel yet less-preferred concept in addressing crisis communication and PR practices. Developed by Gilligan, the concept contends that organizations’ crisis communication attempts should integrate more care in mind rather than merely prioritizing compliance to established rules, namely ethics of rule.

We are not to argue that adhering to rules is wrong – it yields organizational benefits… More

August 16, 2021

By Erin Willis, University of Colorado-Boulder; Erin Schauster, University of Colorado-Boulder; Maria Len-Rios, University of Georgia;  and Marjorie Delbaere, University of Saskatchewan

In very recent years, we’ve seen the rise of the social media influencer – someone who creates content for their social media followers. Brands are working with social media influencers to build trust through authentic, curated content. Followers perceive influencers as being experts on specific topics with relevant sources of information, and support for opinions and… More

August 12, 2021

By Stephanie Madden, Penn State University and Abbey Levenshus, Butler University

Running for political office at any level is a grueling, time-consuming, and expensive undertaking for any candidate. For women with political ambitions, the very desire to run for elected office can call into question their “authenticity” given the status quo of who has traditionally held public office. Despite challenges associated with gender bias, women are increasingly running for, and winning, elections. 

Given the leadership gap, women’s… More

August 9, 2021

By Teri Del Rosso, University of Memphis

In spring 2021, labor organizers representing Alabama-based Amazon warehouse workers were handed a crushing blow when the majority of the workers voted against unionization.

According to Alina Selyukh of NPR, this campaign to organize Bessemer, Alabama workers meant that Amazon had “withstood the largest union push yet among its U.S. workers." Unfortunately, the struggle that is facing labor activists at Amazon is consistent with other U.S. unions with union… More

August 4, 2021

By: Chuqing Dong, Michigan State University and Jordan Morehouse, Clemson University

Declining public trust, increasing political polarization, and ongoing social injustice and inequality issues are just a few of the challenges the U.S. government has faced and continues to grapple with today. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified and complicated these issues, evidenced by numerous government failures in providing public services, disseminating accurate and consistent messages, and responding to citizen needs.

Amid the turbulent environment, open and… More

July 28, 2021

By Weiting Tao and Yeunjae Lee, University of Miami

In today’s environment, employee engagement and relationships with their organizations have become particularly fragile. The psychological, physical, and financial distress brought by the global pandemic and by organizational changes in response to the pandemic (e.g., downsizing, relocation, cutting benefit, and teleworking) has put employees in a vulnerable state and has made organizational care for employees a top priority of the public relations practice.

Meanwhile, global concerns around problematic… More