Rethinking public relations. Persuasion, democracy and societyKevin Moloney and Conor McGrath Routledge, 2020. 194 pages. Hardback. £36.99. ISBN: 9780367313005

• Author: Christopher Robertson
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2181
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Date: 01 August 2020

BOOK REVIEW

Rethinking public relations. Persuasion, democracy and society

Edited by Kevin Moloney jConor McGrath

Routledge, 2020. 194 pages. Hardback. £36.99. ISBN: 9780367313005

In this book, the authors provide an excellent third edition that

reiterates messages from previous work (2000, 2006) yet, augments

these arguments by considering new avenues of public relations

(PR) and its contribution to liberal democracies. Firstly, the authors

justify their locus by situating their research through an evaluative,

literature-led lens that continues the argument from previous editions

that PR is “weak propaganda.”

This “weak propaganda”provides challenges and benefits to

democracy, with the authors determining this “weak propaganda”in

relation to PR from a neutral, probing lens. Expanding upon previous

editions, the authors consider not just the structural components of

PR but also introduce its rhetorical components, and how rhetorical

strategies affect notions such as CSR, stakeholder relationships and

the quintessentially symbiotic press-PR relationship.

Furthermore, the authors expand by exploring the role of digital

and social media (DSM's) for the first time. Whilst potentially demo-

cratically troubling, the authors argue that the utilization of DSM's

could reconfigure traditional power relationships and provide the

opportunity for nonelites to conduct effective PR, such as through

digital activism and bottom-up agenda-setting.

The authors also address pertinent questions surrounding the

democratic legitimacy of PR. It is asserted that PR “is instrumental

not idealistic…and so reduces trust creation”(Moloney & McGrath,

2020, p. 22), and is widely viewed pejoratively, with the aut hors pro-

viding a critically balanced lens into tensions of PR in relation to

democracy. Expanding upon previous editions, the authors situate PR

in relation to rhetoric and persuasive communication, whetherthis

can be ethical, what the democratic implications of “weak propa-

ganda”and persuasive communication are, and how this affects elite

discourses within society. Important questions are raised, withthe

conclusion offering recommendations of how PR can be amel iorated,

which is particularly pertinent given that “public relations will likely

become more pervasive in the future, not less”(Moloney & McGrath,

2020, p. 147).

Over the book's 9 chapters, important questions across busi-

ness, communications, and journalism are raised that further

understanding as to how PR impacts upon democracy, how PR has

transformed in the age of “fake news,”“churnalism,”and DSM's,

alongside recommendations for how PR can be reconfigured to

prevent democratic deficiencies. Written clearly and concisely, the

authors conclude by determining that a “Niagara”of persuasive

communications could hamper democratic norms, whilst PR can

also be determined as “the ‘voice’of policy pluralism…[PR] is

expressed by competing interests in a liberal democracy”

(Moloney & McGrath,2020, p. 128). Here, the authors suggest

reform of the PR industry to prevent further deprecatory percep-

tions of PR and highlight its democratic potential. By determining

that PR should become more transparent, audiences should be

trained to recognize PR, and journalism should re-embrace its

watchdog function and reject “PR-isation,”the authors discern

through these mechanisms, PR could enact a more democratically

efficacious function.

The preliminary strength of this text is its excellent readability

and utilization of case-studies which are appropriated to rigorously

evaluate complex topics, yet, is written accessibly so that undergradu-

ates but also experts can benefit from reading. The book raises impor-

tant interdisciplinary questions and offers timely insights into how the

PR is developing and affecting democracy. Through evaluating, and

often contesting anachronistic hypotheses, this book offers an insight

for scholars and practitioners into PR in the 21st century, and how it

can better serve democracy, rather than erode it. One weakness is

that the conclusive recommendations, whilst pertinent, could be per-

ceived as idyllic and may take much work to be incorporated into

PR. Whilst the increase in PR training is practical, the symbiotic rela-

tionship between journalism and PR is unlikely to wane swiftly, as it

has become ingrained in contemporary journalism. These recommen-

dations could be illuminated further by more empirical investigations

into PR's practical impact upon democracy in order to further contend

the reconfiguration of PR.

Yet, this is an excellent text that will be essential reading for

students, scholars and practitioners across disciplines. Concisely writ-

ten, important topics are addressed and supported by an array of

scholarly, and empirically-grounded case studies.

Christopher Robertson

Doctoral Researcher and Visiting Lecturer, Department of Social and

Political Science, University of Chester, Chester, UK

Received: 5 May 2020Accepted: 6 May 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2181

J Public Affairs. 2020;20:e2181.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd1of2

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2181