Public relations capitalism versus societal purpose

Anne M. Cronin challenges the role of public relations in society and its contribution to organisational purpose.

Public relations corrupts conversation in the public sphere and has contributed to a breakdown of the social contract. It has also contributed to a breakdown of traditional democratic process and democratic representation in the UK.

Corporations, and to some extent charities, have stepped in to fill the gap left by the government since the 1970s as the state has retrenched. In turn society has been redefined. Political values have been replaced by goods and services. People understand and benchmark themselves through symbols of consumerism.

This is public relations capitalism. It is the title of a book by Anne M. Cronin. It is the symptom of the increased dominance of corporate power. Cronin argues that we are moving towards post democracy shaped by the influence of corporations, governments and controlling elites.

It’s a bold assertion that is hard to argue in many industry sectors such as aviation, media, oil and gas, and technology.

The book was published in 2018, long before COVID-19. The pandemic has triggered a reexamination of corporate values and focus on environmental, societal and governance (ESG) concerns.

Again, it is hard to argue that corporations are driven by anything other than a commercial imperative. How can corporations claim otherwise when the Companies Act in the UK demands that directors be accountable to shareholders as their primary stakeholder, and financial performance as their primary objective?

Public Relations Capitalism: Promotional Culture, Publics and Commercial Democracy is a challenging read. Cronin is sceptical of the value promised by the commercial public relations industry. She does not hold back in her criticism of the public relations industry.

The pitch of public relations to corporations is based on many aspects of democratic process such as listening, community building, representation, and ultimately providing a voice.

Cronin argues that this is simply not the reality of its proposition. She suggests that practitioners act in an increasingly widening democratic gap, invisible to the public.

Cronin urges us to examine the behaviour of corporations versus the values that they portray. She suggests that we will repeatedly find dissonance. Undoubtedly there are exceptions, but they are exceptional.

Public relations practice inserts itself between the activities of an organisation and how they are reported to the public via the media and social media. It mediates and manages information flow through the strategic use of language and use of third-party endorsements.

The public relations practice of using fabricated or manipulated stories into the news cycle for promotional gain is an example of what has become known as fake news. This practice has also become commonplace in political discourse. It’s an issue that the PRCA Climate Misinformation panel chaired by Don’t Cry Wolf John Brown is focused on.

Cronin suggests that a core element of the commercial promise of public relations to corporations is to make public information more predictable. This stability builds trust with the public and stability despite political turbulence such as Brexit and COVID-19 and intense social change. It drives reputation and sales.

Public relations in the public sector is an omission from Cronin’s analysis. Here I suggest that she would find a more equitable relationship between organisations and the public.

Cronin also fails to call out examples of poor practice among corporations but she doesn’t need to – examples are all too easy to find.

My view as a practitioner with more than 20 years experience remains optimistic. Cronin has analysed public relations from the perspective of a social science. It’s a young profession that is working hard to professionalise and improve its status as a management discipline.

Critical texts such as Public Relations Capitalism: Promotional Culture, Publics and Commercial Democracy remind us that it is very much a work in progress.

Cronin is a reader in the sociology department at Lancaster University in the UK.

Public Relations Capitalism: Promotional Culture, Publics and Commercial Democracy
Palgrave Macmillan
January 2018, £30