Abstract
Public relations practitioners have long relied on the press release, or news release, as a means of communicating with publics via the media. The news release may also be seen as an autobiographical narrative through which the organization seeks to express and negotiate aspects of its identity. Reconceptualizing news releases as a narrative genre offers a means of studying processes of identity construction as events unfold, rather than relying on post hoc reconstructions that can explain away inconsistencies. Organizational crises offer an excellent opportunity for research, as organizations strive to make sense of complex situations of uncertainty. This study examines the bankruptcy scandal of Italian multinational Parmalat to illustrate how the news release may be configured as a narrative genre that helps to construct organizational identity.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 9-18 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Public Relations Review |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Crisis communication
- Narrative theory
- Organizational identity
- Parmalat
- Public relations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
- Marketing