Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
21 p.
Publication Date
2006
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Source Publication
Journal of Mass Media Ethics
Source ISSN
0890-0523
Original Item ID
doi: 10.1080/08900523.2006.9679731
Abstract
Advocates of dialogic communication have promoted two-way symmetrical communication as the most effective and ethical model for public relations. This article uses John Durham Peters’s critique of dialogic communication to reconsider this infatuation with dialogue. In this article, we argue that dialogue’s potential for selectivity and tyranny poses moral problems for public relations. Dialogue’s emphasis on reciprocal communication also saddles public relations with ethically questionable quid pro quo relationships. We contend that dissemination can be more just than dialogue because it demands more integrity of the source and recognizes the freedom and individuality of the source. The type of communication, such as dialogue or dissemination, is less important than the mutual discovery of truth. Reconciliation, a new model of public relations, is proposed as an alternative to pure dialogue. Reconciliation recognizes and values individuality and differences, and integrity is no longer sacrificed at the altar of agreement.
Recommended Citation
Stoker, Kevin L. and Berg, Kati Tusinski, "Reconsidering Public Relations’ Infatuation with Dialogue: Why Engagement and Reconciliation Can Be More Ethical Than Symmetry and Reciprocity" (2006). College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications. 14.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comm_fac/14
Comments
Accepted version. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Vol. 21, No. 2-3 (2006): 156-176. DOI. © 2006 Taylor & Francis. Used with permission.
Kati Tusinski Berg was affiliated with University of Oregon at the time of publication.
The author of this document, Kati Tusinski Berg, published under the name Kati Tusinski at the time of publication.