--

5 (1) 2015

The way public relations practitioners influence media agendas in Vietnam


Author - Affiliation:
Van Thi Hong Loan - Ho Chi Minh City Open University , Vietnam
Corresponding author: Van Thi Hong Loan - loan.vth@ou.edu.vn

Abstract
The paper provides empirical evidence for the development of the theory of media agendasetting. The power of the media, according to the theory, has been changed in public relations in Vietnam. Public relations practitioners have power to shape media content as they desire. This research uncovers that public relations practitioners not only impact media agendas as the theory describes, but also do the job of journalists. While public relations practitioners in the West use framing and information subsidies to influence media agendas for the public, this study indicated that practitioners in Vietnam tend to be responsible for public relations editorials that are considered as the main duty of media people. The paper additionally explains the way Vietnamese journalists conduct news to underpin understanding of the characteristics of media relations in the country. This paper also presents a Tripolar model of corporate, media and public agendas which was designed based on the research data.

Keywords
Agenda-setting; Framing; Media agendas; Information subsidies; Public relations

Full Text:
PDF

References

Bateson, G. (1955). A theory of play and phantasy. Psychiatric Research Reports, 2, 39-51.


Berkowitz, D. & Adams, D. B. (1990). Information subsidy and agenda-building in local television news. Journalism Quarterly, 67, 723-731.


Berkowitz, D. & Lee, J. (2004). Media relations in Korea: Cheong between journalists and public relations practitioners. Public Relations Review, 30, 431-437.


Cameron, G. T., Sallot, L. M. & Curtin, P. A. (1997). Public relations and the production of news: A critical review and theoretical framework. Communication Yearbook 20. Newbury Park, California: Sage.


Chen, N. (1996). Public relations in China: The introduction and development of an occupational field. In: Culbertson, H. M. & Chen, N. (eds.) International public relations: A comparative analysis. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.


Cobb, R. W. & Elder, C. D. (1972). Participation in American politics: The dynamics of agendabuilding, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press.


Curtin, P. A. (1999). Reevaluating public relations information subsidies: Market driven journalism and agenda-building theory and practice. Journal of Public Relations Research, 11, 53-90.


Curtin, P. A. & Rhodenbaugh, E. (2001). Building the news media agenda on the environment: A comparison of public relations and journalistic sources. Public Relations Review, 27, 179-195.


Cutlip, S. M., Center, A. H. & Broom, G. M. (2006). Effective public relations, Upper Saddle River, New York, Pearson Prentice Hall.


Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward a clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43, 51-58.


Gandy, O. H., Jr. (1982). Beyond agenda setting: Information subsidies and public policy Norwood, New Jersey, Ablex.


Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.


Hallahan, K. (1999). Seven models of framing: Implications for public relations. Journal of Public Relations Research, 11, 205-42.


Harrison, K. (2011). Strategic public relations: A practical guide to success, South Yarra, Victoria, Palgrave Macmillan Publishers Australia.


Huang, Y. H. (2000). The personal influence model and gao guanxi in Taiwan Chinese public relations. Public Relations Review, 26, 219-36.


Kopenhaver, L. L. (1985). Aligning values of practitioners and journalists. Public Relations Review, 11, 34-42.


Lang, G. E. & Lang, K. (1981). Watergate: An exploration of the agenda-building process. Mass Communication Review Yearbook, 2, 447-469.


Lipschultz, J. H. (1991). A comparison of trial lawyer and news reporter attitudes about courthouse communication. Journalism Quarterly, 68, 750-763.


McCombs, M. (1992). Explorers and surveyors: Expanding strategies for agenda-setting research. Journalism Quarterly, 69, 813-824.


McCombs, M. (2005). A look at agenda-setting: past, present and future. Journalism Studies, 6, 543-557.


McCombs, M. & Ghanem, S. (2001). The convergence of agenda setting and framing. In: Reese, S., Gandy, O. & Grant, A. (eds.) Framing public life: perspectives on media and our understanding of the social world. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.


McCombs, M. E. & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36, 176-185.


McKinney, B. (2007). An investigation into the perceptions of public relations of Vietnamese business managers. Public Relations Quarterly, 52, 44-48.


Newsom, D., Turk, J. V. & Kruckeberg, D. (2000). This is PR: The realities of public relations Belmont, California, Wadsworth.


Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền (2010). Co-orientation study of professional relationship, public relations practitioners' roles, and news values between Vietnamese journalists and public relations practitioners (PhD thesis). Korea: Sogan University.


Reese, S. D. (1997). Framing public life: A bridging model for media study. A synthesis keynote review presented at the inaugural conference of the Center for Mass Communications Research, College of Journalism and Mass Communication of the University of South Carolina. Columbia.


Roberts, M. & McCombs, M. (1994). Agenda setting and political advertising: Origins of the news agenda. Political Communication, 11, 249-262.


Sriramesh, K., Kim, Y. & Takasaki, M. (1999). Public relations in three Asian cultures: An analysis. Journal of Public Relations Research, 11, 271-292.


Sriramesh, K. & Verčič, D. (2009). The global public relations handbook: Theory, research, and practice, New York, Routledge.


Stanton, R. C. (2009). Focus on Asian public relations management. In: Chia, J. & Synnott, G. (eds.) An introduction to public relations: from theory to practice. Australia and New Zealand: Oxford University Press, 357-384.


Stanton, R. C. (2007). Media relations, Melbourne, Victoria, Oxford University Press.


Taylor, M. (2000). Toward a public relations approach to nation building. Journal of Public Relations Research, 12, 179-210.


Turk, J. V. (1985). Information subsidies and influence. Public Relations Review, 11, 10-25.


Van Leuven, J. K. (1996). Public relations in South East Asia from nation-building campaigns to regional interdependence. In: Culbertson, H. M. & Chen, N. (eds.) International public relations: A comparative analysis. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.


Van Thi Hong Loan (2014). The nature of public relations in Vietnam. Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University, 4(12) 2014, 54-66.


Watson, J. (2008). Media communication: An introduction to theory and process, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.


Weaver, D. & Elliot, S. M. (1985). Who sets the agenda for the media? A study of local agenda building. Journalism Quarterly, 62, 87-94.


Williams, A. (2004). Examining agenda-setting and framing theories from a public relations perspective: Implications for professional practice and future research approaches. Paper presented at the Public Relations Division of the International Communication Association annual convention. New Orleans, LA.


Wu, M. Y., Taylor, M. & Chen, M. J. (2001). Exploring societal and cultural influences on Taiwanese public relations. Public Relations Review, 27, 317-336.


Zoch, L. M. & Molleda, J. (2006). Building a theoretical model of media relations using framing, information subsidies and agenda-building. In: Botan, C. H. & Hazleton, V. (eds.) Public relations theory II. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.



Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.