The activist reformation of PR in the attention economy

Challenge or resist dominant discourses: Authenticity as a strategic component of activist public relations

“…In the context of each organization, there is competitiveness to capture media attention. Considering that the current media ecosystem works based on the “attention economy”, this represents an opportunity and an added challenge for activism (Stoeckle, 2019: 279). Because it is easier to trigger a momentum of focus on a given topic, but it is more difficult to sustain this momentum over time, and this can jeopardize the perceived authenticity of communication (Stoeckle, 2019).…”

“…Considering that the current media ecosystem works based on the "attention economy", this represents an opportunity and an added challenge for activism (Stoeckle, 2019: 279). Because it is easier to trigger a momentum of focus on a given topic, but it is more difficult to sustain this momentum over time, and this can jeopardize the perceived authenticity of communication (Stoeckle, 2019). There are issues that cannot legally be communicated by pharmaceutical companies, but when they are brought to the public sphere by patient associations such as GAT, they acquire greater mediatic expression…”

“…In strategic communication and public relations, the objective is “positioning an idea, a persona, a political ideal, an ideology” in the minds of audiences (James, 2014). Public relations are comprehended as “purposive, persuasive strategic organizational communication” (Stoeckle, 2019: 279). Habermas’s (1984) concept of ‘communicative action’ - that involves two-way dialogical communication oriented towards consensus - was theorized as legitimate, this is, an authentic approach to negotiation in the wider public interest in opposition to strategical approaches.…”