The secrecy−transparency dynamic: A sociological reframing of secrecy and transparency for public relations research

Cronin, Anne M.

doi:10.1177/2046147x20920800

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Ringel (2019) uses this insight to discuss the performative nature of secrecy and transparency and to suggest that new forms of secrecy emerge in reaction to transparency measures. The Dialogic Performativity of Secrecy and Transparency Cronin (2020) approaches the relationship between secrecy and transparency in the domain of public relations. Describing secrecy and transparency as a "composite entity" (p.226) or as "conjoined twins" (p.230), Cronin (2020) centrally argues that the shifting dynamics between the two are not merely situated in existing social relations, but actively contribute to their constitution.…”

Section: The Nexus Between Secrecy and Transparencymentioning

confidence: 99%

The dialogic performativity of secrecy and transparency

Fan

Christensen

2023

Human Relations

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How does the pursuit of transparency and insight tend to produce secrecy and vice versa? In popular and political discourse, secrecy and transparency are usually depicted as mutually exclusive practices. At the same time, we know from extant research that the two are closely related, that they each have performative effects, and tend to encroach on each other. The inseparability and performative dynamics between the two, however, remains to be unfolded. This critical essay revisits the secrecy-transparency relationship through the lens of Edgar Morin’s dialogical principle. From this perspective, we argue that secrecy-transparency dialogics perform as a complex whole, involving both complementary and antagonistic forces. As an illustration of dialogic performativity, we draw on the phenomenon and practice of ‘open meetings’ in public sector organizations. Specifically, we argue that the ambiguous fascination with knowing and not knowing create conditions for simulated insight and self-imposed conformity in ways that recalibrate the relationship between transparency and secrecy. On this background, we call for renewed critical and reflexive engagement with the transparency ideal and its presumed antipode, secrecy.

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Section: The Nexus Between Secrecy and Transparencymentioning

confidence: 99%

The dialogic performativity of secrecy and transparency

Fan

Christensen

2023

Human Relations

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“…While both taboos and silences are widely considered negative and associated with repression particularly in Western societies, they may also be used as the weapon of the weak, a means of resistance by camouflage, silent protest, rejection of hostile discourse and escape from surveillance (Ladson-Billings, 1996;Scott, 2008). They might both have liberating effects such as the use of protection of privacy in the Internet, secret ballots in voting practice and individual medical histories (Cronin, 2020). Silence may also be avoidance, both of the issue itself but also of the emotional and personal costs often involved in confronting the issue and raising it publicly for and engaging in activism to make change, which puts individuals at risk of public sanctions, shaming, abuse and trolling or even violent attacks and prosecution.…”

Section: Taboos Stigmas Silences and Voicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taboos in health communication: Stigma, silence and voice

Dimitrov¹,

Jelen²,

L'Etang³

2022

Public Relations Inquiry

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When we issued a call for papers in the summer 2019, little did we know that this special issue Taboos in Health Communication: Stigma, Silence and Voice will see the light of day in a very different world to the one BC, i.e. Before COVID-19. Just as the first manuscripts started to arrive towards the end of the year, the new coronavirus infectious respiratory illness started in Wuhan, China and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 (WHO, 2020). COVID-19 rapidly swept through the globe with unprecedented health, economic and social consequences. Up until October 2021, when this editorial was written, more than 235 million of confirmed COVID-19 cases and almost 5 million deaths have been registered worldwide (WHO, 2021), making this the most deadly pandemic in living memory. COVID-19 has not only had disastrous consequences for public health. Various levels of preventative measures and restrictions to slow or stop its spread and protect health systems from being overwhelmed have resulted in a global economic crash and unemployment equivalent to the Great Depression, while "stay-at-home" orders led to spikes in domestic violence and the "social distancing" guidance exacerbated loneliness and mental health crisis.The virus has affected all spheres of life with a very profound impact on the industry of health communication and public relations, which have found themselves at the forefront of tackling the pandemic. Suddenly, one single issue of health communicationmanaging and communicating the COVID-19 pandemic responseconsumed health institutions, governments and public opinion, rendering other illnesses and conditions, including some discussed in this special issue, secondary and less important during the crisis.In the light of these developments, a concern started growing within the editorial team; have the papers in our special issue become outdated even before their publication? How relevant will they still be in a post-pandemic world? Yet amidst our fears of its obscurity, the special issue has been rather gaining importance. As the COVID-19 global pandemic was gripping the world, it has become increasingly clear that it has amplified public health problems and trends that were central to our call, including taboos, silences and voices associated with mental health, reproductive health, maternal health and (anti-)vaccination movements. Health organisations, social movements and advocacy groups have made important communicative advancements in some of these areas pre-pandemic in terms of gaining medical attention, breaking the silence, challenging societal norms, raising public awareness, increasing public understanding, and influencing policy (including activism); the progress that now largely appears to be diminished. Pre-existing taboos and stigmas associated with these issues pushed them back into the sphere of invisibility and silence. But just because they are silenced in the darkness, it does not mean that they disappear.

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“…In competitive contexts, for example, a degree of concealment is necessary to retain market advantage, while in politics national security is often invoked as a reason for secrecy (Birchall, 2011a; Fenster, 2006; Garsten & Montoya, 2008a). Reputation management includes ensuring that organizations are not known for certain activities, are not the same as their competitors—and secrecy is often invoked to achieve this (Cronin, 2020; Dimitrov, 2018). Internally, secrecy may serve a range of social and operational purposes that facilitate organizational processes and relationships (Costas & Grey, 2014).…”

Section: Publicitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Transparency, Publicity, Democracy, and Markets: Inhabiting Tensions Through Hybridity

Edwards

2020

American Behavioral Scientist

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In this article, I explore the relationship between transparency and publicity, and consider how the links between the two ideas might be reconceptualized to make better sense of their empirical reality. Both transparency and publicity have acquired a normative power as management ideas that govern all kinds of organizations—political, commercial, nonprofit, and public sector. Transparency is normatively associated with ensuring accountability of those who govern (whether politically or economically) to those they are governing, while publicity is a strategic act motivated primarily by self-interest: to engage in publicity is to make visible something that one desires to be seen in a particular way in order to reap the benefits of that perception. The result of these normative associations is that transparency and publicity are often understood as conceptually opposed and incommensurate concepts. In this article, I challenge this dichotomy and suggest that, given the empirical reality of their application by organizations, it is more productive to understand the concepts as a transparency–publicity hybrid, rather than separate ideas. By investigating the empirical connections between transparency and what might be termed promotional publicity, new and more productive thinking about the effects of their interaction on organizations can develop.

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The secrecy−transparency dynamic: A sociological reframing of secrecy and transparency for public relations research

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

The dialogic performativity of secrecy and transparency

The dialogic performativity of secrecy and transparency

Taboos in health communication: Stigma, silence and voice

Transparency, Publicity, Democracy, and Markets: Inhabiting Tensions Through Hybridity

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