The new public : professional communication and the means of social influence / Leon H. Mayhew.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayhew, Leon H.

Series:

Cambridge cultural social studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public relations.

Communication--Social aspects.

Communication.

Influence (Psychology).

Manipulative behavior.

Persuasion (Psychology).

Physical Description:

xi, 332 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Summary:

Professional specialists, using market research and promotional campaigns, have come to dominate public communication. The modem public of the Enlightenment, based on free discussion, has, in Leon Mayhew's terms, been replaced by a "New Public," subject to mass persuasion through systematic advertising, lobbying, and other forms of media manipulation. Professor Mayhew examines this sociological development in terms of discourse and social influence, offering an original theory which bridges Talcott Parsons and Jurgen Habermas. Most importantly, he shows how the rhetorical techniques of the professional communicators are designed to avoid having to defend their claims, thereby precluding meaningful discussion of public issues. As a result, institutions providing forums for good-faith, two-way discourse no longer exist, community through communication cannot be achieved, and the social order is unstable.

Contents:

Part I Rhetoric and the integration of society 1

1 Public influence in modern society 3

2 Rhetoric and reason 21

Part II Influence 49

3 Influence: capacity to persuade 51

4 Habermas and Parsons: critical issues regarding influence 81

5 Public influence: a new paradigm 118

6 The differentiation of rhetorical solidarity 155

Part III The New Public 187

7 The emergence of the New Public: advertising, market research and public relations 189

8 Political communication in the New Public 209

9 Forums for the redemption of influence 236

10 The rhetoric of presentation 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-325) and index.

ISBN:

0521481465

0521484936

OCLC:

35955223