Article Review on Public Relations in Society

Running head: PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOCIETY
Article review on public relations in society
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOCIETY
Topic: Public relations in society
Article 1
Article title: The construction of Australian Day: A Study of Public Relations as “New
cultural intermediaries”
Author: Jim Macnamara and Robert Crawford
Summary:
Australian Day is important in the Australian culture. This day witnesses the
conglomeration of Australians as a nation. Recapitulation of the achievements is the main
activity performed by the Australians in this gathering. According to National Australian Day
Council (NADC), this day is marked for celebrating the richness in the cultural diversity.
Exclusion of the Aboriginals reflects incompleteness within the celebrations. The article upholds
the evidence of Australian Day celebration, under the media and cultural studies. This expanded
the knowledge of the public relation practitioners, regarding the different cultures. However, lack
of examination of the evidences has not exposed the steps taken by the practitioners for
promoting the Australian culture. This lack is one of the gaps in the literature related to the
Australian Day.
One of the other gaps of the article is the failure towards excavating the exact reason for
celebrating Australian Day. However, at one point, the article considers “strive for public
support” as the main reason for observing Australian Day. According to the other perceptions,
Australian Day was significant, as it was a collaborative attempt of the Australians to celebrate
the quest for adding meaning into their lives. Therefore, it can be said that the critics were mixed
in terms of the Australian culture. Bordieu attaches value and weightage to the critics, who
question the cultural programs taking place on radio and television. Countering this,

2
PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SOCIETY
experimenting with the cultural sentiments contradicts the true essence of ethics. Delving deep
into this experimentation, it is an interplay with the individual sentiments of the people, which is,
in turn, adds a negative connotation to the aspect, “culture”.
New petite bourgeoisie was the term coined by Bordieu to represent the elites. However,
they were categorized, as the public relation practitioners peeked into their personal and private
space. Even in these narrations also, there were disparities between the actual descriptions and
the exposed facts. Mediatization of the new petite bourgeoisie secludes them from the
mainstream society. This seclusion adds hypothetical perspective to their profession, negating
their cultural integration with people from other occupations. The arguments provided by Negus
in the article merges the intermediaries, which restores the lost cultural value in the statement of
Bordieu.
Consideration of the space between the product and consumption would help in gaining
an insight into the practices towards preserving the Australian culture. This would require a
deeper examination of evidences regarding the cultural events and practices. The article lays
special emphasis on advertising practices. Advertising is one of the efficient means of informing
the people about the latest trends. Maintaining rationality in advertising would result in the
preservation of individual sentiments of the people, which enhances the culture. Campaigning is
one of the other techniques, which can be adopted for assessing the approaches of the people in
response to the events taking place.
Australian Day is a symbol of cultural heritage for the inhabitants. Commercialization of
the festival by advertising and promotion would be a shameful act in terms of preserving the
culture and maintaining peace and harmony.