ABSTRACT
Criticism, Nichols (1965) argued, "involves a judicial act of determining what is better or worse" (p. 4). The critic's "aims are to evaluate rhetorical effort or to account for effectiveness or ineffectiveness in rhetorical situations" (p. 22). Especially in public relations, effect is a vital dimension to consider, but it is difficult to determine even when a well-executed public relations campaign involves measurable outcomes. Not limited to effect, criticism involves judicious examination of how rhetorical acts are performed and contribute to the opinions that support society. An important critical objective is to observe the perspectives embedded in what is said, a search for the interpreting functions of language (McKerrow, 1989).
