ABSTRACT
The emergent scholarship on political public relations is focused on the various relationship management functions between organizations and stakeholders. The current chapter builds upon this developing area of scholarship by exploring the news management function of political public relations. The central role of news organizations as mediators between political organizations and various key stakeholders requires a better understanding of news management research. This chapter outlines the theoretical underpinnings behind the news management function of the political public relations practitioner, as identified in mass communication scholarship. The chapter then addresses two emergent themes reflective of public relations practice in a contemporary media ecology, environmental scanning and media scanning. The concept of strategic narrative is then introduced as an interdisciplinary, identity-driven approach to strategic frame-building. Finally, the chapter concludes by addressing the evolution of the news management function to match a 21st-century information landscape, primarily the empowerment of public opinion as facilitated by the dominance of social media platforms.
