ABSTRACT
In recent years, "interpretive" approaches to the study of human behavior have attracted widespread attention from organizational researchers (see Burrell & Morgan, 1979; Frost Moore, Louis, Lundberg, & Martin, 1985; Jones, Moore, & Snyder, 1988; Louis, 1980; Morgan & Smircich, 1980; Pfeffer, 1981). Scholars in public relations and organizational communication have turned to interpretive approaches with particular interest because these approaches treat communication not merely as a tool for information exchange or media relations but rather as the central process through which the reality of the organization itself is created and managed by internal and external audiences (see Carbaugh, 1988; Cheney, 1983; Conrad & Ryan, 1985; Crable & Vibbert, 1983; Goodall, 1989; Kendall, 1985; Mickey, 1983; Putnam & Pacanowsky, 1983; Trujillo & Toth, 1987). The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how interpretive approaches can help the research and practice of public relations and the mass media in contemporary American society.
