Conversations with the public: The role of journalists and public relations practitioners in creating civil discourses in non-metropolitan settings

This research deconstructs the relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners operating in non-metropolitan contexts. In identifying the specific differences in the way this relationship is defined within these contexts, the research highlights the impact of these differences on the conversations these media professionals have with their publics. Ultimately this relationship is seen to be a key definer of the nature of the civil discourses within these non-metropolitan communities.