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29
More specifically, Frohlich and Peters (2007) interviewed various women in
public relations. They found a stereotype similar to what Morris and Goldsworthy
identified as the “PR girl,” but found that this stereotype was actually one ascribed to
women in the industry by other women in the industry (p. 229). They found that although
women believe females are better suited for public relations, there is also a branding of
the female publicist by other female publicists as the “PR bunny,” a stereotype that “adds
a negative touch to the female image as ‘natural born communicators’” (p. 229). Women
generally had positive thoughts when it came to women in the industry strictly because of
biology, stating that men lack certain characteristics needed in public relations such as
empathy and sensitivity to maintain clients and have good relationships with journalists.
At the same time, however, Frohlich and Peters uncovered a stereotype within the
industry, which they labeled as “PR bunnies” (pp. 240 – 244). One of their interviewees
stated that these women were “always hopping around at parties.… There are people who
are there just for fun. And there are people who spread their calling cards,” (p. 242) while
another suggested the lack of female publicists who are credible in their word. “Someone
who talks a lot but doesn’t actually say anything.… And there are really too many women
who walk around in trendy outfits and tell clients great plans, but they do not actually
deliver on any of them” (p. 242). However, all respondents that shared this view made it
clear that there is a difference between being a woman in public relations and deliberately
using that as a reason for unprofessionalism, and it was stressed to know the threats of
acting out the stereotype. One of Frohlich and Peters’ respondents stated, “…In the long
term you will not be successful with that. I believe that clients want somebody in their
Object Description
| Title | Power party girls, good looking crowds and one hellish boss: The portrayal of the female entertainment publicist on reality television |
| Author | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Author email | chashem@usc.edu; chashem87@gmail.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-04-01 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Thorson, Kjerstin |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Floto, Jennifer Saltzman, Joseph |
| Abstract | This thesis is an examination of the portrayal of the female entertainment publicist shown in reality television. With the large success rate of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City in the 1990s, female interest in public relations has increased, and good or bad, Jones has served as one of the predominate images of the publicist in the entertainment industry. Those who have performed critical analysis of the image of the public relations practitioner have deemed these representations as showing negative characteristics of those in the profession. While there has been previous research on the image of public relations in media, analysis of the female entertainment publicist in reality television has been left untapped.; The project consisted of a content analysis as well as interviews with various women in entertainment public relations. Three reality television shows featuring female entertainment publicists were watched: MTV's PoweR Girls (2005), Bravo's Kell on Earth (2010) and E! Network's The Spin Crowd. After conducting this analysis, the author found that the female publicist is put in one of two gender categories, the masculine bitch or the overtly sexy "PR Bunny." Other findings inferred that the dominant images within each series suggested that public relations is overall an easy field to enter, with little or no experience or professionalism needed. Finally, although the three series had some subtle differences, public relations is still shown as a glamorous job.; Interviewee responses showed that the negative representations of entertainment publicists on reality television are not indicative of the real life job itself, but that media's representation of it has led others to believe false or skewed images of the profession. Since these three shows' target demographics include young women about make a career decision, the impact they may have on this demographic, and how it may affect the future of public relations and the expectations of those about the enter the industry, is also discussed. |
| Keyword | communication; entertainment; media; public relations; reality television |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1990/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3875 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Hashem-4503 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Hashem-4503.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 29 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 29 More specifically, Frohlich and Peters (2007) interviewed various women in public relations. They found a stereotype similar to what Morris and Goldsworthy identified as the “PR girl,” but found that this stereotype was actually one ascribed to women in the industry by other women in the industry (p. 229). They found that although women believe females are better suited for public relations, there is also a branding of the female publicist by other female publicists as the “PR bunny,” a stereotype that “adds a negative touch to the female image as ‘natural born communicators’” (p. 229). Women generally had positive thoughts when it came to women in the industry strictly because of biology, stating that men lack certain characteristics needed in public relations such as empathy and sensitivity to maintain clients and have good relationships with journalists. At the same time, however, Frohlich and Peters uncovered a stereotype within the industry, which they labeled as “PR bunnies” (pp. 240 – 244). One of their interviewees stated that these women were “always hopping around at parties.… There are people who are there just for fun. And there are people who spread their calling cards,” (p. 242) while another suggested the lack of female publicists who are credible in their word. “Someone who talks a lot but doesn’t actually say anything.… And there are really too many women who walk around in trendy outfits and tell clients great plans, but they do not actually deliver on any of them” (p. 242). However, all respondents that shared this view made it clear that there is a difference between being a woman in public relations and deliberately using that as a reason for unprofessionalism, and it was stressed to know the threats of acting out the stereotype. One of Frohlich and Peters’ respondents stated, “…In the long term you will not be successful with that. I believe that clients want somebody in their |
