Exploring the multiple realities of corporate media relations in transitional China: revealing stereotypes, myths, and misperceptions

Abstract

ABSTRACTWhile corporate media relations is well-researched in the West, little is known about how enterprises practise media relations in transitional China, where a market economy prospers under its authoritarian regime. To narrow this knowledge gap, this study examines media relations practices within three types of enterprises: multinational corporations in China, state-owned enterprises, and local private enterprises. The data were drawn chiefly from 38 in-depth interviews, but also from non-participant observation notes and document reviews. The results challenged several stereotypes, myths, and misperceptions such as equating media relations to marketing publicity, personal networking, or complying purely politically. Instead, this study illuminated the multiple realities of how public relation (PR) practitioners from different types of enterprises navigate both organisational and sociocultural contexts to manage relations with state-run and commercially oriented media. This study contributes to global PR scholarship by revealing a unique and dynamic picture of corporate media relations in transitional China.