Mediatization of companies as a factor of their communication power and the new role of public relations

Abstract

The paper seeks to explore and analyze the mediatization of companies, and argues that companies are entering a new phase of mediatization that is no longer evident as an adaptation to the logic of mass media but now involves the incorporation of media logic into the company’s own media practices and communication structure. Companies are (i) transforming into producers of owned media and media content, and (ii) through their owned media, managing communication with stakeholders, which is (iii) significantly altering the role of corporate public relations. In the context of a case study of a company from the financial sector, the paper brings together three concepts – communication power, mediatization, and strategic communication – toward a new conceptual framework for assessing the characteristics of the communication dimension of modern companies. Such an analytical position enables the phenomenon of mediatization to be analyzed both in its historical dimension and structural dimension.