Revisiting Concepts of Public Relations Audience Through Postmodern Concepts of Metanarrative, Decentered Subject, and Reality/Hyperreality

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

This article reviews several tenets of postmodern theory to point out how their applications to new, expanded definitions of audience can enhance campaign communication. Postmodernism's acknowledgement of the decentered subject, that an individual does not actually “live” a holistic, planned existence but rather “lives” several discourses/roles imposed on the individual from without, leads to some very interesting questions for public relations professionals who communicate to audiences. Postmodern applications to audience analysis and campaign message design suggest how concentration on the multiple, ever changing frames of references—or “realities”—of any audience member can lead to more effective public relations messages and campaign communication.