Initially, this website was used for public relations courses I taught at Northern Kentucky University, but now it's used as a supplemental textbook at scores of schools and as a reference source by both students and public relations practitioners, especially those seeking professional accreditation or certification.

The cornerstone of the site is Online Readings in Public Relations, about 100 textbook-style articles, tipsheets, and fill-in-the-blank templates explaining various public relations projects and planning practices.

The site is maintained by Northern Kentucky University Professor Emeritus Michael Turney, Ph.D., ABC.

Schools & organizations who have indicated they use this website

Crafting the context of Christmas.

Christmas -- how it's presented, and how it's perceived -- was never as simple as Santa Claus or Christ's birth. That may be disheartening to some, but if you'd like to learn how religion, folklore, and the desire to reach larger audiences brought Christmas traditions to what they are now, you may enjoy this book.

Nissenbaum wrote it almost 30 years ago and it's still selling well and standing the test of time.

It's not for readers who just want to grab a few fast factoids; it's well-researched, detailed, and meant for serious readers. And remember, it's about Christmas, not about how to practice public relations.

 
Online Readings in
Public Relations

Strategic & tactical
PR planning
 

 
Recent reads
in public relations

Public relations
during a crisis
 

 
How-to tips
for public relations

 
Ethics in public relations
 

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" - It's Christmas time again.
And, once again it's shaped by public relations.

Some people view and cherish most Christmas traditions as long-standing, ancient practices rooted in religious beliefs and family values. Others sneer at them as crass commercialism that encourages extravagant and outrageous gift-giving. I avoid both extremes. I'm a Christian, but also a public relations practitioner who can see when public relations tactics are being used. Consequently, I'm more skeptical about "cherished Christmas traditions" than I once was, including the notion that December 25th is the date Christ was born.

Remember that the names and lengths of the each month, and even the order in which occur in the annual cycle, have not been constant. They've changed several times through the millennia. Furthermore, due to the changing tilt of the earth's axis during the course of a year, these months fall during different seasons in different parts of the world.

Taking this into account, historians, calendar experts, and religious scholars agree, that regardless of its name in the past, the date equivalent of what we now call "December 25" has been celebrated as a religious holiday since roughly 1400 BCE.

But, it wasn't Christmas! Certainly not fourteen centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

It was the day Indo-Iranian pagans worshipped Mithra, the Sun God of Light. That tradition spread throughout the Persian Empire and was then carried by Roman Legionaires throughout the Roman Empire until the 4th century CE. By then, the beliefs behind the celebration were known as "the Mithraic Mysteries" were considered a major and threatening heresy by the emerging early Christian Church.

Finally, in 336 CE, the Emperor Constantine and the Catholic Church which he supported proclaimed that December 25 would henceforth be celebrated as "Christmas," the official birthday of Jesus Christ.

Both then and now, religious and political critics contended that this proclamation was more about weakening Mithraism and reducing its political power than it was about honoring Christ and celebrating his birthday. So, as this Christmas season continues, look, listen, and ask yourself how much it reflects Christ.