Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
Political Public Relations is the new book by Professor PhD. Zoran Tomić, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Mostar. After the second edition of Public Relations-Theory and Practice (2016), which the media and professional community dubbed the “bible” and “anatomy” of PR, prof. Tomić now introduced a new work to the public, in a specific area of the profession.
The phenomenon of public relations in politics is still insufficiently researched, says Tomić. If we examine the contemporary literature in the world, it is clear that there are not many titles in this area. With a lack of appropriate literature and research, the problem is in how to accurately determine what is now meant under the term political public relations. One group of authors is limits it only to public relations of political parties, while Tomić belongs to the second generation of theorists who observe political PR much broader, and in this segment include communication in state bodies as well as party communication.
Content of the book
Dr. Tomić has divided the book into six parts and 40 thematic sections. It contains more than 900 pages. The first chapter is the introduction to the political public relations, followed by theories of political relations. The third part of the book is titled Managing political reputation and is one of the most interesting parts of the book. This section deals with the political leadership, political branding and political rebranding with a focus on political practice. Segmentation of the political body and political positioning are also themes in this part of the book. It is followed by personalization of politics and increasingly present political populism. With political populism, we dominantly deal with the techniques of political populism in political communication and political relations with the public. In the chapter Strategic Management of Political Reputation Tomić analyzes the characteristics of an ideal politician, image, reputation, and other themes. Quality management of political reputation demands good knowledge of the style of communication, the creation of political stories, media coverage, organizing strategic resources and internal organization. Because of their importance, all these topics are an integral part of the book.
In this book which resulted from years of research, Tomić also deals with Political Relations with Public and Media, as well as the Application of Political Public Relations within which he describes in detail public relations in political parties, the executive branch, the legislature, election campaigns, the presidential PR, etc. The sixth chapter is devoted to the techniques and tools in public relations, which makes this book usable for practitioners of political public relations. At the end of the book is a dictionary and a rich list of contemporary literature.
Modern approach
For the preparation of this edition, prof. Tomić used the latest domestic and international literature in the field of political public relations and related disciplines so we can say that this book is in line with the content and standards of advanced European and world countries.
The book Political Public Relations is primarily intended for students. In terms of the topics it deals with, it can be said that the book is primarily intended for students of the second level of university studies, or graduates. Also, the contents of the book will be useful for practitioners in political public relations, who can find in this book specific content that will enable them to improve their practices. Findings presented in it are also useful to politicians, and therefore the book is also intended for them. Political Public Relations can also help journalists, as well as all others who are interested in the phenomenon of public relations in politics.
Pioneer of political communication
Reviewer Prof. PhD Božo Skoko points out: “Professor Tomić is one of the pioneers of political communication in this part of Europe”. For PhD Aleksandar Bogdanić, Tomić is “a leader in the academic study of public relations”. Prof. PhD Damir Kukić said Tomić’s vast knowledge on this subject that was “a major prerequisite for the creation of a comprehensive theoretical approach which is a special value of this book.” Prof. PhD Ivan Tanta believes that “most politicians in this region should read Tomić’s book, primarily because of the chapter titled: Managing Political Reputation.” PhD Damir Jugo said that this “extremely well organized and clearly structured book will certainly be a source of inspiration for many communication initiatives in the sphere of politics, and the students, who will use it as literature in many institutions of higher education in South East Europe, will no doubt find in it more inspiration for this area.” And, in the end, the reviewer Prof. PhD Besim Spahić emphasized that the new book by Prof. PhD Zoran Tomić confirmed him as “the leading scientist in the field of public relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and beyond”, and makes him a true “educator” of a new generation of communication professionals. Foreword to the book was written by Prof. PhD Nino Raspudić, who warns that the new generation of politicians, in order to even participate in the political game, will must adopt new knowledge and techniques. “Reputation management” is possible if you first think about political leadership as such.
The book was published by Synopsis from Zagreb and Sarajevo.