Unraveling the public interest: Digging for answers and listening for clues
Media, political and legal discourses liberally use the term ‘the public interest’ as a justification for an act or outcome that has an over-riding public good. But what exactly is ‘the public interest’? In New South Wales alone, the term ‘the public interest’ is included in almost 200 Legislative Acts (Wheeler 2006: 22) but, almost without exception, the term is not defined. Pervasive, but poorly understood, and mysterious in its own way, the public interest is described as “one of the most used terms in the lexicon of public administration, [but] it is arguably the least defined and least understood” (Wheeler 2006: 12).
This seminar paper examines the public interest as it relates to public relations and communication, but also, more broadly, as it exists within related discourses surrounding social capital, law and political philosophy. The presentation is illustrated with narratives and case studies that take the audience from West Africa, to Helsinki, to the Australian outback, to the Republic of Ireland, and to the world’s largest online encyclopedia.
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A/Professor Jane Johnston’s book Public Relations and the Public Interest is published by Routledge (2016) and a follow-up journal article Public interest: A new way of thinking for public relations? is in press. Her next book on the topic, co-edited with Magda Pieczka from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, draws together a collection of leading international scholars to continue the exploration of the public interest across a range of social, political and economic systems. Johnston’s interdisciplinary research explores public relations, media, communication, law and justice – often at their various intersections. She consults to government and the courts on justice communication.
About Research Seminar and Workshop Series
School of Communication and Arts Research Seminar Series
The research seminar and workshop series occur each semester, each with a different topic and guest speaker from UQ or otherwise.
Friday, 11 March Online via Zoom | Research Seminar - Tuning In with the Stethoscope in the Nineteenth Century | Dr Melissa Dickson (University of Birmingham) |
Friday, 25 March Hybrid | Dr Chris Hay | |
Friday, 8 April Online via Zoom | Invention and reinvention in the landscape symbolism of Joachim Patinir | Michael Levy |
Friday, 29 April Online via Zoom | Negotiating balance of cultures among Chinese Australians to facilitate ageing well | A/Prof Shuang Liu |
Friday, 13 May Hybrid | Redefining crisis in museums: insider’s perspectives on digital engagement | Dr Caroline Wilson-Barnao, Craig Middleton (National Museum of Australia), and Lisa Enright |
Friday, 3 June Hybrid: Online via Zoom and in person at the | A journey through the Australian environmental movement ecosystem | Dr Robyn Gulliver |
Friday, 10 June Online via Zoom | TBA | Dr Alex Bevan |