Joseph R. Blaney - Böcker

Pope John Paul II was clearly one of the most influential persons of the 20th Century. He affected the world of politics, religion, and culture with a rhetorical zeal unmatched by few actors on the international stage. From the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe to his devotion to Mary to his championing of social justice and orthodox theology, this book examines his several moments of persuasive finesse as well as instances when his message could have been crafted more effectively. The essays in this collection examine his persuasive skills from several scholarly points of view. The book also offers analyses of media portrayals of this often-controversial figure. With contributions from some of the world's leading communication scholars, clergy, and social activists, this book is must reading for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of religious communication in general and John Paul II's rhetorical papacy in particular. Written by Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, agnostics, and atheists, the chapters approach the Pope with varying degrees of admiration, but always with intellectual respect.

Screaming for Change advances an understanding of punk rock by going beyond description of punk as a musical, political, social, and cultural genre of communication. Previous scholarship about punk rock has primarily dealt with those boundaries of genre. Previous scholars neglected to examine the ideology of punk across the decades and continents. That ideology, in a word, is deviance. Through Gramscian textual analysis, this book uncovers this ideology of deviance with some surprises along the way. Students and scholars of punk rock will value the book's attention to both well known and more esoteric punk artists. Punk is arguable the most studied 'subculture' to ever launch itself onto the larger social agenda as a possible counterbalance to the mainstream cultural hegemony. During the late 1970s, punk scenes sprouted up in large numbers all over the globe, and it appears that deep feelings of discontent towards the inherent alienation present in the capitalist system were the motivational seed that facilitated their growth. Unconvinced that the historical accounts have been successful in adequately describing and proficiently capturing the essence of punk, this study examines the phenomenon in slightly different terms. This study proposes that punk should be understood as a way of seeing the world, as a way of reasoning, or, essentially, as a philosophy on its own terms.

Repairing the Athlete’s Image: Studies in Sports Image Restoration, edited by Joseph R. Blaney, Lance Lippert, and J. Scott Smith, offers twenty-one case studies and conceptual frameworks about athletes and their organizations as they attempt to mitigate the effects of malfeasance. Employing traditional Image Restoration Theory (IRT) approaches to athletic communication (and other innovative approaches), the contributors to this volume add to our understanding of which communicative strategies work best for athletes when their reputations are sullied. This comprehensive text presents case studies of varying athletes, sports, and public relations scenarios with prescriptive advice for those attempting to repair athletic reputations. The contributors variously explore such controversies and mischief as the steroids accusations lobbed at Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the Michael Phelps marijuana controversy, the sexual misconduct of Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant, and other topical subjects in sports communication and image repair. While this book will be useful for athletes, coaches, managers, and agents in varying athletic endeavors and levels, it is also a dream collection for teachers and scholars of sports communication. The subjects examined in this study span country, gender, and popularity of sport (not to mention a healthy variety of types of accusations.) Repairing the Athlete’s Image is an essential resource for graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses in sports communication and popular culture.

Putting Image Repair to the Test:Quantitative Applications of Image Restoration Theory examines content analytic, attitudinal, and behavioral claims to advance current assertions made about image repair discourse, its effects, and the surrounding discourse. The contributors provide empirical data to answer research questions and to test various hypotheses in one substantive volume that builds on prior research in this field. Recommended for scholars in communication studies, public relations, and journalism.