Public Relations as Deliberation: The Case of Government Public Relations in Singapore

• Main Authors: LOH, Tracy, Chong, Mark
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2010
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Business and Corporate Communications; Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2786
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Government public relations focuses on the use of communication to achieve specific goals such as nation building. This article proposes that deliberation and deliberative processes define the public relations practice of a democratizing nation such as Singapore. We posit that as a country becomes more democratic, deliberation also becomes a more prominent feature of government public relations. Using quantitative content analysis, this study evaluated 37 National Day speeches delivered by three Singaporean Prime Ministers on the occasion of SingaporeÆs National Day. Our findings show that as the Singaporean political leadership moves away from a top-down approach and towards a more participatory style of government, the frames found in the speeches emphasize greater public participation and engagement in public debate on issues that shape the countryÆs future. As it emphasizes equal opportunity for citizens to speak and be heard, this model of government public relations moves away from the traditional public information model and approaches a two-way symmetrical model.