@kristindemetrious
Associate Professor of Communication at Deakin University, Australia. Researching in critical public relations (explains everything, especially climate change denialism). Occasional artist. Editor ‘Public Relations Inquiry’. New book coming soon(ish)!
Thanks for this JAS - very excited to see our interdisciplinary research into Australia’s rich political history now handsomely in print - we had a great experience publishing with this journal!
Screenshot of journal article. Title: “What Australia Thinks”: Richard Casey, Earl Newsom and Australia’s Early Embrace of US Public Relations. Authors: Kristin Demetrious, Deakin University, and David Lowe, Deakin University. Abstract: In 1940, wartime Prime Minister Robert Menzies established Australia’s first foreign legation to Washington DC, appointing his political rival, Richard Gardiner Casey, a move that marked a turning point in the importation of US public relations. This article examines formative exchanges between Casey, one of the Liberal Party’s most senior and capable members, and US public relations figure Earl Newsom, who authored a confidential report for Casey into overcoming American uninterest in, and ignorance of, Australia. Drawing on the Earl Newsom papers, we argue that Casey’s alliance with Newsom increased the visibility of Australian news in the United States; activated a bevy of cultural and travel relationships; and was conducted in a way to avoid the unpalatable taint of propaganda. Casey’s mission was contextualised by a political battle between US media industry players and democratic reformists and had ongoing implications for Australian political communication, separate from the histories of advertising, magazine and film connections. This interdisciplinary case study sheds new light on the cultural, social, economic and political flows stemming from Australia’s embrace of United States public relations at a moment when other roads might have been taken.
Let the 49.3 games begin!
First up, @kristindemetrious.bsky.social and Lowe examines the historical influence of US public relations on Australian practice and its ongoing legacies in Australian political communication.
#AusUSrelations #OpenAccess #auspol #PublicRelations
tinyurl.com/3tjps2b2
ICA 2025 - Denver, USA. Finally got a good pic of this art installation! Says it all.
New Interdisciplinary article with David Lowe on media histories. A US style ‘PR Plan’ commissioned by the Australian government at the beginning of WW2 was designed to never be seen. It brought a whole new political language to our shores, setting the tenor and style for decades to come.
Will reading become obsolete? How A.I. could transform our relationship to the written word.
Congratulations to the whole Albanese team!
Very good Margaret👏👏
the May 2025 editorial is online @alenkajelen.bsky.social @kristindemetrious.bsky.social & I call on PR scholars to be ‘troublemakers’
Good photo too
Not sure where you’re going with all these little vids - okay - but if you really want to shake the apple tree on energy build a grand, interconnected story arc for Australians - ‘our future renewed’ type thing - powered by a movement of industry, culture and leadership. Australian exceptionalism!
Strong message here but don’t forget the great story Australia has to tell about being a renewable energy superpower. The future. That’s power.
Hummm. It used to be that exposing a the mechanics of a political strategy was a guaranteed deal-breaker for the public. But here’s CP putting the PR cards on the table. One can only assume he doesn’t think people will care and it won’t affect their electoral chances. I guess we’ll see.
Not bad Chris! Message received. And odd that a party that stands for ‘the market economy’ free of government intervention is defying that by asking taxpayers to stump up the $$$s to build their nuclear power plants. Go figure.
You don’t.
@katharinawolf.bsky.social
Hello K! Good to (virtually) see you! Kate has stated a Critical PR group - hers the link go.bsky.app/ALfzHKL
here’s the #CriticalPR link go.bsky.app/ALfzHKL
exciting news! we have launched the L’Etang-Pieczka Award to recognise innovative, critical, creative and boundary-pushing public relations scholarship journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
I know how you feel. Making sense of chaos gives at least a semblance of control.
Key figure has a a somewhat Mordigliani composure …
A bit disconcerting when one of the world's largest moth species is attracted to your headlamp! Found this beautiful Hercules Moth in far north Queensland.
#wildoz #wildlife #nature #biodiversity #insects
Joining BlueSky today!
