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The role of publicists in public relations history is largely overlooked. Although today publicists are commonly associated with the entertainment industry, late nineteenth and early twentieth century publicists were a professional group that played an important role in developing modern public relations practice, particularly the craft of research-based, ethical, and strategic communication. These early publicists' reputations and skills at managing public opinion were highly sought after by universities, businesses, and in political circles. Because their work often involved international issues, their impact was present both domestically and outside of the United States. Understanding the role the publicist played in public relations development presents a new narrative of public relations history that shows that early public relations practice contained professional, strategic, and international communication practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores social media as a new genre within the history of the twenty-first century. An overview of genre's role within democratizing history is discussed. The authors argue the social media serves a new form of rhetorical action genre within the twenty-first century. The authors conclude that the genre of social media presents a new (post) modern genre within twenty-first century historiography. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores and critiques the use of social media as a primary source in the writing of twenty-first-century history. Since the introduction of so-called social media in the early 2000s, social scientists, journalists, and users have hailed this media form as a revolutionary departure from the ‘old media’ that dominated the twentieth century. Part of the narrative of ‘new media’ is it provides greater amounts of user agency, removes structural impediments for social dialog, and promotes an egalitarian exchange within the global sphere. This article suggests that this account is a product of the narrative structure of classical liberalism, through which social media as an object of knowledge and effectivity is produced. It concludes that the use of social media as a primary source for social histories of popular protest will require substantive theoretical scrutiny by scholars writing about these processes of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]