Seeking Chapter Proposals for Upcoming Book on LGBT issues in Public
Relations--Due August 1, 2016

Natalie Tindall and Richard Waters, editors of Coming out of the
Closet: Exploring LGBT Issues in Strategic Communication with Theory
and Research, are soliciting brief proposals (title and 1,000 word
synopsis) for research chapters to be included in an upcoming edited
volume that focuses on public relations theory and concepts as they
relate to the LGBT community, organizations, individual practitioners,
and campaigns.

While there have been an increasing number of articles and chapters
published on LGBT issues in public relations outlets, this audience is
still largely ignored by scholarly research.  The goal of this project
is to increase scholarly examination of LGBT communities, employees,
volunteers, and external publics and stakeholders from a public
relations perspective. This edited book will focus on a variety of
topics, including (but not limited to):

-Employment and workplace issues of LGBT employees
-Community-building strategies with PRIDE campaigns/events
-Content analyses of LGBT events' promotional messages or even media
coverage of LGBT events/spokespeople
-Career experiences and workplace identity
-Activism strategies (e.g., gay marriage debate, bathroom
legislations, fair housing policies)
-Communication strategy with crossing over from LGBT media to mainstream media
-Corporate Social Responsibility and LGBT inclusion (employees,
external communities)
-Media relations efforts of LGBT organizations (e.g., agenda setting
and agenda building)
-Characteristics of LGBT PR practitioners
-Analysis of LGBT-focused campaigns
-Organizational reactions to social/political efforts (e.g., advocacy,
publicity--message design)
-Relationship management strategies for LGBT publics
-Case studies of LGBT-targeted campaigns
-Inclusion of LGBT matters into public relations classrooms and pedagogy
-Messaging and relationship-building strategies for different
audiences within the broader LGBT community

By no means is this list exhaustive, and the editors are open to more
ideas. The editors seek to include a variety of research methods and
research perspectives for this book.

Please submit your working title and a synopsis by August 1, 2016.
Also, the editors will meet with anyone interested in the project who
may be attending the 2016 Association for Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication convention to discuss the book and proposed
chapter.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the co-editors:
Natalie Tindall at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> and Richard Waters at
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.