Popular culture and social change

Kate Fitch is a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where she coordinates the public relations specialisation. She previously worked at Murdoch University, where she founded the public relations major and chaired the program for 10 years. Her book, Professionalizing Public Relations: History, Gender and Education, offered the first sociological history of Australian public relations in the twentieth century. Her research interests and publications span critical public relations perspectives on gender, history, promotional and contemporary culture. Judy Motion is Professor of Communication in the Environmental Humanities group at the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. Judy's most recent research focuses on public discourse, sense making and change in relation to environmental issues and controversies. Past research has included discourse and identity in organizational change, power and resistance in the implementation of new technologies and the influence of public relations on policy formation. Her latest book, Social Media and Public Relations: Fake Friends and Powerful Publics, co-authored with Robert L. Heath and Shirley Leitch, was awarded the Outstanding Book Award in 2016 by the National Communication Association, USA.