Public Relations in Advocacy: Stem Cell Research Organizations’ Use of the Internet in Resource Mobilization

The public relations efforts of advocacy organizations and social movements are emerging as an important topic in the public relations literature. The Internet is one tool for these groups as they communicate their messages to the public and legislative representatives. This article is a case study of how the Internet is used by the advocacy organizations participating in the stem cell research debate. Activist organizations such as those campaigning on embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) policy promote their cause through information subsidies and resource mobilization via their Web sites. This research examines 54 ESCR Web sites as advocacy tools in respect to their information subsidies to the media and resource mobilization for members. The findings suggest that the Internet has untapped potential to provide both tangible and intangible resources to organizations that advocate for social issues. Based on these findings, the article provides recommendations for public relations practitioners who work in advocacy on ways to use their Web sites for resource mobilization and information subsidies. The Internet is a unique space for organization-public interaction. For public relations practitioners, the Internet is one more tool to reach the media and publics. For public relations scholars, its potential to enable personal and organizational communication makes it a valuable area for understanding relationships. One area of current interest to both public relations practitioners and scholars is the effective use of the Internet for advocacy. Advocacy involves a variety of public relations practices: media relations, issues management, strategic communication, coalition building, and organization-public interactions that build relationships. The purpose of this article is to continue the study of Internet advocacy. It presents a case study of how stem cell advocacy organizations use their Web sites to participate in issues management. This research will help those public relations practitioners who work in advocacy organizations better understand how to use their Web sites as resource mobilization tools. The first section of the paper reviews the public relations literature about advocacy, the Internet, and issues management. The second part details the methodology of a case study (Stake, 1995) that examined a collective of stem cell research organizations as they competed for public attention, media coverage, and the opportunity to influence public policy formation. The third section reports the results of an analysis of 54 advocacy Web sites representing three perspectives of the stem cell research issue. The final section provides specific recommendations for public relations practitioners as they integrate the Internet into their advocacy efforts.