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Government Public Relations in the Nation-Building of Georgia

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Government Public Relations in the Nation-Building of Georgia GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE NATION-BUILDING OF GEORGIA Maia Mateshvili A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Chapel Hill 2008 Approved by: Elizabeth Dougall Lucila Vargas John Reid © 2008 Maia Mateshvili ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT MAIA MATESHVILI: Government Public Relations in the Nation-Building of Georgia (Under the direction of Elizabeth Dougall, Lucila Vargas, John Reid) On May 10, 2005, President Mikheil Saakashvili delivered a public speech to commemorate President George W. Bush’s historic visit to the country of Georgia. President Bush’s visit was an indication of the U.S.’s support of pro-Western, democratic nation- building processes initiated by Saakashvili’s administration following the Rose Revolution in 2003. Within the framework of this thesis, textual analysis of President Saakashvili’s welcoming address is conducted to uncover the embedded ideology and to identify the frames developed in the speech. Subsequently, local and international print media coverage is examined through qualitative content analysis to determine how news media covered the speech. The goal of this study is to suggest how the Georgian government can facilitate the country’s democratization by using government public relations as a strategic planning tool, and by integrating public relations approaches into the communication component of the nation-building. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude and express profound appreciation to the members of my thesis committee for their continuous guidance and support. Their insight and constructive feedback was crucial to the progress of this work. In addition, I would like to thank my family and friends for their unwavering confidence and encouragement. Finally, I want to dedicate this work to my daughters, Tina and Anna. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Appendices ................................................................................................................. viii I INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................1 Georgia ................................................................................................................3 Rose Revolution ..................................................................................................4 President Bush’s Visit .........................................................................................7 II LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................10 Nation-Building.................................................................................................11 Nation-Building in the Post-Rose Revolution Georgia.....................................15 The Place of Communication in Nation-Building.............................................17 Public Relations in Eastern Europe...................................................................19 The Place of Public Relations in Nation-Building ............................................23 Presidential Speeches ........................................................................................27 The Place of News Media in Nation-Building ..................................................30 Georgian Media.................................................................................................33 III RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGY................................................38 Research Questions ...........................................................................................38 Research Methods .............................................................................................39 Textual Analysis ...............................................................................39 Content Analysis...............................................................................44 Data Collection .....................................................................46 Data Screening......................................................................48 Data Analysis........................................................................49 Reflexivity.........................................................................................................50 IV FINDINGS...................................................................................................................52 Critical Language Awareness............................................................................58 Voice and Tone.................................................................................58 Personal Pronouns.............................................................................59 Word Choices....................................................................................59 Describing Others .............................................................................60 v Muted Voices ....................................................................................................61 Ideology.............................................................................................................62 Frames ...............................................................................................................63 Print Media Coverage........................................................................................68 V DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................74 Limitations .......................................................................................................91 VI CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................93 Further Research ..............................................................................................94 Recommendations ...........................................................................................96 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................101 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................129 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Textual Analysis Summary...................................................................................54 2. Example of the Three-level Framing Analysis .....................................................64 3. Comparison of Frames Emerged from Speech and News Articles.......................87 vii LIST OF APPENDICES Page A. IREX’s 2008 Media Sustainability Index for Georgia.......................................101 B. Agenda of the President Bush’s Visit ................................................................102 C. Photo Collage of President Bush’s Visit to Georgia..........................................107 D. President Saakashvili’s Speech..........................................................................108 E. Overview of the Nation-Building Studies ..........................................................112 F. Central Intelligence Agency Worldbook Facts...................................................113 G. Principles of Public Relations Approach to Nation Building ............................114 H. Hierarchy of Nation-Building Tasks..................................................................115 I. Initial Data Summary..........................................................................................116 J. List of Documents Excluded from Content Analysis..........................................118 K. Final Data Summary ..........................................................................................119 L. Coding Sheet ......................................................................................................121 M. Codebook............................................................................................................124 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION On May 10, 2005, Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili delivered a public speech to commemorate President George W. Bush’s historic visit to the country of Georgia. Made in the wake of the so-called Rose Revolution, which culminated in a peaceful overthrow of the government in November of 2003, the speech represented a critical moment in the history of the developing Georgian democracy. The speech symbolized the discourse between the government of Georgia and its people, as well as the discourse between the Georgian people and the United States, personified by President Bush. The event was well-choreographed, with international media and the crowd managed, and the dignitaries seated in the assigned places. In the context of this critical national event, this study explores the role played by public relations within the framework of democratic nation-building processes in the post- Rose Revolution Georgia. President Bush was the first American president to set his foot on Georgian soil. His visit was an indication of the U.S.’s support of pro-Western, democratic nation-building processes initiated by Saakashvili’s administration following the Rose Revolution which took place in Georgia in 2003. In addition
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