This case study examined the San Francisco Mayoral Office's public relations management of the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses. The research was conductedas a case-study, integrating a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the results suggested that the Mayoral Office's campaign was successful in meeting its goal of marrying same-sex couples; the Office was somewhat effective in getting its primary messages reported by the print media, and the Office utilized innovative strategies to reach its key publics through the use of diverse spokespersons and a humanizing focus. Five major implications emerged from the study. First, crisis planning is essential to the effective management of crisis situations. Second, humanizing controversial messages to target audiences can be very effective. Third, providing media training to spokespersons can improve the organization's overall message. Fourth, segmenting key messages within the target audience is fundamental. Fifth, spokespersons' roles can have a significant impact on the public's perception of an organization's management of a crisis situation.
","abstract_html":"<p>This case study examined the San Francisco Mayoral Office's public relations management of the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses. The research was conductedas a case-study, integrating a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the results suggested that the Mayoral Office's campaign was successful in meeting its goal of marrying same-sex couples; the Office was somewhat effective in getting its primary messages reported by the print media, and the Office utilized innovative strategies to reach its key publics through the use of diverse spokespersons and a humanizing focus. Five major implications emerged from the study. First, crisis planning is essential to the effective management of crisis situations. Second, humanizing controversial messages to target audiences can be very effective. Third, providing media training to spokespersons can improve the organization's overall message. Fourth, segmenting key messages within the target audience is fundamental. Fifth, spokespersons' roles can have a significant impact on the public's perception of an organization's management of a crisis situation.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Boyer, Jessica Jean"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Carol Ann Hackley"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:36:35Z","subjects":["Homosexuality California Public opinion","Same-sex marriage California Public opinion","Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/608","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Carol Ann Hackley"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Boyer, Jessica Jean"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2005-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Homosexuality California Public opinion","Same-sex marriage California Public opinion","Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/608"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This case study examined the San Francisco Mayoral Office's public relations management of the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses. The research was conductedas a case-study, integrating a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the results suggested that the Mayoral Office's campaign was successful in meeting its goal of marrying same-sex couples; the Office was somewhat effective in getting its primary messages reported by the print media, and the Office utilized innovative strategies to reach its key publics through the use of diverse spokespersons and a humanizing focus. Five major implications emerged from the study. First, crisis planning is essential to the effective management of crisis situations. Second, humanizing controversial messages to target audiences can be very effective. Third, providing media training to spokespersons can improve the organization's overall message. Fourth, segmenting key messages within the target audience is fundamental. Fifth, spokespersons' roles can have a significant impact on the public's perception of an organization's management of a crisis situation.
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