As you certainly know, Public Relations is used by organizations and companies in order to shape their image and manage their reputation.
To help practitioners communicate and share information and stories to the public, James Grunig and Todd Hunt, who are two well-known PR professionals, have developed four models of Public Relations. These models are the following: press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical communication, and two-way symmetrical communication.
1- Press agentry model:
This model is usually associated with propaganda and “manipulation”. Practitioners use persuasion to share their key messages and influence the audience. The press agentry model is considered as a one-way communication because practitioners send the information to the public without expecting any feedback or opinion from it.
2- Public information model
The public information model is also a one-way form of communication but unlike the press agentry one, this model is more ethical because it doesn’t rely on any form of manipulation or persuasion. PR practitioners try to share useful and meaningful information about the organization with the public, by using media relations techniques such as press releases, newsletters, brochures etc.
3- Two-way asymmetrical communication model
As the name implies, this is a two-way communication model. PR experts get the message out and wait for feedback from the public through surveys for example. But here again, persuasion and manipulation are used in this model to influence the target audience and make them behave as the organization wants and expects. The objective is to understand the public’s psychology and manipulate it in order to get the desired behaviors and reactions. This is why even if the communication in this model is a two-way one, it is not balanced.
4- Two-way symmetrical communication model
The two-way symmetrical communication model is considered as the most ideal and ethical one. Here the practitioners get their message out and use the public’s feedback to change and improve the organization’s practices. The communication is used to negotiate with the audiences not to manipulate them. This model is based on honesty, mutual understanding, respect and open communication. It is also used by businesses to manage conflicts and crisis situations.
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