Introduction to PR

1. Introduction to PR PR History

2. Grunig and Hunt’s four models • James Grunig and Todd Hunt usedfour categories of communication relationship with publics, placed in a historicalcontext (see handbook p. 11): • Press agentry/publicity model • Public information model • Two-way asymmetric PR • Two-way symmetric PR

3. Press agentry/publicity model Apress agent or publicist aims to secure coverage for a client, and truth is not an absoluterequirement. This type of PR is most common in showbusiness – celebrity PR – where individuals are promoted through media coverage. Understanding is not necessary for this kind of PR,which is likely to measure success in column inches or airtime.

4. Past example An example of this kind of PR is the American circusowner P.T. Barnum, who in the 1850s obtained massive coverage for his ‘Greatest Showon Earth’. He coined the phrase ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ and used stuntssuch as the ‘marriage’ of circus stars Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind to gain massive mediacoverage ‘pseudo events’ = activitiescreated solely for publicity purposes. David Boorstin: “Contrary to popular belief, Barnum’s great discovery was not how easy it is to deceivethe public, but rather, how much the public enjoyed being deceived.”

5. Current examples Barnum’s successor today is publicist Max Clifford, whohas a reputation for securing front page coverage for his clients, though healso claims that much of his work is spent keeping them out of the papers. One of Clifford’s most memorable coups is the Sun’s front page headline ‘Freddie Starr ate my hamster’. Another example might be publicity activity surrounding a famous artist, which has been orchestrated by a number of public relations consultancies (Celebrity PR)  influenced the news content of daily newspapers, aswell as providing the material formagazines

6. Public information model This kind of communication providesinformation to people – where accuracy is nowimportant and essential. This model does not seek to persuade the audience or changeattitudes, but to releaserelevant information to those who need it one-way communication, from sender toreceiver.

7. Past examples Ivy Leadbetter Lee at the turn of thetwentieth century; a business journalist who tried to obtain information aboutthe highly secretive US industrialconglomerations that dominated the economy of thetime. An early illustration of his principle in practice was his advice to a rail company to tellthe truth about an accident instead of concealing it. Lee’s advice to the Rockefeller family on how to respondto the Ludlow Massacre at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Companyplant and counter their image as greedy capitalists bypublicisingthe money they gave to charity.

8. Current examples Local and central government continue to practise public informationcommunication through pressreleases giving details of committee decisions, budgetallocation, or movement of personnel. In recentyears, the shift from public to private sector utilities has placed a similar emphasis onthe need to explain pricing policies to customers ‘transparency’ by improved technology via the internet

9. Two-way asymmetric PR This model introduces the idea of feedback or two-way communication. It isasymmetric or imbalanced because the intended change is in the audience’s attitudes orbehaviourrather than in the organisation’s practices. It is also described as persuasivecommunication  relies on an understanding of the attitudes and behaviourof the targeted publics (e.g. health campaign) Planningand research are important to this kind of publicrelations.

10. Past examples Edward L.Bernaysestablished to advisethe US government during the First World War wartime propaganda (see handbook p.14) Bernays’ idea to extend Lucky Strikes’ sales of cigarettes to women by persuadingten debutantes to smoke while walking in New York’s Easter parade. In 1929, General Electric hired Bernays to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary ofThomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb arranged ‘Light’s Golden Jubilee’,persuading many of the world’s utilites to switch off their power all at the same timeto commemorate Edison. Bernays was the first PR academic startedthe first PR education course at New York Universityin 1924.

11. Current examples Today propaganda is seen as undesirable and persuasion as suspicious– which partially accounts for the general distrust of public relations. Examples of positive persuasive communication are public healthcampaigns, such as reducing smoking or encouraging safer driving. Another timeless example is political campaigning at elections, where each candidateseeks to influence their constituents.

12. Persuasion is not, of course, confined to the public sector and two-way asymmetricpublic relations is probably the most widely used type of PR. Advertising is perhaps the most extreme version of this approach and some theorists (such as Noam Chomsky) say persuasionoften slides into propaganda, because the benefits are largely enjoyed by the advertiser,not the consumer.

13. Two-way symmetric PR This model is sometimes described as the ‘ideal’ of public relations. It describes a levelof equality of communication not often found in real life, where each party is willingto alter their behaviour to accommodate the needs of the other. Thesymmetric model involves ideas of dialogue mutual understanding

14. Past examples Grunig suggests that there are few examples of two-way symmetry inpractice and that most of this approach is theoretical, as taught in universities ratherthan practised in the workplace.

15. Current examples These days PR often involvespersuading the organisation to change its practice in the face of public pressure. Supermarkets’ response to public opposition to genetically modified foods (see the Marks& Spencer case study in Chapter 10) illustrates how an astute PR awareness of publicconcern can create opportunities for organisations willing to change their behaviour. Thegrowth in focus groups and market research to ascertain public opinion on a wide rangeof political as well as consumer issues could illustrate growth in two-way symmetricPR. However, genuine two-way symmetry can occur onlywhere both parties have equal power to influence the other  the rarest form of PR.

16. Examples of Marks & Spencer press release on the launch of organic food and the ban of GM ingredients (see handout p. 159 & 160)

17. Questions for discussion • How would you fit the following examples of public relations into Grunig’s and Hunt’s fourmodels: • Campaign to reduce teenage pregnancy. • Launch of a new car. • Leaflet giving details of new bank charges. • Invitation to discuss plans for new supermarket. • The launch of a Hollywood children’s movie might involve: billboard posters; images onpackets of crisps, sweets and lunchboxes; the organisation of a premiere in the West Endof London; guest appearances by stars on children’s TV shows; and articles about the useof special effects in film or general media. Which of these are public relations? What arethe others?