PR is about reputation
PR is about reputation – ‘the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you’ (www.cipr.co.uk). How does this compare with Bernays’ ideas of PR as Propaganda and today’s Nudge and Persuasion theories?
According to CIPR, Public Relations is about reputation, which refers to the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. In the first place, this essay will introduce Grunig and Hunt (1984)’s four models and five stages of development; and then, analyse and evaluate Bernays’ ideas of Public Relations as Propaganda and Nudge and Persuasion theories; at the end, compare these ideas and theories to CIPR’s definition of Public Relations.
According to Grunig and Hunt (1984), Public Relations has four models which are press agentry/publicity model, public Information model, two-way asymmetric model and two-way symmetric model. The first three models belong to one-way communication, while the fourth models is a two-way communication. Except four models, Grunig and Hunt (1984) also suggested five stages of development which are: the public be fooled, the public be damned, public information, propaganda and persuasion and public understanding.
Public Relations is historically rooted in propaganda. Propaganda as a powerful tool of Public Relations has been debated for decades after World War I. Edward Bernays (1892-1995) is widely regarded as the ‘founder of modern public relations’ (Moloney, 2006: 46). Bernays (1928: 37) studied the efforts of propaganda in wartime, and argued that Public Relations as propaganda is a way of ‘manipulation’. For Bernays (1928: 37), this conscious, intelligent and organised manipulation is ‘an important element in democratic society’, and ‘those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country’.
Therefore, in Bernays’ opinion, Public Relations as propaganda is a press agentry/publicity model, which refers to using
According to CIPR, Public Relations is about reputation, which refers to the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. In the first place, this essay will introduce Grunig and Hunt (1984)’s four models and five stages of development; and then, analyse and evaluate Bernays’ ideas of Public Relations as Propaganda and Nudge and Persuasion theories; at the end, compare these ideas and theories to CIPR’s definition of Public Relations.
According to Grunig and Hunt (1984), Public Relations has four models which are press agentry/publicity model, public Information model, two-way asymmetric model and two-way symmetric model. The first three models belong to one-way communication, while the fourth models is a two-way communication. Except four models, Grunig and Hunt (1984) also suggested five stages of development which are: the public be fooled, the public be damned, public information, propaganda and persuasion and public understanding.
Public Relations is historically rooted in propaganda. Propaganda as a powerful tool of Public Relations has been debated for decades after World War I. Edward Bernays (1892-1995) is widely regarded as the ‘founder of modern public relations’ (Moloney, 2006: 46). Bernays (1928: 37) studied the efforts of propaganda in wartime, and argued that Public Relations as propaganda is a way of ‘manipulation’. For Bernays (1928: 37), this conscious, intelligent and organised manipulation is ‘an important element in democratic society’, and ‘those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country’.
Therefore, in Bernays’ opinion, Public Relations as propaganda is a press agentry/publicity model, which refers to using
Bibliography: Bernays, E. (1928) Propaganda, New York: Liveright. Cutlip, S. et al (2000) Effective Public Relations, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Fawkes, J. (2006) ‘Can ethics save public relations from the charge of propaganda’, Ethical Space: Journal of the Institute of Communication Ethics, 3 (1): 32–42. Grunig, J. E. and Hunt, T. (1984) Managing Public Relations, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Jefkins, F. (1994) Public Relations Techniques, 2nd edition, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Kitchen, P. J. (1997) Public Relations: Principles and practice, London: International Thomson Business Press. McKenna, R. (1984) Mac Launch Super Bowl XVIII Moloney, K Perloff, R. (2006) ‘Dynamics of Persuasion’, in Cameron, G. and Wilcox, D. (2006) Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, 8th edition, Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pratkanis, A. and Aronson, E. (2001) Age of Propaganda, New York: Freeman/Owl Books. Tench, R. and Yeomans, L. (2013) Exploring Public Relations, 3rd edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.