Week 3 - Tutorial 2

Chapter 3 ‘Public Relations Theory and Practice’ and

Reading – article by Gower, K (2006) Public Relations Research at the Crossroads in Journal of Public Relations Research. 18 (2), 177-190.

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were the Grunig and Hunt's theories that were highlighted in the text which included:
-Press Agentry
-Public Information
-Two-way asymmetric
-Two-way symmetric

These theories are used throughout Public Relations and the readings enforced their relevance and usefulness. The text took an objective approach to these theories, while the article by Gower focused on the Two-Way Symmetric quite subjectively. I particularly enjoyed the article as it helped to increase my scope of understanding the professions of a Public Relations officer.

This article examines Public Relations through the most dominant model, Grunig’s Two-Way Symmetrical Model. Gower reiterates the elusiveness of Public Relation’s meaning and the way in which it is perceived by reflecting on past literature and the conflicting ideas of the conception of PR. Through this she urges for us to ‘explore new options’ and states that ‘questioning our knowledge base is how existing theories and furthered and new theories emerge’. Gower is not afraid or hesitant about change, nor does she criticise it. Rather she suggests that change is beneficial and that by drawing theories from other disciplines we could improve our understanding and use of PR.

Past literature is provided to show how PR has it’s roots in legitimacy, where institutions had to make themselves meaningful to society in order to succeed. In particular, American corporations understood the power of their publics and to create a harmony between themselves and the publics. This became paramount to them when federal governments sought to control corporations via regulations.

This area interested me the most due to the reliance on a hybrid of legitimacy that is used by public figures even today. This is usually achieved through remaining on the pulse of trends so as to be popular and a figure that the public can relate to.

Most of the literature that exists, particularly from America, has a strong focus on corporations and that which followed in the Progressive Era was not far from it.

Essentially – the corporations appreciated their publics, or more to the point, the power of their publics.

I found it interesting that Gower took such a lean towards other disciplines. I agreed with her suggestions that PR take a more global approach. This was true for me as the literature that exists today has such an American slant and with PR now existing in most countries, an appreciation of cultures and the global market place is vital.
She also suggested that complexity theory, framing theory and further research into publics would be useful.