James E. Grunig, Professor Emeritus
Department of Communication
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, USA
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As of June 30, 2009, there were 1,668,870,408
internet users in the world—24.7% of the population.
(http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, accessed Sept. 4, 2009)
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There were 704,213,930 users in Asia—18.5% of the
Asian population and 42.2% of the users in the world.
Internet use in the world grew 362.2% from 2000 to
2009, 516.1% in Asia.
On December 31, 2008, there were 298 million
internet users in China, 22% of the population, with
an annual growth rate of 41.9%). (China Internet Network
Information Center, The 23rd Statistical Survey Report on the Internet Development in
China, January 2009)
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China has more internet users than any country in the
world, surpassing the USA in 2008. (CNN.com, January 14, 2009)
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51% are responsible for digital
communications.
49% for blogging.
48% for social networking.
52% for microblogging (such as text
messaging, instant messaging, and
Twittering).
(iPressroom, Tendstream, PRSA, and Korn/Ferry
International, 2009 Digital Readiness Report),
as reported in PR News [prnewsonline.com], August 17, 2009)
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Messages received by publics can be
controlled by public relations practitioners.
Publics can be created and “targeted.”
Publics can be persuaded—i.e., their
cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors can be
controlled through asymmetrical
communication.
Images, reputations, brands, impressions or
similar names used to describe cognitive
representations can be “managed.”
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Members of publics have always controlled the
messages to which they are exposed.
Publics create themselves around problems their
members face in life situations—stakeholders define
their stakes in organizations.
Two-way symmetrical communication is more
effective than asymmetrical communication in
building organization-public relationships.
Reputations, images, and similar concepts are what
members of different publics think and say to each
other, not something controlled by an organization.
These cognitive representations are a by-product of
organizational decisions and behaviors, active
communication with publics, and the quality of
organization-relationships.
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Members of publics are less constrained by the
information traditional media choose to make
available.
New media make it possible for members of
publics, and journalists, to seek information from
many sources, anywhere in the world.
Members of publics can interact with each other,
and publics can interact with organizations and
other publics whenever they want.
Through publics relations, organizations can join
the conversations within and among publics.
These conversations may, or may not, include
journalists online and in the traditional media.
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Communicators typically use a new medium
in the same way they used existing media.
◦ Television showed broadcasters reading the same stories
they read on radio.
◦ Public relations practitioners first used the internet as an
information dump, in the same way they produced
publications (Web 1.0 rather than 2.0).
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New media can be used for all four models of
public relations: press agentry, public
information, two-way asymmetrical, and twoway symmetrical.
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A messaging, publicity, informational, mediarelations function?
◦ Publications, news, communication campaigns, media
contacts.
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A marketing function?
◦ Support for marketing through media publicity?
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A strategic management function?
◦ Active participant in decision making?
◦ Research-based, organizational listening and learning?
◦ Building relationships for other functions, including
marketing?
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The symbolic, interpretive, paradigm vs. the
behavioral, strategic management,
paradigm.
Both paradigms existed in the history of
public relations, are practiced today, and
are competing for the future of the
profession.
Public relations cannot take full advantage
of the digital revolution if it is practiced
under the interpretive rather than the
strategic management paradigm.
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Public relations manages how publics
interpret the organization—to buffer the
organization from its environment.
These interpretations include popular
concepts such as image, identity,
impressions, reputation, and brand.
Emphasis is on publicity, media relations,
and media effects.
Views the effects of public relations as
changes in cognitive representations, as the
negotiation of meaning.
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Public relations participates in strategic decisionmaking to help manage the behavior of the
organization.
Public relations is a bridging activity to build
relationships with stakeholders rather than a set
of messaging activities designed to buffer the
organization from stakeholders.
Emphasis is on two-way and symmetrical
communication of many kinds to provide publics
a voice in management decisions and to facilitate
dialogue between management and publics.
Views effects as changes in behavior, as the
negotiation of behavior.
Excellent public relations is
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Managerial.
Strategic.
Integrated but not sublimated to other
management functions.
Symmetrical.
Diverse.
Ethical.
Global.
Model of Strategic Management of Public Relations:
New Media Can Be Used at Each Stage of the Model
Management
Decisions
No Consequences
Consequences
Consequences
Organizational
Reputation
Communication
Programs
( Relationship
Cultivation Strategies)
Relationship
Outcomes
Stakeholders
P1
P2
Pi
Publics
Achievement of
Organizational Goals
Crises
Behavior of
Publics Creates
Issues
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Environmental scanning and rumor control.
Segmentation of stakeholders and publics based
on problems, issues, values, concepts, and
ideologies.
Anticipating and dealing with issues and crises.
Identifying and evaluating the type and quality of
relationships with and among publics.
Measuring reputation (“Reputation and brand increasingly
depend on what comes up when you are Googled,” David Phillips
and Phillip Young, Online Public Relations, 2009).
Implementing communication programs—e.g.,
employee relations and media relations.
Formative and evaluative research for
communication programs.
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The decisions, behaviors, and actions of an
organization are transparent to internet users
anywhere in the world: Corporate social
responsibility is no longer a choice.
When an organization participates in
conversations with publics, ethically it must
disclose its name and interests.
◦ For example, fake blogs (flogs or flack blogs) and other
camouflaged participation in the dialogue are unethical.
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Shifting the public relations paradigm from a
symbolic interpretive approach to a strategic,
behavioral approach is crucial in a global,
digital world.
◦ For organizations to be effective.
◦ To cultivate relationships in societies and globally.
◦ To reduce conflict.
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The digital media provide new tools for public
relations that facilitate this paradigm shift.