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A lecture I attended today at university discussed Grunig & Hunt’s four models of PR, which got me thinking about how they could be applied to corporate/business blogging. First I’ll go through the four models:

1. Press Agentry – publicity, celebrity PR etc. Accuracy and credibility not important.

2. Public Information – one way communication. Not a lot known about audience, but accuracy essential.

3. Two Way Asymmetric – receives feedback but aims to change attitudes not organizational practices.

4. Two Way Symmetric – gets feedback with view to changing practices; dialogue not monologue.

I thought that model 4 would obviously be the most appropriate to blogging – open, transparent and willing to change, but the more I think about it, the more I believe each has its own purpose.

Take model 1 and compare it with the Lincoln Fry Blog. A blog set up by McDonald’s that was criticised on more than one occasion. Although it was frowned upon by many blog experts, it did however, accomplish its objectives. Steve Rubel reported that the campaign was successful and the blog played a big part in its success.
Were the accuracy and credibility of the blog important to achieve success? No. Did it use celebrity (if you can call Abe Lincoln that) to gain publicity? Yes, pretty much so.

Model 2. Say, for example, a company that wants to report its financial information by way of a blog, or RSS syndication. Is it imperative to receive feedback on this? Not really, but the facts that are reported do need to be accurate. No need for two way conversation.

Model 3. There are many definitions of what PR is and what it does. Some would say a part of the profession is about changing attitudes, which in my opinion is what the Two Way Asymmetric model stands for. Although it listens to its publics, it doesn’t necessarily change the message. Instead uses feedback from its publics and changes the conveyance of the message.

Model 4. This is what is believed a blog’s characteristics should be.

I believe blogging can fall into all four of these categories. Each has its own purpose and should be used accordingly. There are times when transparency is a must and there should be no other way. However, blogging is a tool that is used to accomplish objectives, and the methods of using this tool would depend on the objectives that are set.

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