I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that there are many theories pertaining to how PR is practiced. Of all the theories mentioned in Chapter 3 of the text, I feel that Grunig’s four models of PR theory are the most informative with regards to how PR can be carried out.
While press agentry model is hardly demonstrated today, it was very prevalent in the past especially with political campaigns relying heavily on propaganda. This model is a fine example of how NOT to carry out PR.
The public information model has been demonstrated in Singapore in recent years for public health and awareness campaigns for SARs and dengue fever. The aim of such campaigns is usually to spread awareness, and not for economic gains.
The two-way asymmetric and two-way symmetric models are the strategies used by most companies today. Companies now recognize the need for feedback from their consumers in order to find out areas for improvement, thus enabling them to better cater to the needs of their publics.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that while the theories do not inform on how to go about PR, it does provide a general idea of the appropriate strategy to adopt of a particular public. Also, the readings show that some principles of the different theories overlap, thus showing that there is no hard and fast rule when in comes to practising PR.
With regard to the article written by Mark Chong, I feel that on of the key reasons that the SARS crisis was managed so well is because of its size. It is a lot easier to disseminate information in a small country like Singapore where practically every household has television set. However, I feel that such a crisis would have been much more difficult to manage in countries like China or Brazil, due to the vast population and the poor connectivity of rural areas to the cities.
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2 comments:
While press agentry model is hardly demonstrated today,...
I disagree with this statement to a certain extent as it is still widely seen in differing industries, and mainly used by marketing instead of the PR department. The Subaru WRX Challenge is very much a publicity stunt to get the public's interests in their cars, and obviously a very good way to get the media's attention.
Another example is the launch parties of clubs, and regular events that gets media coverage such as Zouk Out. Even if it had negative articles and comments from the presses this year, it has made its point by gaining headlines, gaining public awareness.
Now, i think it would be easier to classify press agentry as publicity stunts, as we are hard pressed to find circus touters.
When using/explaining specific terms from your readings, such as Grunig's four models of PR theory, you need to include correct attribution.
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