The Four Models of Public Relations

There are four mod­els of pub­lic relations.

In their sem­in­al work, “Managing Public Relations,” James Grunig and Todd Hunt (1984) intro­duced four mod­els of pub­lic rela­tions that have since become the most widely cited in aca­dem­ic circles. 

These four PR mod­els — press agentry, pub­lic inform­a­tion, two-way asym­met­ric­al, and two-way sym­met­ric­al — are essen­tial build­ing blocks for craft­ing com­pre­hens­ive com­mu­nic­a­tion strategies that address an organ­isa­tion’s diverse needs.

Here we go:

The Four Models of Public Relations

In the Excellence study, James Grunig and Todd Hunt (1984) developed the most widely cited PR mod­el in aca­dem­ic circles. 

It’s not one mod­el but four in sequence. 

Grunig and Hunt’s four mod­els of pub­lic rela­tions provide valu­able insights into the evol­u­tion of com­mu­nic­a­tion strategies and their implic­a­tions for mod­ern businesses.

The four mod­els of pub­lic rela­tions as a frame­work can be con­sidered a corner­stone of the Excellence Approach. ¹Silfwer, J. (2022, November 6). 3 PR Approaches: Excellence, Rhetorical, and Critical. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​p​r​-​a​p​p​r​o​a​c​h​es/

The Excellence Approach. This pub­lic rela­tions approach focuses on object­ives and cor­por­ate value cre­ation. The under­ly­ing motiv­a­tion behind the the­ory was that pub­lic rela­tions were mainly a vari­ety of tac­tic­al tools that des­per­ately needed a man­age­ment the­ory to work well in a soph­ist­ic­ated organ­isa­tion.

Notable men­tions: James E. Grunig, Larissa A. Grunig

The res­ult? The research­ers con­cluded that the two-way sym­met­ric­al mod­el is the most effect­ive way to prac­tice pub­lic relations.

“The study of rela­tion­ships with­in pub­lic rela­tions has become increas­ingly import­ant, with the Grunigs identi­fy­ing test­able vari­ables to meas­ure the qual­ity of organ­iz­a­tion­al rela­tion­ships.”
Source: Journal of Professional Communication ²Grunig, J. (2011). Public rela­tions excel­lence 2010. Journal of Professional Communication, 1. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​5​1​7​3​/​J​P​C​.​V​1​I​1​.85

Learn more: The Four Models of Public Relations

Model 1: Press Agentry Model

The press agentry mod­el, also known as the pub­li­city mod­el, emerged in the late 19^th cen­tury and emphas­ises the power of per­sua­sion and manip­u­la­tion to shape pub­lic opinion. 

Historically, the pub­li­city mod­el of com­mu­nic­a­tion has been asso­ci­ated with the work of P.T. Barnum, a show­man who used flam­boy­ant tac­tics to garner atten­tion for his cir­cus. In mod­ern busi­ness, the press agentry mod­el is often asso­ci­ated with pub­li­city stunts, press tours, and exag­ger­ated buzz around a product or event. ³Silfwer, J. (2023, May 30). P.T. Barnum: “There’s No Such Thing as Bad Publicity.” Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​n​o​-​s​u​c​h​-​t​h​i​n​g​-​a​s​-​b​a​d​-​p​u​b​l​i​c​i​ty/

However, this one-way com­mu­nic­a­tion approach can be per­ceived as self-serving and may not always reflect an organ­isa­tion’s genu­ine val­ues or com­mit­ment to eth­ic­al conduct.

Model 2: Public Information Model

The pub­lic inform­a­tion mod­el is a more trans­par­ent altern­at­ive to the press agentry mod­el. It focuses on dis­sem­in­at­ing accur­ate and object­ive information.

This approach, often linked to the early 20^th-cen­tury work of Ive Lee, a pion­eer in pub­lic rela­tions, seeks to foster trust and cred­ib­il­ity with key stake­hold­ers. Organisations that adopt the pub­lic inform­a­tion mod­el typ­ic­ally pri­or­it­ise provid­ing com­pre­hens­ive, unbiased data to the pub­lic, enabling stake­hold­ers to form their opin­ions based on reli­able facts. ⁴Silfwer, J. (2012, February 19). Ivy Lee and the First Press Release. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​i​v​y​-​l​e​e​-​f​i​r​s​t​-​p​r​e​s​s​-​r​e​l​e​a​se/

However, this mod­el is still rooted in one-way com­mu­nic­a­tion, and its effect­ive­ness is lim­ited by its lack of engage­ment with the audi­ence’s per­spect­ives and feedback.

Model 3: Two-Way Asymmetrical Model

The two-way asym­met­ric­al mod­el incor­por­ates per­sua­sion and feed­back to improve com­mu­nic­a­tions between an organ­isa­tion and its stake­hold­ers. This approach, which gained prom­in­ence in the mid-20^th cen­tury, relies on research and under­stand­ing of the tar­get audi­ence to craft tailored mes­sages that res­on­ate with their val­ues and preferences. 

The primary goal of the two-way asym­met­ric­al mod­el is to influ­ence pub­lic opin­ion while sim­ul­tan­eously tak­ing audi­ence feed­back into account. 

Although this mod­el sig­ni­fic­antly improves on its pre­de­cessors in terms of audi­ence engage­ment, it still pri­or­it­ises the organ­isa­tion’s object­ives over the needs and con­cerns of its stakeholders.

Model 4: Two-Way Symmetrical Model

Recognising the import­ance of fos­ter­ing mutu­ally bene­fi­cial rela­tion­ships with stake­hold­ers, Grunig and Hunt pro­posed the two-way sym­met­ric­al mod­el as the most eth­ic­al and prac­tic­al approach to pub­lic rela­tions. This mod­el emphas­ises open, trans­par­ent com­mu­nic­a­tion, wherein the organ­isa­tion and its stake­hold­ers engage in a dia­logue to under­stand each oth­er­’s per­spect­ives, val­ues, and con­cerns better.

The two-way asym­met­ric­al mod­el pro­motes col­lab­or­a­tion, trust, and long-term rela­tion­ship build­ing by seek­ing a bal­ance between the interests of both parties.

This approach is increas­ingly recog­nised as the gold stand­ard for pub­lic rela­tions prac­tice in today’s inter­con­nec­ted and glob­al­ised world.

PR Models for Every Situation

Grunig and Hunt’s four mod­els of pub­lic rela­tions provide valu­able insights into the evol­u­tion of com­mu­nic­a­tion strategies and their implic­a­tions for mod­ern businesses. 

While each PR mod­el has unique strengths and lim­it­a­tions, the two-way sym­met­ric­al mod­el is the most eth­ic­al and prac­tic­al approach, fos­ter­ing genu­ine dia­logue and col­lab­or­a­tion between organ­isa­tions and their stakeholders.

By integ­rat­ing the prin­ciples of the two-way asym­met­ric­al mod­el, busi­nesses can estab­lish a strong found­a­tion for last­ing suc­cess, trust, and cred­ib­il­ity in an increas­ingly com­pet­it­ive and inter­con­nec­ted world.

It is import­ant to note that while the two-way sym­met­ric­al mod­el is widely con­sidered the most desir­able approach, the oth­er three mod­els may still have their place in spe­cif­ic contexts. 

For instance, press agentry (“the pub­li­city mod­el”) can gen­er­ate ini­tial interest in a product or event. In con­trast, the pub­lic inform­a­tion mod­el is appro­pri­ate for organ­isa­tions that primar­ily need to dis­sem­in­ate facts and fig­ures. Similarly, the two-way asym­met­ric­al mod­el can be effect­ive when a bal­ance between per­sua­sion and audi­ence engage­ment is required.

To max­im­ise the effect­ive­ness of their pub­lic rela­tions strategies, organ­isa­tions should con­sider adopt­ing a hybrid approach that com­bines ele­ments of each mod­el as needed. This flex­ib­il­ity enables busi­nesses to adapt to their stake­hold­ers’ diverse and ever-chan­ging needs while main­tain­ing a sol­id com­mit­ment to hon­est and trans­par­ent communication.

An Important Framework for PR

Ultimately, Grunig and Hunt’s four mod­els of pub­lic rela­tions serve as a valu­able PR the­ory for under­stand­ing the vari­ous approaches to com­mu­nic­a­tion and their poten­tial impact on an organ­isa­tion’s repu­ta­tion and relationships. 

By recog­nising the strengths and lim­it­a­tions of each PR mod­el, busi­nesses can make informed decisions about the most appro­pri­ate strategies for their unique cir­cum­stances. This fosters a cul­ture of open­ness, col­lab­or­a­tion, and mutu­al under­stand­ing with pub­lics, stake­hold­ers, and influ­en­cers. ⁵Grunig, J. E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing pub­lic rela­tions. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ⁶Ledingham, J. A., & Bruning, S. D. (Eds.). (2000). Public rela­tions as rela­tion­ship man­age­ment: A rela­tion­al approach to the study and prac­tice of pub­lic rela­tions. Routledge. ⁷Cutlip, S. M., Center, A. H., & Broom, G. M. (2006). Effective pub­lic rela­tions (9^th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall. ⁸Heath, R. L. (Ed.). (2013). Encyclopedia of pub­lic rela­tions (2^nd ed.). Sage Publications. ⁹Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2002). Toward a dia­lo­gic the­ory of pub­lic rela­tions. Public Relations Review, 28(1), 21 – 37.

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Introducing Public Relations

• What is Public Relations?
• The Public Relations Definition
• The Stakeholders in Public Relations
• The Influencers in Public Relations
• The Publics in Public Relations
• What Public Relations Does for an Organisation
• Kirk Hallahan’s Five Types of Publics
• PR Approaches: Excellence, Rhetorical, and Critical
• The Four Models of Public Relations
• The PESO Model: Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned Media

Comparing Public Relations

• Public Relations vs Marketing
• Public Relations vs Journalism
• Public Relations vs Media Relations
• Public Relations vs Publicity
• Public Relations vs Advertising (to be published)
• Public Relations vs Public Affairs (to be published)

Reading List: PR Blogs

• Doctor Spin’s List of PR Blogs

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