Public Relations Theories and Models

Introduction

Public relations (PR) is often described as communication between an organisation and its publics. That description is accurate but incomplete. PR also involves research, relationship management, issue interpretation, organisational decision-making, reputation, ethics and the distribution of influence. Theories and models help practitioners move beyond intuition. They explain why communication succeeds or fails, identify the interests of different publics, and provide frameworks for planning and evaluating action.

This chapter examines major perspectives that have shaped professional PR: press-agentry, public-information, two-way communication, systems theory, excellence theory, relationship-management theory, situational theory of publics, agenda-setting, framing and diffusion. These perspectives are not mutually exclusive. A campaign may use public-information methods to distribute verified facts, a two-way process to gather concerns, framing to make an issue meaningful, and diffusion principles to encourage adoption of a public-health behaviour.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Explain the principal historical models of public relations.
2. Distinguish one-way, two-way, symmetrical and asymmetrical communication.
3. Apply systems, excellence, relationship-management and situational-publics perspectives to PR decisions.
4. Use agenda-setting, framing and diffusion concepts to analyse media and campaign outcomes.
5. Select an appropriate theoretical approach for a practical PR problem.
6. Evaluate the ethical and managerial implications of each model.

Why Theories Matter in PR Practice

A model is a simplified representation of a process or relationship. A theory is a set of connected concepts and propositions used to explain, interpret or predict phenomena. Neither is a complete picture of reality. Models clarify attention; theories guide questions and choices.

For example, a publicity manager may ask, “How can we obtain more coverage?” A relationship-oriented practitioner asks broader questions: “Which publics are affected? What do they need? What does the organisation need to change? How can trust be earned and maintained?” The second approach treats communication as part of organisational conduct rather than merely a promotional instrument.

Theories are useful for four reasons:

• Diagnosis: identifying the nature of a problem and the publics involved.
• Planning: selecting messages, channels, timing and participation methods.
• Evaluation: determining whether outcomes involve awareness, attitude, behaviour or relationship quality.
• Ethical reflection: examining whether communication informs, manipulates, listens or shares power.

Historical Models of Public Relations

Press-agentry and publicity

The press-agentry model is associated with attention-seeking publicity, dramatic claims and one-way communication. Its immediate goal is visibility rather than balanced information or mutual understanding. The organisation or client speaks; audiences are treated mainly as recipients.

Press-agentry can be effective when an event requires rapid attention, such as entertainment promotion, a product launch or a fundraising spectacle. It may use news hooks, celebrity participation, stunts and emotionally vivid narratives. However, it becomes ethically problematic when it relies on deception, concealment, fabricated evidence or exaggerated claims.

Its underlying assumption is that public attention has instrumental value. In contemporary practice, publicity may generate reach, but reach does not guarantee credibility, understanding or durable relationships. Social media has increased the speed at which publicity can spread and the speed at which inaccuracies can be challenged.

Public-information model

The public-information model is also primarily one-way, but its central purpose is the accurate dissemination of information. The practitioner functions like an organisational journalist: gathering facts, preparing releases, maintaining websites, producing reports and responding to factual enquiries.

This model is appropriate for routine information, public notices, regulatory communication, emergency instructions and institutional reporting. Its ethical standard is accuracy, clarity and completeness. It is stronger than press-agentry when publics need reliable information, but it may still be insufficient if the organisation does not listen or adapt.

A public-information programme should distinguish verified facts from interpretation, disclose relevant limitations and correct errors promptly. In crisis communication, withholding material information can damage trust even when individual statements are technically accurate.

Two-way asymmetrical communication

Two-way asymmetrical communication uses research and feedback, but primarily to benefit the organisation. Surveys, focus groups, website analytics and message testing help the organisation persuade publics more efficiently. The public influences message strategy, but the organisation is not necessarily expected to change its policies.

This model can improve relevance and audience targeting. For example, a campaign may test which message most effectively encourages recycling. However, if research is used only to overcome resistance without considering whether the organisation’s behaviour is responsible, communication becomes manipulative.

Two-way symmetrical communication

Two-way symmetrical communication treats communication as a process of dialogue, negotiation and mutual adjustment. The organisation listens to publics, explains its position, considers criticism and may change its policies or practices. Success is not simply persuasion; it is improved understanding and, where feasible, mutually beneficial accommodation.

Symmetry does not mean that organisations and publics possess equal resources or power. It means that communication is normatively oriented toward fairness, dialogue and legitimate consideration of different interests. In practice, complete symmetry is difficult. Organisations have legal, financial and operational constraints. Nevertheless, the model provides an important ethical and managerial standard.

Systems Theory: Organisations in an Environment

Systems theory views an organisation as an open system connected to an environment. It receives inputs, transforms them through internal processes, produces outputs and receives feedback. Customers, employees, regulators, communities, journalists, investors and advocacy groups are environmental actors that can affect organisational continuity.

In PR, the organisation is not independent of its environment. A change in regulation may alter operations; a community complaint may affect legitimacy; employee dissatisfaction may become a public issue; a media investigation may reveal internal weaknesses. Communication is therefore both an outward activity and an intelligence function.

A simple systems representation is:

Figure: Public relations as an open-system process of inputs, organisational action, outputs and feedback.

The systems perspective changes the role of PR from message production to boundary spanning. A boundary-spanning practitioner interprets external expectations for decision-makers and explains organisational decisions to external publics. This requires environmental scanning, stakeholder mapping, issue monitoring and internal access.

A major limitation is that systems language can appear value-neutral. An organisation may “adapt” to its environment in ways that benefit powerful stakeholders while neglecting vulnerable communities. Systems analysis therefore needs ethical questions about whose interests count and how consequences are distributed.

Excellence Theory and Strategic PR

Excellence theory, associated especially with James E. Grunig and colleagues, argues that PR contributes most effectively when it is treated as a strategic management function rather than a technical communication service. Excellent PR is linked to senior decision-making, research-based planning, two-way communication, ethical practice and attention to multiple publics.

Important principles include:

• PR should have access to organisational leadership.
• Communication should inform policy, not merely promote decisions already made.
• Different publics require research and differentiated strategies.
• Organisations should consider social responsibility and long-term legitimacy.
• Public relations departments should possess professional expertise and autonomy.

The theory is a normative framework: it describes conditions under which PR can be both effective and socially responsible. It does not claim that every organisation will behave symmetrically or that communication alone can resolve conflicts. Its practical implication is that practitioners should seek participation in issue identification, policy development and risk management.

For mass media managers, excellence theory is especially relevant because media relations cannot repair a persistently harmful organisational policy. Strategic credibility depends on alignment between words, conduct, governance and stakeholder experience.

Relationship-Management Theory

Relationship-management theory places the quality of organisation–public relationships at the centre of PR. Communication is a means through which relationships are initiated, maintained, repaired and evaluated. Relevant relationship dimensions include:

• Trust: confidence that the organisation is competent, honest and concerned about stakeholder interests.
• Control mutuality: the extent to which each party can influence the relationship.
• Commitment: the intention to maintain the relationship over time.
• Satisfaction: the extent to which experiences meet or exceed expectations.
• Exchange relationship: each party expects benefits in return for benefits provided.
• Communal relationship: each party provides benefits because it is concerned about the other’s welfare, not only immediate return.

Relationship quality is affected by organisational behaviour, not just messages. A university may publish friendly social-media content, but students will judge the relationship through fees, accessibility, complaint handling and academic support. Consequently, PR evaluation should include behavioural and relational indicators, such as response quality, confidence, perceived fairness, retention and willingness to engage—not only media impressions.

The theory also highlights repair. When an organisation causes harm, an apology may be necessary but insufficient. Effective repair may require disclosure, compensation, corrective action, independent review and continuing dialogue.

Situational Theory of Publics

Situational theory explains why people respond differently to the same issue. It distinguishes publics according to their awareness of a problem, recognition of constraints and level of involvement. The classic categories are:

• Nonpublics: do not face consequences from the issue and do not organise around it.
• Latent publics: face consequences but do not yet recognise the issue.
• Aware publics: recognise the issue but may not act collectively.
• Active publics: communicate, organise and seek change.

Three concepts are particularly useful:

1. Problem recognition: Does a person perceive that something is wrong or requires attention?
2. Constraint recognition: Does the person believe barriers prevent action?
3. Level of involvement: How personally relevant is the issue?

High problem recognition and involvement, combined with low perceived constraints, make active communication more likely. This is not a mechanical prediction. Culture, resources, leadership, identity and media environments also influence participation.

Practitioners should not treat “the public” as a single audience. A company’s proposed factory may create latent publics among nearby residents, aware publics among local journalists and active publics among an environmental coalition. Each group may require different information, listening methods and engagement opportunities.

Situational analysis also supports issue anticipation. A latent public can become active after a triggering event, such as an accident, policy announcement or viral post. Early listening and meaningful consultation may prevent escalation, although consultation cannot substitute for responsible action.

Agenda-Setting Theory

Agenda-setting theory proposes that media attention influences the issues audiences perceive as important. It does not necessarily determine what people think, but it can influence what they think about. Public relations practitioners participate in agenda-building by providing information, generating newsworthy events, responding to journalists and connecting organisational issues with wider public concerns.

Agenda-setting operates at several levels:

• First-level agenda-setting: prominence of issues.
• Second-level agenda-setting: prominence of attributes or characteristics associated with an issue.
• Intermedia agenda-setting: influence among news organisations and other media actors.

The theory should not be interpreted as total media power. Audience experience, interpersonal discussion, political identity, platform algorithms and competing events also shape salience. Nevertheless, the concept is valuable for issue management. A practitioner may ask whether a campaign is merely visible or whether it has made a specific issue more salient in a credible way.

Ethically, agenda-building should not crowd out public-interest information through manufactured controversy. Newsworthiness should arise from genuine significance rather than deception.

Framing Theory

Framing concerns how an issue is selected, organised and made meaningful. A frame highlights some aspects of reality while making others less prominent. A climate issue, for example, may be framed as an economic opportunity, a scientific risk, a justice issue or a technological challenge. Each frame encourages different interpretations, emotions and policy preferences.

A useful analytical framework identifies four functions:

1. Define the problem.
2. Diagnose causes.
3. Make moral evaluations.
4. Suggest remedies.

Frames are expressed through word choice, images, sources, statistics, comparisons and story structure. “Cost” and “investment” may describe the same expenditure but imply different evaluations. “ Protesters” and “community members” also position actors differently.

Framing is unavoidable; every message selects and emphasises. The ethical issue is whether the frame is accurate, transparent and open to relevant counter-evidence. Practitioners should avoid false binaries, selective statistics, stigmatizing labels and emotional appeals that conceal material facts.

Media framing is not controlled entirely by PR. Journalists, editors, audiences, platforms and rival organisations reinterpret supplied material. Effective practitioners therefore prepare for frame contestation: they identify likely interpretations, support claims with evidence and respond respectfully to legitimate criticism.

Diffusion of Innovations

Diffusion theory, associated with Everett Rogers, explains how an innovation spreads through a social system over time. An innovation is an idea, practice or object perceived as new. Adoption is influenced by five perceived attributes:

• Relative advantage: perceived improvement over existing practice.
• Compatibility: fit with values, experience and needs.
• Complexity: difficulty of understanding or using it.
• Trialability: ability to experiment before full adoption.
• Observability: visibility of results to others.

Adopter categories are commonly described as innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. These labels should not be used to stereotype people; adoption varies by innovation and context.

PR applications include introducing a digital service, promoting vaccination, encouraging sustainable behaviour or launching an internal work system. A campaign might provide demonstrations to increase observability, pilot schemes to increase trialability, training to reduce complexity and testimonials from trusted community members to improve perceived compatibility.

Diffusion is not simply message transmission. Infrastructure, cost, access, social norms and institutional trust can enable or prevent adoption. A communication campaign cannot solve an innovation’s poor design or unaffordable price.

Applying the Theories Together

Theories become useful when combined in a planning sequence:

1. Systems diagnosis: What environmental changes and organisational behaviours create the issue?
2. Public analysis: Which groups are nonpublics, latent, aware or active?
3. Relationship assessment: What are current levels of trust, satisfaction and commitment?
4. Agenda and frame analysis: Which issues and interpretations are prominent, and which are missing?
5. Communication choice: Is information, persuasion, dialogue, negotiation or behavioural support required?
6. Diffusion planning: If adoption is desired, what barriers and innovation attributes matter?
7. Evaluation: What changed in knowledge, interpretation, behaviour, organisational action and relationship quality?

This sequence prevents a common error: selecting a communication tactic before understanding the problem. A press conference may be appropriate for urgent factual clarification, but it is unlikely to repair a broken relationship without organisational change.

Illustrative Case: The Riverside Transit Expansion

Background

MetroLink, a fictional city transport authority, proposes a new rapid-bus corridor through Riverside. The project promises shorter journeys and lower emissions, but it will remove some parking spaces and alter access for small businesses.

Problem

Initial communication follows a public-information approach: MetroLink publishes maps and construction dates. Residents complain that the authority is ignoring delivery workers, older people and shop owners. A local video portraying the project as “a plan to destroy Riverside” gains attention. The issue moves from latent to active publics.

Analysis

A systems analysis identifies interdependence: transport access, local commerce, environmental goals and political legitimacy are connected. Situational theory shows several publics: some residents are aware but constrained by limited technical knowledge; a traders’ association is active; commuters are an important but less organised public. Relationship analysis reveals low trust because earlier consultation produced no visible changes.

Agenda-setting and framing analysis indicates that the media agenda is dominated by parking loss rather than travel-time or emissions benefits. The dominant frame defines the problem as a threat to local livelihoods. MetroLink cannot credibly replace this frame with promotional language alone.

Approach

MetroLink establishes a two-way engagement programme. It publishes plain-language evidence, releases the assumptions behind traffic forecasts, and holds small meetings at accessible times. It invites independent transport experts and records unanswered questions. The design team changes loading zones, adds accessible crossing points and creates a review period after six months.

The authority uses a relationship-management approach by acknowledging the earlier consultation failure and assigning named staff to local groups. It uses diffusion principles for a new mobile ticketing system: demonstrations, a free trial, assistance for people with disabilities and early adopters from community organisations.

Outcome

In this illustrative case, opposition does not disappear. However, the debate becomes more specific, participation broadens and several practical design changes reduce harm. Local media begin covering both trade-offs and benefits. Evaluation shows improved awareness and modestly improved trust, while some groups remain dissatisfied about parking.

Learning points

The case demonstrates that no single model is sufficient. Public information was necessary but inadequate. Two-way communication became credible only when feedback influenced decisions. Framing analysis revealed why factual information alone did not change the debate. Systems and relationship perspectives connected communication with operational action.

Ethical, Governance and Contemporary Issues

Theories must be applied within professional and legal responsibilities. Practitioners should distinguish advocacy from deception, disclose conflicts of interest, protect personal data, respect accessibility needs and avoid exploiting vulnerable publics. Paid, sponsored and synthetic content should be clearly identified. Astroturfing—creating the appearance of grassroots support—undermines informed participation.

Digital platforms have intensified agenda-setting and framing. Organisations can monitor conversations in real time, but monitoring must respect privacy, consent and platform rules. Artificial intelligence can assist with translation, issue clustering, accessibility and draft analysis. It can also produce fabricated quotations, biased targeting, deepfakes and confident errors. Human verification, disclosure, data governance and editorial accountability remain essential.

Algorithms may personalise messages so narrowly that different publics receive incompatible claims. Practitioners should maintain an evidence record, document targeting criteria, test for discriminatory effects and provide routes for correction. The speed of digital communication does not remove the duty to be accurate.

Best Practices for Applying PR Theory

• Begin with organisational conduct and public consequences, not with a preferred channel.
• Define publics by their relationship to the issue rather than by broad demographics alone.
• Combine quantitative research with listening, interviews and community knowledge.
• Use two-way communication when decisions affect people’s rights, resources or identity.
• Treat feedback as meaningful only when the organisation can explain how it was considered.
• Match frames to evidence and acknowledge legitimate trade-offs.
• Design adoption programmes around access, trialability and practical barriers.
• Measure outputs, outtakes, outcomes and relationship changes separately.
• Include dissenting voices and evaluate unequal effects.
• Ensure that communication claims remain consistent with organisational behaviour.

Chapter Summary

Public relations theories provide alternative explanations of communication, influence and organisational responsibility. Press-agentry seeks attention; public-information distributes accurate information; two-way asymmetrical communication uses research mainly to improve persuasion; and two-way symmetrical communication emphasises dialogue and mutual adjustment. Systems theory presents organisations as open systems whose survival depends on environmental relationships and feedback. Excellence theory positions PR as a strategic, ethical management function. Relationship-management theory focuses on trust, satisfaction, commitment, mutuality and repair.

Situational theory of publics helps practitioners distinguish nonpublics, latent, aware and active publics by examining problem recognition, constraints and involvement. Agenda-setting explains how media attention influences issue salience, while framing explains how definitions, causes, moral evaluations and remedies are constructed. Diffusion theory explains how innovations spread and highlights relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability.

In practice, these perspectives should be combined. Effective PR links listening with organisational action, recognises unequal power, uses evidence responsibly and evaluates changes in knowledge, interpretation, behaviour, policy and relationships. Ethical PR is not simply persuasive communication; it is accountable engagement between organisations and the publics affected by them.

Key Terms

Press-agentry: A one-way publicity model focused on attention and visibility.

Public-information model: A one-way model focused on distributing accurate information.

Two-way asymmetrical communication: Research-informed communication designed primarily to persuade publics for organisational benefit.

Two-way symmetrical communication: Dialogue-oriented communication seeking mutual understanding and adjustment.

Open system: An organisation that exchanges resources, information and influence with its environment.

Boundary spanning: Interpreting external expectations for an organisation and organisational decisions for publics.

Excellence theory: A framework presenting PR as a strategic, research-based and ethical management function.

Relationship management: The practice of building, maintaining and repairing organisation–public relationships.

Trust: Confidence in an organisation’s competence, honesty and concern.

Control mutuality: The degree to which parties can influence one another.

Situational theory of publics: A framework classifying publics according to issue awareness, constraints and involvement.

Latent public: A group affected by an issue but not yet aware of it as a shared problem.

Active public: A group that recognises an issue, communicates and seeks action.

Agenda-setting: The influence of issue prominence on perceptions of what is important.

Agenda-building: The process through which organisations and other actors contribute issues to public and media agendas.

Framing: Selecting and emphasising aspects of reality to shape interpretation.

Diffusion: The spread of an innovation through a social system over time.

Trialability: The extent to which an innovation can be tested before full adoption.

Astroturfing: Deceptive creation of apparent grassroots support.

Review Questions

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the principal difference between press-agentry and the public-information model?
2. Why is two-way symmetrical communication considered dialogue-oriented?
3. What does systems theory mean by an open organisation?
4. Name the four main categories of publics in situational theory.
5. Define framing in the context of public relations.

Long Answer Questions

1. Compare the four historical models of public relations and discuss the ethical strengths and weaknesses of each.
2. Explain how excellence theory and relationship-management theory redefine the role of the PR practitioner.
3. Discuss how agenda-setting and framing can work together in a public issue campaign.
4. Explain the five perceived attributes that influence diffusion of an innovation.
5. Evaluate the claim that effective PR depends more on organisational behaviour than on message creativity.

Analytical / Application Questions

1. A university plans to introduce compulsory digital attendance monitoring. Use systems theory, situational theory of publics and relationship-management theory to design an initial PR strategy.
2. A food company faces criticism after a product recall. Analyse how public-information, two-way symmetrical communication and framing should be combined during the response.
3. A local government wants residents to adopt a new household waste-sorting system. Apply diffusion theory and agenda-setting theory, and identify ethical risks in the campaign.

Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Question 1

Which model primarily focuses on gaining attention through publicity and promotion?

A. Press-agentry

B. Public-information

C. Two-way symmetrical

D. Relationship-management

Correct Answer: A. Press-agentry

Question 2

What distinguishes the public-information model from press-agentry?

A. It avoids all media communication

B. It prioritises accurate dissemination of information

C. It requires mutual policy negotiation

D. It focuses exclusively on behaviour change

Correct Answer: B. It prioritises accurate dissemination of information

Question 3

In systems theory, feedback enables an organisation to do what?

A. Ignore environmental change

B. Replace all organisational decisions with public votes

C. Monitor consequences and adjust its actions

D. Eliminate the need for communication

Correct Answer: C. Monitor consequences and adjust its actions

Question 4

Which condition is most consistent with two-way symmetrical communication?

A. Research is used only to conceal weaknesses

B. The organisation listens and may modify its practices

C. The organisation distributes information without feedback

D. Publicity is valued regardless of accuracy

Correct Answer: B. The organisation listens and may modify its practices

Question 5

A group affected by an issue but not yet aware of it as a shared problem is a:

A. Nonpublic

B. Latent public

C. Aware public

D. Active public

Correct Answer: B. Latent public

Question 6

Agenda-setting theory primarily concerns the media’s influence on:

A. Which issues people consider important

B. The legal ownership of media organisations

C. The technical speed of communication

D. Whether every audience accepts a message

Correct Answer: A. Which issues people consider important

Question 7

Which question is central to framing analysis?

A. How many employees work in the PR department?

B. Which aspects of an issue are highlighted and interpreted?

C. What is the organisation’s annual depreciation?

D. How many channels exist in a media system?

Correct Answer: B. Which aspects of an issue are highlighted and interpreted?

Question 8

Which diffusion attribute refers to the ability to test an innovation before full adoption?

A. Compatibility

B. Observability

C. Trialability

D. Complexity

Correct Answer: C. Trialability

Question 9

Which is a relationship-quality dimension?

A. Control mutuality

B. Message frequency only

C. Printing cost

D. Audience size alone

Correct Answer: A. Control mutuality

Question 10

Why is organisational behaviour important to relationship-management theory?

A. Relationships are judged only by slogans

B. Publics evaluate experiences and conduct as well as messages

C. Communication has no effect on trust

D. Behaviour is unrelated to legitimacy

Correct Answer: B. Publics evaluate experiences and conduct as well as messages