GRUNIG’S FOUR MODELS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

MODELS PRESS PUBLIC TWO-WAY TWO-WAY

AGENTRY INFORMATION ASYMMETRIC SYMMETRIC
Purpose Propaganda Dissemination Scientific Negotiation/
of information persuasion Accommodation
Nature of One-way, truth One-way, truth Two-way Two-way
communication not essential important imbalanced balanced
Research Little, press Little – * Feedback * Formative
clippings only readability tests * Formative research
usually possibly, research * Evaluation of
readership * Evaluation of understanding
surveys attitudes
sometimes
Historical PT Barnum Ivy Lee Edward Bernays Jim Grunig,
figures educators
Where Sports, theatre, Government, Competitive Regulated
practised product non-profit orgs, business business and
promotion structured modern flat
companies structure
companies
% of market 10% 45% 35% 10%

MODELS MIXED MOTIVES MODEL

Purpose Mutual Understanding
Nature of Two-way, creates a
communication win-win zone
Research
Historical Dozier, Grunig
figures
Where Serves as a normative
practised model only
% of market 0%

The distinction between two-way asymmetric and two-way symmetric approaches to

public relations was developed by James Grunig and Todd Hunt in their 1984 book
Managing Public Relations and was subsequently promoted in Baskin and Aronoff's
Public Relations: The Profession and the Practice and journal articles. However, it did
not gain wide-spread attention until Grunig and his colleagues spotlighted it in the IABC
Excellence Study in the early 1990s.