The Press Agentry Model and the Public Information Model

The Press Agentry Model

This model appeared in the 19th century and it is characterized by a unidirectional communication. It is the simplest model and it useses propaganda and persuasion trying to convince the public about the truth of the stated ideeas. It is not based on any research and it doesn’t use accurate information, trying only to change the public opinion with half true (or sometimes lies) news. Although this model is in opposition to the public relation definitions, Grunig and Hunt believe that this model is still practiced by 15% of organizations today.

To better reflect this pattern, I chose two examples.

1. I think that one of the cases where this model is used today in entertainment and product publicity. A well known case is, for example, The Slimming Capsule.

A lot of people, both men and women, want to lose weight fast and with no big effort and this is what The Slimming Capsule promises. I’ve heard lots of them complaining to me that they don’t feel very good after taking these capsules, but that they are happy that they lose weight. So, if you try to find information, on the internet or in the newspapers, about this product and its effects, in most cases, you will find that it has a positive review. You can rarely find true info about the headakes, stomachakes or calcium falls all caused by The Slimming Capsule.

From my opinion this is a great example of half true information and presuasion information. Statring from the idea of getting slim, and reppeating it so all you can remember is this statement, they ignore to inform the public about the negative effects that these capsule may have on our health. Maby it works, maby it helps you lose weight, but you don’t know the whole story and all the contradictions of the drug.

2. Another example is Pentrom, the largest oil and gas producer in South Eastern Europe. Petrom has adopted a new strategy in the last years and together with advertising agency Ogilvy Group has developed a social responsibility program which aims to modernize the fleet of five cities in the country according to European standards. As a result of the project cities such as Bucharest, Pitesti, Moineşti, Targoviste Timisoara and will benefit the "Parks for the Future", a project estimated at 1.5 million as part of the campaign "Respect for the Future", launched in early Petrom 2007.

The "Parks of the Future" was appreciated both by the journalists and the media and recieved the highest honor awarded to the Romanian PR Award, the "Golden Award for Excellence." The project was appreciated in the "People for People'' gala, where it won in the "Community Programs" category.

This is the best way to see The Press Agentry Model. Everybody must know that Petrom is one of the biggest sources of polution in the South Eastern Europe. Hiding behing these ecological strategies shouldn’t make us forget about the reality: they may be probably creating new parks, but they are also the ones destroing them along with our health.

Today no company can afford not to be perceived as environmentally irresponsible. As climate change (and this is widely publicized in the recent years) they had to raise awareness of the need actions in this area. And this is why we are presented only halfs of truth, and persuasive ideas that Petrom is fighting for the Earth’s health!

The Public Information Model

The Public Information Model it is also a unidirectional communication model but it differs form The Press Agentry Model, as in the early 20th century, the PR types turned to the truth accuracy in communication and information. So, the accent was put on the ethical practices. Though the PR person used no formal research, the role of the communication is information and winning the public by presentiong them the truth, the exact event, using a transparent policy. It is also expected today that it is used in about 50% of organizations, primarily government agencies, nonprofit organizations and associations. Organizations practicing this model try to represent the interests of both organization and public interest.