TheSecond

I think the key points from this week’s readings were Grunig and Hunt’s ‘four models’ approach to how PR can be carried out. They are namely the press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetric and two-way symmetric models.

The press agentry model deals with organisations gaining awareness and generating publicity to attract the public’s attention. This model utilizes explicit publicity stunts to seek attention mirrored in the recent st701 website launch where they got a model to stay in a makeshift unit housed in the middle of Raffles Place. Passer-bys witness how the lady got by her usual activities in one week without leaving the box as she could use st701 to purchase services and merchandises.

The public information model reflects one-way communication as organizations disseminate intented messages to the public. An example would be The Straits Times reporting on a mistake in it’s information which was printed days before in the paper.

The 2-way asymmetic model, which is widely used, relies heavily on feedback from the public and both parties-organisation and public- benefit each other. Whereas the 2-way symmetic model, relies on good feedback.

The readings made me think that all four models have to overlap each other in order for public relations to be go well as different situations will require different measures.

I think the article by Mark Chong shows how well Singapore dealt with the SARs epidemic with the help of effective and efficient public relations. Public relations practitioners hold heavy responsibilities and should be valued for their role.