Public relations as dialogic expertise?

Abstract

1Dialogue has been at the centre of public relations theory for about thirty years; to be more precise, the key concerns of the theory of dialogue have been worked on in public relations by researchers and writers using concepts of symmetrical communication, relationship management, or responsibility since the late 1970s. Seen in this way, the key question in the field has been one of purpose of public relations as a professional activity, i.e. What is public relations for? The answer, suggested in 1976 by Grunig's turn to the concept of symmetrical communication-which he subsequently identified as the first step towards the theory of excellent public relations (Grunig et al, 2006, p.23)-was that public relations should be guided by values of equality, reciprocity, and the civic ethos.The intellectual origins of this view and its consequences have been widely debated by numerous authors over the years (for example McKie and Munshi, 2007; L'Etang, 2008;Grunig 2001; L'Etang and Pieczka, 1996; Pieczka, 1997). The intention of this paper is neither to go over this terrain again nor to sketch a history of ideas in the field, but to show how the key concerns about the purpose and ethics of public relations have remained at the centre of attention in some of the most important theories; how they resonate with dialogue; and, in this way, to reflect on the nature and positioning of public relations expertise. The paper is written from a particular perspective, i.e. public relations scholarship conducted in the medium of the English language; other perspectives, histories and debates can, therefore, only be incorporated in this discussion if they have been made accessible through an English translation or a publication in English. 3Responsibility) for two reasons: they clearly occupy a very important place in textbooks and research; they also offer a good way of identifying the central conceptual space in public relations: not because they are exclusive in their concerns, but because they exemplify them so clearly.The following extracts drawn form key texts delineate the central conceptual space. Grunig:With the two-way symmetrical model, practitioners used research and dialogue to bring about symbiotic changes in the ideas, attitudes and […] The concern for balancing the needs of society and the needs of clients produces a tension that may be difficult to manage. PR professional may find it challenging to function as -the conscience of the organization‖. interlocutors' orientations towards the object of communication and the influence the perception of this state of affairs has on the parties' subsequent orientation to that object. In other words, the closer interlocutors see themselves to each other in their views on a subject (i.e. in their cognitions and evaluations), the more confident they become in these views, and that change happens in a co-related manner, affecting the whole system, not juts its individual parts. Newcomb also asserts that symmetry functions as ‗secondary reward value', or to simplify, it is p...

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