In the mid-’90s, my father brought home an intriguing textbook called Excellence in Public Relations and Communications Management. I still don’t know why I was drawn to it. At close to 700 pages it was big and almost completely devoid of pictures or visuals – quite repelling, especially for a 20-year-old. Due to my early exposure to the profession, and to the confusion I felt at seeing so many people practice it in such disparate ways, I knew sooner or later I’d have to discover the definitive word on the profession. It took me seven excruciatingly long years to finish reading the textbook, but once I did it unlocked a whole new universe to me – and there’s been no turning back since.
At the recent CPRS National Convention in Montreal, I was taken aback by the extent to which sharp and experienced communications leaders mentioned the textbook and its author, James E. Grunig. At the various workshops and keynote lectures I heard as much about Grunig’s four models of public relations and communications as I did about social media, Reddit and content marketing. I left the convention feeling there’s hope at growth and progress in public relations and communications in our country as PR practitioners learn about the brilliant theory behind the profession – and avoid the pitfalls of simply practicing it for the immediate satisfaction of some of the more myopic, manipulative and self-absorbed forces at play in our clients’ boardrooms. Let’s be clear, at least from my vantage point and the experiences of many, humanity continues to fight against the same ills that plagued organizations from the time of P.T. Barnum, Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays.
The best place to start is with the definition of PR. The Canadian Public Relations Society offers a solid statement:
“The strategic management of relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of communication, to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals and serve the public interest.”
I’ve always enjoyed Grunig’s definition, which I’ve paraphrased as: “The management function that helps to nurture relationships with audience groups that can either enhance or constrain the ability of an organization to deliver on its mission – while serving the public interest.”
There’s a great opportunity on the horizon if we hold tight to these types of definitions and take the time to teach them thoroughly to tomorrow’s PR professionals. By doing so, we can expect greater joy and fulfillment in our respective vocations, a higher incidence of responsible and truly sustainable corporate behaviour, trust and respect between Canadians and our corporate and institutional communities and, I firmly believe, a better society. Thanks, CPRS, for nudging us down that path together.
Daniel Torchia is managing director and partner at Torchia Communications
