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Public relations practitioners must understand their audience and whom their audience trusts. After “America’s most trusted man” Walter Cronkite passed on in 2009, it was suggested that the word trust should have been buried with him, as there were no obvious heirs to his role. (Poniewozik) Brogan and Smith outline “why we trust people is the same, it’s only in the way we come to trust people that is changing and that’s because communication is changing.” (2009, p. 260) With the internet, bloggers changed the game and humanized media relationships by changing the way people came to trust. I examined how this new media landscape makes Grunig’s two-way symmetric model more relevant and why Marston’s RACE formula can no longer be used in a linear format. 1. Introduction 3. Results 2. Method Most of our normal conceptual system is metaphorically structured and that “we understand and experience one thing in terms of another.” (Lakoff and Johnson, 2003, p. 5) The Media Landscape Past: Love-hate relationship between traditional media and PR practitioners Present: Awkward threesome between PR practitioners, traditional media and bloggers Learning from the past and present, the following elements are part of a PR practitioner’s job respectively: Old Metaphor Processes and tools, controlled messages, business copy for media releases with the right key messages, indirect access to audience, key spokespeople, mass consumption New Game Trusting relationships, change is a constant, new tools being explored, givers get, audience known in person, multiple faces of the organization, tailored communications 4. Application to PR 5. Conclusions A qualitative case study of a blogger was used to explore what could be applied to a PR practitioner’s praxis. “Trust impacts us 24/7, 365 days a year. It undergirds and affects the quality of every relationship, every communication, every work project, every business venture, every effort in which we are engaged.” (Covey, 2008, p. 1) Is this Source Trusted? To determine if a particular blogger was trusted, members of her audience completed the “Public relations is the strategic management of relationships between an organisation and its diverse publics through the use of communication to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve the public interest.” (Flynn, Gregory & Valin, 2008) Most present-day PR is based on a Grunig’s two-way symmetric model that is planned through Marston’s RACE formula. While developed years ago, the two-way symmetric model remains relevant. Mutual understanding Two-way; balanced effects Group <-> Group Formative; evaluative of understanding Also developed years ago, the RACE formula (Research, Analysis/Action, Communication, Evaluation) includes all the elements of communications planning, but can no longer be viewed in a linear format. ✘ Of the three ways to secure human cooperation (power, purchase, persuasion), this model was based on persuasion ✘ Planned persuasive communications with significant publics; era of mass persuasion ✘ Developed in a time when most audience members were only receivers unless they got “sufficiently excited” to write a letter or make a phone call A few final thoughts on the praxis of PR practitioners: 1. Trust ≠ Persuasion; Trust = Truth 2. Tools changed; way we trust changed 3. Shift from persuasion to power in securing human cooperation; power to uncover truth 4. PR practitioners are always RACE-ing, not necessarily in that order 5. Complexity of the current environment; simplicity in trust To know a trust agent is to be a trust agent. References Brogan, C., & Smith, J. (2009). Trust agents: Using the web to build influence, improve reputation, and earn trust. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Covey, S. M. R. (2008). The speed of trust: The one thing that changes everything. New York, NY: Free Press. Flynn, T., Gregory, F. & Valin, J. (2008). PR definition. Retrieved April 1, 2010, from http:// www.cprs.ca/uploads/PR_Definition.pdf Grunig, J.E. & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing Public Relations. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. Marston, J.E. (1963). The Nature of Public Relations. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. Poniewozik, J. (2009, July 17). Walter Cronkite: The man with America's trust. TIME, Retrieved from http://www.time.com/ time/nation/article/0,8599,1911501,00.html What Makes this Source Trusted? Brogan and Smith’s elements of a trust agent were used as a checklist: Make your own game, one of us, Archimedes effect, agent zero, human artist, build an army Trust is built in two types of systems: 1. Open: constantly changing 2. Closed: fully understood This particular blogger operates in an open system with the following strongest traits: • Making her own game; passion for life hacking • Being an agent zero and building an army; often at the core of creating a sense of community; go-to subject matter expert 85% 85% 86% 86% 87% 96% Character Competence “Trustability” with Others Interac9ons Builds Trust Others Trust You Personal Credibility Index trust survey created by Stephen M.R. Covey at whotrustsyou.com. Diane Bégin MA APR completed her graduate studies at the University of Alberta with a final project on why people are shifting their trust to bloggers when they once solely turned to traditional news sources. In 2010, she also completed her accreditation in public relations (APR), with a work sample that received a CPRS National Gold Award of Excellence for Social Media. She is an active volunteer with her local CPRS board and the national social media taskforce. BLOG: wheretobegin.ca TWITTER: @dibegin LINKEDIN: ca.linkedin.com/in/dibegin PORTFOLIO: behance.net/dibegin “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson No longer racing down just one path… Understanding trust and its impact on public relations "Our path is not going to be linear or smooth. It's still early days.” Mark Fields In both cases, audiences still turn to the sources they trust.
