The Omnipotence and Impotence of Public Relations

As the anti-corruption campaign deepens across China, CCTV has seen not only former leaders taken away but also hosts detained. Recently, Rui Chenggang, a once-controversial economic journalist and host, was taken in for investigation. As for why Rui was taken away and what crime he committed, we believe that as the case investigation and trial proceed, the legal authorities will provide an accurate and fair announcement. However, rumors have been flying, with countless versions of the case circulating on self-media!

The rumor that "Rui Chenggang invested in a PR company to amass wealth under the guise of public relations" has intensified, and even the concept of public relations, already severely misled, has been unfairly implicated again. We must say a few words to restore the reputation of public relations.

A PR company, strictly speaking, is an enterprise engaged in public relations practice. According to PR principles, it provides clients with strategic PR advice and assists or acts on behalf of clients in carrying out PR work. Therefore, a PR company is not the entirety of public relations.

In Grunig's classic work "Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management," a pioneer of modern public relations theory, the principles of modern PR are comprehensively and precisely elaborated: 1. PR personnel participate in organizational strategic management. 2. PR personnel have certain power in the organization or report directly to senior management. 3. Integrated PR function. 4. PR as a management function independent of other organizational functions. 5. The PR department is led by a manager rather than a technician. 6. PR work adopts a two-way symmetrical model. 7. Internal communication has a balanced system. 8. Personnel in management roles and those conducting two-way symmetrical PR work need sufficient knowledge background. 9. PR roles are diverse. 10. Professional ethics and social responsibility. From these ten principles, it is not difficult to see that public relations is not only practice but also an awareness—an awareness that everyone must have in the era of social media.

Regardless of whether Rui Chenggang's investment in enterprises violates professional norms, just from the "case" described in the rumors, the actions of Rui and his related PR company are not genuine public relations behavior. Moreover, they are vastly different from PR concepts. Every PR textbook emphasizes that public relations must be based on the principle of "telling the truth," and the theories and methodologies described are about how to tell the truth, communicate sincerely with audiences, and aim for "mutual acceptance" as the highest goal of changing opinions. However, the enterprise in the "case" is called a PR company, and as a result, public relations has been unfairly implicated again, becoming "black PR." Just as when cracking down on malicious online hype and rumor-mongering, public relations was also cloaked in black.

Public relations in China started late, encountered many setbacks during its growth, and the environment for its development has deteriorated. Genuine public relations has gradually faded from people's sight... Misunderstanding and distortion have become the mainstream in people's minds.

In fact, public relations is not omnipotent. PR is by no means a panacea and cannot cure all ills. When detached from society, politics, law, economy, and even the humanistic environment, public relations becomes nothing. However, because PR is a discipline and practice related to communication management, in the era of social media, communication has become increasingly complex and frequent, and the forms and environments of media are becoming more socialized. Thus, the concept of PR plays an important role, and PR methodologies are increasingly valued. Therefore, without public relations, it is absolutely impossible.

Public relations has been around for over a hundred years since its formal birth, and it has been ninety years since the first recognized foundational work of public relations, "Crystallizing Public Opinion," was published. Public relations has penetrated every aspect of society and every person's life. Misinterpreting and misunderstanding PR is a manifestation of ignoring it. And ignoring public relations is almost equivalent to letting communication lose management, letting "image" lose management, and letting opinions lose reasonable communication and progress!

Public relations is not omnipotent, but without public relations, it is absolutely impossible!

Let public relations return to its true essence!