Public relations aims to serve the public by informing them of key issues, but the relationship is complex. PR needs to understand public opinion and how the public perceives their organization. They must see the public as active participants and put communication at the core of their operations. To truly understand the relationship between PR and the public, we must define concepts like public opinion, polls and surveys, the public sphere, and symmetrical vs. asymmetrical communication. Understanding these concepts provides insight into how PR can best relate to the public.

1. PR and The Public: A
Genuine Relationship?
What is the relationship between Public Relations and the public it claims to
serve? How does PR inform the public about key issues/problems/crisis?
Does the public need PR or does PR need the public?
If we were to answer these three questions above, then we would be better
placed to fully understand the relationship between the two.
Public refers to groups of individual people, when put in the context of
communication science. In order for an organization to control and protect its
reputation, it must have a full understanding of what is being said about it in
the public and be able to assess its level of importance. Indeed, companies do
not operate in a vacuum. Communicating with audiences in this way
therefore requires a total rethink in practices and messages.
The new environment requires that the public is seen as an active participant
in the construction of meaning and requires an organization to put
communications at the heart of its operations.
For us to understand this relationship at a deeper level, it is crucial for us to
define some underlying concepts:

2. Public opinion– This refers to the particular view or attitudes that are
prevalent among the general public. They cumulatively represent the views,
wants, desires and thinking of majority of the people. In a democratic
political setting, policies are developed based on public opinion and the
government remains in power so long as it is backed by public opinion, as
the case in Kenya.
Polls and surveys – These are analytics or research material for public
opinion used to extrapolate measurable generalities. They offer more insights
into why parts of the population may be more or less in favor of a certain
factor, say a potential political figure.
Public Sphere – This interesting phenomenon refers to the social space
where individuals can come freely and discuss and identify societal problems
and somewhat, influence some type of political action. I am sure you have
come across people in town or in the park (especially at Jeevanjee Gardens in
Nairobi CBD). In these public spheres, different opinions can be expressed
and collective solutions can be developed.
Two-Way Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Communication – In public
relations theory, you will often come across these two terms. A two-way
symmetrical communication (often equated to a dialogue) represents a
balanced communication system that is associated with an open and honest
give-and-take scenario. It involves mutual understandings and respects
opinions from both sides/participants. On the other hand, asymmetry is
related to imbalance, lacking the mirror-image aspects among participants

3. caused either by social or institutional factors. This type of communication
sometimes may come off as persuasive and in most cases, it is employed
with the focus of achieving short-term attitude changes.
In the symmetrical situation, examples of such models in public relations are
evident in reputation management where communication is used to negotiate
with publics and resolve disputes. The latter usually does not use research to
know how public feel about the organization as seen in corporate PR/Investor
relations (Grunig’s models of PR).
Understanding these concepts helps us to understand the relationships PR has
with the public.