From personal and interpersonal influence to impersonal influence - A role for media in relationship management

This chapter introduces a model depicting how the impersonal influence of mass media plays a central role in the symmetrical relationship maintenance strategy of legitimacy. In doing so it challenges a number of existing conceptions of the role of media in public relations practice. Firstly, it conceptualises media as being in a symmetrical role in contributing to a mutual understanding of legitimacy between a range of publics and organizations. Secondly, it adds the impersonal influence of media to existing models of personal and interpersonal influence in relationship management. Thirdly, it conceptualises the role of media in terms of long-term effects not short-term outputs. By doing so, it suggests media play an integral role in understanding the collective perceptions and expectations of others in the social environment within which organization-public relationships are developed.