Masters of Arts in Advertising

Longitudinal Analysis of NASA Public Relations and New York Times Newspaper Articles (1963-2011)

Using Grunig & Hunt’s models of public relations, this thesis provides a longitudinal content analysis of NASA press materials and New York Times newspaper articles from 1963 to 2011 with regards to various sampled crewed and uncrewed spaceflight missions. Additionally, semi-structured interviews with space industry practitioners, including NASA public affairs officers, journalists, and astronauts, were gathered to provide additional insight to content analysis.

From the 1960s up until the 1990s, NASA used a public information model to inform journalists about key facts. After the 1990s, NASA public affairs used a mixed motives model, tailoring to their audiences and messages. While in the beginning, NASA could rely on journalists to share their narrative and instead focused on disseminating the scientific results to the press. Presentday NASA has developed strategies and tactics to support their brand narrative and acknowledge their various audiences that interact with the agency.

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Highlights

Models of Public Relations

From the 1960s to the 1990s NASA employed a public information model to convey important facts to journalists, who then reported these details to the public through their news articles. Initially, NASA trusted journalists to tell their story, allowing the agency to concentrate on sharing scientific findings with the media.

Brand Narrative

Following the 1990s, NASA's public affairs adopted a mixed motives model, customizing their communications different audiences. They moved away from depending on the press corps to convey their messages to the American public. The emergence of new technologies enabled them to explore alternatives beyond traditional media.

Moving Forward

Today's NASA crafted strategies and tactics to enhance their brand narrative while recognizing the diverse audiences that engage with the agency. They interact with the media and press when necessary to connect with the public, but also produce numerous communication materials internally.

Summary

Grunig’s & Hunt’s Four Models of PR

To establish a framework for analyzing NASA's communication, this study utilizes Grunig and Hunt’s Four Models of Public Relations. These models serve as conceptual lenses to distill an organization's worldview, presumptions, and rhetoric when approaching various publics. An organization’s worldview is defined as either asymmetrical, focusing on changing the public’s mind, or symmetrical, focusing on a mutually beneficial, two-way relationship. Presumptions examine whether the organization maintains a "healthy" strategic relationship with its audience or an "unhealthy," passive, or defensive one. Finally, rhetoric analyzes the diction used with the audience, ranging from "sub-rhetoric" meant to deceive to "rhetoric-A," which focuses on open, critical exchange and shared discovery.

The four primary models of public relations are categorized by their direction of flow and their ethical underpinnings. The Press Agentry and Public Information models are characterized as asymmetrical, one-way communication flows from the organization to the public, often associated with unhealthy presumptions. While Press Agentry may use "sub-rhetoric" or trickery, Public Information focuses on disseminating accurate facts sincerely. In contrast, Persuasion/Advocacy and Dialogue/Relationship Building are two-way models that involve a feedback loop. The Dialogue model is a symmetrical "healthy" approach using Rhetoric-A to foster collaboration and understanding. Finally, the Mixed Motives model acts as a catch-all for any combination of these worldviews and rhetorical styles to meet specific organizational goals.

Methods

This thesis employs a multi-method approach, bridging quantitative and qualitative data through longitudinal content analysis and semi-structured interviews. The primary dataset consists of 93 NASA press materials, including press kits and releases, sampled from 1963 to 2011 to represent every U.S. presidency during that period. These were compared against 739 New York Times newspaper articles to see how NASA’s narrative was mirrored in the press. To provide deeper context, semi-structured interviews were conducted in early 2021 with eight industry practitioners, including NASA public affairs officers, astronauts, and science journalists. This triangulation of data ensures that the patterns found in the documents are corroborated by the lived experiences of those directly involved in space science communication.

Results

The results of the decadal analysis confirm the steady evolution of NASA's communicative strategy from purely asymmetrical to a more nuanced approach. For the first three decades (1960s–1980s), NASA’s worldview was strictly asymmetrical and its model was categorized as Public Information, utilizing "mere rhetoric" to sincerely sell its mission. A notable shift occurred in the 2000s, which was the only decade where presumptions were coded as "unhealthy," likely reflecting a need for a more dominant brand voice following major errors like the Challenger and Columbia accidents. By the 2010s, the results show a blend of asymmetrical and symmetrical worldviews, with rhetoric expanding to include "Rhetoric A" (dialogue) and "Rhetoric B" (strategic reasoning). Ultimately, while NASA continues to maintain control of its brand, it has moved significantly toward a Mixed Motives model.

Discussion

A longitudinal review of NASA’s history reveals a distinct shift in how the agency utilized these public relations models over several decades. From the 1960s through the 1980s, the agency relied heavily on the Public Information Model, which prioritized the one-way dissemination of scientific results and technical facts to the press. During this era, NASA could largely rely on journalists to act as "cheerleaders" who would naturally share the agency’s narrative. However, beginning in the 1990s and continuing through the 2010s, the agency transitioned into a Mixed Motives Model. This evolution allowed NASA to become more strategic, tailoring specific messages to different audiences and utilizing two-way communication to maintain its brand narrative in a more complex media landscape.

Interviews with practitioners highlighted that press conferences are a unique and vital tool that bridges one-way dissemination and active dialogue. While press kits and releases are inherently unidirectional, the Q&A portion of a conference allows for the "Rhetoric-A" exchange that astronauts and journalists value. Astronauts like Gene and Nick noted that these events are the primary way they interact with the media, providing an opportunity to answer technical and human-interest questions openly. Journalists like Anwar similarly noted that these briefings are the most helpful starting point for their stories, often followed by direct inquiries to PAOs for technical clarification. Consequently, press conferences remain a crucial symmetrical tactic within NASA’s broader mixed-motives strategy.

This study opens several doors for future academic inquiry into space science communication. First, research should expand to analyze individual NASA centers, as interviews revealed that centers often have unique "fiefdoms" and personalities that impact their transparency and media relations. Additionally, more work is needed to measure the effectiveness of emerging digital mediums, such as NASA’s use of social media influencers and podcasts to reach audiences beyond traditional news consumers. There is also a significant opportunity to explore "Space Fandoms" and the co-creation of the NASA brand by active publics. Finally, future studies should investigate how astronaut communication training can be evolved to better support the human-interest angles that drive public engagement.

The implications of this research suggest that NASA has successfully adapted to a rapidly changing media environment by embracing a strong Mixed Motives strategy. By using tactics like the NASA Social program and digital events, the agency is effectively moving toward an open-source brand identity where the public and the agency are co-creators of the space program's meaning. However, as the agency targets higher goals like the Artemis program, it must maintain a healthy, transparent relationship with diverse stakeholders beyond its existing fan base. While journalists will continue their role in informative, referential discourse, NASA must continue to develop its persuasive and inclusive strategies to ensure long-term public support for the next generation of space exploration.