Transcript A Brief History of Public Relations

A Brief History of
Public Relations
Chapter 3
Public Relations
A Values-Driven Approach
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Pre-Modern Public Relations
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Primitive agricultural extension
activities (circa 1,800 B.C.)
Athens (circa 450 B.C.)
Vox populi (circa 100 B.C.)
Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (circa
1600s)
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Trends Leading to
Modern Public Relations
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Growth of institutions
The expansion of democracy
Technological improvements in
communication
The growth of advocacy
The search for consensus
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Pre-20th Century America
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The Boston Tea Party
Common Sense
The Federalist Letters
The First Amendment of the United
States Constitution
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The 1800s
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A greater focus on public opinion
Amos Kendall, press secretary
P. T. Barnum, father of press-agentry
Jay Cooke, Civil War fundraiser
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The Seedbed Years
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Mutual Life Insurance Company - 1888.
Westinghouse - 1889.
The Publicity Bureau - 1900.
William Wolf Smith - 1902.
Parker and Lee - 1904.
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Why Early Agencies Failed
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They were doing something new.
They lacked credibility.
They faced stiff resistance from
newspaper publishers.
They challenged Theodore Roosevelt and lost.
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Theodore Roosevelt
(1858-1919)
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Roosevelt transformed relations
among government, big business, and
voters.
He used the White House as a “Bully
Pulpit.”
He was the father of the presidential
news conference.
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Ivy Ledbetter Lee
(1877-1934)
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Lee’s Declaration of Principles (1906) laid
an ethical foundation for the practice of
public relations.
Earned the nickname “Poison Ivy”
because his actions did not match his
words.
His work for the German Dye Trust
ruined his reputation.
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War and Propaganda
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A growing interest in propaganda
The Committee for Public Information
aka The Creel Committee
The “Four-Minute Men”
The Zimmerman Telegram
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Edward L. Bernays (1891-1995)
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A nephew of Sigmund Freud.
A veteran of the Creel Committee.
Coined the phrase “Public Relations
Counsel.”
Self-proclaimed “Father of Public
Relations.”
He and his wife Doris Fleischman were
PR’s first “Power Couple.”
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Why Bernays and Not Lee?
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Both men deserve recognition.
Neither man was a saint.
Lee worked for the Nazis. Bernays did
not.
Lee died before he could answer his
critics. Bernays outlived his.
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The Post-War Boom
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The Office of War Information becomes a
training ground for new practitioners.
The growth in public relations education.
Public Relations Society of America,1947.
International Association of Business
Communicators, 1970.
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Post-War Social Activism
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The New Industrial Age.
The Age of Political Activism.
Advocates turn the tables on business
and adopt public relations practices.
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The Downsizing of the U.S.
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An aging U.S. infrastructure leads to
modernization and downsizing.
Reagan downsizes the government.
In-house public relations departments
downsized or eliminated.
New opportunities for agencies and
consultants.
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Baby Boomers Come of Age
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The United States is transformed into
an information-based society.
New jobs, but lower salaries.
A changing workplace.
Public relations takes a high profile.
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“Future History”
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An increasingly interdependent world.
Democracy takes root.
More ways to communicate—and more
clutter.
Public relations will continue to be
linked to great social changes.
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