copyright © allyn & bacon 2003 a brief history of public relations chapter 3 public relations a...

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003

A Brief History ofA Brief History ofPublic RelationsPublic Relations

Chapter 3Public Relations

A Values-Driven Approach

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Pre-Modern Public Pre-Modern Public RelationsRelations

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)


Trends Leading toTrends Leading toModern Public RelationsModern Public RelationsGrowth of institutionsThe expansion of democracyTechnological improvements in

communicationThe growth of advocacyThe search for consensus


Pre-20th Century Pre-20th Century AmericaAmerica

The Boston Tea PartyCommon SenseThe Federalist LettersThe First Amendment of the United

States Constitution


The 1800sThe 1800s

A greater focus on public opinionAmos Kendall, press secretaryP. T. Barnum, father of press-

agentryJay Cooke, Civil War fundraiser


The Seedbed YearsThe Seedbed Years

Mutual Life Insurance Company - 1888.

Westinghouse - 1889.The Publicity Bureau - 1900.William Wolf Smith - 1902.Parker and Lee - 1904.


Why Early Agencies Why Early Agencies FailedFailed

They were doing something new.They lacked credibility.They faced stiff resistance from

newspaper publishers.They challenged Theodore

Roosevelt - and lost.


Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)(1858-1919)

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.


Ivy Ledbetter Lee Ivy Ledbetter Lee (1877-1934)(1877-1934)

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.


War and PropagandaWar and Propaganda

A growing interest in propagandaThe Committee for Public

Information aka The Creel Committee

The “Four-Minute Men”The Zimmerman Telegram


Edward L. Bernays Edward L. Bernays (1891-1995)(1891-1995)

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.”


Why Bernays and Not Why Bernays and Not Lee?Lee?

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.


The Post-War BoomThe Post-War Boom

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.


Post-War Social Post-War Social ActivismActivism

The New Industrial Age.The Age of Political Activism.Advocates turn the tables on

business and adopt public relations practices.


The Downsizing of the The Downsizing of the U.S.U.S.

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.


Baby Boomers Come of Baby Boomers Come of AgeAge

The United States is transformed into an information-based society.

New jobs, but lower salaries.A changing workplace.Public relations takes a high

profile.


““Future History”Future History”

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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