History of Public Relations Public Opinion Power; change; Greeks, Roman, Magna Carta Printing press Controlled by licensing, censorship, seditious libel 1730s -- Seditious Libel Juries revolt in England Peter Zenger trial in Colonies Jury nullification Seditious libel: The more true the more libelous Samuel Adams Ridiculed notion of more true: more libelous. Sustained cmpaign of seditious libel against England. Used strategies and tactics of PR: Activist organizations: Sons of Liberty, Committees of Correspondence. Many channels of communication: press; pulpit; platform; broadsides, pamphlets; mass mailings. Pseudo events&emdash;create events to meet a need: Boston Tea Party (1773). Orchestrating conflict: Boston Massacre Sustained campaign. The leak. Slogans and symbols: Taxation without representation is tyranny; Join or Die (right);  Liberty Tree (bottom, right).   Top The Boston Massacre (1770) Boston Town Meeting quickly issued pamphlet giving its version of the "massacre." Their version reached England first, circulated by Ben Franklin 11 days before official account; Label as a propaganda device to martyr victims to the cause of liberty. Whigs used newspapers, sermons and pamphlets to persuade public. Kept before public for five years. Top The Federalists Papers PR campaign to gain acceptance for the Constitution. Letters to newspapers 1787-88 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. Pressure group activity "History's finest public relations job." Done with accurate facts and sound ideas.   Lessons from Antifederalists Also had sound ideas. Letters in newspapers criticizing new constitution, urging against ratification. Got concession for Bill of Rights. Negative name. Antifederalists went away. Federalists became a party. Notables in Early America Political campaigning and organizing: John Beckley for Thomas Jefferson Amos Kendall for Andrew Jackson. Kendall was first press secretary. Mathew St. Clair for Davy Crockett Press Agentry Provocative act to get publicity and draw attention toward an idea or grievance. P.T. Barnum, 1830s. Abolitionists protest movement Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom's Cabin. Fund drive by Jay Cooke for war bonds for the Union during the Civil War. Railroad and land developers to promote land settlement in West. Business. 1875-1900. Rise of monopolies. Protest and reform in early 1900s. 1876 Women's Suffrage -- Elizabeth C. Stanton, Susan B. Anthony & Matilda O.Gage First corporate PR department established by George Westinghouse E.H. Heinrichs 1889 AC/DC First publicity agency: The Publicity Bureau, Boston, 1900. Samuel Insull, Chicago Edison Company. Bill stuffers, house publication, 1903. First to make PR-related movies. Muckrakers Ida M. Tarbell -- "History of the Standard Oil Company" in McClure's, 1903. Upton Sinclair--The Jungle, 1906 First press bureau in federal government: 1905 by U.S. Forest Service. AT&T's James Drummond Ellsworth, 1907 In public interest to accept government regulation in a natural monopoly. Top Ivy Ledbetter Lee Declaration of Principles, first code of ethics. Supply prompt and accurate information First to use "handout" system on a large scale. Evolved press agentry into public relations. Recognized publicity must be supported by good works &emdash; "performance determines the publicity." 1914, appointed adviser to John D. Rockefeller. After Ludlow Massacre at Colorado Fuel and Iron Company plant, talked to both sides. Recommended that management improve communication with workers and establish mechanisms to redress workers' grievances. Adviser to operation of business. Inward focus: Employees important public. Ivy Ledbetter Lee First Public Relations Counsel, 1906 Got American Tobacco Co. to introduce profit-sharing. World War I 1917-1919 Committee on Public Information, 1917, set up by President Woodrow Wilson Chair George Creel, Co-Chair Carl Byoir. Mobilize public opinion in support of the war. Persuasion to buy war bonds, enlist. Followed a major propaganda effort by British to convince Americans of the rightness of their side and the "evil" of the Germans. Very effective. Increased Red Cross from less than 500,000 members to 20-million, from 372 chapters to 3,864; from $200,000 in funds to $400-million. Increased U.S. bondholders from 350,000 to 10-million. Led to belief in magical effects of mass communication&endash;the legacy of fear. Used psychological principles of mass persuasion.. Trained Edward L. Bernays. Edward L. Bernays Coined the term public relations counsel. First book on PR&endash;Crystallizing Public Opinion,1923. First course on PR. at NYU. Advanced application of social science research methods; symbolic action as persuasive communication; study of nature of public opinion and the role of communication in its formation. Top 1919-1933. War propaganda tactics used to promote products, win political battles, raise money and promote technological change. Walter Lippmann, former adviser to President Woodrow Wilson, wrote Public Opinion, 1922. Pointed out how public opinion formed by media messages: slogans and stereotypes. Arthur Page 1927, AT&T: Business begins with public's permission and survives because of its approval. PR should have real influence in top management. Company should know what public wants and do it. PR is built by performance, not by publicity.` Roosevelt era (1933-1945) Great Depression and World War II. Events (as usual) shaping PR practice. Government PR expands. Office of War Information headed by Elmer Davis; predecessor for the U.S. Information Agency. Created posters for war effort, such as "Rosie the Riveter" (right). Frank Capra employed to make a series of persuasive films, "Why We Fight," to inspire patriotism and build morale. Studies said main effect was to inform. Business PR expands to defend against criticism and legislative reforms. Top Postwar Boom (1945-1965) Strong expansion for business, industry; standard of living. PR expands. Transition begun to postindustrial, service-oriented economy. Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference involved in suit filed in 1953 over ethics of a PR campaign. Led to PRSA's first code of ethics in 1954. Court ruled in 1961. (We'll look at case in Week 4, week on ethics.) Information Age (1965 to present) Acceleration of high technology. Multiplying channels of communication. Rise of consumerism. Transition to global economy. Stressful: Public opinion grew suspicious of all major institutions&endash;government; business; the media. In 1992, Bernays tried to make public relations a profession. Effort failed. We'll study in week 4. In 1998, The Association of Public Relations established. First trade association to represent the professional, ethical and financial interests of the PR industry. Four Models of Public Relations Press Agentry/Publicity (1850-1900) One-way communication P.T. Barnum Public Information (1900-1920) One-way communication Dissemination of accurate information Government model Ivy Ledbetter Lee Two-Way Asymmetric (1920 - Persuasion using social science Uses feedback to evaluate whether objective met Edward L. Bernays Two-Way Symmetric (1960s - today) Gaining mutual understanding Balanced, two-way communication Using feedback to adjust policy, mediation James E. Grunig Back to top Back to Lectures Index