Transcript Course: Public Relations: The Profession and Practice

Part One
Public Relations…The Profession
Chapter 2
A Brief History of
Public Relations
Slide 1 of 35
A Conceptual Schema for Studying Public Relations
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
The Profession
The Process
The Publics
The Practice
Research
Media
Relations
Financial
Introduction
History
Chapter 2
falls here.
Strategic
Planning
Public
Affairs and
Government
Employee
Relations
Not-forProfit
Theory
Corporate
Action and
Communication
Law and Ethics
Community
Relations
Emerging
Trends
Evaluation
Consumer
Relations
Introduction to Public Relations
History
In Part One—Chapter 2, Our
Focus is the History of PR
We will look at the history of
Public Relations after the
industrial revolution and the
changes that have occurred in
the field.
Slide 3 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Today’s Learning Objectives are…
1.
Discover how two major forces influenced the
development of public relations in the United
States during the 1930s.
2.
Trace how PR became a respected and
sophisticated profession during the post-WWII
era.
3.
Comprehend how public relations is currently
changing at the start of the 21st century.
Slide 4 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Events That Reinforced the Idea of Mutual
Influence
•
Two mid-20th century events significantly
shaped the American culture.
•
•
•
The Great Depression
World War II
Those events also influenced the development
of public relations as an agent of mutual
influence.
How did the Depression affect public relations?
Slide 5 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
The End of Corporate America’s Era of
Success
The Great Depression (1929-1939) witnessed thousands of
bankruptcies and the vanishing of great wealth.
•
•
Business was viewed as a failed
institution, unable to sustain
prosperity.
Corporate public relations
became less negative and
more of a positive and
continuous program to rebuild
confidence.
Slide 6 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
The Depression Brought
Compassion
•
Workers looking for work in the
Great Depression. Click the
image to see what life was like
in the 1930s.
Photo © 2001 Britannica.com Inc
Slide 7 of 35
Public relations people began to
emphasize a new approach to their
publics—one of seeking mutual
influence through understanding (Stage
3).
•
•
They sought to understand the desperate
needs of their publics.
They facilitated acts of compassion on
the part of their clients.
Introduction to Public Relations
History
The Prestige of the Populace Increased
•
The flow of capital and production evaporated after
the market crash of 1929.
•
•
The need for an informed public became more vital as
government, business and labor competed for public
support for the use of limited resources.
Persuasion and publicity could be effective only when
they were coupled with responsible performance.
•
The practitioner was called upon to help organizations
pursue responsible performance to increase public respect.
Slide 8 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Military Adopted Public Relations in
World War II (1939-1945)
•
The deteriorating military and political situation
in Europe caused the military to increase its
practice of public relations in the 1930s.
•
•
Each branch of the service built its own public
relations apparatus to promote its particular form of
warfare.
The Army's PR efforts employed 3,000 military and
civilian personnel.
Slide 9 of 35
Hitler’s Nazi Party Became Masters of
Public Relations
The greatest application of public relations
techniques in the 1930s occurred in Germany.
The Nazi propaganda machine under Joseph
Goebbels viciously used press agentry.
The Nazis demonstrated both the dangers and the
effectiveness of propaganda.
Slide 10 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
US Office of War Information Mobilized
a Nation
•
•
In June 1942, with America fully engaged
in the war, the Office of War Information
(OWI) was established under Elmer
Davis.
A massive public relations effort was
mounted to rally the home front.
Slide 11 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
OWI Developed a Broad PR Campaign
•
The goal of the Office of War Information was
to implement massive mobilization strategies:
•
•
•
•
•
selling war bonds
rationing food, clothing, and gasoline
planting victory gardens
recruiting military personnel
promoting factory productivity and efficiency
Slide 12 of 35
Images that Mobilized a Nation at War
These posters were printed for the Office of War Information and retrieved from the National
Archives and Records Administration web site at http://www.archives.gov.
Slide 13 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Influx of PR Practitioners after WWII
Slide 14 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
The Legacy of the OWI Remains
Today
•
Several important communication agencies that are still
active today trace their beginnings to OWI:
•
•
United States Information Agency (USIA)
The Voice of America radio network
•
•
The first broadcast (1942) of the VOA was in German,
intended to counter Nazi propaganda. By 1945 the
VOA was broadcasting in 40 languages weekly.
The Advertising Council
Slide 15 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
•
History
Post World War II Era Saw Increased
Sophistication
The post war era witnessed tremendous growth of
public relations as a sophisticated profession.
•
•
•
Practitioners such as Earl Newsom with Standard Oil
(1945) were increasingly invited to participate in policy
decision making.
During this period, new emphasis was placed on public
relations functions (other than marketing) and on more
sophisticated PR tools (e.g., audience analysis).
Carl Byoir used public relations techniques to raise money
nationally to help polio victims and to find a cure for the
crippling disease.
Slide 16 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Development in Education and
Ethics for Public Relations
•
Boston University established the first school
of public relations (1947).
•
•
Two years later, one hundred colleges and
universities offered classes in the subject.
In 1954, the Public Relations Society of
America (PRSA) developed the first code of
ethics for the profession.
•
The society set up a grievance board for code
enforcement in 1962 and a program of voluntary
accreditation in 1964.
Slide 17 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Moss Kendrix Changed Perceptions about
African-Americans
•
•
•
Moss Kendrix (1917-1989) was a
public relations pioneer in transforming
racial stereotyping.
Kendrix used advertising to influence
how Americans viewed black citizens.
American icons such as Carnation, the
Ford Motor Company, and the CocaCola, employed Kendrix to create
campaigns that targeted the black
community.
Slide 18 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Increased Role of Government in
Organizational Life
Business/government relations
became increasingly important as the
federal government entered a new era
of regulation.
Such regulations came in part because
of several issues in the 1970s-80s:
•
•
•
•
•
Slide 19 of 35
civil rights and equal opportunity
environmentalism
consumerism
urban problems
nuclear power
March 1965 civil rights march travels 54
miles in Alabama regarding voting rights.
Photo taken from www.msnbc.com.
Introduction to Public Relations
History
The Present and Future Developments
Profound Current Changes in Public Relations

From manipulation to adaptation

From items to issues

From external counselor to internal
team member

From output to input

From firefighters to fire preventers

From illegitimacy to legitimacy

From U.S. profession to global
profession

From marketing to management

From program to process

From craftsperson to manager
Slide 20 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Manipulation to Adaptation
Organizations continue to rely on practitioners
not to manipulate public opinion but to help the
organization adapt to it.
Organizations realize that differing needs and
interests of relevant publics serve as legitimate
and interactive forces on company goals.
This transition leads to successful two-way
communication based on willful acceptance
and mutual benefit.
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Introduction to Public Relations
History
From External Counselor to
Internal Team Member
The practice of using outside hired guns for crisis
management evolves into the practitioner participating
on the policy/decision-making team.
•
•
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Leaders understand that
interpreting and applying
insights from public opinion
require specialized knowledge
and skills possessed by the PR
practitioner.
Organizational decision
making begins with a wiser
foundation that increases
company prestige and helps
avoids crises.
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Marketing to Management
Public relations has evolved from an arm of the sales
effort to a management function.
This allows the integrated marketing strategy of using
feedback from relevant publics to drive business
adaptation.
The prime responsibility of public relations becomes
providing the information and environment in which
management can function most effectively.
PR contribution to the marketing effort as a staff
function moves down a notch in priorities.
Slide 23 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Program to Process
Now it is recognized that public relations functions
must seamlessly integrate into the continuing task of
how business is done.
Producing isolated PR projects can help but will never
allow the organization to realize the potential impact of
healthy public relations.
Programs may accomplish specific goals, but the
public relations work is never completely finished as it
pursues an integrated process of:
Slide 24 of 35
1. Research
3. Action
2. Planning
4. Evaluation
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Craftsman to Manager
The specialist is now seen as an important part
of the internal management team, not just a
communications technician.
Communication skills (writing, speaking, editing,
and media) are still vital but must be a part of a
larger role.
Overall strategic integration of tasks into
corporate policy is a necessary part of the
public relations management function.
Slide 25 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Items to Issues
Issues management is the identification of key issues
confronting organizations and the management of
responses to them.
Successful issues management requires ongoing
monitoring of external and internal environments in order
to evaluate their impact upon organizational goals and
objections.
Instead of being given a list of media jobs, the
practitioner now submits to management a list of
sensitive issues vital to organizational success.
Slide 26 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Output to Input
•
•
Public relations as a management function
gives input to the organization from its
contact with external publics.
This change reaffirms the need for
effective two-way communication and
influence with publics.
Slide 27 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Firefighting to Fire Prevention
•
•
Effective public relations does
not exist merely to clean up
messes once they are made, but
seeks to avoid such dilemmas.
A proactive approach
anticipates and acts upon
potential problems before they
become actual crises for the
organization.
This role is greatly enhanced
through use of the four-step PR
process.
Slide 28 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From Illegitimacy to Legitimacy
•
•
Because of the effective efforts of pioneers like
Bernays, public relations representatives are
generally no longer viewed with suspicion.
Practitioners now have professional status and
accepted standards for ethical behavior through
organizations like PRSA (Public Relations
Society of America) and IABC (International
Association of Business Communicators).
Slide 29 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
From U.S. Profession to Global
Profession
Borders are no longer barriers as markets
and media operate worldwide 24-hours a
day.
Cultural, language, and legal differences
make global public relations more difficult,
but rapidly evolving communication
technology has made these barriers less of a
factor.
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Introduction to Public Relations
History
Review of Principles from the Second
Millennium
From the second millennium lesson, we realized
that…
1. Historical leaders influenced their worlds through timely
mixtures of passion and words.
2. Even powerful people cannot ignore the opinion of the public.
3. Democracy is dependent on a strong, opinionated public.
4. An intentional and sustained campaign to broadly influence the
public can be very effective.
5. Publishing one’s successes affects indifferent public opinion.
6. A wide distribution of rational appeal to the public’s values
influences their thinking and behavior.
Slide 31 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Review of Principles from the
Industrial Revolution
The public relations profession was born in the industrial age
through dynamic changes in American life.
•
•
•
Organizations must accept the need to deal with public opinion.
In a media-strong democracy, the public can powerfully express its
opinion.
PR professionals help organizations avoid costly expressions of public
discontent in an age of fierce competition for public support.
Public relations evolved through three stages:
•
•
•
Manipulation through press agentry
Cooperation through open information
Mutual influence through understanding
Slide 32 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
Review of Principles Since 1930
•
•
•
The Depression-War era led public relations to value
mutual influence and develop massive, sophisticated
strategies to communicate with and influence the
public.
Public relations became a respected, sophisticated and
expanded profession during the post-WWII era,
largely through governmental and public influence.
Currently public relations is evolving as a force for
adaptation to public concerns on vital issues.
Slide 33 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
History
In Summary…
Since its inception, Public Relations had
undergone several changes. These changes
were usually brought about by changes in
the environment in which people lived.
Practitioners must be aware of the history
of PR and anticipate changes in the present
and future of Public Relations.
Slide 34 of 35
Introduction to Public Relations
Slide 35 of 35
History