The Growth of PR Management

A snapshot of the field today

† Public relations is a 20th-century
phenomenon, barely 100 years old.

† In the 21st century, the field is

evolving and improving every day.

† Today, most new professionals

possess superior intellect and experience.
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How did we get here?
Major 20th century trends:
† Growth of big institutions
† Heightened public awareness
and media sophistication
† Societal change, conflict, and confrontation
† Growth of global media, public opinion,
and democracy
† Dominance of the Internet
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Yet, PR has ancient roots
† Farm bulletins from
1800 B.C in Iraq

† Greek sophists and

oratory skills

† Roman persuasive
techniques in war

† Pope Gregory XV and

propaganda

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A young democracy:
Early American experience
† PR’s Role in the
Revolutionary War

† Boston Tea Party

† Federalist Papers

† The Bill of Rights

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The First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting the
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press, or the rights of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress
of grievances.”

Why was this constitutional amendment

so central to the development of PR in America?

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Later American Experience
Press agentry takes hold in the 1830s with Amos Kendall, the
first presidential press secretary, serving under Andrew Jackson.

Kendall:
† wrote speeches

† wrote news releases

† conducted public
opinion polls
† produced an
administration newsletter
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Later American Experience
† Circus master P.T. Barnum gains notoriety with
written and verbal PR techniques.

† Barnum staged bizarre media events and generated

coverage of circus performers.

† Love him or hate him, Barnum pioneered publicity

techniques that are still used today.

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Emergence of the robber barons
† As people flocked to cities, big business
dominated industry.

† William Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and John D.

Rockefeller controlled the fortunes of thousands.

† “The public be damned!” attitude ruled.

† Seeds of discontent were sown far and wide.

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Enter the Muckrakers
† Upton Sinclair attacks the
meat packing industry with
“The Jungle”

† Ida Tarbell writes “History of

the Standard Oil Company”

† “McClure’s” magazine strikes

out at industry
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Now it’s your turn……
What is the connection between the robber
barons, the muckrakers, and the rise of
public relations in the late 19th century?

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The father of
modern public relations
Ivy Ledbetter Lee entered PR work in 1903.
Lee:
† based his work on honesty and candor
† “The public be informed”
† emphasized news value over
ads or publicity stunts
† believed companies must strive to earn
public confidence
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The Growth of
Modern Public Relations
Public relations goes
to work in government
† WWI:
President Wilson creates
the Creel Committee to
mobilize public opinion
in WWI

† WWII:
The Office of War
Information spreads the
U.S. cause around the
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The counseling era
Edward Bernays enters the field in 1913 and becomes the
first true “public relations scholar.”

Bernays:
† taught the first PR course at NYU

† wrote the first seminal works in public relations, including

“Crystallzing Public Opinion”

† Helped pave the way for women in PR with wife Doris

Fleischman
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Corporations
† As 20th century rolled on, big business came back
into style.

† Smart companies such as General Electric, General

Motors and AT&T learned that it takes both words
and actions to earn a good reputation.

† PR legend Arthur W. Page became AT&T’s first

public relations vice president in 1927.
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A question for you:

What were Arthur Page’s five principles for

successful corporate public relations?

How well do they apply to today’s business world?

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Public relations comes of age
† Growth of large institutions

† Heightened public awareness, media sophistication

† Societal change, conflict, and confrontations

† Growing power of global media, public opinion and

democracy

† Dominance of the Internet

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Public Relations Education
† 200 Communication and Journalism programs offer
concentrated studies in public relations:

„ Up from 12 schools in l951.

„ The Public Relations Society of America, organized in

l947, boasts 20,000 members in 117 chapters nationally.

„ The Public Relations Student Society of America, formed

in l968, has 6,500 student members at 220 colleges and
universities.
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Now it’s your turn……
Revisit the PR greats of the 20th century online in
your company at

company website

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