A brief history of public relations
The first “publicists” specialized in promoting theater, circus, and other public performances. However, professional PR practice began with the promotion of railroads – in fact, it is believed that the term “public relations” was first used in the 1897 Year Book of Railway Literature. In 1900, the first PR firm, The Publicity Bureau, was established by former newspapermen. Its first client was Harvard University.
The first PR professionals
Edward Bernays is credited with founding the PR industry, although Ivy Lee is considered the first PR practitioner. Both Lee and Bernays started out at the U.S. Committee on Public Information (CPI), founded during World War I, which helped PR become widely recognized as a profession.
Lee advocated a “two-way street” style to PR, wherein PR helps its clients listen as well as send messages to its public. She is also said to have invented the press release – a promotional article written as news – which remains one of the primary forms of communication in PR.
Early theories and practices
Although Lee promoted two-way communication in PR, in practice, she preferred a one-way approach that involved propaganda to improve bad reputations, such as that of John D. Rockefeller. At the time, Rockefeller was being investigated for alleged collaboration with IG Farben, a controversial Nazi firm.
One of Bernays’ first projects was to promote cigarettes to women. His campaign was based on a theory by psychoanalyst A. A. Brill, who suggested that the cigarette was symbolic of the male sex. Bernays showed smoking as a way of challenging male domination in society – by smoking, women would be making a statement against male-dominant ways. His tactic worked – women smoked not for social or personal reasons, but as a form of rebellion.
The theory behind Bernays’ successful campaign was, as he called it, “conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses.” By convincing people to think a certain way, the PR professional can get them to act a certain way as well (in this case, get them to smoke).
Criticism and ethical issues
Companies began hiring journalists for PR work soon after the profession was introduced. Reporters criticized colleagues who shifted to PR, mainly because the principles of PR contradicted the ethics of journalism. While journalism valued truth-telling and equal reporting, PR allowed them to report selectively, filtering (but not altering) facts to present the client in the best possible light. PR remains a perfectly legal practice today, although there is still much debate on whether journalists can do PR and journalistic work simultaneously.
Standards
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) was chartered in 1947, largely as an attempt to promote the legal and ethical practice of PR. In 1950 it enacted what would become today’s Code of Ethics, known as the Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations. It was last revised in 2000 to contain six provisions, which include free flow of information, competition, disclosure of information, safeguarding confidences, conflicts of interest, and enhancing the profession. It also included six core values: “Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty, and Fairness.”
Conclusion
Public relations may be a fairly ‘new’ business function compared to others like management or accounting, but it has probably been practiced longer. Public relations permeates and transcends almost all business operations. A company should never make crucial decisions without assessing the decision’s impact on their public.