History of PR Flashcards
Ancient beginnings
The Rosetta Stone 196BC
amounts to a press release of pharaoh Ptolemy V accomplishments
Ancient beginnings
Caesar 60BC
threw parades as part of a campaign to fulfill political ambitions
ancient beginnings
the church 11th cent
enlisting followers of penance or forgiveness
colonial america
Public relations as a means to promote
settlement
CA struggle for independence
e.g., Boston Tea Party (“the greatest and best-known publicity stunt of all time”)
Propaganda used to galvanize support for the Revolutionary movement
Sam Adams- PR specialist
Recognized power of the pen
Used writing as a means of communicating about the importance of independence, and unity, and about the injustice of the colonies
Recognized the power of special events and symbols
He was behind the Boston Tea Party and understood the emotions such an event might arouse
Used slogans
“No taxation without representation”
Used press releases and news leaks
Wrote an account of the Boston Tea Party before the event had even occurred
Paul Revere delivered the account to newspapers as soon as the event occurred
Got news of battles through press leaks
Sam Adam’s objectives
- Justify the cause
- Promote advantages
- Arouse the masses
- Neutralize opponents
- Phrase issues clearly
the age of the press agent 1800s
The age of hype:
Davy Crockett, Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley
Press agent tactics
The master of the pseudoevent: P. T. Barnum
Used ticket giveaways and opinion leaders to ensure event success
PT Barnum
Joice Heth
Tom Thumb
Jenny Lind
“Jumbo” circus elephants
The rise of politics and activism: political beginnings
John Beckley & Thomas Jefferson
Amos Kendall & Andrew Jackson
Teddy Roosevelt
the rise of politics and activism: activists
Abolitionists
Prohibitionists
Women’s rights advocates
Jefferson
While he seldom wrote articles for the press, Jefferson urged others, including John Beckley to publicly counter the federalists in the press
Urged Madison to attack the ideas of Alexander
Hamilton
Jackson’s thinking machine
kendall
Teddy Roosevelt
Changed government through PR
Often used informal chats with reporters to anonymously get his ideas into the press
Always issues press releases on Sunday in order to capture Monday morning headlines
Understanding the importance of press and positive relationships with the press, he created first White House press office
Woodrow Wilson made the
Creel Committee- charged with anti-war attitudes before WWI
Info was framed and slanted the way they wanted it
Creel and his committee regulated the press to
control war coverage
Wilson also hired Creel to…
sell war bonds, enlist soldiers, and to raise millions of dollars for welfare through the Red Cross, resulting in fundraising becoming a successful element of public relations
After the war, an optimistic belief in the power of
mass communication emerged
Roosevelt
Used radio speeches to convey warmth, personality and
nonpartisanship
Introduced and continued “fireside chats” on advice of
pollsters
Louis M. Howe, his PR advisor
Controlled FDR’s image
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Carl Byoir
Important figure in the campaign to fight infantile paralysis put forth by Roosevelt
Byoir designed fundraising events to make news
Used Roosevelt’s birthdate as a night to have FDR Birthday Balls and raise money/awareness
Byoir personally called every newspaper publisher in the U.S. and asked him to nominate a local FDR Birthday Ball chairman (a tactic United Way has continued)
Truman and Page
Arthur Page (VP of Marketing at AT&T) wrote President Truman’s announcement to the world of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan
Arthur Page: The page principles of public relations management
Tell the truth
prove it with action
listen to the customer
manage for tomorrow
conduct PR as if the whole co depends on it
realize a co’s character is expressed by its people
remain calm, patient, and good-humored
Jim Hagerty
served as Press Secretary for the entirety of Eisenhower’s time as President
Instrumental in Eisenhower’s television ads (first televised political ads) that depicted Esisenhower in a Q&A session with normal citizens
Eisenhower’s responses were actually taped separately, as were the “citizen” questions
Eisenhower won over Stevenson, partly because he had approximately $5m to Stevenson’s $100k to spend on advertising and public relations activities
Muckracker journalism (name by Teddy R.)
became very popular as it:
Generated public response
Created follow-up work as subjects of investigation often responded to the journalist claims
Ida Tarbell- muckracker
This piece kicked off the era of muckracking journalism and using the press to expose wrongdoings
Revealed the unfair business practices of John D.
Rockefeller to squeeze out competitors
The articles put Rockefeller on the defensive and he called in the help of Ivy Lee
Modern PR comes of age
Henry Ford
Positioning: publicity always goes to those who do something first
Accessibility: organizations must always be accessible to the press; no subject was off limits with Ford
The first PR counselor: Ivy Lee
Georgia roots Founded Parker and Lee in 1904 “Declaration of Principles” The birth of modern public relations Principles that he shared with the media to counter rising hostility toward PR
Ivy Lee’s contributions
1) Promoting the idea that business and industry should align with public interests
2) Ensuring the support of top management
3) Maintaining open communication with journalists
4) Humanizing business and making it relevant to workers, community, consumers
The father of modern PR: Edward L. Bernays
A Broadway press agent before WWI
Joined the Creel Commission during the War
Opened his agency with his wife Doris Fleishman in 1919
The nephew of Sigmund Freud and a great believer in the use of psychology in forming public opinion
Edward L. Bernays In 1923 published Crystallizing Public
Opinion,
which laid down the rationale for PR as a function of management and introduced the concept of two-way public relations
Advocated a research-based approach that involved accepting feedback from target audiences for mutually beneficial communication
The publicity bureau
Established in 1900 by George Michaelis
First client: Harvard University
1906: began work for nation’s railroads to oppose government regulation
Railroad campaign failed and bureau went out of business
First in-house PR: Westinghouse
Worked to promote alternative current (AC) over Edison’s
direct current (DC)
Edison employed scare tactics to direct people away from Westinghouse’s AC
Edison published a booklet outlining the dangers of AC and the names of people killed by AC electrocution
Westinghouse disputed such assertions and published a booklet, Safety of the Alternating System of Electrical Distribution in October 1889
Westinghouse system eventually won out
PR expands in post-war america
Rapid growth in all areas of public relations
Growth followed the development of mass media
Growth was aided by evolving research methodologies and techniques
4 models of PR
Press agentry/publicity
Public information
Two-way asymmetric
Two-way symmetric
Press agentry/publicity
One-way communication Typically through mass media Oftentimes exaggerated or otherwise distorted information for solely advocacy purposes Not research-based P.T. Barnum then Sports, theater, music and film today
public info
One-way communication Typically through mass media Not necessarily advocacy-based, but part of journalistic ideal of accuracy and completeness of information Involves some fact-finding research Ivy Lee then Government and non-profits now
2-way asymmetric
Two-way communication through scientific persuasion techniques
Help the communicator better understand the audience for persuasive purposes
Research used to plan strategies and evaluate those strategies
Edward L. Bernay’s then
Marketing and advertising firms today
2-way symmetric
Two-way communication for mutual understandings
Formative research used to understand public perceptions of the organization
Evaluative research to understand how PR tactics impacted audience understanding
Edward L. Bernay’s then
Educators and professional leaders today
the importance of diversity
Minorities constitute 36% of U.S. citizens with Hispanics as the fastest growing group
Minority practitioners lag behind population trends
Professional groups seek to encourage minority practitioners
trends in today’s practices: transparency
Public demanding transparency in
light of recent scandals
trends in today’s practices: an expand role of PR
movement beyond publicity and media relations
attempts to get seat at decision-making table
other major trends in today’s practices
Increased emphasis on evaluation (research techniques and technological developments mean more accurate
understanding of impacts on bottom line)
Investments in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
New directions in mass media
Outsourcing to public relations firms
The importance of lifelong learning
