PR - DEFINED way to practice “public relations” was to

In this first lecture, we attempt to define what make sure the public had truthful
public relations is, and trace the evolution of the information.
profession from its beginnings to the present.
During this time, as the public increasingly found
The idea of public relations has been around as its “voice,” corporations began to be concerned
long as people have sought to persuade other with public opinion. Only 20 years earlier had the
people to get them to do something, not do railroad tycoon uttered his famous words: “Let the
something, or keep on doing something. But public be damned!”
public relations became a formal profession in
America roughly between late 1800s and early Things had changed. Business executives
1900s. began to realize that an angry public could
make doing business much more difficult, if
In the 1800s, public relations techniques were not impossible.
used to encourage settlement in the American ● That’s why many companies began to
West. Railroad companies – which were laying employ public relations professionals
down new tracks across America – employed whose job it was to keep the public
former journalists to create flyers and informed.
pamphlets that described the vast opportunities ● The goal was to provide accurate
in the American frontier. information to an organization’s
stakeholders (anybody or institution that
And many believe it was the railroad companies could be affected by the organization’s
that first used the term “public relations.” business).
While railroad companies were promoting ● The first big test for this newfound
westward expansion, the very first celebrity profession was persuading the American
“press agents” were promoting clients such as people to enter World War I. To do so,
Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and Davy Crockett. President Woodrow Wilson established
the Committee on Public Information (also
● In public relations history, the late 1800s known as the Creel Committee) in 1917.
were known as the Age of the Press
Agent. The characteristic feature of the The committee’s most famous member was
age was hype – or exaggeration. Press Edward L. Bernays, known as the father of
agents were concerned more about modern public relations. The committee’s
creating legends and selling tickets to success persuaded Bernays to open a public
shows than truthful portrayals about their relations agency after the war to apply the
clients. committee's techniques to commercial interests.
Major corporations such as General Electric,
The man who is credited for moving the public Procter & Gamble, CBS, and the American
relations profession to its next age was Ivy Lee. In Tobacco Company hired Bernays to conduct a
1906, he published his “Declaration of wide variety of public relations activities.
Principles” that advocated truthfulness and
openness, and thereby ushered PR into the In 1923 Bernays published his landmark book,
Public Information Age. Crystallizing Public Opinion and established
the profession’s theoretical foundations. Using
● The main difference with this new age was theories first introduced by his uncle, Sigmund
the emphasis on the accuracy and Freud, Bernays wrote about how to move people
honesty of the information issued by public to do what you want them to do. By doing so, he
relations people. Ivy believed that the best transitioned the public relations profession into its

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third major age: scientific persuasion (and the It should be noted that the shift to relationship
two-way asymmetric model). building does not negate the profession’s
emphasis on persuasion. Public relations
Using the tools of social science and psychology, professionals spend a great deal of time
Bernays showed his clients how to tap into their persuading an organization’s many
audience’s deepest needs and wants. The stakeholders that the organization is worthy of
scientific persuasion age of public relations being in a relationship together. That is
lasted for about 30 to 40 years until the1950s achieved by demonstrating that the organization
and 60s when activism (i.e., public protests is being responsive to stakeholder needs. That
about perceived corporate power and greed) means adjusting policies, positions, and products
necessitated a shift toward relationship to fit stakeholder needs.
building.
Public relations professionals have always
When public relation practitioners saw their realized the importance of influence with senior
primary role as identifying, building, and management. Beginning roughly in the 1970s,
sustaining relationships between an public relations professionals began to
organization and its stakeholders, the nature of increasingly identify themselves as “business
the profession changed. people first, and communicators second.”
● Now, instead of emphasizing one-way ● As a result, public relations became more
communication, organizations began to concerned with establishing measurable
place increasing importance on two-way objectives aligned with organizational
communication. Furthermore, if these goals, and demonstrating a tangible ROI
relationships were to be sustained, they (return on investment). After all, if
had to be mutually beneficial – where both businesses were going to allocate
organizations and their stakeholders resources to public relations activities,
benefited. they deserved to know what kind of
“return” they could expect.
When relationships became the primary focus for
public relations activities, spin Did the public relations activities boost the
● (i.e., intentionally making something organization’s reputation? If yes, how? Did it
appear better than it is) became increase sales? How would you know?
counterproductive to long-term public
relations goals. And that’s because spin The need to “demonstrate results” has led to a
destroys the most important ingredient for variety of innovations in public relations
a vital, healthy relationship: Trust. measurement – most notably in social media –
where organizations are still assessing the value
Spin can take many forms. At one end of the of engagement.
spectrum is lying, either by commission (saying it
directly) or omission (intentionally withholding The emphasis on business strategy ushered more
important information). At the other end of the public relations professionals into senior
spectrum is exaggeration – making a product or management where PR input could be made prior
service appear better than it actually is. Whether to policy formation or product creation.
it’s lying or exaggeration – or something in
between – spin destroys trust and undermines an As a result, public relations became more
organization’s attempt to building valuable effective because PR activities became more
relationships. proactive and less reactive. With proactive
public relations, organizations can plan and
execute strategies and tactics on their own
timeline – rather than having to react to a PR

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problem. It is in these reactive situations that
organizations will be most tempted to spin – to
make things look better than they are. While it is
impossible to avoid reactive public relations
entirely, many PR problems can be prevented Lecture reference:
through proper proactive planning. Dr. Matthew Cabot
San Jose State University
In the beginning of the profession in the early School of Journalism and Mass Communication
20th century, public relations was narrowly
focused on media relations/publicity.
Consequently, most practitioners were former
journalists who understood news and how to craft
an effective media story.

Today, however, public relations is much

broader.
● In addition to media relations, public
relations practitioners work in the following
areas: employee relations, investor
relations, community relations, public
affairs, lobbying, and social media, among
other areas. As the scope of the
profession has expanded, so has the skill
set practitioners need to be successful.

Writing continues to be the core skill public

relations practitioners need to possess. But
employers are also looking for research skills,
good interpersonal communication, media and
cultural literacy, critical thinking skills, and
business knowledge (i.e., what makes businesses
more effective).

Today, the trend is to combine advertising,

marketing, and public relations into integrated
marketing communications (IMC) or integrated
strategic communications. Under these
integrated models, public relations works much
more closely with advertising and marketing to
achieve consistent messages/strategies and
realize cost efficiencies.

Today, public relations is practiced

worldwide. In fact, some of the profession’s
fastest growth is overseas – especially in
developing countries and emerging markets. Any
place or situation where public support is key to
an organization’s success, public relations will be
valued.

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