THE ORIGINS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Origins of Public RelationsKLVWRU\ LQ RUGHU WR GHYHORS WKHLU LQÁXHQWLDO IRXU PRGHOV RI 35 DQG DOVR ZKDW KDV become known as the excellence theory.The early years: Ivy Lee and Edward BernaysPR, as we understand it today, began in the last years of the 19th and in the early\HDUV RI WKH WK FHQWXU\ (DUO\ SUDFWLWLRQHUV ZHUH NQRZQ DV SXEOLFLVWV 7KH PRVW ZHOO NQRZQ RI WKHVH ZDV WKH FLUFXV RZQHU 3KLQHDV 7 %DUQXP ² ZKR became infamous in the 19th century for the often cynical way he promoted hisshows. Barnum coined the phrase ‘There’s no such thing as bad publicity’ andused a variety of dubious publicity stunts to attract crowds to his shows. In oneexample, Barnum toured with a blind and paralysed African-American slaveFDOOHG -RLFH HWK FODLPLQJ VKH ZDV WKH IRUPHU QXUVH RI *HRUJH :DVKLQJWRQ DQG ZDV \HDUV ROG ,Q IDFW ZKHQ HWK GLHG LQ VKH ZDV QR PRUH WKDQ years old. Barnum didn’t mind if he was attacked in the press – it all added toWKH SXEOLFLW\ IRU KLV VKRZV *UXQLJ XQW As we shall see later on in the book publicists are still at work and some ofthem are using those selfsame and dubious publicity stunts to attract attentionto their clients.This link between theory and practice is nowhere better illustrated than in theFDUHHU DQG ZRUN RI WZR RI 35·V PRVW LQÁXHQWLDO ÀJXUHV ² ,Y\ /HGEHWWHU /HH ² DQG (GZDUG %HUQD\V ² ² ZKR PDGH FRQWULEXWLRQV WR ERWK WKH practice and theory of PR. Interestingly they also represent two different andopposite ways of practising PR: to Lee it was an ‘art’ in which creativity and innoYDWLRQ VKRXOG EH FULWLFDO ZKLOH (GZDUG %HUQD\V LQÁXHQFHG E\ WKH SV\FKRORJLFDO WKHRULHV RI KLV XQFOH 6LJPXQG )UHXG WKRXJKW 35 FRXOG EH D ¶VFLHQWLÀF· SUDFWLFH Lee and Bernays were contemporaries who were practising PR in New York atthe same time. Lee was in many ways the ultimate PR practitioner and unlikeBernays was not interested in developing a theoretical basis for PR or even inattempting to understand how it operated. He is supposed to have told BernaysWKDW ZKHQ WKH\ GLHG 35 DV D SURIHVVLRQ ZRXOG GLH ZLWK WKHP :KLOH WKDW VWRU\ PD\ or may not be true, it usefully illustrates the difference between the two. For Lee,PR activities were no more than a series of short-term events to attract publicLW\ DQG IXOÀO D VSHFLÀF SXUSRVH %HUQD\V KRZHYHU ZDV DOZD\V ORRNLQJ IRU GHHSHU WKHRULHV DQG XQGHUVWDQGLQJ DERXW KRZ WR FRQWURO DQG LQÁXHQFH DXGLHQFHV Ivy Lee,Q WKH 86 LQ WKH HDUO\ WK FHQWXU\ ELJ LQGXVWULHV ² VXFK DV FRDO LURQ DQG VWHHO production, railways and banking – were run by companies that were owned byseveral powerful families. The Rockerfellers, the Vanderbilts, the Astors and theCarnegies were among the richest and most powerful businessmen in the worldand their names have become synonymous with wealth and power. Collectively902-Butterick-4177-Ch-02.indd 919/01/2011 9:50:08 AM

Part One: Public Relations in Theorythey were known as the ‘robber barons’, because the dominance of their respectiveindustries was often based on anti-competitive and unfair business practices.Big business also virtually controlled federal and local government.The communication practice they and their companies carried out is sometimescalled ‘the public be damned’ phase of PR, as it summarises their lack of concernand interest in communicating with the general populace. The actual phrase wasXWWHUHG E\ :LOOLDP 9DQGHUELOW DQG DOWKRXJK LW LV RIWHQ XVHG WR FKDUDFWHULVH WKH contempt that the robber barons had for ordinary people history might have beena little unfair to Vanderbilt in this instance. He was replying to a reporter who hadasked him why he ran one of his railways at a loss and had then suggested he wasGRLQJ VR IRU SXEOLF EHQHÀW 7RWK DQG HDWK 9DQGHUELOW·V UHSO\ ZDV ¶7KH SXEOLF EH GDPPHG :KDW GRHV WKH SXEOLF FDUH DERXW WKH UDLOURDGV H[FHSW WR get as much out of them for as small consideration as possible. Of course we likeWR GR HYHU\WKLQJ SRVVLEOH IRU WKH EHQHÀW RI KXPDQLW\ LQ JHQHUDO EXW ZKHQ ZH GR ZH ÀUVW VHH WKDW ZH DUH EHQHÀWLQJ RXUVHOYHV· FFRUGLQJ WR 7HGORZ TXRWHG LQ 3HDUVRQ 9DQGHUELOW·V VHQWLPHQWV WKHQ ZHUH VLPLODU WR WKRVH RI DQ\ PRGHUQ GD\ FKLHI executive of a modern public company – that the interests of the company’s shareholders are paramount and that companies are not run as ‘social enterprises’.These companies used press agents or publicists to communicate for themand their role was to try to restrict and control the activities of the media. Theybanned the press from industrial activities because they believed that publicdisclosures about what they did would have been fatal to many operations.Press agents were often hired to serve as buffers between businesses and theSXEOLF LQ RUGHU WR SUHYHQW WKH WUXWK IURP JHWWLQJ RXW LHEHUW LQ 7RWK HDWK V D FRQVHTXHQFH RI EXVLQHVVHV QRW FRPPXQLFDWLQJ WKHLU VLGH RI WKH story, the media ran hostile stories which helped to create an anti-businessclimate. Anger at poor working conditions caused a series of major strikes,indeed some estimates suggest that half a million workers were either killed orinjured during this period. There were a series of nationwide strikes such as in3HQVDFROD )ORULGD DQG 1HZ RUN 7ZHOYH SHRSOH GLHG ZKHQ D VWULNH LQ 0FNHHV Rock, Pennsylvania, erupted into a bloody battle between striking steel workHUV SULYDWH VHFXULW\ DJHQWV DQG WKH 3HQQVO\YDQLD 6WDWH 3ROLFH QG DW OHDVW SHRSOH GLHG LQ ZKDW EHFDPH NQRZQ DV WKH ÀUVW PLQH ZDU LQ :HVW 9LUJLQLD LQ ² ,QFLGHQWV RI WKLV QDWXUH VHULRXVO\ GDPDJHG WKH UHSXWDWLRQ RI EXVLness, which was made worse by a communications policy that not only refusedto speak to the outside world but that also treated journalists as the enemy.,Q WKH SUHVVXUH RQ EXVLQHVV LQFUHDVHG DIWHU 0F&OXUH·V 0DJD]LQH published aseries of articles by Lincoln Steffers on corruption in municipal and city government,accusing big business of buying politicians and controlling the government. TheCommissioner of the New York Police at the time, Theodore Roosevelt, describedthis type of ground-breaking journalism as ‘muckraking’. This marked the lowestpoint in the relationship between business and the media and led to the emergenceRI D QHZ PRGH RI EXVLQHVV FRPPXQLFDWLRQ ,Y\ /HH 3HDUVRQ ZDV D MRXUQDOLVW working in New York at the same time as the ‘muckrakers’, but unlike many of his1002-Butterick-4177-Ch-02.indd 1019/01/2011 9:50:08 AM

The Origins of Public RelationsIHOORZ MRXUQDOLVWV KH V\PSDWKLVHG DQG LGHQWLÀHG ZLWK WKH SRZHUIXO EXVLQHVVPHQ he wrote about and thought they were good people, although misunderstood.Lee spotted a business opportunity in representing the interests of bigEXVLQHVV DQG LQ KH RSHQHG KLV RZQ 35 FRQVXOWDQF\ 3DUNHU /HH ZLWK George Parker, another ex-journalist. He became an adviser to big businesscorporations who were under attack on a variety of fronts. He took a totally different approach from that of the press agents and publicists. He believed thatrather than keep quiet and say nothing, the best policy was to be as open aspossible and to communicate with the outside world./HH·V ILUVW 35 MRE IRU DQ LQGXVWULDO FOLHQW ZDV LQ ZKHQ WKH \HDU ROG ZDV UHWDLQHG E\ WKH 3HQQV\OYDQLD 5DLOURDG &RPSDQ\ DUULVRQ DQG 0RORQH\ It was a company that was typical of many at that time, refusing to communicate with journalists or to give any information about accidents in which it wasinvolved, and believing that by doing so they would be admitting to weakness. Leechanged such practices by granting access to journalists and speaking to them.,Q 2FWREHU DIWHU D WUDLQ FUDVK WKDW NLOOHG SHRSOH /HH SURGXFHG ZKDW KLVtorians of PR believe was the first clearly designated ‘Press Release’. ‘Statementfrom the Road’, the public statement from the Pennsylvania Railroad, was printedverbatim by the New York Times and won the company praise for its opennessand honesty. By systemising communications and encouraging companies to bemore open Lee demonstrated the benefits that good communication could bring.To make clear that his approach was a totally different way of communicatLQJ KH VHQW QHZVSDSHU HGLWRUV KLV IDPRXV ¶'HFODUDWLRQ RI 3ULQFLSOHV· LQ ZKLFK he made clear how he intended to work. The principles were to set new standardsLQ UHODWLRQV EHWZHHQ 35 SUDFWLWLRQHUV DQG WKH PHGLD VHH %R[ Box 2.1Extracts from Ivy Lee’s ‘Declaration of Principles’‘This is not a secret press bureau. All our work is done in the open. We aim to supply news.‘This is not an advertising agency. If you think any of our matter ought properly to go toyour business office, do not use it.‘Our matter is accurate. Further details on any subject treated will be supplied promptly,and any editor will be assisted most carefully in verifying directly any statement of fact. .‘In brief, our plan is frankly, and openly, on behalf of business concerns and public institutions, to supply the press and public of the United States prompt and accurate information concerning subjects which it is of value and interest to the public to know about.’The important point about this Declaration of Principles is that it says that PR will be differentand this marked a revolution in relations between business, the press, and the public. This wasno longer the ‘public be dammed’ phase but now ‘the public be informed’ phase (Hiebert, 1966).1102-Butterick-4177-Ch-02.indd 1119/01/2011 9:50:08 AM

Part One: Public Relations in TheoryEdward BernaysFor all Lee’s impact and influence on developing a new way to practise PR, it isEdward Bernays who is known as the ‘father of public relations’ for his attemptsto introduce systems and science into PR. As the nephew of the psychologistSigmund Freud he tried to use his uncle’s insights to manipulate public opinion.In some ways Bernays illustrates the darker side of communication practice; hewas an elitist and believed the manipulation of public opinion was necessaryas society’s tendency to follow the ‘herd instinct’ was irrational and dangerous.:KLOH KLV PRWLYHV PLJKW KDYH EHHQ ZHOO PHDQLQJ KLVWRU\ ZDV WR GHPRQVWUDWH what could happen when such theories where used for evil purposes.%HUQD\V ZDV ERUQ LQ 9LHQQD LQ DQG KLV IDPLO\ PRYHG WR WKH 86 D \HDU ODWHU ,Q KH VWDUWHG KLV 35 FDUHHU E\ ZRUNLQJ DV D SUHVV DJHQW IRU D QXPEHU RI WKHDWUHV FRQFHUWV DQG EDOOHWV :KHQ PHULFD HQWHUHG WKH )LUVW :RUOG :DU LQ %HUQD\V EHJDQ ZRUNLQJ IRU WKH &RPPLWWHH RI 3XEOLF ,QIRUPDWLRQ 7KLV FRPmittee was an American propaganda machine set up to package, advertise andsell the war as one that would ‘make the world safe for democracy’. Its aim wasto get the American people to support the war. Here, Bernays had an opportunityto put his interests in psychology, as applied to human behaviour, into operation.In 1919 when the war ended he opened his own practice in New York, describLQJ KLPVHOI QRW DV D 35 SUDFWLWLRQHU EXW IDPRXVO\ DV 35 FRXQVHORU ,Q KH ZURWH WKH ÀUVW 35 WH[WERRN &U\VWDOOL]LQJ 3XEOLF 2SLQLRQ, and in the same yearVHW XS WKH ÀUVW 35 FRXUVH DW 1HZ RUN 8QLYHUVLW\ %HUQD\V ZDV D SLRQHHU RI modern propaganda techniques and applied theories of mass psychology andpersuasion to the needs of corporate and political organisations. He believedthese techniques could sell anything, from bacon to cigarettes to soap. In the V ZKLOVW ZRUNLQJ IRU WKH PHULFDQ 7REDFFR &RPSDQ\ %HUQD\V SLRQHHUHG the practice of linking corporate sales campaigns with popular social causeswhen he persuaded women’s rights marchers in New York City to hold up Lucky6WULNH FLJDUHWWHV DV V\PEROLF ¶7RUFKHV RI )UHHGRP· :RPHQ DW WKH WLPH GLG QRW smoke cigarettes in public, but by linking smoking to the freedom to vote – aright that women had just won – it made smoking look like the activity of themodern, emancipated woman and was a gesture demonstrating their equalitywith men. It was one of Bernays biggest publicity successes.,Q KH RUJDQLVHG WKH ÀUVW JOREDO PHGLD HYHQW ZKHQ KH GUHDPHG XS ¶/LJKW·V Golden Jubilee’ for General Electric, a world-wide celebration commemorating theÀIWLHWK DQQLYHUVDU\ RI WKH HOHFWULF OLJKW EXOE 7KLV %HUQD\V VDLG ZDV DQ H[DPSOH of what he called ‘overt acts’ (modern media events) that could awaken apparentlysubconscious feelings. Bernays openly described what he did as propaganda butZDV IRUFHG WR DSRORJLVH IRU XVLQJ WKH WHUP DIWHU -RVHSK *RHEEHOV WKH 0LQLVWHU IRU 3XEOLF (QOLJKWHQPHQW DQG 3URSDJDQGD LQ 1D]L *HUPDQ\ DGRSWHG WKH WHUP LQ The different ways that Barnum, Lee and Bernays practised PR were used bythe theorists Grunig and Hunt as the basis for three of their four models of PRpractice. These are discussed later in this chapter in the section on PR theory.1202-Butterick-4177-Ch-02.indd 1219/01/2011 9:50:08 AM

The Origins of Public RelationsInternational growthThe international growth of PR practice began with countries with strong links tothe USA and US companies. In Brazil, for example, PR can trace its origins backto 1910, about the same time that PR began in the USA. In the UK, American35 FRPSDQLHV EHJDQ RSHQLQJ RIILFHV LQ /RQGRQ DIWHU WKH 6HFRQG :RUOG :DU ,Q -DSDQ WKH ILUVW 35 VRFLHW\ ZDV IRXQGHG LQ V SROLWLFDO UHJLPHV FKDQJHG even countries previously hostile to the USA began to embrace PR. In Russia, oneof the most recent PR markets, the emergence of PR can be directly linked to aFDPSDLJQ IRU WKH RSHQLQJ RI WKH ILUVW 0F'RQDOG·V UHVWDXUDQW LQ 0RVFRZ LQ 6LJQLÀFDQWO\ WKH OHDVW GHYHORSHG 35 PDUNHWV DUH WKRVH ZKLFK KDYH KDG OHDVW H[SRVXUH WR 86 LQÁXHQFH &KLQD LV WKH PRVW UHFHQW 35 PDUNHW ZKHUH WKH Olympic Games played an important role in helping the industry to develop. Thedevelopment of Chinese businesses globally, and the inward movement of multinational companies to China, have also been important factors in the growth of theLQGXVWU\ ,Q LW ZDV HVWLPDWHG WKDW WXUQRYHU IRU WKH 35 LQGXVWU\ LQ &KLQD ZDV 86 ELOOLRQ IURP WR WKH DQQXDO JURZWK UDWH ZDV KDR 7KHUH LV LQFUHDVLQJ LQWHUHVW LQ ZKHWKHU VSHFLÀF HFRQRPLF DQG VRFLDO FLUFXPstances will produce a particular type of PR practice. For the US/UK model ofPR to thrive it has to have two essential requirements – a market economy toallow for the uncontrolled buying and selling of goods and a free press that willallow communication that is free of censorship of news. In China and Russiathese conditions have been relatively recent – Russia has only enjoyed a freePHGLD VLQFH WKH PLG V IROORZLQJ WKH FROODSVH RI WKH 6RYLHW 8QLRQ ² DQG DV a result the PR industries in both countries are not robust but are neverthelessgrowing very quickly.As the number of studies into how communication is practised in other nonEnglish speaking culture increases a different picture might emerge of the US/8. W\SH SUDFWLFH HUIDVV HW DO IRU H[DPSOH EULQJ WRJHWKHU FRQWULEXtions from a number of largely German-speaking theorists and argue that PRhas a longer history there than in the USA. Van Ruler and Vercic argue thatPR in continental Europe is increasingly becoming known as Communication0DQDJHPHQW DQG HQFRPSDVVLQJ D ZLGHU UDQJH RI GLVFLSOLQHV ,W PLJKW EH IURP this point that we shall see alternative forms of practice emerge.The history of PR in the UK7KH RQO\ FRPSOHWH KLVWRU\ RI 35 LQ WKH 8. ZDV ZULWWHQ LQ E\ -DFTXLH /·(WDQJ FFRUGLQJ WR KHU UHVHDUFK WKH PDLQ GULYHU RI 35 DFWLYLW\ EHIRUH WKH 6HFRQG :RUOG :DU ZDV FHQWUDO DQG ORFDO JRYHUQPHQW ¶7KHUH ZDV UHODWLYHO\ OLWWOH SXEOLF UHODWLRQV LQ WKH SULYDWH VHFWRU SULRU WR WKH 6HFRQG :RUOG :DU FWLYLWLHV LQ WKH SULYDWH sector were generally confined to advertising, but are nevertheless significantin the story of public relations in terms of their relationship with propaganda,1302-Butterick-4177-Ch-02.indd 1319/01/2011 9:50:08 AM

Part One: Public Relations in Theorythe self-image of practitioners, and the structures and terminology adopted inconsultancies. Public relations was limited to a handful of press agencies, interQDWLRQDO FRPSDQLHV DQG QDWLRQDO RUJDQLVDWLRQV· /·(WDQJ 'XULQJ WKH 6HFRQG :RUOG :DU WKH %ULWLVK JRYHUQPHQW ZDV HQJDJHG LQ FRPmunications activity across a wide range of fronts. On the Home Front it helpedkeep up morale during the war. In key neutral countries, such as the USA, itwas used to counter German propaganda and build support for the Allied cause.Propaganda was also aimed at occupied countries and Germany itself. L’Etangargues that the wartime experience had an impact on how the UK populationreacted to news, ‘sensitising civilian and military populations to issues of propaganda, information and intelligence. Although Britain cultivated notions ofmedia independence and truthful information, there was an extensive internalDQG H[WHUQDO SURSDJDQGD HIIRUW· According to L’Etang, those who practised propaganda during the Second:RUOG :DU WRRN WKDW H[SHULHQFH LQWR SULYDWH SUDFWLFH ZKHQ WKH ZDU HQGHG 6KH KLJKOLJKWV WKH FDVH RI &RORQHO 0DXULFH %XFNPDVWHU ZKR ZDV KHDG RI WKH 6SHFLDO Operation Executive’s ‘F’ section during the war. Before that he had worked forWKH )RUG 0RWRU &RPSDQ\ DQG UHWXUQHG WR LW DW WKH ZDU·V HQG DV 'LUHFWRU RI Public Relations.THEORY: WHY SOME CAMPAIGNS WORKAND SOME DON’TThe reaction of many people outside PR when confronted by the phrase ‘publicrelations theory’ might well be the type of baffled bemusement similar to that experienced by the comedian Peter Kay’s father when first confronted with the delightsof garlic bread: ‘Garlic? Bread? Garlic and bread?’ Public relations? Theory? HowFDQ 35 KDYH DQ\ WKHRU\" :KDW WKHRU\ GR \RX QHHG WR FRQVWUXFW D SUHVV UHOHDVH WR SXEOLFLVH \RXU FRPSDQ\·V SURGXFW VHUYLFH RU FKDULW\" :KDW LV WKH WKHRUHWLFDO EDVLV for gaining publicity for your celebrity client by getting a story in the News of theWorld? Because at the end of the day, that is what PR is all about – generatingas much coverage in as many newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations asSRVVLEOH IRU \RXU FOLHQWV :HOO WKDW PLJKW EH WKH ¶SRSXODU· LPDJH EXW DV ZH ZLOO continually demonstrate throughout this book, there is a lot more to PR than that. XVWLQ DQG 3LQNOHWRQ KLJKOLJKW WKH LPSRUWDQFH RI WKHRU\ WR 35 practice: ‘Theories – essentially generalizations about how people think andbehave – help determine appropriate goals and objectives for a communicationsSURJUDPPH 6FLHQWLÀFDOO\ WHVWHG WKHRULHV DOVR KHOS FRPPXQLFDWLRQ SURJUDPPHV develop effective strategies to achieve those goals and objectives’. And accordLQJ WR :LQGDKO 6LJQLW]HU DQG 2OVRQ ¶ OO FRPPXQLFDWLRQ SODQQHUV use theories to guide their work. Often these are their own theories based on1402-Butterick-4177-Ch-02.indd 1419/01/2011 9:50:08 AM

The Origins of Public RelationsWKHLU RZQ H[SHULHQFHV DQG RQ FRPPRQ SUDFWLFH 0DQ\ DUH XQDZDUH WKDW IRUPDO research, both academic and non-academic has generated a continuously growing body of theories applicable to planned communication’.:H VKDOO VHH ODWHU KRZ 35 RFFXSLHV D SRZHUIXO DQG LQÁXHQWLDO SRVLWLRQ EHWZHHQ those who send out messages and those who receive them. As PR practitioners weare working with the way humans absorb messages and information. Some campaigns work, some do not; some messages will have a resonance and impact, andothers will not. As a PR practitioner it is necessary to understand why one

Public Relations helps an organisation and its publics to adapt mutu-ally to each other. Public Relations is an organisation’s efforts to win the co-operation of groups of people. Pub lic Relations helps organisations effe