A history Public relations Public relations The

Transcript:A history Public relations Public relations The:
A history Public relations Public relations The modern idea of public relations in the United States is fairly recent—20th century. The idea of working with the news media, giving them story ideas, and relating openly to their questions to improve goodwill toward a company—that was not part of 19th-century thinking. PR unpopularity Not only was PR unpopular among businesses, it also was unpopular among news media. Reporters traditionally mistrusted “flaks” who misled reporters into publishing promotional material, or did not tell reporters the truth. PR beginnings Actually, however, public relations was an advancement over the old way of doing things. The idea of a “press agent” did exist in the 19th century. But this kind of “agent” usually existed not to help the media, but to block it. The agent acted as a wall between the company and the media, to keep secrets and block reporters trying to get information from company leaders. Press agents Old-style press agents usually did not provide press releases or other material to the media. This was because most companies could see no good reason to deal with the media at all. It was up to the newspapers to get information, not to businesses, who would not easily give it. Stonewalling Should a company be involved in some kind of disaster or scandal, the press agent’s job was to stonewall. That is, he would try to keep any news secret, and tell reporters nothing. A new approach Around the turn of the century, 1900, a new idea developed. Advocates of new PR suggested that when a company was faced with a need to communicate, it should not stonewall, because that would not increase goodwill for the company. The most famous proponent of modern PR was Ivy Ledbetter Lee. Ivy Lee Lee, an 1899 Princeton graduate, began work for New York newspapers. But he decided to leave to try something new—a public relations bureau, called Parker and Lee. (George F. Parker was a Buffalo, N.Y., journalist.) He brought to his new business his knowledge of what reporters need from public relations people. Ivy Lee’s ideals Lee said PR practitioners needed to practice openness with media. His motto: Accuracy. Authenticity. Interest. He argued for an honest, open approach. Pennsylvania Railroad The 1906 Pennsylvania RR incident gave him the opportunity to test his new concept. Railroads at this time were the most powerful businesses in the United States.