Public relations is an integral part of today's business world, being one of the catch-phrases associated with professional success. Having good "PR" is essential to the growth of a company, and a good PR representative is worth his or her weight in gold. Yet most professionals of many trades whose job stability is largely dependent on the public relations aspects of the company honestly have no idea what a public relations representative actually does, or what public relations actually means. The average consumer or member of the public is even more clueless as to what PR actually is. To quote one public relations representative from a large California firm, "I have been at the Bureau for nearly 18 months and my friends and family still aren't sure exactly what I do." (Sandoval 2001) Viewed by some to be a useful tool for businesses large and small to reach their dreams of success and viewed by others to be a tool of deception and trickery through which corporations can take advantage of the unknowing consumer, the actual definition and functionality of public relations is not usually taken into consideration. On the most basic level, public relations is communication both within and external to an organization, intended to both inform and influence specific groups of the public or the public as a whole. Such communication often includes written press releases, advertisements of various kinds, publicity, and promotional incentives or events. Public relations representatives or specialists are often hired full-time to devote their efforts to a single company, organization, or public figure (such as politicians or celebrities), while others work for public relations agencies or as freelancers that are contracted out to various employers or projects to help achieve the...

Public relations, then, is not highly specific, and can be as simple as trying to make a nonprofit event appear appealing to prospective patrons, or as complex as creating the perfect appearance for a politician attempting to be elected to office.
The modern concept of public relations is a relatively young one, though the basic ideas behind it have been around for a very long time. "The precursors to public relations can be found in the publicists who specialized in promoting circuses, theatrical performances, and other public spectacles." (Maurreen 2004) For as long as there have been products, events, performances, or ideas to sell, momentum has been building to the creation of the modern public relations profession. Advertisers and journalists both have an insider's understanding of the media so vital to good PR, so they too have long been a part of public relations. The propaganda artists of World War I are often thought to be the founders of our current PR world, starting with the Committee for Public Information that included Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays, both influential and legendary in this field. Lee created the modern news release, or press release, that is one of the trademarks of PR to the general public, as well as developing perhaps the first modern PR philosophy. This philosophy is "consistent with what has sometimes been called the "two-way street" approach to public relations, in which PR consists of helping clients listen as well as communicate messages to their publics." (Maurreen) This is the philosophy that most PR specialists strive for today, helping an individual or organization and the public adapt mutually to each other for benefit. Unfortunately, Lee did not always practice what he preached, and his career…