The emergence of public relations in early twentieth-century America

¶ … History Of the American Public Realtions Field

History and Early Development of the Public Relations Field

In the most general sense, "public relations" has existed as long as human societies and verbal language. In principle, anytime one person or entity makes any attempt to influence what others think about him that is a form of "public relations." In the modern sense, public relations in the form we would recognize today is dependent on some method of publishing ideas or opinions. Until the advent of the printing press in the middle ages, there was no way of mass producing anything written in print (Evans, 2004). At that time, paper itself was a scarce commodity and not widely available.

However, even after the first methods of reproducing the written word were invented, it still took another three centuries before those technologies progressed to the point of being able to print what would be the equivalent of a modern newspaper in the early 19th century. At the time literacy rates were so low in the general population that it was difficult to influence public opinion through the printed word; in fact, it was the increasing availability of printed media and bound books in the 19th century that actually led directly to a greater appreciation of the value of reading and writing in the working classes (Evans, 2004).

Throughout the 19th century news still traveled largely by word of mouth but the first print advertisements began appearing in news papers, which could be considered the origin of public relations. Medical doctors of the day advertised their proprietary treatments, medical devices, and "elixirs" and Sears & Roebuck began publishing the infamous Sears Catalogue that became the first piece of printed matter resembling a "book" in most American homes of the day, often doubling as a reliable source of relatively soft "toilet paper" (Evans, 2004).

By the early 20th century, newspaper printing technology (and public literacy rates) had developed sufficiently for the rise of the public relations concept although it would still be several more decades before it would be recognized for its true potential value.

Evolution and Definition of the Public Relations Profession

In practical terms, the public relations field first emerged in connection with the opinions published in the newspapers of the early 20th century. In that regard, some of the first historical examples would include the articles and opinion pieces that argued the issue of whether or not the United States should enter World War I on behalf of nation of Britain against Germany and Austro-Hungary in between 1914 and 1917 when the decision was finally made.

One could also credit the first use of public relations to the notorious use of the newspapers of the late 19th century by individuals such as the entrepreneurial American financier Jay Gould. Gould accumulated his great wealth partly through deceptive techniques such as by using his influence to generate newspaper stories about wheat shortages and diminution in the value of precious metals after which he purchased vast quantities in order to capitalize on the false reports that he initiated (Commager, 1999).

The first large-scale use of modern multimedia for the purpose of influencing public opinion on a nationwide level was that implemented by the Nazis in Germany for the purposes of spreading a fanatical sense of nationalism, loyalty to the Fuhrer, and, sadly, to promote anti-Semitism on a national (and later, international) level (Myers & Spencer, 2004; Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2007). In that regard, Hitler's propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels was the first to make use of the (then) revolutionary new medium of radio and motion pictures to promote political doctrine and social policy in a process we would recognize today as public relations (Myers & Spencer, 2004; Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2007). On a much smaller scale, church groups in the U.S. had also attempted to use the new motion picture medium for public relations (i.e. propaganda) purposes as early as 1936 in connection with the film Tell Your Children (later renamed Reefer Madness) created for the purpose of exaggerating the potential risks and harms posed to civil society by marijuana (Myers & Spencer, 2004).

Status of the Public Relations Industry in the United States

Today, the public relations field is a professional industry that employs thousands of people in the United States. The Public Relations Society of America was established in 1947 and it currently lists more than 21,000 professional members (PRSA, 2009). The modern American version of the public relations field that developed in between World War II and the end of the 20th century included print media advertising, television, and radio, as well as political lobbying and the extensive use of marketing and promotional initiatives. In most cases, but not all, those efforts related primarily to generating sales revenue through positive image development for commercially produced consumer goods and services (Fox & White, 1993; Locker, 2006).

Public relations techniques were also used extensively in connection with political ideas, sometimes openly and other times covertly through proxies intended specifically to obscure from the public the true origin of the message. During the early era of mid-20th century public relations development, specialists even experimented with covert psychological mechanisms such as subliminal messaging designed to communicate messages to consumers intended to motivate them to buy specific products (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2007). Those techniques were eventually prohibited by law (Gerrig & Zimbardo, 2007). Today, the public relations industry is largely self-regulated and adheres to ethical standards that ensure that the industry does not violate common standards of social decency and appropriateness in American society.

Professionalism in the Public Relations Industry

The modern public relations industry is a sophisticated business employing myriad different types of professionals. In addition to account executives, account managers, artists, actors, and spokespeople, the industry also employs a full range of support staff specialists, audio-visual engineers, writers, editors, and general office employees responsible for everyday office tasks. Generally, public relations professionals complete a four-year undergraduate degree in Advertising, Communications, Media, Psychology, or related fields to qualify for employment in the field (Locker, 2006).

Naturally, the explosion of computer technology in the last decade has revolutionized many aspects of public relations. In addition to introducing new forms of media into which the industry has already expanded, the evolution of computers and digital media has dramatically increased the range of methods of communication. As a matter of fact, the historic 2008 election of President Barack Obama has been at least partially credited to the innovative use of the newest forms of social media such as real-time news prompts and campaign messages made possible by innovations such as Twitter and other Internet-based applications of social media that have become popular only within the last several years (Johnson, 2009; Welch & Welch, 2009).

Within the same time frame, commercial manufacturers and movie producers (in particular) have begun using the same new media for public relations purposes such as in connection with pre-promoting the anticipated release of the latest high-tech products and motion pictures in a manner and to a degree that was never previously possible through traditional communications media (Johnson, 2009; Welch & Welch, 2009). Previously, public relations techniques relied heavily on the use of focus groups to help determine the likely response of the intended target of specific public relations messages (Myers & Spencer, 2004; Shoemaker, 1971).

This technique involves presenting various messages in different forms and deliveries to groups of individuals reflecting the same demographics as the audience ultimately intended as the target of the message campaign. By presenting the message to focus groups first, pubic relations entities have the opportunity to interview the recipients and conduct follow-up studies for the purposes of adjusting the campaign before investing the necessary financing for full-scale campaigns that could fail at great expense to the client and the public relations firm (Myers & Spencer, 2004; Shoemaker, 1971).

Culture and the Public Relations Industry

In the modern age of American social fabric, public relations have been used extensively by public-sector (i.e. government) and private-sector entities both for good and for less noble causes. On the positive side, public relations techniques such as message boards on public transportation vehicles, public service messages and awareness campaigns broadcast on radio and television have been extremely beneficial in raising social awareness of important concepts.

Racism, discrimination, drunk driving, illicit drug use, drinking while pregnant, and many other social problems have been successfully reduced partly through public relations mechanisms designed both to raise awareness and also to reshape cultural and social mores to comport with social ideals considered important enough to instill through such processes (Craig, 2007; Dutta, 2007; Fox & White, 1993). In that regard, public relations have become even more powerful since the wider availability of newer media such as the Internet and various social media through which many people now communicate and acquire information about the word and their society. At the other end of the spectrum, the same public relations techniques and capabilities have been exploited for the purpose of communicating antisocial messages of hate and intolerance. Examples include the documented extensive use of Internet websites for recruitment propaganda both by domestic hate groups and by international terrorist entities such as al-Qaeda and other violent radical extremists (Hogg & Reid, 2006).

The Media and the Environment

The media have had considerable impact on American social values and today, public relations media are sufficiently powerful to influence the way that millions of individuals view contemporary issues. One example is the way that media coverage of environmental issues and concerns has raised public awareness of issues related to global warming and the unacceptably high reliance of the U.S. On fossil fuels and foreign oil and petroleum products.

These issues have actually existed for decades and the scientific and geopolitical facts and circumstances have not change substantially in the last several years, at least not enough to explain the tremendous increase in public awareness. What has changed, rather, is the ease with which information is now communicated and the degree to which the news media and private individuals have embraced them (Johnson, 2009). Naturally, the greater the ability of the news media and private-sector public relations efforts to influence public opinion on the large scale the greater the ethical obligation to consider the potential social impact of the message and the greater the obligation to adhere to the truth in the process.

Case Study -- The Current Debate Concerning American Health Care Reform

One of the most interesting contemporary case studies in public relations is the current involvement of political lobbyists attempting to undermine American healthcare reform in Washington. Presently, there are approximately five lobbyists working on behalf of the health insurance industry for every elected official in Washington (Tumulty, 2009). Their express purpose is to influence decisions and pressure those politicians from states where large corporate conglomerates are located, as well as to influence others through the traditional means of political lobbying.

By the end of the year, they are projected to spend close to one billion dollars on political contributions, advertising, public relations, and marketing campaigns all intended to prevent much needed reforms to the American healthcare system that is currently on track to bankrupt the nation one family at a time (Tumulty, 2009).In general, the political lobbying aspect of public relations has long been one of its most controversial elements. Critics point out that while outright bribery of public officials is prohibited by law, it is largely a fiction that all that money can buy in Washington is "access" to political representatives and members of the executive leadership (Reid, 2009).

The more visible components of the public relations involvement in the healthcare debate includes the orchestration of high profile opposition demonstrations recently broadcast nationwide in connection with town hall meetings scheduled for the purpose of providing much needed basic information. The same entities that were involved in planting individuals to disrupt those meetings have been equally involved in disseminating deceitful propaganda suggesting that the types of healthcare reform envisioned by the current administration of President Barack Obama are the equivalent to "socialism" and "death panels" to prematurely terminate the lives of the elderly.

Conclusion

In principle, public relations in some form probably precedes recorded history. In its modern version, public relations using multimedia began in the first half of the 20th century, albeit for nefarious and tremendously immoral purposes of wartime propaganda and racial hatred. Today, public relations has evolved into a large professional industry capable of influencing public opinion on a tremendous range of contemporary issues. In more recent history, American presidential administrations have used public relations techniques for informing the population of important developments in times of international and geopolitical crisis, but also to deceive the population into supporting decisions that could otherwise not have been made as easily.

The public relations field recently expanded it capabilities and degree of social influence by adopting and incorporating the latest forms of technological advances and the latest trends in social networking and personal communications. With its increased capability to influence public opinion, the public relations industry has a correspondingly greater ethical obligation not to misuse that capacity for immoral purposes. The industry itself, as represented by technologies, processes, and methodologies for influencing public opinion is benign; it is merely a tool created for the effective dissemination of information. That tool can be used to benefit human society, social institutions, and individuals, or it can be used for the worst possible purposes imaginable. Ultimately, those choices are related more to human nature and values than to the public relations industry, but the potential for tremendous social influence in undeniable.