Public Relations has an incredibly rich history. From printing press to modern smart computers right in the palm of our hands, let’s take a look at PR’s trajectory to today.

Press Agentry was the first Public Relations Model that was used during the Pre-Seedbed Era (pre-1900s).

It had a “Public-Be-Damned” organizational attitude where PR professionals did not care about the people, rather they just wanted to get news out on what was happening with the organization- no matter how sensational the news was.

PT Barnum was a great example who got a lot of attention by degrading humans and then inviting people to view the humiliation with his “Greatest Show On Earth” all while advertising “living oddities".

OTHER PR PRACTIONERS DURING THIS ERA:

George Westinghouse who was a pioneer in the railway and electrical industry, was an American engineer.

William Vanderbilt who coined the “public-be-damned” phrase

SIGNIFICANT PR EVENTS DURING THIS ERA:

Age of Mass Media (1871-1882)

Buffalo Bills Wild West Show (which carried on PT Barnum’s sensationalism practice of lies and deception to draw the crowd in)

PRESS AGENTRY

PRESS AGENTRY

The Public Information Model was introduced in the Seedbed Era, which ran from 1900-1916 and spilled into the WWI era from 1917-1918.

Ivy Ledbetter Lee, the father of modern public relations, brought on the idea that it is better to properly inform the public, so that they can make their own choices and good decisions based on factual information.

Also being credited as being the originator of modern crisis communications, he further established that it was important to emphasize honesty in PR and publics’ right to know.

OTHER PR PRACTIONERS DURING THIS ERA:

Theodore Roosevelt, one of the greatest communicators in history, he was very good at championing making the media show all of his best and most sides as President. He wasn’t in PR, but he sure knew how to practice it well.

SIGNIFICANT PR EVENTS DURING THIS ERA:

The Publicity Bureau which was found in 1900 in Massachusetts.

PUBLIC INFORMATION

PUBLIC INFORMATION

Two-Way Asymmetric came on the scene during World War I (1917-18) and continued through the Booming Twenties (1919-1929) and Roosevelt and WWII eras (1930-1945).

Ivy Lee’s “public-be-informed” attitude carried over to this PR model as he continued to emphasize transparency in PR.

During the Booming Twenties and Roosevelt and WWII eras, Edward Bernays and Arthur Page carried this attitude forward and made it into the Two-Way Asymmetric model, where PR professionals need to make sure they are doing good research and that they fully understand the news they are putting out to the publics.

Edward Bernays wrote the first PR book, “Crystalizing Public Opinion” and coined the phrase “public relations counsel.”

TWO-WAY ASYMETRIC

TWO-WAY ASYMETRIC

The Two-Way Symmetric Model, brought into the Postwar Boom from 1946-1964, and carried into the Period of Protest and Empowerment from 1965-1985 and into the Digital Age and Globalization from 1986 to present, is the fourth and final Public Relations model.

Example practitioners Arthur Page, Scott Cutlip, and Allen Center believed that it wasn’t enough to have open, honest, and transparent communication with the publics, but also to communicate well back to the organizations that the publics served. Giving ethical counsel to the organization was imperative in creating mutual beneficial relationships, which reflects on PR’s overall mission today.

TWO-WAY SYMMETRIC

TWO-WAY SYMMETRIC

SIGNIFICANT PR PRACTIONERS

  • DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

    Dr. King’s powerful and effective way of speaking to the public about the inequalities of segregation and how we can do better by judging by character instead of by color, has significantly shaped our world today.

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PR EVENTS IN HISTORY

  • Age of Print

    The Break from Great Britian

    When Thomas Paine wrote “Common Sense” in 1776, he was determined to encourage the public to support the American Revolution.

  • Age of Mass Media

    Campaigns, Inc

    Husband and wife team, Clem Whitaker and Leone Baxter created the very first political PR consulting firm in 1933. They worked with Republican candidates and the techniques they pioneered are still in use today.

  • Age of Mass Media

    The Media Spurs Social Change

    During the span of the 1950s through the 1970s, the communication via media to bring awareness to racial discrimination and inequality grew strong and brought about societal change. Protests with the well known “make love, not war” and “equality now” chants were everywhere.

  • Age of Digital Media

    The birth of the internet in 1969 happened when the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network or ARPNET used satellite communication to connect a computer in Stanford University to a computer at UCLA.

References

https://www.prmuseum.org/pr-timeline

https://www.macmillanhighered.com/BrainHoney/Resource/6700/digital_first_content/trunk/test/mediaculture10eupdate/mediaculture10eupdate_ch12_2.html

https://www.slideserve.com/walt/cutlip-center-s-effective-public-relations

https://study.com/academy/lesson/models-for-public-relations-grunig-hunt.html

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Effective_Public_Relations/VorzAAAAMAAJ?hl=en

Image References

https://news.ua.edu/2014/03/uas-plank-center-for-leadership-in-public-relations-set-to-host-betsy-day/

https://julierudd.wordpress.com/2012/04/22/arthur-page-principles-of-public-relations-management/

https://www.slideserve.com/walt/cutlip-center-s-effective-public-relations

https://brandmentions.com/wiki/History_of_Public_Relations

https://www.lesechos.fr/2011/08/ivy-lee-1090815

https://www.thenile.co.nz/books/pt-barnum/the-life-of-pt-barnum/9780252069024

http://shemadehistory.com/her-story-prathia-hall-making-womens-history-visible/

https://www.bohemian.com/northbay/mlk-day-2013/Content?oid=2370042

https://www.livescience.com/62185-rachel-carson-biography.html

Lorelei Conover - PREL104