In the United States, Public Relations dates back to the Revolutionary War. The strategies and tactics used to swell the ranks of patriots dedicated to the Revolutionary cause and staging of the Boston Tea Party are examples of early public relations. President Thomas Jefferson first used the term “public relations” in 1807. In his “Seventh Address to the Congress,” he replaced the words “state of thought” with “public relations.”
Unfortunately, the perception of public relations has not always been positive. In the 1800s, P.T. Barnum became a master publicist by generating article after article for his traveling circus. His “public be damned” philosophy and the use of exploitative publicity methods, however; have contributed to criticism of the profession.
Another significant component to the profession’s development came from the Creel Committee during World War I. A member of the committee, Edward L. Bernays, later considered by many to be the father of public relations, was part of a massive verbal and written communications effort to gain support of the war. According to Bernays, “this was the first time in our history that information was used as a weapon of war.”
There were other key people and events, which were very influential in promoting the growth of the public relations industry such as: * “Public be informed era”, Ivy Lee – “father of PR” * WWII – the Office of War Information * “Counseling era” – Edward Bernays taught the first PR course at NYU in 1923 * Bernays wife, Doris Fleischman, was influential in paving the way for women in the industry. Together, they created Edward L. Bernays, Counsel on Public Relations, which became a top agency.
Some of the top PR practitioners in the 20th Century, according to PRWeek, are Harold Burson, Edward Bernays, Arthur Page, Larry Foster and Ivy Lee.
Major Practices of Public Relations
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