Evolution of the Concept

One-way persuasive communication dominated as the U.S. entered World War I.

The Creel Committee was established by President Woodrow Wilson and headed by George Creel.  Other young
members of the committee later established public relations firms.

The Creel Committee was charged with controlling World War I information, helping to finance the war through
bonds, convincing the American people of the war’s necessity and the need for families to conserve food and
other commodities, popularizing the draft, supporting the Red Cross, and encouraging sympathy for the Allies and
hatred of the enemy.  The Creel Committee experienced considerable success.

Because of the Creel Committee, many people still see PR as merely persuasion, or one way communication.

Edward L. Bernays, a member of the Creel Committee, wrote the first book on PR.  Bernays had been
The 1923 book was called Crystallizing Public Opinion.  Bernays later wrote The Engineering of Consent in
1955.  Bernays was one of the better-known members of the PR community and the latter book was named after
his basic PR philosophy:  “The engineering of consent.”

After World War II, PR definitions evolved to reflect two-way communication and relationships.  Three key words
in such definitions were typically reciprocal, mutual, and between.

In the 1930s, Harwood L. Childs, Yale professor and Public Opinion Quarterly founder, said the function of PR
is to help organizations adjust to their environments, a concept of PR that reemerged many years later as part of
contemporary thought.

Organization adjustment as the outcome for PR suggests a management-level, policy-influencing role and calls for
corrective action in addition to communication.

To summarize, the one-way concept of PR relies almost entirely on propaganda and persuasive communication,
typically in the form of publicity.  The two-way concept emphasizes communication exchange, reciprocity, and
mutual understanding.  An expanded two-way concept includes organizational adjustment, adding counseling
management and taking corrective action to the role of PR.  Contemporary practice reflects all of these concepts.

Defining the Concept in Practice:  What is Public Relations?

Public Relations News defined PR as:

        Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and
        procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program
        of action to earn understanding and acceptance.

Among public relations (PR) practitioners and academics the most widely accepted definition is that adopted in
1978 by the Institute of Public Relations (IPR):

        Public relations practice is the deliberate, planned, and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual
        understanding between an organization and its publics.

In 1978, the “Mexican Statement” was adopted by more than thirty national and regional PR associations in
Mexico at the World Assembly of Public Relations Associates:

        Public relations practice is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences,
        counseling organization’s leadership, and implementing planned programs of action that will serve both the
        organization’s and public interest.

Public relations is a term which is difficult to define, and there are many definitions for it.

To date more than 500 different definitions of PR have been identified worldwide.  However, despite the multitude
of definitions it is possible to distil some of the common elements.

One definition, formulated by Dr. Rex Harlow.  Harlow examined 472 definitions of PR written between the early
1900s and 1976 to establish a definition “to say what public relations is, not say what it does.”

Harlow established a definition including both conceptual and operational elements.  He stated:

        Public relations is the distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of
        communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics;
        involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to
        public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps
        management keep abreast of, and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help
        anticipate trends; and used research and sound and ethical communication as its principal tools.

To accomplish Harlow’s definition, several things must be accomplished:

        (1)  management of problems and issues
        (2)  helping management keep informed of and responsive to public opinion
        (3)  defining and emphasizing the responsibility of management to serve the public interest by helping
              management stay abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system in anticipating
              trends
        (4)  using research and sound ethical communication techniques as principal tools

Despite the many definitions, it is important to remember that PR is itself a business, and as such must make a profit
in order to survive. In short, PR should never be viewed in isolation and always as part of an overall business and financial strategy.

Types of PR:

        Business-to-business
        Corporate
        Consumer
        Community relations
        Crisis
        Employee relations
        Internal communications
        External affairs
        Political/lobbying
        Financial and investor relations
        Healthcare/pharmaceutical
        Leisure/travel
        Retail
        Professional services
        International
        Technological/Internet PR
        Voluntary sector

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) works toward increasing professionalism in a field which has no
legal standards.  In November 1982, PRSA formally adopted an even longer “Official Statement on Public Relations.”

The evolution of the concept and the numerous attempts to describe the practice lead to the following definition:

Public relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.

Confusion with Marketing

PR and marketing are not the same, despite the uninformed opinions of some.

Marketing is the management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services
to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something
of value to the provider.

Public relations is often employed in support of marketing - for example obtaining news coverage in the media to
back and advertising-driven product launch - but it is actually a much broader based activity.  In essence, marketing
is about helping to sell products and services, while PR is about creating the right conditions and environment to make
those sales possible.

Marketing-led public relations is often now considered a key element in the marketing mix, which consists
of the variables necessary for the successful planning and execution of a marketing operation. The five
variables or five Ps are:

    PRODUCT
    PRICE
    PLACE
    PROMOTION
    PEOPLE

The notion that PR can just be included in the 4th P (PROMOTION) is far too simplistic for an understanding of
the discipline within a modern framework.

The image of organizations must impact on their marketing and, logically, therefore the products/services and
promotional techniques used by an organization impact on its corporate image.  Accordingly, a new synthesis of
PR and marketing (MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS - MPR) is continually being developed for the mutual
advantage.  Marketing PR is now a well established as a tool used both in-house and by consultancy professionals.

Marketing and PR:  The relationship

Much argument exists regarding the “territorial boundaries” of marketing and PR. Those in marketing argue that
their primary concern is maintaining and improving sales and market share and view public relations as a support
service for their activities by helping to establish and maintain goodwill with customers, hence supporting their
sales objectives.

Those involved with marketing would generally not be too concerned with internal communication or running a
media relations campaign.  Similarly, those in PR would not concern themselves with pricing or distribution.
Therefore, the conflict centers on the fourth P, promotion or marketing communication.

Integrated Marketing Communications

Definition (USA):

IMC is the process of developing and implementing various forms of persuasive communication programs with
customers and prospects over time. The goal of IMC is to influence or directly affect the behavior of the selected
communications audience.  IMC considers all sources of brand or company contacts that a customer or prospect has
with the product or service as potential delivery channels for future messages. IMC makes use of all forms of
communication that are relevant to the customer and prospects, and to which they might be receptive. In sum, the
IMC process starts with the customer or prospect and then works back to determine and define the forms and methods
through which persuasive communications programs should be developed.

Consumer PR deals exclusively with goods and services that are offered to and purchased by private consumers for
their personal use.  Business-to-business PR involves communicating with business audiences in terms of their purchasing decisions of, for example, computers and stationary.  Trade public relations concerns the relationship between
manufacturers and providers of business goods and their wholesale and retail partners.

Public Relations, or PR, is an age-old practice and a contemporary American profession.  PR more often than not
is a legitimate news source, providing information that the mass media can obtain in no other way.

Public relations uses free time and space within other communication industries to promote specific ideas and
people. Its major concern is reputation and image, rather than pure information.  The irony of public relations is noted;
it is an industry of communication with a poor public image and sometimes unmeasurable impact.

The purpose of public relations is to work with the publics of an organization:  employees, customers,
stockholders, government, and mass audience who related to the organization so as to develop responsible
cooperation with each group.

Parts of the Function

The contemporary meaning and practice of PR includes all of the following activities and specialties:

(1) Publicity is information from an outside source that is used by the media because the information has
     news value.  It is an uncontrolled method of placing messages in the media because the source does not pay
     the media for placement.

     Print media receive press releases, feature stories with photographs, or press kits including detailed background
     information.  Broadcast media usually receive news scripts, recorded interviews, video news releases (VNR),
     or press kits including material suitable for broadcast.

     In its early days, PR was primarily publicity, so it is understandable publicity is confused with the
     broader concept of PR.

(2) Advertising is information placed in the media by an identified sponsor that pays for the time or space.
     It is a controlled method of placing messages in the media.

     Advertising uses paid time and space in the media to promote and sell goods and services, secondarily to
     promote and sell ideas.

     Public relations makes extensive use of mass media, contributing considerable portions of media
     content in contemporary society.  PR is not advertising.

     Public Relations uses free time and space in the media, to promote institutions or ideas or
     candidates; it is more interested in reputation than in sales – more concerned about image than distribution
     of goods and services.

(3) Press Agentry is creating newsworthy stories and events to attract media attention and to gain public notice.

     There are few full-time press agents, but most PR practitioners engage in a little press agentry at some time or
     another to achieve public notice through publicity.  Journalists often describe PR practitioners as “flacks,” which
     the Associated Press Stylebook defines as “slang for press agent.”

(4) Public Affairs is a specialized part of public relations that builds and maintains governmental and local community
     relations in order to influence public policy.

(5) Issues Management is the proactive process of anticipating, identifying, evaluating, and responding to
     public policy issues that affect organizations’ relationships with their publics.

     Two points capture the essence of issues management:

        a. early identification of issues with potential impact on an organization
        b. a strategic response designed to mitigate or capitalize on their consequences

(6) Lobbying is a specialized part of public relations that builds and maintains relations with government primarily for
     the purpose of influencing legislation and regulation.

     Lobbying is an even more specialized and criticized part of public affairs.

     Relationships between an organization and politicians at national and local level, local authorities and
     various interest/pressure groups are important and are often handled by external specialists under the
     supervision of the in-house corporate affairs department.

     Lobbying is now a highly organized and sophisticated process that is extensively used within most
     areas of modern business practice.  As part of a public affairs process, Kotler defines lobbying as

            “Lobbying involves dealing with legislators and government officials to promote or defeat legislation
            or regulation”

(7) Investor Relations a.k.a. IR and financial relations is a specialized part of corporate public relations that builds
     and maintains mutually beneficial relationships with shareholders and others in the financial community to maximize
     market value.

    Financial PR:  This is a specialty that involves a good working knowledge of the workings of the financial institutions,
    Stock Exchange rules, organizations of annual general meetings, shareholders relations, takeovers, and merger tactics,
    flotations, etc.

    Corporate PR encompasses the complex presentation of companies and organizations on their entirety, rather
    than promoting the specific products or services they provide. Corporate public relations is very broadly defined
    and can involve a wide range of activities under the umbrella of developing and maintaining an overall positive
    image of an organization and combating any potential or actual negative exposure.

    Corporate public relations is often divided into specialties such as financial PR, employee communications, charitable
    giving, political and public affairs and sponsorship.  Large organizations will normally have an in-house staff and
    retain various specialist consultancies.  Others may only use an outside consultancy for specific projects.

    Employee Communications:  Good relations between an organization and its employees is vital and communications
    including newsletters, corporate briefing and “feel good” staff activities, often fall under the heading of employee
    communications (or internal communications) and are usually managed by the corporate affairs department.

(8) Development is a specialized part of public relations in private non-profit organizations that builds and maintains
     relationships with donors and members for the purposes of securing financial and volunteer support.
 

Confusion of Terms

These eight terms all deal with an organization’s relationship with specific groups or publics.  They are all parts of the
broader organizational management function known as PR.  Other terms include:

     Internal relations:  deals with publics concerned about or involved in the internal workings of the
     organization, such as employees, families of employees, and volunteers.

     External relations:  relations with publics outside the organization including neighbors, consumers,
     environmentalists, investors, etc.

     Other labels are corporate communications, university advancement, hospital relations, public affairs, and
     public information.

All of these follow the basic concept and function of PR and are similar from one organization to the next -- large
or small, local or global.  All organizations establish and maintain relationships identified as important to survival and
growth.  In reality, employers and clients too frequently define PR narrowly or wrongly by the various tasks they
assign to it.

Public relations facilitates adjustment and maintenance in the social systems that provide us with out physical and
social needs or motives.

Needs, or motives:  the inner drive or impulse that stimulates behavior.  There are two basic types of needs
or  motives:

    physical motives:  all of us are born with the same basic physiological needs.  We need to eat, to
    drink, to defend ourselves, to seek safety.

    social motives:  These are learned from one’s environment.

What Skills are Required by the Modern PR Practitioner?

Most of the skills required by anyone within PR are the same as most other communication/creative jobs. However, it is particularly important to be able:

    1. To write well and clearly
    2. To communicate well under pressure:  multitasking skills
    3. Think in a business sense: to appreciate and help facilitate the commercial growth or profitability of a client
    4. The ability to listen and take a brief from a client
    5. To meet deadlines and assume considerable responsibility
    6. To appreciate and have experience with the impact of the Internet and basic computing skills
    7. To speak more than one language
    8. To like working with people and within a team
    9. Lateral thinking skills and creatively
   10. Presentation skills

According to the authors of your book, the following ten categories of work assignments summarize what public
relations specialists do:

    1. Writing and Editing:  print and broadcast news releases, features, newsletters, web-sites, institutional ads, etc.

    2. Media Relations and Placement:  contacting and responding to news media.

    3. Research:  Gathering information about public opinion. Trends, emerging issues, political climate and legislation,
        media coverage, special-interest groups, and other concerns related to an organization’s stakeholders.

    4. Management and Administration:  Programming and planning in collaboration with other managers.

    5. Counseling:  Advising and consulting with top management on the social, political, and regulatory environments.

    6. Special Events:  Arranging and managing news conferences, 10K runs, conventions, open houses, ribbon cuttings
        and grand openings, anniversary celebrations, fund-raising events, visiting dignitaries, contests, award programs,
        and other special observances.

    7. Speaking:  Appearing before groups, coaching others for speaking assignments, and managing a speakers’ bureau
        to provide platforms for the organization before important audiences.

    8. Production:  creating communications using multi-media knowledge and skills, including art, typography, photography,
        layout, and computer desktop publishing; audio and video recording and editing; and preparing audiovisual presentations.

    9. Training:  Teaching executives and others how to deal with media and to make other public appearances.

   10. Contact:  Serving as liaison with media, community, and other internal and external groups.

Compared with accounting, law, and medicine, PR is a relatively young practice and emerging profession.
Unfortunately, PR does not have a required educational preparation, qualifying exams, or peer review to assure
competent and ethical practice.  Therefore, it is difficult to determine how many PR “practitioners” there are.
Most PR is done on a local basis, but there are national and international PR firms.  We believe about 300,000 PR
practitioners operate in the U.S.

Many, unfortunately, are part-timers or amateurs working for the country’s thousands of charities, community
organizations, schools, etc.

The greatest numbers of members of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) are concentrated in major
population centers such as California, New York, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.  The largest
PRSA chapter, with about 1,000 members, is in Washington, DC.

About 40 percent of PR practitioners work in business and commercial corporations, such as
manufacturing, financial, industrial, consumer goods, media, utilities, transportation, and entertainment.

 About 27 percent work in PR firms, ad agencies, and individual consultancies.

 About 14 percent work in foundations, associations, and educational institutions.

 About 8 percent work in health care such as hospitals, medical agencies, and other health services.

 About 6 percent work in federal, state, and local government.

 About 5 percent work in charitable, religious, and other nonprofit organizations.

The single largest employer for PR is the federal government with about 4,400 practitioners with various titles.

The largest PR firm is New York-based Burson-Marsteller with net fees worldwide of $265 million and employing
more than 2,100.

The second largest firm is London’s Shandwick, with net fees of almost $160 million and 1,750 employees.

The next four largest firms employ more than 1,00 each:  Porter Novelli International, Fleishman-Hillard,
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, and Ketchum Public Relations Worldwide.

Women in PR

In 1968, about 25 percent of PR practitioners were women.  By 1983 the figure rose to 50 percent, and in 1998 the
number reached 65.7 percent.

Requirements for Success in PR

1. Results:  The single most important key to success is a reputation for getting results, being goal oriented.
    Employers and clients pay for results, not hard work and effort.

2. Conceptualizing:  Focus on the employer’s or client’s needs.  Be a good listener and thorough note taker.

3. Human Relations:  Balance personal and organizational goals.

4. Style:  Have a “can-do” attitude and constructive competitiveness.

5. Intangibles:  Charisma, presence, and moxie affect the way other managers evaluate people in PR.

    Public relations is undertaken by individuals and organization because they wish to:

        persuade
        sell
        educate
        stimulate action
        stimulate desire
        raise awareness and develop interest
        gain third part endorsement
        AIDA (awareness, interest, desire, action)

PR practitioners can be found working within one of the following:

    Consultancies
    Freelance practitioners
    In-house
    Within central and local government departments
    Lobby pressure groups
    Educational establishments
    Charity and voluntary sectors
    Unions

Public relations can either be carried out “in-house”, or through consultancies.  Consultancies employ about
40 percent of all PR professionals, although they are important because of the volume and income of business
involved.  Individual PR practitioners with a freelance role also make a significant and important contribution
to the overall business of public relations.

Public relations operations today (two types):

    (1)  internal (public relations in-house department) within an organization or corporation.

    (2)  external (outside counseling firm or  independent counsel/agency), including those in public relations
          divisions or advertising agencies.

The Internal Department

 The internal department is the most common structure for PR.

 Advantages

    1. Team membership
    2. Knowledge of the organization
    3. Economy to the organization for many ongoing programs
    4. Availability to associates

Disadvantages

    1. Loss of objectivity
    2. Domination and subservience
    3. Confused mission and roles

The Outside Counseling Firm

Public Relations Firms

There are more than 2,300 PR counseling firms and agencies in the U.S. and they range widely in size and scope.
Beginning in the 1980s, many PR agencies changed to PR firms, reflecting an increased emphasis on counseling
and strategic planning services.

Advertising Agency Ownership

Ten of the 20 largest PR firms are subsidiaries of large advertising agencies.  Critics of ad agency
ownership believe PR firms lose their independence and clients lose the benefit of the counselor’s
alternative view in communication planning.

Specialization

Most PR firms claim to be full-service, but some have specialized niches, such as agriculture, financial,
health care, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology, high tech, sports, travel, etc.

Reasons for Retaining Outside Counsel

    1. No previous PR program.
    2. May be headquartered far from communications and financial centers.
    3. PR firm has a wide range of contacts.
    4. Experienced and creative specialists who wouldn’t work in-house because the money may be lower.
    5. Internal PR department may be limited in specialized services because it can’t afford them and doesn’t
        need them full-time.
    6. Some policy matters need independent judgment afforded only by an outsider.

Costs of the External Counseling Firm

    1. A monthly retainer covering a fixed number of hours and services.
    2. A minimum retainer plus monthly billing for actual staff time at hourly rates or on a per diem basis.
    3. Straight hourly charges, usually based on range of experience and expertise.
 

Advantages of External Firms

    1. Variety of talents and skills
    2. Objectivity
    3. Range of prior experience
    4. Geographical scope of their operations
    5. Ability to reinforce and upgrade a client’s internal staff

Disadvantages of External Firms

    1. Internal opposition
    2. Questions of cost
    3. Threat to old guard and set ways
    4. Resistance to outside advice
    5. Unforeseen conflicts of personality or conviction

Historical Development

Antecedents to PR can be traced back to earliest recorded history.  A tablet found in Iraq told farmers of 1800 B.C.
how to produce better crops.  These releases are still used by agricultural agencies today.

In ancient Greece, poetry readings were used for public relations purposes.

The practice became so widespread that Plato in his Republic advocated the prohibition of all poetry except that
written for the government.

In Rome, the Georgics, commissioned by the government, was a public relations attempt to get people to leave the
city and move to the country to alleviate population problems.  The Georgics was a poem by Virgil.

Gaius Julius Caesar developed the first long-range public relations program.  However, his talent and ambition
caused jealousies and the Senate banished him to Gaul to be in charge of an army.  They hoped the people would
forget him.

Instead, Caesar sent back his Commentaries to report to the people of his exploits.

Romans coined the expression vox populi, vox Dei, or “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

PR continued through history with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who promoted their gospels for the
propagation of Christianity.

Marshall McLuhan called their work a “conspiracy of communications.”

In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, PR took the form of troubadours spreading messages from castle to castle
and from town to town.

By 1622, the Catholic church spread its faith through missionaries and other vehicles.  It was known as Congregatio
de Propaganda Fide, or “Congregation for Propagating the Faith.”

We got the term propaganda from that, which means to spread or propagate ideas.  Propaganda has more recently
taken on a negative connotation.

Public Relations in America

American PR began with the American Revolution.

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense inspired Samuel Adams, who hated the English, to fan the revolutionary flames.

He publicized a waterfront brawl into the Boston Massacre and conceived the Boston Tea Party as a humorous
way to dramatize excise taxation.

Despite its early beginnings, PR is uniquely American and developed in the 20th Century.

Two basic sources of American PR as an organized practice:

    (1)  political campaigns:  ambitious individuals began taking steps to assure that they would be counted
          among the natural leaders at election time.  Political campaigns created excitement with catchy
          slogans, torchlight parades, brass bands, and beer busts.

    (2)  press agentry:  P.T. Barnum recognized that people enjoyed being conned, or directed.  Barnum said:
          “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

         Barnum promoted Jenny Lind, “The Swedish Nightingale:”  “Jumbo” the larger-than-average
         African elephant.  Jumbo is now synonymous with “gigantic;” General Tom Thumb, a midget masquerading
         as a Civil War general.  Barnum promoted the wedding of Thumb to another midget.  The idea was so
         preposterous that people enjoyed it and paid money to hear about Thumb’s exploits.

        Barnum, however, hurt PR though his outlandish promotions.  He cheapened the profession and produced
        many skeptics.

Harvard College sponsored the first known systematic fund-raising effort in 1641.  Harvard sent three preachers to
England to beg for a fund-raising brochure.  Brochures are standard in fund drives.   The result was New England’s
First Fruits, written in Massachusetts but printed in London in 1643.  It was the first PR pamphlet or brochure.

The fund-raising drive began with the Civil War, when Jay Cooke conceived and directed the first American fund-
raising.  Cooke, playing on patriotism, sold war bonds for the Union.

The term public relations can be traced to 1897, and the American Association of Railroads’ Year Book of Railway
Literature.  In a 1909 editorial, the Railway Age Gazette pleaded for “better public relations.”

From the Civil War until about 1900 was the “public-be-damned” period of American enterprise, according to
Edward Bernays.  Obviously, PR was not a priority during the period.

The Six Periods of PR

    1. Seedbed Era (1900-1917):  muckraking journalism was countered by defensive publicity and of far-reaching
        political reforms promoted by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson though PR.

        Muckrakers were crusading writers who focused on major problems caused by rapid industrialization.
        Muckrakers conducted regular investigations of business, political, and social ills.  Muckrakers
        tried to arouse public opinion about new trends in society; they wanted to cause changes to occur.

        Theodore Roosevelt named Muckrakers after a famous painting called Man with the Muckrake in the book
        Pilgrim’s Progress.

        Leading muckraking magazines were:

              McClure’s, Cosmopolitan, Munsey’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, Collier’s,  Everybody’s,
              the Saturday Evening Post

        Among the targets of muckrakers were:
 
                oil companies, meat-packing firms, patent medicine manufacturers and distributors, city
                governments, labor organizations, abusers of child labor, the U.S. Senate

        The Father of Public Relations was Ivy Ledbetter Lee.  Ivy Lee dealt in truth, and he published a
        declaration of principles and sent it to editors with whom he was associated.  It stated that he dealt in honest
        news and factual information and that the editors were free to check any of this facts independently.  Furthermore,
        if the editors believed his material would be better placed in advertising columns, all they had to do was throw
        it away.

        Lee believed that if people were given the facts they would make correct judgments.  His basic tenet was that
        the public should be honestly informed of good news and bad.

2. World War I Period (1917-1919):  organized promotion to kindle fervent patriotism to sell war bonds, enlist soldiers,
    and raise millions of dollars for welfare.

3. Booming Twenties Era (1919-1929):  publicity learned in wartime were used to promote products, earning
    acceptance for changes brought on by war-accelerated technology, winning political battles, and raising millions
    of dollars for charity.

4. Roosevelt Era and World War II (1930-1945):  Franklin D. Roosevelt, along with his assistant Louis McHenry
    Howe, used PR gain support for FDR’s New Deal during the Great Depression and then to advance America’s
    cause in World War II.  Howe used newspapers and radio to further FDR’s causes.

    Paul Garrett, first PR director for General Motors, conceived “enlightened self-interest” during the
    depression of the 1930s.

    Garrett’s model is still widely used and can be described as “asymmetric two-way public relations:”  while the
    public interest is a consideration, all public relations is essentially devoted to enhancing the profitability of the corporation.

5. Postwar Era (1945-1965):  the U.S. moved from a war-oriented economy to a postindustrial and a service-oriented
    economy.  PR was widely accepted and the number of practitioners passed the 100,000 mark.  TV emerged as a
    powerful PR tool.

6. Global Information Society (1965-present):  accelerating high technology, multiple channels of communication,
    and the transition from a national economy to a world economy.

PR itself suffers from a poor public image which perhaps dates back to the tactics of Barnum and others.  PR can
change for better or worse.

In 1992, Edward Bernays turned 100 years old, but was still striving for PR professionalism.  He sought to
license PR practitioners.

By definition, ethics concern issues of right and wrong.  They are difficult issues to face because they require
decisions of us, even in the face of articulate and intelligent opposition.

Public Relations and media ethics concerns the delicate balance between society’s interests and the interests of
individuals, groups, and institutions such as the press and the government.

Public Relations and media ethics ask us to examine critically the purposes and actions of some of the most
fundamental institutions we know.

 Ethical Foundations of PR

 Professional Ethics

      The principle behind professional ethics is that one’s actions are designed to create the greatest
      good for both the client and community as a whole rather than to enhance the position and power
      of the practitioner.

 The Imperative of Trust

When you seek the services of a professional, you put yourself -- not just your things -- at risk.  Your well-being is subject to the judgment and actions of the professional.  Often, you actually entrust yourself and your possessions to the professional.  This is called a fiduciary relationship, meaning the professional holds you, and possibly your possessions, in trust and is obliged to act in your best interest.  This obligation differentiates the professional from other knowledgeable and skilled artisans.

 Professional Privilege

Professionals traditionally hold privileged positions in society because of the value and trust inherent in fiduciary relationships.  Money alone does not justly reward such work, so society extends privileges to its practitioners.  Professionals must also commit themselves to uphold the profession by honoring its obligations and values.  When professionals violate fiduciary relationships or otherwise exploit clients, or when they perform substandard practice, they threaten not only their client’s welfare but that of their entire profession.

Professional privilege rests on the foundation of public trust and confidence in both the professional’s expertise and right conduct.

 Social Responsibility

  Ultimately, PR is judged on its impact on society.

Categorizing Law by Source

The law originates from a variety of sources. The main ones are:  constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations,
and the common law of the courts.

Constitutional Law:  The most powerful laws and the most fundamental law of a particular jurisdiction.  Serves as
a charter for the government, specifying the government’s form, functions, and operating procedures.  They blueprint the relationship between the government and the governed, guaranteeing certain basic rights to the people.

The U.S. Constitution:  Highest law of this nation.  Sets the framework of the federal government, including its division
into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and provides guidelines for the government’s operation.  It delegates
to the federal government legal power over enumerated subjects and certain other kinds of legal disputes.

Bill of Rights:  the first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution which contains certain rights and freedoms that shall
be retained by the people.  Ratified in 1791.

State Constitutions:  Each state has its own constitution which are patterned to a large extent after the federal
Constitution, because most states joined the Union after the adoption of the federal Constitution.  To be admitted, a
new state must submit its constitution to be approved by Congress.

State Constitutions may not restrict the minimum level of freedoms guaranteed for all U.S. residents in the federal
Constitution.  States may adopt civil liberties greater than those conferred by the federal Constitution.

Judicial Review:  sometimes the precise meaning of a law isn’t always clear.  Under the doctrine of
judicial review it is the role of each court system to interpret that jurisdiction’s constitution.  That is by necessity
since some branch of government must have authority to interpret a constitution.  In the U.S., that branch is the
judiciary.

The highest court in each jurisdiction is the final authority on the meaning of the U.S. Constitution, and that court’s
interpretations must be followed by all other federal and state courts when the federal Constitution is at issue.
The Supreme Court of a state is the final authority on the meaning of that state, and even the U.S. Supreme Court
may not interpret that document differently.

Constitutional law means not only the raw language of the documents but the constitutions as interpreted by the
courts.  If a court finds that the law from any other source within the jurisdiction conflicts with the interpretation of the constitution, that other law will be deemed unconstitutional and invalid.
 

Statutory Law

Statutes are the laws passed by legislative bodies.  They are the acts of Congress and the 50 state
legislatures.  Statues begin as bills that are introduced and then deliberated by the legislators.  After passage the
bills are formally signed into law or vetoed by the chief executives, or the state governors of the president.

All criminal laws in the U.S. are in the form of statutes.

Civil Law versus Criminal Law

The distinction between civil law and criminal law is based primarily on whether the wrongdoers are held accountable
to the private, injured parties or to society as a whole.

Civil Law is essentially private law, the law under which harmed individuals or companies or even governments can
sue other individuals, companies, or governments in order to extract some kind of legal remedy.  The party claiming injury
is using the court system and the civil law to obtain legal relief directly from the alleged wrongdoer.  Usually the remedy
sought is compensations in the form of money.

In most civil cases the applicable burden of proof is described as “a preponderance of the evidence.”  The suing
party, in order to win, must present evidence that outweighs by some degree that of the opposition.  Under the preponderance-of-evidence standard, the evidence need not be overwhelmingly convincing, just more so than the
other side’s.

Criminal Law means the government prosecutes accused individuals on behalf of the public at large.  The immediate purpose of the prosecution is to impose punishment, not to compensate an injured party.  Usually the punishment is a fine or time behind bars.

The burden of proof in criminal cases is much tougher.  To win a conviction, the government must prove that the accused person is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.”  The evidence of guilt must be totally convincing.

Contracts and Torts

 This categorization is based on the source of the rights and obligations involved.

Contracts:  legally binding mutual promises to perform in a certain way under certain circumstances.  Contract law
is concerned with enforcing rights and obligations that arise when people enter voluntary agreements.

Breach of Contract:  Such a lawsuit is a legal claim for monetary compensation when one party to a contract believes
the other has not performed as promised.

The field of mass communication has many contractual agreements.  Examples:  the agreement between an advertising
agency and its client; the agreement between an author and a book publishing company; and the agreement between a commercial photographer and a model.

Torts:  A tort is any other wrong other than breach of contract for which the law gives the injured party some kind
of remedy against the wrongdoer in civil court.  The rights protected by tort law do not arise by agreement, but are
rights and corresponding duties that a jurisdiction affixes universally to human relations.

In California, tort law is defined as:  “Every person has, subject to the qualifications and restrictions provided by law,
the right of protection from bodily restraint or harm, from personal insult, from defamation, and from injury to his personal relations.”

The law actually recognizes many different torts, each with a separate name and definition.

 Libel:  a tort to publish something derogatory about a person
 
 Invasion of Privacy:  secretly to bug someone’s house with electronic devices

 Infliction of Mental Distress:  to play a cruel practical joke over the radio

An important element of any tort lawsuit is the applicable fault standard.  In addition to committing the harmful conduct
itself, the alleged wrongdoer must be shown to have acted with a certain degree of dereliction.  Depending on the tort
the fault requirement is usually stated as “negligence,” “gross negligence,” or “malice.”  The law does recognize a few
“strict liability” torts, however.  With these torts the alleged wrongdoer may be held accountable for his actions even if the resulting harm was in no way intended and could not reasonable have been foreseen.  Historically, many states regarded
libel as a strict liability tort.

In some cases the same act of wrongdoing may amount to both a tort, for which the injured party may file a civil lawsuit,
and a crime, for which the government will prosecute.  This is the case with some kinds of trespass.

Communication law is not a formal, separate branch of law that developed in a vacuum.  It reflects many of the legal
principles and social policies that underlie American civil law in general.

Reputation is what a person is seen to be in the eyes of others – the individual’s projection of self within a society.
Resting upon this projection are personal dignity and honor and, oftentimes, extensive tangible benefits such as patronage
in the marketplace.  A good reputation may be the fruit of prolonged dedication and hard work, whether in a trade or in the building of personal relationships.

A reputation can be poisoned by rumors, or shattered literally overnight by accusations in the mass media.  Most
countries have long had laws against what is now called defamation.

Defamation is an attack upon the reputation of another person.

Libel versus Slander

 By mid-17th Century in England two separate branches of defamation law had evolved:

        (1) libel:  written defamation.

        (2) slander:  spoken defamation.

Written defamation tended to be longer lasting and more broadly distributed (therefore considered more harmful); it
involved more premeditation on the defendant’s part; and it was or course easier to prove.  In libel cases the balance
of fairness was seen to weigh more heavily on the plaintiff’s side.  Thus libel lawsuits were permitted in a broader
range of accusations, and injury to the plaintiff often was presumed, without proof.

Eventually the rules of libel and slander began to converge – especially with the prevalence of electronic media.  In
the U.S. today, the distinction between the two has all but disappeared.  One reason is that defamation in the electronic
media is not easy to categorize as either libel or slander.  Statements made on a radio program are more fleeting than
those in print – a characteristic of slander/  But they are capable of very broad dissemination and usually involve
premeditation – characteristics of libel.

Crimes and Torts

In the 18th and 19th centuries most defamation law was criminal.  Over time, most of the action shifted to the civil
arena where libel and slander are treated as torts.

Ingredients for a Lawsuit

Not all disparaging remarks about a person amount to a tort of libel.  Libel may be more fully defined as a false
statement of fact that is disseminated about a person and that tends to injure that person’s reputation.

 Libel is a tort composed of six main elements:

        (1) defamatory content
        (2) falsity
        (3) publication
        (4) identification
        (5) fault
        (6) harm

Defamatory content is that which would tend to injure the plaintiff’s reputation among some respectable segments
of society.  Typically it is statements that call into question an individual’s honesty, integrity, professional competence,
sanity, solvency, morality, or social refinement.

Threat to Reputation:  A statement is not considered defamatory simply because the affected person doesn’t agree
with it, doesn’t like it, is embarrassed by it, or believes that it is less than accurate.  The statement must tend to injure reputation.

Living persons and Businesses:  Any living individual can be defamed and can sue for libel.  However, lawsuits cannot be maintained on behalf of people who were deceased at the time of publication.  A dead person probably will not suffer from a tarnished reputation in society.  Libel is considered a personal tort, and it is often said that the ability to sue dies along with the potential plaintiff.  However, derogatory comments about deceased people may also defame the living.

Businesses can be libeled if fraudulent statements injure the corporate reputation.

Falsity

In addition to being defamatory in nature, statements also must be false in order to support a libel lawsuit.

Burden of Proof:  1986, Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps.  The Philadelphia Inquirer published a series of articles suggesting that Hepps and the company were linked to organized crime.  Hepps was the primary owner of a corporation
that franchised a chain of snack stores.  Hepps and the corporation sued for libel, but the Pennsylvania courts disagreed
over which side had the burden of proof on the question of truth or falsity.  In a 5-4 decision, U.S. Supreme Court held
that libel plaintiffs must shoulder the burden of proving falsity, at lest when the speech in questions relates to a matter
of public concern – as almost all mass media content does.  This made falsity one of the libel elements that a plaintiff
must prove.

Publication

Because libel law is intended to protect reputation, it is a logical requirement of the tort that the defamatory statement be disseminated to people other than the plaintiff.  To win  libel suit, the plaintiff must show that the defendant intentionally communicated the defamatory statements to at least one other person, the so-called third person.

The dissemination element is called publication.  In mass communication cases it is clear that the libelous statement was disseminated to thousands, even millions, of third parties.

You must understand one thing about publication.  It does not matter if you did not originate the statement.  If you repeat
it, you are just as guilty as anyone else.  It is not enough that professional communicators accurately quote someone else and clearly attribute the quote.  When media republish, they take legal responsibility for the content of the quote.

Identification

In addition to showing that a defamatory and false statement of fact has been disseminated, a plaintiff also must prove that the libelous statements were reasonably understood to apply to him.  The plaintiff need not be identified by name, so long as other information led some of those who heard or read the defamatory statements to believe, reasonably, that this particular plaintiff was the person portrayed.  Physical descriptions, job titles, nicknames, or circumstantial information may be enough to establish identification.

Media writers have a legal reason to get in the habit of identifying people completely – by name, age, city, and occupation.