HISTORICAL EMERGENCE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Historical Emergence of Public Relations

The practice of public relations is as old as the world. People and organizations had always sought to live at peace and mutual understanding with each other. Discord, bad feelings and chaos at whatever level are things to be avoided by individuals, organizations and governments.

The history of organized public relations could be traced to the industrial revolution in the 18^th century. As industries expanded with more goods and services to offer, the need for wider markets and favourable public image necessitated the rise of public relations.

President Thomas Jefferson of the USA was credited with the first usage of the term Public Relations in 1807. It was in the United States that PR as it is known today developed. Of course, European countries like Britain placed great role in transforming PR into what it is today.

Leaders in the United States like President Jackson (1829) and Abraham Lincoln (1861) recognized the worth of favourable public through their utilization of public relations techniques. For example, Lincoln was reported to have said that:

Public sentiment is everything… with public sentiment nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed. He who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who executes statutes or pronounces decisions.

One person who had contributed to the development of the modern principles and techniques of PR is a graduate newspaper reporter, IVY Ledbetter Lee, who left his job in 1903 to work as a press agent. By 1919, he has fully understood public relations through the promotion of two-way communication between clients and the press. He emphasised honesty on the part of PR clients, because the public has a right to accurate and instant information. Lee is fondly remembered for his success in changing hostile public opinion against America’s richest man, John Rockefeller to that of a kind old man.

The First World War boosted the practice of PR in the United States. Woodrow Wilson, US President during the wartime set up the George Crest Committee on Public Information, which organized publicity in support of the war efforts. In 1923 a member of the committee, Edward L. Barnays wrote the first PR book, Crystallising Public Opinion. Even since, PR continued to expand in all public and private organizations.

In Britain, there were organized PR activities by individual public corporations like the Railways and the Insurance commission. By 1918, government bodies have effectively mounted national and international “mixture of public relations and propaganda” against the enemy in the First World War. Gradually, ministries and private organizations introduced press or public relations offices, in addition to the activities of the ministry of information.

By 1945 the practice of PR has taken roots in the industries. And today, “PR is an integral aspects of industry, government and voluntary organizations” not only in Britain but in most countries of the world.