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Public relations definitions through the years
Rex. F.llarlow
Public Relations Definitions Through the Years In the last issue of the Review, Dr . Harlow outlined his search for a firm definition of public relations. He reported that respondents to his survey gave answers "so diverse and conflicting, so affected by the opposing demands of theory and practice , so uncertain and inadequate, that hardly any two of them have been alike or even similar. " In this issue he traces public relations definitions in the 20th century, showing how publicity efforts expanded to include information giving, social responsibility in public affairs , and efforts to harmonize the goals of management and the public.
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review of the history of the definition of public relations shows that the definition has changed considerably over the past 70 years. This historical review reveals how inextricably the development of the definition has been and is bound to the movement of thought and action of the society in which the public relations practioner does his work. It shows the present form, content and status of the public relations definition, but even more the effect of environmental factors and change upon its development during the past quarter of a century. The 1906 to 1920 Period "Publicity supplies accurate information concerning the subjects which it is of value and interest to the public to know," said Ivy L. Lee, of New York, generally considered to be the "Father of Public Relations" in the United States. He was writing in his "Declaration of Principles." The foundation he established provided for the basic structure of what has since been widely known as public relations, according to Ray E. Hiebert, dean of the College of Journalism , University of Maryland.
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What might be called Lee's definition of public relations includes his "great emphasis on policy and management's responsibilities for that policy; the necessity for two-way communication with the public ; and the requirement to be completely honest and frank with the press," says Lawrence W . Nolte, author of Fundamentals of Public Relations. Thus the age of public relations was ushered into our nation - to help defend business interests against the muckraking of the early 1900's and government regulations of a more or less severe nature, as an observer later put it. This period was noted for the colossal aggregations of wealth and power, gigantic flotation of stocks, and callous indifference to the needs of the people by a small group of business giants in the United States. In 1906 Sherman Norse was writing in the American Magazine that public relations "determines what the public should be interested in and what information they should receive. " A rather cavalier stance, to be sure , but current in business circles of that time, and, unfortunately, in some even today . Abroad was the spirit of scientific and technical discovery. Thirteen years before (in 1893) the automobile appeared on the roads and was beginning to come into its own. Ten years before Marconi had invented the radio, thus paving the way for future radio broadcasting . Six years before Eastman had brought out his Brownie, and commercial photography was on its way. Three years before the Wright Brothers had made the first flight. These and other important developments profoundly affected all phases and elements of the national life, and public relations was no exception. One development that was almost disastrous for public relations was the panic of 1907. By 1909 the "You tell 'em" spirit of public relations practitioners was being modified. Ray Norris could assert in the Railroad Gazette that public relations "mak es a firsthand study of local conditions in every community served by a company, with a view of heading off causes of unpopularity as fast as they may appear, and discovers the kind of service which the company is giving its customers, and the way in which that service should be performed better and existing friction removed ." In this same year of 1909, Columbia University graduate and Wall Street Journal reporter, Pendleton Dudley, entered the ranks of public relations counselors. He maintained that public relations counseling was a business which should be organized and conducted on that basis , with the keeping of careful financial and other records and services performed in tune with the needs, activities and desires of the business organizations served. In addition, according to Eric F. Goldman, Professor of History, Princeton University, in his Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education Lecture in 1965, others besides Lee and Dudley who were developing the field of public relations included James Ellsworth, Guy Emerson, Frank Fayant, Francis Sisson , and Theodore Vail. Recovery began slowly but made headway despite the attacks by President Theodore Roosevelt on Big Business. And by 1914, when the First World War started in Europe, the national economy was in full swing again. After the United States entered the war and until its close the production feats of the na-
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tion amazed the world. All eyes and energies of the people were turned to help win the war. The United States Committee on Information, established by President Woodrow Wilson, attracted several newcomers in the public relations field . Among these men were Edward L. Bernays and Carl Byoir, A part of the committee's activities were devoted to propaganda - to offset the propaganda of the Germans in the war. This was to have undesirable effects on public relations in the United States in the years ahead : certain members of the public were to equate propaganda with public relations and denigrate public relations accordingly. The 1920 to 1930 Period
A bit later, after the close of the war, Arthur Page became vice president of public relations for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company . "Page," said Anthony Galli, "was perhaps the dean of public relations men in the country . .. The secret of his success was in firing up his top management with the belief that all business ... begins with the public's permission and can only proceed with the public's approval. " Practically every great war of modern times has been followed by a business depression about two years later, and by a far more severe secondary depression about eight years after peace . So, true to history, by 1920 a primary depression began in the United States . Huge losses were suffered on all sides and strikes added to the country's woes. But by 1923 prosperity began to return. From then until 1928 that prosperity "blazed fiercely" ; speculation ran rife and the nation went on a "make-money" binge the like of which had never been seen before. The result was a stock market crash in 1929 that wiped out most of the more than 21 million stockholders, the banks that had loaned the money for speculation, and the manufacturing companies that had produced the mountains of goods for sale. Government, business, finance, labor - just about everybody and everything in the country "wen t on the rocks. " In the interim a book, Crystallizing Public Opinion , by Bernays gave form and substance to, and emphasized the professional role of, public relations. And according to George Hammond, chairman, Carl Byoir and Associates, New York, Carl Byoir "bequeathed to us the touchstone of all effective public relations : presenting the case in terms of the self-interest of the recipient. " Some other men who were to attain positions of leadership in the public relations field entered that field during this period. They included T.]. Ross, John W. Hill , Conger Reynolds and Paul Garrett. Ross and Hill were professional counselors, and Reynolds was the director of public relations for Standard Oil Company of Indiana. Garrett was the vice president of public relations for General Motors Corporation, New York. Through the demonstration of its value and usefulness as a function that could be used in helping to solve existing problems and prevent the rise of new ones, public relations work as a new field of endeavor took hold of the imagination of other enterprising men and women . Spectacular results achieved by practitioners in a few prominent instances shot it into prominence and expanded it sharply almost over night.
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la"blle Itelatlo'l!li Itevlew It was looked upon at this time by the public, and even by a number of practitioners themselves, as something mysterious which only the initiated who were gifted with certain insights and necromantic skill understood and could make available to men and organizations. As a result, little as well as big men, shysters as well as honest craftsmen, "got into the act." In many instances money and effort not only were wasted but actually produced harmful results. Managements were "taken for a ride," and honest workers in the field were subjected to criticism and ridicule. Disorder, dishonesty and inefficiency were much in evidence. The fundamental core of public relations was sound, however. Some of the more constructive and able public relations men and women, smarting under the growing public disapproval, seriously considered abandoning the label of public relations and operating as "management consultants," "business advisors," or under other designations they thought were acceptable to the public. This was to be a recurring attitude and effort in the years ahead. The wild orgies of business preceding the stock market crash in 1929 caused public relations activities to expand tremendously. But the crippling effects of the depression that followed that crash were felt throughout the field, and public relations practitioners suffered with others. Definitionwise, there was not great change during this period. The idea of using communications to build and hold goodwill continued dominant. Also it was believed that "information is the mother of prevention." But there was a noticeable shift away from emphasis on publicity and propaganda as tools of public relations, especially propaganda. Considerable thought was given to the idea of building public relations into a profession, with ethics as its base. Additional ideas and theories began to surface. The 1930 to 1940 Period By this time the label "public relations" was firmly fixed in the minds of those who practiced under it. But there was little or no agreement on a definition of what public relations is. Some said it is persuasive communications; some that it is good performance publicly appreciated; others that it is the spirit of mutual decency; and still others that it is simply an attitude. Regarding what the public relations practitioner does there was more agreement. Workers in the field agreed that they influence opinion; plan and engage in activities that produce good will; help management keep employees and stockholders fully informed on company operations; help management demonstrate social responsibility along with profit responsibility. And there was agreement that public relations practitioners do these things by the use of twoway communication and by consistently using effective merchandising methods. These developments took place in an environment of slow recovery from the depression and the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that grew out of it. The government virtually took over the nation's economy. Jobs were provided for workers and relief for the public. Failing businesses were bailed out. Public funds were pumped into public works and conservation measures were passed. Workers were supplied with Social Security. Minimum wages
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and maximum hours were set for workers. Labor was guaranteed the right to organize and bargain collectively. Bank deposits were insured. The Stock Exchange activities were regulated. Crop prices and production ratios were fixed. The startling growth of the Federal bureaucracy and the passage by Congress of such measures as the Wagner Act which established the National Labor Relations Board and the Employment Act to secure full employment and orderly growth of the economy, the Council of Economic Advisors in the President's office, and the joint Economic Committee in Congress itself, alarmed and disturbed business. Also labor, with its more than 18 million members, was to be dealt with. So business was only too glad to turn to public relations for help, asking that business' needs, purposes, activities and achievements be made favorably known to the government and the public. Public relations practitioners in turn were only too glad to perform the service desired. The tools for their work were developing rapidly. Newspapers, magazines and books were flourishing. Radio was beginning to realize its journalistic potential. And commercial photography was available. Thus the way was paved for the great surge in growth and acceptance that public relations was to achieve in the next decade. Many more able people entered the field. An aid to practitioners was the founding of the American Council on Public Relations, a nonprofit, educational organization in San Francisco. It organized and conducted a series of short courses on public relations, with the cooperation of the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Stanford University. These two-week courses were held on the campuses of these universities.
"Public relations is nothing mysterious; it is simply relations with the public - relations with the various elements of the public and having the social connotation of actually working with the patterns of the society in which we live - nothing more than a form of advice and special points of view." More than 900 public relations and business leaders attended the series. A distinguished faculty lectured - two New York public relations counselors and a consumer relations specialist and three university professors, one from Princeton, one from the University of Wisconsin, and one from Stanford, the founder and president of the Council. A considerable part of the lectures and discussions was devoted to defining the public relations function. Full summaries of the course series proceedings were published and distributed throughout the nation, spreading the definitions widely. Attempting to take the mystery out of the public relations concept, Bernays, one of the lecturers, said: "Public relations is nothing mysterious; it is simply relations with the public - relations with the various elements of the public and having the social connotation of actually working with the patterns of the
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I'lIhUe Ilelatlolls Ilevlew society in which we live - noth ing more than a form of advice and special points of view ." And Dr . Harwood Childs, professor of political science , Princeton, presented in his lectures a definition that included the idea of social and public interest and mass opinion . He said, "Public relations is those aspects of our personal and corporate behavior which have social and public significance, and our adjustment to them in a way that promotes the public welfare and interest as currently defined by mass opinion." The 1940 to 1950 Period Definitions flew thick and fast during this decade, as practitioners strove to determine what public relations is and what its practitioners do . The definitions are too many to list in full here , but some of the more important are : public relations is a guide to social conduct , it is social and political engineering, and operating technique, a process, a practice, a creative force , a program; it is a social power directed toward developing good will, a management function, a builder of public opinion, a motivator, a researcher, a persuader, a clarifier, an innovator. The list of what it was said practitioners do is even more extensive. In part the practitioners said: "We bring about harmony of understanding among people, groups and organizations ; engineer economic, political and social developmen ts : both send and receive messages ; create impressions by conveying facts and ideas ; correct false impressions, answer criticisms , deal with hazards, and try to prevent crises and f1areups ; analyze the needs of an organization and recommend policy guides to meet them ; build pride of employees in themselves, their work and their company ; interpret the social and economic forces at work in our society ; emphasize the importance of two-way communications ; focus on developing an understanding by the public of the problems of business ; interpret management to the public and the public to management; strive to build in workers and management a vital intangible - a spirit of mutual interdependence. Quite a lot was happening in the environment, and all of it bore heavily upon the practice of public relations. The massive government spending carried over from 1939 pretty well solved the unemployment problem . Organized labor grew in power. Centralized government grew steadily more powerful; New Deal programs became permanent; vast regulatory agencies developed; the nat ional debt soared; World War II broke and set the world aflame; under the influence of the war, the Defense Department grew to awesome size; in meeting the needs of the war, American industry performed industrial miracles. In 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan; the next year the Atomic Energy Commission was created ; in 1947 the Marshall Plan (voting $13 billion over a period of four years) restored economic and political stability to many Western European countries and groups. In this decade a vigorous struggle for equal rights was made by women , Black and other minority groups, with considerable progress resulting. The heavy demands of the war, the expanding intrusion of the government into the affairs of business, the great surge of scientific and technical discover-
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J)l:rl.. ltl().. ~ ies, inventions and development , one of particular technical importance to public relations being invention of the transistor - all these and many other factors conspired to increase the need for and use of public relations . The field expanded, large internal departments were set up in many businesses, and counseling and consulting firms of considerable size (some with as many as a hundred or more members) were established to serve organizations professionally . The definitions developed in th is decade, especially toward the end of the decade, show considerable change from those developed in prior years. They are more action-oriented, reflect a broader and deeper interest on the part of the public relations practitioner in the social responsibility of the organization served, and a general leaning toward the requirement and attributes of professionalism . The belief grew in the more professional and scientific practitioners that the social sciences (especially psychology, sociology, political science and economics) are the foundation of public relations practice. And more emphasis was placed upon the use of public opinion research and other forms of research, making practice more scientific and useful. But those definitions reflect the views of the more competent , professional practitioners. They were expressed in the midst of an astronomical expansion of public relations activities. The field was looked upon as offering "lush pickings" by some slick operators who were bright enough to garner them; by these shysters it was thought that even a dumbbell could make thousands of dolIars a year merely by bearing the label of a public relations expert; that by the use of artifice and abracadabra the public relations worker could pull the wool over the eyes of both the organization represented and the public. Under this theory everybody was a sucker to be played for alI he was worth. Fortunately, people in public relations of th is ilk were not large in number. But they were flamboyant and noisy, and were played up prominently in speech and print. So disturbed over the situation were a number of the competent men and women who had been carrying on creditably and effectively for years that again, as happened years earlier, they gave serious thought to abandoning the label of public relations. They felt shame to bear the same label as that besmirched by incompetents and quacks. Help was on the way, fortunately . In 1945 the American Council on Public Relat ions founded the Public Relations Journal as its official organ . Two years later the Council merged with the National Association of Public Relations Council, of New York, to form the new Public Relations Society of America. The journal became the official organ of the Society. PRSA set to work to establish guidelines for the practice of public relations, based on a sound, workable definition that would leave no place for the shyster and quack . In its Declaration of Principles it reaffirmed the dedication of the public relations practitioner to the goal of better "mutual understanding and cooperation among the diverse individuals, groups, institutions and elements of our modern society. " And it adopted a Code of Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations, which emphasized the responsibility of the public relations practitioner "to promote and ma intain high standards of public service .. . (in order that) the practice of public relations may best serve the publ ic interest ."
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.·ublle Ildatloll!li Ilevlew A short time prior to the founding of the Public Relations Journal Glen and Denny Griswold, a New York husband-and-wife team, founded the Public Relations News, a weekly newsletter. Some time later they came up with a definition which was widely accepted by people in public relations, and in time appeared in Webster's Dictionary. "Public relations," said the Griswolds, "is the activities of a corporation, union, government or other organization in building and maintaining sound and productive relations with special publics such as customers, employees, or stockholders, and with the public at large, so as to adapt itself to the environment and interpret itself to society." This definition, while not officially approved or adopted by the Society, was used by society members in annual, committee and other types of meetings, and in contacts with employers and clients. Many other definitions were developed during this time, too, as above indicated. Defining the practice of public relations was a subject of keen interest to almost everyone in the field. The 1950 to 1960 Period The great surge forward of public relations, with a corresponding expansion of the number and variety of public relations definitions in the 1940-1950 decade, slowed down somewhat in this decade. One of the definitions, given by Thomas A. Gonser, public relations consultant, Chicago, was: "Public relations is a reciprocal process of listening and telling coupled with a willingness to make the business what the public wants it to be, rather than trying to convince them that they should like the business for what it is." Other definitions said public relations is a social engineer, a lubricant, a vital element, a skill. Again, in this decade, as in the last, what the practitioner does was defined more fully. The practitioner, it was said, replaces misunderstanding with a sense of understanding; sets and lubricates the human machinery; uses semantics to provide insight and straight thinking; fosters prestige; helps to preserve great traditions; helps provide perspective and the longer view; uses imagination, creativeness, compassion and general objectivity; emphasizes the importance of people rather than impersonal facts; uses research and creative thinking in solving problems; uses symbols - words and pictures - not things. Several factors in the environment bore heavily on the practice of public relations during this decade. Their effect was double-edged: they complicated the service required, but at the same time they increased materially the demand for that service. Among some of the more important factors were: • The Federal government continued to grow in size and power and cost to citizens, intruding in and controlling their lives and the affairs of all types of organiza tions: • In 1954 desegregation was established by the U.S. Supreme Court, touching off hot opposition to the decision and its enforcement in many school systems throughout the land, and in some instances calling for use of federal troops to quell the disturbances; • In 1957 Russia launched Sputnik, followed the next year by the United
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J)ella.ltlo.. !!> States launching of Explorer I satellite, and the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. • In 1950 Congress established the National Science Foundation to sponsor basic research , and the government turned to the colleges and universities for scientific help. Billions of dollars were spent on scientific research ; • In 1950 the maser and the laser also were discovered, and the Korean War was started with the United States drawn into it on the side of South Korea ; • In 1951 the structure of the matter substance heredity (DNA) was deciphered - a great advance in understanding living matter ; • In the same year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act establishing the principle of government responsibility in that area; • In the same year also Martin Luther King appeared on the scene spreading the gospel of equal rights for citizens, regardless of race , color or creed; • In this year business began to show an increased sense of social responsibility . This decade saw a continuing and growing tendency on the part of some of those who worked in the public relations field to question the desirability of operating under the label of public relations. This was especially true of many who worked in the government area ; they adopted the label "Public Affairs." The government itself, in its many departments, commissions, divisions, etc.. although actively maintaining and supporting the machinery and personnel 'to keep the public informed, or should one say "sold ," refused to permit its communicators to use the public relations label. Most of these practitioners were known as directors of communications, although many were listed only as staff members of, or assistants to, various governmental officials, department heads, division chiefs, and the like. The edict passed out was: not a dollar for public relations. The Public Relations Society of America inveighed against this policy, but to no avail. The edict stands to this day, although millions of dollars are spent by government on public relations annually . The communication agencies support the government policy, always ready as they have been to take a stand publicly against public relations while using the help that public relations people can, and do , give them . These factors and happenings increased the task of those who were trying to develop a sound and acceptable definition of public relations. The 1960 to 1970 Period
During this period the efforts to define public relations suffered something of a lull . There was much discussion of ethics, qualifications of practitioners. ~rofessionalism, and efforts to rebut accusations and criticisms of public relations by uninformed and biased speakers, writers, governmental officials and certain members of the general public. There was some defining done, but the definitions contained few new ideas. An important development in the Public Relations Society of America was the establishment of an accreditation program for members already in the socity and persons applying for membership. Adopted by the board in Decemer 1964, the stated purpose of accreditation was "to help raise profes-
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l-uhUe Ilelatloll!!i Ilevlew sional standards and improve the practice of public relations ..." This within itself was something of a definition; at least it was predicated on what public relations was considered to be and what a practitioner should do. Showing what the general public thought public relations was at that date, Business Week, in its issue of July 2, 1960, said: "Public relations deepens the channels of communication between publications and business, and expedites communication. It helps to make management more aware of public opinion and responsive to it. It tries to work both sides of the street, speaking for and to management ... rr Charles B. Coates, New York public relations counsel, in more decorative language, said also in 1960: "Public relations is a kind of pilot; it didn't build the ship, it doesn't own it, and it isn't the captain. But it knows the rocks, the shoals and the clear channels of public communication and it can gauge the probable consequences of the choice of one direction as against the other." A sample of the short, simple definition is that of Scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center, presented in their book, Effective Public Relations: 'The public relations function is the planned effort to influence opinion through acceptable performance based upon two-way communication." J. Carroll Bateman, president, Insurance Information Institute, New York, said: "Public relations practice should strive to elevate the audience rather than degrade them; communication should be addressed to reason and judgment rather than to emotion and prejudice; it must deal in truth rather than deception, and it must seek to clarify the issues of our times rather than to confuse them." In connection with the issues of our times, Clifford B. Reeves, New York public relations consultant, calls attention to the "burgeoning science known as ecology comprising a combination of biological, sociological and economic disciplines," which he says "adds an entirely new dimension to public relations work, and represents a challenge to all practitioners in the field. Heretofore, public relations has dealt with the relationships between human beings, and between institutions. The age of ecology will require the consideration of relationships with species of life other than human, and the relationship of all life to its natural environment. This raises new and basic questions of public policy, and will require business statesmanship of the highest order." Among the things public relations was said to be were: an application of the Christian ethic; a catalyst; a spotlight; a people-reacher; a respected advisor and communicator; an interpreter of signs and nuances; the devil's advocate; an engineer of change. Definitions on what the public relations practitioner does were a bit more extensive than on what public relations is. They include: senses, even anticipates, the changing temper of the times before a problem or crisis stage is reached; providing the plan, program or machinery to deal effectively with the situation; helps management maintain perspective; delivers the right message to the right people at the right time; uses empathy in establishing the right relations with those served; advances theories and hypotheses based on observation and experience; straightens out half-truths, particularly among those people and groups who ardently espouse causes about which they know too
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little; helps the organization find out what it stands for, what its needs are, and how it can satisfy them within the context of its environment; advises and reports, recommends and suggests, educates and trains ; helps people in problem solving, in personal service, in providing usable information, by stimulating aspiration and financial action . In 1967, Frank W. Wylie, public relations manager, Dodge Division, Chrysler Corporation, Detroit , said that the practitioner "has the responsibility for sensing trends, in advance, and conveying them to management, thereby helping management to see and accept the responsibility to provide personal commitment and active leadership to cope with vital national problems, using skills and power to achieve meaningful social and economic change. " Philip Lesly, president, The Philip Lesly Company, Chicago, said in 1969 that the public relations practitioner "recognizes the importance of sensitivity, f~exibility and agility of mind ; objec tively assesses the climate of the instituticn , considers the time and current circumstances; weighs the political realities within the organization and other factors that may be involved ; determines what can be done to reconcile any situation rela ted to a problem , and determines what can be done - which visible action can be taken - to deal With the problem ."
All these developments called for better trained, more able and broader gauged public relations men and wOmetl to deal with them. Business organizations in particular expanded their public relations staffs whose heads were made top man agement officials. . . . Wylie's emphasis upon the need for achieving meaningful social and econ?mic change takes on real meaning in light of what was happening in the environment in which he and all the other public relations people in the country were working during this period . For example: the flow of power toward Washington continued unabated and centralization marched on ; the public suspicion and distrust of government kept pace with these developments; taxes increased to meet the rising costs and waste growing out of bigness in government, and the national debt mushroomed by many billions of dollars; Medicare and Medicaid, government-funded programs, were established to aid the elderly, the poor and the handicapped; more than 20 federal agencies were supporting research and development ; four Civil Rights acts - 1960, 1964, 1965, 1969 - were passed by Congress, providing protection for the voting rights and employment opportunities of minorities. The standard of living rose sharply, with private credit easy and personal ~e~ding tremendous ; the gross national product mounted to dizzy heights; .usIness boomed; great corporations flourished, many spreading out internat~onalIy; but despite the fact that business' sense of social responsibility con~mued to expand, the people's confidence in business sank to a low level; vexIng problems facing the public included urban blight, industrial pollution,
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.-..blle Ilc.:latlons Ilc.:vlew mass transportation, social health care, energy shortage, inflation, recession, and explosive population increase. In 1965 the Vietnam war started; advocacy of women's rights was vigorously pushed; President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert were assassinated; Lyndon Johnson became President; in 1968 Richard M. Nixon was elected President; in 1969 the first man landed on the moon. All these developments called for better trained, more able and broader gauged public relations men and women to deal with them. Business organizations in particular expanded their public relations staffs whose heads were made top management officials, and public relations counseling and consulting firms expanded, a few with several hundred members and branch offices all over the world. The impact of these developments was to expand and sectionalize the public relations function. The 1970 to 1976 Period Definitions were poured forth during this period. Changing conditions, new pressures of many kinds, the anxieties of the public about the lack of honor and character in governmental officials, the declining confidence of the public in businessmen and institutions, the widespread violence, kidnapping, hijacking, bombing, murders, unemployment of workers, heavy taxation, and other damaging factors bore heavily on everyone. The result was the economy suffered the double burden of depression and inflation, and people writhed under it. Also, as U.S. Treasury Secretary William E. Simon pointed out, "Just the paperwork burden of government regulation is staggering. Individual and business firms spend over 130 million person-hours a year filling out over 5,000 government forms. "Regulatory agencies have come to exercise direct control over transportation, energy, communications and the securities market - industries that account for almost 10 percent of the value of everything made and sold - and to exercise indirect control over much of the rest of our private economy. Business activities have become more controlled in areas of environmental protection, job safety, consumer requirements, hiring practices and information reporting, and much more." To these facts James L. Buckley, former U.S. Senator from New York, adds that "The Office of Management and Budget estimates that regulatory agencies and the rules they make cost each American family $2,000 every year." Public relations personnel suffered from these burdens along with other citizens. They were forced to look more closely at the function they performedand especially at the label it bore. The old question which recurred, in both private and public discussions, was this: was "public relations" the right label for them to bear? In many cases both practitioners and the organizations they served opted for use of the label "Public Affairs," or some other. This label began to vie vigorously with the regular public relations label in a manner that deeply disturbed those in the field who were firm adherents to the belief that public relations has been, is, and will continue to be the dominant label in the field.
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neflnltlolls As the problems of the United States (the whole world, for that matter) grew greater and more different, the demands upon the public relations practitioner grew with them . New ideas, new ways of doing things, new attitudes, new values - these and many other influences caused the practitioner to see the public relations function in a new light. Adjustment, in many instances readjustment, both in thought and practice, was made to meet the requirements of the new day. And so the practitioner was inclined to define the public relations function accordingly, and more or less independently of fellow practitioners. In a sense it was "every man for himself. " This made for some confusion. As seen by David Finn, chairman of the board, Ruder & Finn, Inc ., New York counseling firm, the function of the public relations practitioner today "is to try to prevent the crisis from getting out of hand . . . to help clients conduct their business in a way that is responsive to the new demands made by concerned scientists, environmentalists, consumerists, minority leaders, underPrivileged segments of the community, the young generation." Yet Finn says that at the same time the activities of the public relations practitioner today appear to be much the same as they were 20 years ago. In amplifying this point of view he gives what must be considered as his approval to public relations : The practitioner "talks to management about long-range g?als; identifies public relations targets; spends time talking to editors, financial analysts, government officials, leaders of national organizations; writes press releases, speeches, booklets, annual reports ; concerns himself with films , educational materials, exhibitions, etc. " A somewhat similar view is expressed by William]. Gaskill , Chairman of T.]. Ross & Associates, another New York counseling firm: "Public relations i~ one of the processes charged with helping to harmonize institutional deciSIOns and actions with what is perceived as the public interest. Its classical conce~t has not changed in the half century or so since its emergence as a disciplIne. Its basic process is connected with individual freedom - the right of a person or institution to go about its business with a minimum of interference from other institutions or persons, a basic tenet of Western civilization . . "Still in its infancy, its practice requires, first, the adoption of a point of VIew which takes into account the need through decision formulation and informational efforts, to earn public support for corporate and other institutional actions that merit support . . 'When it wins adoption of this point of view by an institution , the systernatic analysis of the public implications of proposed actions become a way of life for the institution. It uses every effort to make institutional decis ions contorm ~o the public interest. Then, using persuasion in the form of communications, It achieves acceptance of the soundness of the decision , and support for it. It understands institutions, their aims and purposes in both philosophical and operational terms . It uses help from other disciplines in order to arrive at accurate assessment and workable solutions within the public relations area." .I~ the view of Doug Newsom and Alan Scott, authors of This is PR : The Real/tIes of Public Relations, "Public relations is all activities and attitudes intended to judge, adjust to, influence, and direct the opinions of any groups or groups of persons in the interest of any individual, group or institution. The
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1-libUe Ilelatloll!!i Uevlew universe of public relations involves research into all audiences receiving information from them ; advising management of attitudes and responses ; helping set policy that will demonstrate a responsible attention to those attitudes and responses ; and constantly evaluating the effectiveness of all programs . It is an inclusive role embracing all act iv ities having to do with ascertaining and influencing the opinion of a group." Among the mass of definitions that inundated the public relations field during this period the following are possibly the most important: public relations is a philosophy and policy-influencing adjunct to the management process; a function of reconciliation ; a catalytic agent ; an ongoing preventive; an active initiator of policy ; a transmission belt to the public for ideas of others; a firefighter in an atmosphere of change and counterchange; objective thinking and a spirit of pride ; the interface between the organization and its conscience; an early warning system on critical issues . As in other periods, the list of what the public relations practitioner is said to do is long and varied. He communicates to the organization and management the goals of people; helps redefine the concept of progress in human terms; uses help from other disciplines in arriving at accurate assessments of workable solutions within the public relations area; helps supply an organization or indu stry with a conscience ; performs a basic service and meets a fundamental need ; works on the periphery of organized power ; sits astride a fundamental need; works on the periphery of organized power; sits astride vital communications channels; helps to reduce the chasm between expectations and reality; strives for substance over image; practices the art of translation; judges , adjusts to , influences, and directs the opinions of any group or groups of persons in the interest of any individual, group, organization or institution; uses research to confirm, clarify or reorient thinking; dramatizes and focuses attention on important ideas, methods, plans, policies, etc .; proposes and implements systems for retrieval of accurate intelligence; identifies and solves problems. The broad picture of the environment with its turmoil was : The Watergate scandal broke, President Richard Nixon resigned and Vice President Gerald Ford became President. Nixon was pardoned by Ford; the Vietnam War ended in defeat of the United States; all the major institutions in the nation suffered additional loss of public approval; the alarming rise in the national debt and the Federal budget aroused the public to demand retrenchment in government spending, but retrenchment was not forthcoming; Congress was bitterly assailed by critism at all levels of our national life. The depression and inflation drove product and service prices up and business profits down; unemployment in the millions plagued the land; a shortage of oil products, especially gasoline, resulted in gas rationing and the necessity of seeking oil supplies from the OPEC (mostly Arab countries), which promptly took advantage of the situation by raising prices almost prohibitively ; but environmentalists wages an unremitting fight aga inst nuclear power as a source of energy, and especially against the construction of nuclear plants. The bombing and kidnappings and hijackings were directed primarily at government , business and a few homes of prominent men, resulting in con-
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UCrlll1t IOIl!li siderable loss of life and enormous loss of property; lawlessness increased in almost all categories and sections of the nation; change was in the air, dominating the thoughts and actions of all segments of the population; old values were swept away, in many, maybe most, instances with little that was constructive to take their place; uncertainty, unrest, doubt and disillusion held sway; the desegregation hassle continued unabated. Toward the end of the period there was some improvement, especially in the economics sector; but the Presidential campaign was unsettling, and the moral tone of the people showed little improvement. Relations with Russia and China were touch and go, with the death of Chairman Mao in China creating additional uncertainty and uneasiness; the failure of the United States in the Vietnam War lowered the standing of this country in much of the rest of the world; our nation's influence in the United Nations sank to a low level; the arms superiority of Russia became alarming; mastery of the technique of building the atomic bomb by a number of countries-some of which were unfriendly to the United States-caused apprehension. Nevertheless the great increase in scientific discoveries and inventions and the amazing technical achievements on many fronts carried the nation forward at a rapid pace; advances in the field of medicine and health care methods and devices raised the level of general health in the nation to the highest point it had ever achieved; space activities were crowned with a double landing on Mars and the securing of much scientific information about that planet; the social responsibility of business received enlarged attention by management, s~aring place with profit as a major goal of management and stockholders alIke; by mid-1976 there were many evidences that the nation was rebounding though ever so slightly, in spirit and outlook, with the national economy improving, unemployment showing signs of falling, and people feeling more optimistic. Conclusion These and other views are to be considered in thinking about the future of public relations definitions under the impact of change - which surely will dominate the scene, as it always has. And change may produce the unexpected as well as the expected, for both the public relations function and its definition. As Elsey has said, "the unexpected comes with increased rapidity upon future-oriented societies such as o~rs." In this age of science no one knows surely what to expect that change wll~ do to public relations, but it is a fair guess that it will do at least two things - Increase demand for more professionalism and scientific specialization on ~he. p~~t of the public relations practitioner, and modify the public relations efInlhon in ways unforeseen now.
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Public Relations Definitions Through the Years In the last issue of the Review, Dr . Harlow outlined his search for a firm definition of public relations. He reported that respondents to his survey gave answers "so diverse and conflicting, so affected by the opposing demands of theory and practice , so uncertain and inadequate, that hardly any two of them have been alike or even similar. " In this issue he traces public relations definitions in the 20th century, showing how publicity efforts expanded to include information giving, social responsibility in public affairs , and efforts to harmonize the goals of management and the public.
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review of the history of the definition of public relations shows that the definition has changed considerably over the past 70 years. This historical review reveals how inextricably the development of the definition has been and is bound to the movement of thought and action of the society in which the public relations practioner does his work. It shows the present form, content and status of the public relations definition, but even more the effect of environmental factors and change upon its development during the past quarter of a century. The 1906 to 1920 Period "Publicity supplies accurate information concerning the subjects which it is of value and interest to the public to know," said Ivy L. Lee, of New York, generally considered to be the "Father of Public Relations" in the United States. He was writing in his "Declaration of Principles." The foundation he established provided for the basic structure of what has since been widely known as public relations, according to Ray E. Hiebert, dean of the College of Journalism , University of Maryland.
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What might be called Lee's definition of public relations includes his "great emphasis on policy and management's responsibilities for that policy; the necessity for two-way communication with the public ; and the requirement to be completely honest and frank with the press," says Lawrence W . Nolte, author of Fundamentals of Public Relations. Thus the age of public relations was ushered into our nation - to help defend business interests against the muckraking of the early 1900's and government regulations of a more or less severe nature, as an observer later put it. This period was noted for the colossal aggregations of wealth and power, gigantic flotation of stocks, and callous indifference to the needs of the people by a small group of business giants in the United States. In 1906 Sherman Norse was writing in the American Magazine that public relations "determines what the public should be interested in and what information they should receive. " A rather cavalier stance, to be sure , but current in business circles of that time, and, unfortunately, in some even today . Abroad was the spirit of scientific and technical discovery. Thirteen years before (in 1893) the automobile appeared on the roads and was beginning to come into its own. Ten years before Marconi had invented the radio, thus paving the way for future radio broadcasting . Six years before Eastman had brought out his Brownie, and commercial photography was on its way. Three years before the Wright Brothers had made the first flight. These and other important developments profoundly affected all phases and elements of the national life, and public relations was no exception. One development that was almost disastrous for public relations was the panic of 1907. By 1909 the "You tell 'em" spirit of public relations practitioners was being modified. Ray Norris could assert in the Railroad Gazette that public relations "mak es a firsthand study of local conditions in every community served by a company, with a view of heading off causes of unpopularity as fast as they may appear, and discovers the kind of service which the company is giving its customers, and the way in which that service should be performed better and existing friction removed ." In this same year of 1909, Columbia University graduate and Wall Street Journal reporter, Pendleton Dudley, entered the ranks of public relations counselors. He maintained that public relations counseling was a business which should be organized and conducted on that basis , with the keeping of careful financial and other records and services performed in tune with the needs, activities and desires of the business organizations served. In addition, according to Eric F. Goldman, Professor of History, Princeton University, in his Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education Lecture in 1965, others besides Lee and Dudley who were developing the field of public relations included James Ellsworth, Guy Emerson, Frank Fayant, Francis Sisson , and Theodore Vail. Recovery began slowly but made headway despite the attacks by President Theodore Roosevelt on Big Business. And by 1914, when the First World War started in Europe, the national economy was in full swing again. After the United States entered the war and until its close the production feats of the na-
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tion amazed the world. All eyes and energies of the people were turned to help win the war. The United States Committee on Information, established by President Woodrow Wilson, attracted several newcomers in the public relations field . Among these men were Edward L. Bernays and Carl Byoir, A part of the committee's activities were devoted to propaganda - to offset the propaganda of the Germans in the war. This was to have undesirable effects on public relations in the United States in the years ahead : certain members of the public were to equate propaganda with public relations and denigrate public relations accordingly. The 1920 to 1930 Period
A bit later, after the close of the war, Arthur Page became vice president of public relations for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company . "Page," said Anthony Galli, "was perhaps the dean of public relations men in the country . .. The secret of his success was in firing up his top management with the belief that all business ... begins with the public's permission and can only proceed with the public's approval. " Practically every great war of modern times has been followed by a business depression about two years later, and by a far more severe secondary depression about eight years after peace . So, true to history, by 1920 a primary depression began in the United States . Huge losses were suffered on all sides and strikes added to the country's woes. But by 1923 prosperity began to return. From then until 1928 that prosperity "blazed fiercely" ; speculation ran rife and the nation went on a "make-money" binge the like of which had never been seen before. The result was a stock market crash in 1929 that wiped out most of the more than 21 million stockholders, the banks that had loaned the money for speculation, and the manufacturing companies that had produced the mountains of goods for sale. Government, business, finance, labor - just about everybody and everything in the country "wen t on the rocks. " In the interim a book, Crystallizing Public Opinion , by Bernays gave form and substance to, and emphasized the professional role of, public relations. And according to George Hammond, chairman, Carl Byoir and Associates, New York, Carl Byoir "bequeathed to us the touchstone of all effective public relations : presenting the case in terms of the self-interest of the recipient. " Some other men who were to attain positions of leadership in the public relations field entered that field during this period. They included T.]. Ross, John W. Hill , Conger Reynolds and Paul Garrett. Ross and Hill were professional counselors, and Reynolds was the director of public relations for Standard Oil Company of Indiana. Garrett was the vice president of public relations for General Motors Corporation, New York. Through the demonstration of its value and usefulness as a function that could be used in helping to solve existing problems and prevent the rise of new ones, public relations work as a new field of endeavor took hold of the imagination of other enterprising men and women . Spectacular results achieved by practitioners in a few prominent instances shot it into prominence and expanded it sharply almost over night.
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la"blle Itelatlo'l!li Itevlew It was looked upon at this time by the public, and even by a number of practitioners themselves, as something mysterious which only the initiated who were gifted with certain insights and necromantic skill understood and could make available to men and organizations. As a result, little as well as big men, shysters as well as honest craftsmen, "got into the act." In many instances money and effort not only were wasted but actually produced harmful results. Managements were "taken for a ride," and honest workers in the field were subjected to criticism and ridicule. Disorder, dishonesty and inefficiency were much in evidence. The fundamental core of public relations was sound, however. Some of the more constructive and able public relations men and women, smarting under the growing public disapproval, seriously considered abandoning the label of public relations and operating as "management consultants," "business advisors," or under other designations they thought were acceptable to the public. This was to be a recurring attitude and effort in the years ahead. The wild orgies of business preceding the stock market crash in 1929 caused public relations activities to expand tremendously. But the crippling effects of the depression that followed that crash were felt throughout the field, and public relations practitioners suffered with others. Definitionwise, there was not great change during this period. The idea of using communications to build and hold goodwill continued dominant. Also it was believed that "information is the mother of prevention." But there was a noticeable shift away from emphasis on publicity and propaganda as tools of public relations, especially propaganda. Considerable thought was given to the idea of building public relations into a profession, with ethics as its base. Additional ideas and theories began to surface. The 1930 to 1940 Period By this time the label "public relations" was firmly fixed in the minds of those who practiced under it. But there was little or no agreement on a definition of what public relations is. Some said it is persuasive communications; some that it is good performance publicly appreciated; others that it is the spirit of mutual decency; and still others that it is simply an attitude. Regarding what the public relations practitioner does there was more agreement. Workers in the field agreed that they influence opinion; plan and engage in activities that produce good will; help management keep employees and stockholders fully informed on company operations; help management demonstrate social responsibility along with profit responsibility. And there was agreement that public relations practitioners do these things by the use of twoway communication and by consistently using effective merchandising methods. These developments took place in an environment of slow recovery from the depression and the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that grew out of it. The government virtually took over the nation's economy. Jobs were provided for workers and relief for the public. Failing businesses were bailed out. Public funds were pumped into public works and conservation measures were passed. Workers were supplied with Social Security. Minimum wages
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and maximum hours were set for workers. Labor was guaranteed the right to organize and bargain collectively. Bank deposits were insured. The Stock Exchange activities were regulated. Crop prices and production ratios were fixed. The startling growth of the Federal bureaucracy and the passage by Congress of such measures as the Wagner Act which established the National Labor Relations Board and the Employment Act to secure full employment and orderly growth of the economy, the Council of Economic Advisors in the President's office, and the joint Economic Committee in Congress itself, alarmed and disturbed business. Also labor, with its more than 18 million members, was to be dealt with. So business was only too glad to turn to public relations for help, asking that business' needs, purposes, activities and achievements be made favorably known to the government and the public. Public relations practitioners in turn were only too glad to perform the service desired. The tools for their work were developing rapidly. Newspapers, magazines and books were flourishing. Radio was beginning to realize its journalistic potential. And commercial photography was available. Thus the way was paved for the great surge in growth and acceptance that public relations was to achieve in the next decade. Many more able people entered the field. An aid to practitioners was the founding of the American Council on Public Relations, a nonprofit, educational organization in San Francisco. It organized and conducted a series of short courses on public relations, with the cooperation of the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Stanford University. These two-week courses were held on the campuses of these universities.
"Public relations is nothing mysterious; it is simply relations with the public - relations with the various elements of the public and having the social connotation of actually working with the patterns of the society in which we live - nothing more than a form of advice and special points of view." More than 900 public relations and business leaders attended the series. A distinguished faculty lectured - two New York public relations counselors and a consumer relations specialist and three university professors, one from Princeton, one from the University of Wisconsin, and one from Stanford, the founder and president of the Council. A considerable part of the lectures and discussions was devoted to defining the public relations function. Full summaries of the course series proceedings were published and distributed throughout the nation, spreading the definitions widely. Attempting to take the mystery out of the public relations concept, Bernays, one of the lecturers, said: "Public relations is nothing mysterious; it is simply relations with the public - relations with the various elements of the public and having the social connotation of actually working with the patterns of the
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I'lIhUe Ilelatlolls Ilevlew society in which we live - noth ing more than a form of advice and special points of view ." And Dr . Harwood Childs, professor of political science , Princeton, presented in his lectures a definition that included the idea of social and public interest and mass opinion . He said, "Public relations is those aspects of our personal and corporate behavior which have social and public significance, and our adjustment to them in a way that promotes the public welfare and interest as currently defined by mass opinion." The 1940 to 1950 Period Definitions flew thick and fast during this decade, as practitioners strove to determine what public relations is and what its practitioners do . The definitions are too many to list in full here , but some of the more important are : public relations is a guide to social conduct , it is social and political engineering, and operating technique, a process, a practice, a creative force , a program; it is a social power directed toward developing good will, a management function, a builder of public opinion, a motivator, a researcher, a persuader, a clarifier, an innovator. The list of what it was said practitioners do is even more extensive. In part the practitioners said: "We bring about harmony of understanding among people, groups and organizations ; engineer economic, political and social developmen ts : both send and receive messages ; create impressions by conveying facts and ideas ; correct false impressions, answer criticisms , deal with hazards, and try to prevent crises and f1areups ; analyze the needs of an organization and recommend policy guides to meet them ; build pride of employees in themselves, their work and their company ; interpret the social and economic forces at work in our society ; emphasize the importance of two-way communications ; focus on developing an understanding by the public of the problems of business ; interpret management to the public and the public to management; strive to build in workers and management a vital intangible - a spirit of mutual interdependence. Quite a lot was happening in the environment, and all of it bore heavily upon the practice of public relations. The massive government spending carried over from 1939 pretty well solved the unemployment problem . Organized labor grew in power. Centralized government grew steadily more powerful; New Deal programs became permanent; vast regulatory agencies developed; the nat ional debt soared; World War II broke and set the world aflame; under the influence of the war, the Defense Department grew to awesome size; in meeting the needs of the war, American industry performed industrial miracles. In 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan; the next year the Atomic Energy Commission was created ; in 1947 the Marshall Plan (voting $13 billion over a period of four years) restored economic and political stability to many Western European countries and groups. In this decade a vigorous struggle for equal rights was made by women , Black and other minority groups, with considerable progress resulting. The heavy demands of the war, the expanding intrusion of the government into the affairs of business, the great surge of scientific and technical discover-
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J)l:rl.. ltl().. ~ ies, inventions and development , one of particular technical importance to public relations being invention of the transistor - all these and many other factors conspired to increase the need for and use of public relations . The field expanded, large internal departments were set up in many businesses, and counseling and consulting firms of considerable size (some with as many as a hundred or more members) were established to serve organizations professionally . The definitions developed in th is decade, especially toward the end of the decade, show considerable change from those developed in prior years. They are more action-oriented, reflect a broader and deeper interest on the part of the public relations practitioner in the social responsibility of the organization served, and a general leaning toward the requirement and attributes of professionalism . The belief grew in the more professional and scientific practitioners that the social sciences (especially psychology, sociology, political science and economics) are the foundation of public relations practice. And more emphasis was placed upon the use of public opinion research and other forms of research, making practice more scientific and useful. But those definitions reflect the views of the more competent , professional practitioners. They were expressed in the midst of an astronomical expansion of public relations activities. The field was looked upon as offering "lush pickings" by some slick operators who were bright enough to garner them; by these shysters it was thought that even a dumbbell could make thousands of dolIars a year merely by bearing the label of a public relations expert; that by the use of artifice and abracadabra the public relations worker could pull the wool over the eyes of both the organization represented and the public. Under this theory everybody was a sucker to be played for alI he was worth. Fortunately, people in public relations of th is ilk were not large in number. But they were flamboyant and noisy, and were played up prominently in speech and print. So disturbed over the situation were a number of the competent men and women who had been carrying on creditably and effectively for years that again, as happened years earlier, they gave serious thought to abandoning the label of public relations. They felt shame to bear the same label as that besmirched by incompetents and quacks. Help was on the way, fortunately . In 1945 the American Council on Public Relat ions founded the Public Relations Journal as its official organ . Two years later the Council merged with the National Association of Public Relations Council, of New York, to form the new Public Relations Society of America. The journal became the official organ of the Society. PRSA set to work to establish guidelines for the practice of public relations, based on a sound, workable definition that would leave no place for the shyster and quack . In its Declaration of Principles it reaffirmed the dedication of the public relations practitioner to the goal of better "mutual understanding and cooperation among the diverse individuals, groups, institutions and elements of our modern society. " And it adopted a Code of Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations, which emphasized the responsibility of the public relations practitioner "to promote and ma intain high standards of public service .. . (in order that) the practice of public relations may best serve the publ ic interest ."
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.·ublle Ildatloll!li Ilevlew A short time prior to the founding of the Public Relations Journal Glen and Denny Griswold, a New York husband-and-wife team, founded the Public Relations News, a weekly newsletter. Some time later they came up with a definition which was widely accepted by people in public relations, and in time appeared in Webster's Dictionary. "Public relations," said the Griswolds, "is the activities of a corporation, union, government or other organization in building and maintaining sound and productive relations with special publics such as customers, employees, or stockholders, and with the public at large, so as to adapt itself to the environment and interpret itself to society." This definition, while not officially approved or adopted by the Society, was used by society members in annual, committee and other types of meetings, and in contacts with employers and clients. Many other definitions were developed during this time, too, as above indicated. Defining the practice of public relations was a subject of keen interest to almost everyone in the field. The 1950 to 1960 Period The great surge forward of public relations, with a corresponding expansion of the number and variety of public relations definitions in the 1940-1950 decade, slowed down somewhat in this decade. One of the definitions, given by Thomas A. Gonser, public relations consultant, Chicago, was: "Public relations is a reciprocal process of listening and telling coupled with a willingness to make the business what the public wants it to be, rather than trying to convince them that they should like the business for what it is." Other definitions said public relations is a social engineer, a lubricant, a vital element, a skill. Again, in this decade, as in the last, what the practitioner does was defined more fully. The practitioner, it was said, replaces misunderstanding with a sense of understanding; sets and lubricates the human machinery; uses semantics to provide insight and straight thinking; fosters prestige; helps to preserve great traditions; helps provide perspective and the longer view; uses imagination, creativeness, compassion and general objectivity; emphasizes the importance of people rather than impersonal facts; uses research and creative thinking in solving problems; uses symbols - words and pictures - not things. Several factors in the environment bore heavily on the practice of public relations during this decade. Their effect was double-edged: they complicated the service required, but at the same time they increased materially the demand for that service. Among some of the more important factors were: • The Federal government continued to grow in size and power and cost to citizens, intruding in and controlling their lives and the affairs of all types of organiza tions: • In 1954 desegregation was established by the U.S. Supreme Court, touching off hot opposition to the decision and its enforcement in many school systems throughout the land, and in some instances calling for use of federal troops to quell the disturbances; • In 1957 Russia launched Sputnik, followed the next year by the United
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J)ella.ltlo.. !!> States launching of Explorer I satellite, and the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. • In 1950 Congress established the National Science Foundation to sponsor basic research , and the government turned to the colleges and universities for scientific help. Billions of dollars were spent on scientific research ; • In 1950 the maser and the laser also were discovered, and the Korean War was started with the United States drawn into it on the side of South Korea ; • In 1951 the structure of the matter substance heredity (DNA) was deciphered - a great advance in understanding living matter ; • In the same year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act establishing the principle of government responsibility in that area; • In the same year also Martin Luther King appeared on the scene spreading the gospel of equal rights for citizens, regardless of race , color or creed; • In this year business began to show an increased sense of social responsibility . This decade saw a continuing and growing tendency on the part of some of those who worked in the public relations field to question the desirability of operating under the label of public relations. This was especially true of many who worked in the government area ; they adopted the label "Public Affairs." The government itself, in its many departments, commissions, divisions, etc.. although actively maintaining and supporting the machinery and personnel 'to keep the public informed, or should one say "sold ," refused to permit its communicators to use the public relations label. Most of these practitioners were known as directors of communications, although many were listed only as staff members of, or assistants to, various governmental officials, department heads, division chiefs, and the like. The edict passed out was: not a dollar for public relations. The Public Relations Society of America inveighed against this policy, but to no avail. The edict stands to this day, although millions of dollars are spent by government on public relations annually . The communication agencies support the government policy, always ready as they have been to take a stand publicly against public relations while using the help that public relations people can, and do , give them . These factors and happenings increased the task of those who were trying to develop a sound and acceptable definition of public relations. The 1960 to 1970 Period
During this period the efforts to define public relations suffered something of a lull . There was much discussion of ethics, qualifications of practitioners. ~rofessionalism, and efforts to rebut accusations and criticisms of public relations by uninformed and biased speakers, writers, governmental officials and certain members of the general public. There was some defining done, but the definitions contained few new ideas. An important development in the Public Relations Society of America was the establishment of an accreditation program for members already in the socity and persons applying for membership. Adopted by the board in Decemer 1964, the stated purpose of accreditation was "to help raise profes-
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l-uhUe Ilelatloll!!i Ilevlew sional standards and improve the practice of public relations ..." This within itself was something of a definition; at least it was predicated on what public relations was considered to be and what a practitioner should do. Showing what the general public thought public relations was at that date, Business Week, in its issue of July 2, 1960, said: "Public relations deepens the channels of communication between publications and business, and expedites communication. It helps to make management more aware of public opinion and responsive to it. It tries to work both sides of the street, speaking for and to management ... rr Charles B. Coates, New York public relations counsel, in more decorative language, said also in 1960: "Public relations is a kind of pilot; it didn't build the ship, it doesn't own it, and it isn't the captain. But it knows the rocks, the shoals and the clear channels of public communication and it can gauge the probable consequences of the choice of one direction as against the other." A sample of the short, simple definition is that of Scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center, presented in their book, Effective Public Relations: 'The public relations function is the planned effort to influence opinion through acceptable performance based upon two-way communication." J. Carroll Bateman, president, Insurance Information Institute, New York, said: "Public relations practice should strive to elevate the audience rather than degrade them; communication should be addressed to reason and judgment rather than to emotion and prejudice; it must deal in truth rather than deception, and it must seek to clarify the issues of our times rather than to confuse them." In connection with the issues of our times, Clifford B. Reeves, New York public relations consultant, calls attention to the "burgeoning science known as ecology comprising a combination of biological, sociological and economic disciplines," which he says "adds an entirely new dimension to public relations work, and represents a challenge to all practitioners in the field. Heretofore, public relations has dealt with the relationships between human beings, and between institutions. The age of ecology will require the consideration of relationships with species of life other than human, and the relationship of all life to its natural environment. This raises new and basic questions of public policy, and will require business statesmanship of the highest order." Among the things public relations was said to be were: an application of the Christian ethic; a catalyst; a spotlight; a people-reacher; a respected advisor and communicator; an interpreter of signs and nuances; the devil's advocate; an engineer of change. Definitions on what the public relations practitioner does were a bit more extensive than on what public relations is. They include: senses, even anticipates, the changing temper of the times before a problem or crisis stage is reached; providing the plan, program or machinery to deal effectively with the situation; helps management maintain perspective; delivers the right message to the right people at the right time; uses empathy in establishing the right relations with those served; advances theories and hypotheses based on observation and experience; straightens out half-truths, particularly among those people and groups who ardently espouse causes about which they know too
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little; helps the organization find out what it stands for, what its needs are, and how it can satisfy them within the context of its environment; advises and reports, recommends and suggests, educates and trains ; helps people in problem solving, in personal service, in providing usable information, by stimulating aspiration and financial action . In 1967, Frank W. Wylie, public relations manager, Dodge Division, Chrysler Corporation, Detroit , said that the practitioner "has the responsibility for sensing trends, in advance, and conveying them to management, thereby helping management to see and accept the responsibility to provide personal commitment and active leadership to cope with vital national problems, using skills and power to achieve meaningful social and economic change. " Philip Lesly, president, The Philip Lesly Company, Chicago, said in 1969 that the public relations practitioner "recognizes the importance of sensitivity, f~exibility and agility of mind ; objec tively assesses the climate of the instituticn , considers the time and current circumstances; weighs the political realities within the organization and other factors that may be involved ; determines what can be done to reconcile any situation rela ted to a problem , and determines what can be done - which visible action can be taken - to deal With the problem ."
All these developments called for better trained, more able and broader gauged public relations men and wOmetl to deal with them. Business organizations in particular expanded their public relations staffs whose heads were made top man agement officials. . . . Wylie's emphasis upon the need for achieving meaningful social and econ?mic change takes on real meaning in light of what was happening in the environment in which he and all the other public relations people in the country were working during this period . For example: the flow of power toward Washington continued unabated and centralization marched on ; the public suspicion and distrust of government kept pace with these developments; taxes increased to meet the rising costs and waste growing out of bigness in government, and the national debt mushroomed by many billions of dollars; Medicare and Medicaid, government-funded programs, were established to aid the elderly, the poor and the handicapped; more than 20 federal agencies were supporting research and development ; four Civil Rights acts - 1960, 1964, 1965, 1969 - were passed by Congress, providing protection for the voting rights and employment opportunities of minorities. The standard of living rose sharply, with private credit easy and personal ~e~ding tremendous ; the gross national product mounted to dizzy heights; .usIness boomed; great corporations flourished, many spreading out internat~onalIy; but despite the fact that business' sense of social responsibility con~mued to expand, the people's confidence in business sank to a low level; vexIng problems facing the public included urban blight, industrial pollution,
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.-..blle Ilc.:latlons Ilc.:vlew mass transportation, social health care, energy shortage, inflation, recession, and explosive population increase. In 1965 the Vietnam war started; advocacy of women's rights was vigorously pushed; President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert were assassinated; Lyndon Johnson became President; in 1968 Richard M. Nixon was elected President; in 1969 the first man landed on the moon. All these developments called for better trained, more able and broader gauged public relations men and women to deal with them. Business organizations in particular expanded their public relations staffs whose heads were made top management officials, and public relations counseling and consulting firms expanded, a few with several hundred members and branch offices all over the world. The impact of these developments was to expand and sectionalize the public relations function. The 1970 to 1976 Period Definitions were poured forth during this period. Changing conditions, new pressures of many kinds, the anxieties of the public about the lack of honor and character in governmental officials, the declining confidence of the public in businessmen and institutions, the widespread violence, kidnapping, hijacking, bombing, murders, unemployment of workers, heavy taxation, and other damaging factors bore heavily on everyone. The result was the economy suffered the double burden of depression and inflation, and people writhed under it. Also, as U.S. Treasury Secretary William E. Simon pointed out, "Just the paperwork burden of government regulation is staggering. Individual and business firms spend over 130 million person-hours a year filling out over 5,000 government forms. "Regulatory agencies have come to exercise direct control over transportation, energy, communications and the securities market - industries that account for almost 10 percent of the value of everything made and sold - and to exercise indirect control over much of the rest of our private economy. Business activities have become more controlled in areas of environmental protection, job safety, consumer requirements, hiring practices and information reporting, and much more." To these facts James L. Buckley, former U.S. Senator from New York, adds that "The Office of Management and Budget estimates that regulatory agencies and the rules they make cost each American family $2,000 every year." Public relations personnel suffered from these burdens along with other citizens. They were forced to look more closely at the function they performedand especially at the label it bore. The old question which recurred, in both private and public discussions, was this: was "public relations" the right label for them to bear? In many cases both practitioners and the organizations they served opted for use of the label "Public Affairs," or some other. This label began to vie vigorously with the regular public relations label in a manner that deeply disturbed those in the field who were firm adherents to the belief that public relations has been, is, and will continue to be the dominant label in the field.
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neflnltlolls As the problems of the United States (the whole world, for that matter) grew greater and more different, the demands upon the public relations practitioner grew with them . New ideas, new ways of doing things, new attitudes, new values - these and many other influences caused the practitioner to see the public relations function in a new light. Adjustment, in many instances readjustment, both in thought and practice, was made to meet the requirements of the new day. And so the practitioner was inclined to define the public relations function accordingly, and more or less independently of fellow practitioners. In a sense it was "every man for himself. " This made for some confusion. As seen by David Finn, chairman of the board, Ruder & Finn, Inc ., New York counseling firm, the function of the public relations practitioner today "is to try to prevent the crisis from getting out of hand . . . to help clients conduct their business in a way that is responsive to the new demands made by concerned scientists, environmentalists, consumerists, minority leaders, underPrivileged segments of the community, the young generation." Yet Finn says that at the same time the activities of the public relations practitioner today appear to be much the same as they were 20 years ago. In amplifying this point of view he gives what must be considered as his approval to public relations : The practitioner "talks to management about long-range g?als; identifies public relations targets; spends time talking to editors, financial analysts, government officials, leaders of national organizations; writes press releases, speeches, booklets, annual reports ; concerns himself with films , educational materials, exhibitions, etc. " A somewhat similar view is expressed by William]. Gaskill , Chairman of T.]. Ross & Associates, another New York counseling firm: "Public relations i~ one of the processes charged with helping to harmonize institutional deciSIOns and actions with what is perceived as the public interest. Its classical conce~t has not changed in the half century or so since its emergence as a disciplIne. Its basic process is connected with individual freedom - the right of a person or institution to go about its business with a minimum of interference from other institutions or persons, a basic tenet of Western civilization . . "Still in its infancy, its practice requires, first, the adoption of a point of VIew which takes into account the need through decision formulation and informational efforts, to earn public support for corporate and other institutional actions that merit support . . 'When it wins adoption of this point of view by an institution , the systernatic analysis of the public implications of proposed actions become a way of life for the institution. It uses every effort to make institutional decis ions contorm ~o the public interest. Then, using persuasion in the form of communications, It achieves acceptance of the soundness of the decision , and support for it. It understands institutions, their aims and purposes in both philosophical and operational terms . It uses help from other disciplines in order to arrive at accurate assessment and workable solutions within the public relations area." .I~ the view of Doug Newsom and Alan Scott, authors of This is PR : The Real/tIes of Public Relations, "Public relations is all activities and attitudes intended to judge, adjust to, influence, and direct the opinions of any groups or groups of persons in the interest of any individual, group or institution. The
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1-libUe Ilelatloll!!i Uevlew universe of public relations involves research into all audiences receiving information from them ; advising management of attitudes and responses ; helping set policy that will demonstrate a responsible attention to those attitudes and responses ; and constantly evaluating the effectiveness of all programs . It is an inclusive role embracing all act iv ities having to do with ascertaining and influencing the opinion of a group." Among the mass of definitions that inundated the public relations field during this period the following are possibly the most important: public relations is a philosophy and policy-influencing adjunct to the management process; a function of reconciliation ; a catalytic agent ; an ongoing preventive; an active initiator of policy ; a transmission belt to the public for ideas of others; a firefighter in an atmosphere of change and counterchange; objective thinking and a spirit of pride ; the interface between the organization and its conscience; an early warning system on critical issues . As in other periods, the list of what the public relations practitioner is said to do is long and varied. He communicates to the organization and management the goals of people; helps redefine the concept of progress in human terms; uses help from other disciplines in arriving at accurate assessments of workable solutions within the public relations area; helps supply an organization or indu stry with a conscience ; performs a basic service and meets a fundamental need ; works on the periphery of organized power ; sits astride a fundamental need; works on the periphery of organized power; sits astride vital communications channels; helps to reduce the chasm between expectations and reality; strives for substance over image; practices the art of translation; judges , adjusts to , influences, and directs the opinions of any group or groups of persons in the interest of any individual, group, organization or institution; uses research to confirm, clarify or reorient thinking; dramatizes and focuses attention on important ideas, methods, plans, policies, etc .; proposes and implements systems for retrieval of accurate intelligence; identifies and solves problems. The broad picture of the environment with its turmoil was : The Watergate scandal broke, President Richard Nixon resigned and Vice President Gerald Ford became President. Nixon was pardoned by Ford; the Vietnam War ended in defeat of the United States; all the major institutions in the nation suffered additional loss of public approval; the alarming rise in the national debt and the Federal budget aroused the public to demand retrenchment in government spending, but retrenchment was not forthcoming; Congress was bitterly assailed by critism at all levels of our national life. The depression and inflation drove product and service prices up and business profits down; unemployment in the millions plagued the land; a shortage of oil products, especially gasoline, resulted in gas rationing and the necessity of seeking oil supplies from the OPEC (mostly Arab countries), which promptly took advantage of the situation by raising prices almost prohibitively ; but environmentalists wages an unremitting fight aga inst nuclear power as a source of energy, and especially against the construction of nuclear plants. The bombing and kidnappings and hijackings were directed primarily at government , business and a few homes of prominent men, resulting in con-
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UCrlll1t IOIl!li siderable loss of life and enormous loss of property; lawlessness increased in almost all categories and sections of the nation; change was in the air, dominating the thoughts and actions of all segments of the population; old values were swept away, in many, maybe most, instances with little that was constructive to take their place; uncertainty, unrest, doubt and disillusion held sway; the desegregation hassle continued unabated. Toward the end of the period there was some improvement, especially in the economics sector; but the Presidential campaign was unsettling, and the moral tone of the people showed little improvement. Relations with Russia and China were touch and go, with the death of Chairman Mao in China creating additional uncertainty and uneasiness; the failure of the United States in the Vietnam War lowered the standing of this country in much of the rest of the world; our nation's influence in the United Nations sank to a low level; the arms superiority of Russia became alarming; mastery of the technique of building the atomic bomb by a number of countries-some of which were unfriendly to the United States-caused apprehension. Nevertheless the great increase in scientific discoveries and inventions and the amazing technical achievements on many fronts carried the nation forward at a rapid pace; advances in the field of medicine and health care methods and devices raised the level of general health in the nation to the highest point it had ever achieved; space activities were crowned with a double landing on Mars and the securing of much scientific information about that planet; the social responsibility of business received enlarged attention by management, s~aring place with profit as a major goal of management and stockholders alIke; by mid-1976 there were many evidences that the nation was rebounding though ever so slightly, in spirit and outlook, with the national economy improving, unemployment showing signs of falling, and people feeling more optimistic. Conclusion These and other views are to be considered in thinking about the future of public relations definitions under the impact of change - which surely will dominate the scene, as it always has. And change may produce the unexpected as well as the expected, for both the public relations function and its definition. As Elsey has said, "the unexpected comes with increased rapidity upon future-oriented societies such as o~rs." In this age of science no one knows surely what to expect that change wll~ do to public relations, but it is a fair guess that it will do at least two things - Increase demand for more professionalism and scientific specialization on ~he. p~~t of the public relations practitioner, and modify the public relations efInlhon in ways unforeseen now.
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