Read the text and check your answers on task I:
Public relations began when people started communicating and needed to motivate others. Early pre-historic drawings, and later, hieroglyphics and ancient manuscripts were all used to persuade. The military reports and commentaries prepared by Julius Caesar can be viewed as triumph in personal and political public relations. During medieval times, both the Church and the guilds practiced rudimentary forms of public relations.
In the 15th Century, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press, making it possible to mass-produce written works. By the 17th Century, newspapers began to appear and ordinary people gained greater access to information and ideas. In response, governments and their leaders became more concerned with public opinion.
A number of American precursors to public relations are found in the form of publicists who specialized in promoting circuses, theatrical performances, and other public spectacles. In the United States, where public relations has its origins, many early public relations practices were developed in support of railroads. In fact, many scholars believe that the first appearance of the term "public relations" was in the 1897 Year Book of Railway Literature.
The development of public relations is mostly confined to the early half of the twentieth century; however there is evidence of the practices scattered through history. One notable practitioner was Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire whose efforts on behalf of Charles James Fox in the 18th century included press relations, lobbying and, with her friends, celebrity campaigning.
It was not until the American Revolution that more recognizable public relations activities became evident. The early patriots were aware that public opinion would play an important role in the war with England and planned their activities accordingly. For example, they staged events, such as The Boston Tea Party, to gain public attention. They also used symbols, such as the Liberty Tree and the Minutemen, that were easily recognized and helped portray their cause in a positive light. Skillful writers such as Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, Abigail Adams and Benjamin Franklin used political propaganda to swing public opinion to their side.
The first "names" and PR casesThe First World War helped stimulate the development of public relations as a profession. Many of the first PR professionals, including Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays, John W. Hill, and Carl Byoir, got their start with the Committee on Public Information (also known as the Creel Committee), which organized publicity on behalf of U.S. objectives during World War I.
Most historians agree that the first real public relations pioneer was a man named Ivy Lee. In 1903, Lee and George Parker opened a publicity office. A few years later, Lee became the press representative for the anthracite coal operators and the Pennsylvania Railroad. When confronted with a strike in the coal industry, Lee issued a “Declaration of Principles”. This statement endorsed the concepts of openness and honesty in dealing with the public; it also marked the shift from nineteenth-century press agentry to twentieth-century public relations. Lee went on to have a successful career counseling people such as John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Among other achievements, Lee is credited with humanizing business and demonstrating that public relations is most effective when it affects employees, customers, and members of the community. He also developed a modern news release (also called a “press release”).
Following World War I, two more public relations pioneers, Carl Byoir and Edward L. Bernays, appeared on the scene. Bernays was the profession's first theorist. Bernays, a nephew and student of Sigmund Freud, drew many of his ideas from Sigmund Freud's theories about the irrational, unconscious motives that shape human behaviour. He saw public relations as an "applied social science" that uses insights from psychology, sociology, and other disciplines to scientifically manage and manipulate the thinking and behavior of an irrational and "herdlike" public. Bernays is credited with writing the first book on public relations, Crystallizing Public Opinion, published in 1923. Byoir organized a public relations firm that is still one of the world’s largest.
StandardsIn 1950 PRSA enacts the first "Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations," a forerunner to the current Code of Ethics, last revised in 2000 to include six core values and six code provisions. The six core values are "Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty, and Fairness." The six code provisions consulted with are "Free Flow of Information, Competition, Disclosure of Information, Safeguarding Confidences, Conflicts of Interest, and Enhancing the Profession."
Give Russian equivalents for the words and expressions:
Precursors, to gain access to, to become more concerned with, to be confined to, on behalf of, accordingly, to portray something in a positive light, core values, to swing public opinion, anthracite coal operators, a strike, to endorse concepts, unconscious motives, forerunner, code provisions.
Give English definitions to the notions appeared in the text:
Publicity office, printing press, a notable practitioner, lobbying, a press release, an applied social science.
Complete the sentences using the words from the box:
a strike, appear, persuade, aware, scattered, support, career, planned, access, issued, roleEarly pre-historic drawings, and later, hieroglyphics and ancient manuscripts were all used to _____.
By the 17th Century, newspapers began to _____ and ordinary people gained greater _____ to information and ideas.
In the United States many early public relations practices were developed in _____ of railroads.
However there is evidence of the practices _____ through history.
The early patriots were _____ that public opinion would play an important _____ in the war with England and _____ their activities accordingly.
When confronted with a _____ in the coal industry, Lee _____ a “Declaration of Principles”.
Lee went on to have a successful _____ counseling people such as John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Answer the questions:
What evidences of PR practices before XX century are mentioned in the text?
When did the term “public relations” first appear?
What events helped stimulate the growth of PR as a profession?
What was Ivy Lee’s contribution to the development of PR?
Why is Bernays called “the profession’s first theorist”?
What articles did the first professional standards include?
Skim the text and write a short summary:
Three phases of public relations developmentToday, public relations is usually seen as being in the third phase or era of its professional development. And, while many practitioners still act with the mindset and values of the two earlier eras, the most successful practitioners now seem to use the less-self-serving approaches that are characteristic of the third phase.
James Dowling, then-president of Burson-Marsteller, one of the largest world-wide PR firms, described the changes that have occurred in public relations in the following way during an interview by a The New York Times reporter in the mid-1980s.
In the 1950s organizations asked their public relations consulting firms, "How should we say this?" In the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s, faced with various confrontations, these same organizations asked their public relations people, "What should we say?" Today they ask, "What should we do?"Public relations has had a three-stage evolution.
The field's earliest manifestations have been called
the publicity phase of public relations. During this stage of development practitioners were primarily concerned with creating awareness and building recognition for the individual or organization employing public relations. It was/is closely tied to advertising and promotion, and getting "the message" out to the widest possible audiences was/is paramount.
As practitioners evolved into
the explanatory phase of public relations greater emphasis was placed on providing more complete information and having the organization clearly articulate the reasons for its actions and policies so its publics would understand, sympathize with, and patronize the organization. Simply getting the organization's message out wasn't enough. Receivers had to understand and accept the point of view of the sending organization.
Now, in
the mutual satisfaction phase of public relations practitioners encourage organizations and their publics to adapt to one another by making complementary adjustments or compromises so that both benefit from their relationship. Practitioners are now as concerned with in-coming messages and information they can use to counsel management on current public opinion as they are with developing and delivering outgoing messages.
All three stages are practiced today. Although each of these phases is characterized by distinctly different strategies and techniques, the succeeding phases did not totally obliterate or replace the preceding ones.
Using extra sources (books, magazines, the Internet) find information about the first Russian PR practitioners to tell your fellow students in the group.
Why do you think the first PR professionals are considered to appear in the USA? Discuss the question as a group.
Make a report on “The history of PR” or “The history of PR in Russia” based on vocabulary of the unit and your knowledge of the theme.
