{"id":5085,"date":"2020-07-20T13:47:55","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T13:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.5wpr.com\/new\/?p=5085"},"modified":"2024-01-22T07:44:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T07:44:00","slug":"father-of-modern-pr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.5wpr.com\/new\/father-of-modern-pr\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is the Father of Modern Public Relations?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Several names usually come up whenever this question is asked. One is P.T. Barnum, best known for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus and coining the phrase: \u201cThere\u2019s a sucker born every minute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A showman by nature, Barnum could always be counted on for coming up with novel, if not startling ways of grabbing people\u2019s attention and interest. And in his spare time, he did pro bono work to change the perception of theatre which was perceived by many in the mid 1800\u2019s as \u201cdens of evil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was credited for introducing theatre matinees as a way of encouraging families to come out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivy Lee is another person whose name is often mentioned as one of the founders of modern public relations and the originator of modern crisis communications. Lee served many highly recognizable clients, the most well-known being John D. Rockefeller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A couple of his firsts included publication of his \u201cDeclaration of Principles,\u201d an important value statement that public relations<\/a> also has a responsibility that extends past its client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was in 1906, the same year of a big train wreck in Atlantic City. Lee persuaded the Pennsylvania Train Company to inform the public of the accident before others began hearing about it in what was said to be the first press release<\/a> ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a successful PR professional, Lee\u2019s main competitor was Edward Bernays who was four years younger and recognized by most PR professionals today as the father of modern public relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s Edward Bernays?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One thing that set Bernays apart from Lee was the fact that Bernays wrote or co-authored 18 books. Half were about public relations or aspects of good communications. \u201cCrystallizing Public Relations\u201d was his first book about the profession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was released in 1923 and drew praise for pioneering a study on public opinion. That book and his teaching a course on public relations at New York University were firsts. Another was that Life Magazine recognized Bernays as one of the 100 most influential Americans in the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bernays had a theory that the general public was irrational and prone to following what he referred to as a \u201cherd instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first book and another, \u201cPropaganda,\u201d which was published in 1928, described ways in which crowd psychology and psychoanalysis could be employed by skilled PR people to control the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second book drew criticism for advocating mass manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s likely Bernays learned a bit about psychology as a \u201cdouble nephew\u201d of noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Bernay\u2019s mother was Freud\u2019s sister and his father\u2019s sister was married to Freud. Bernays also promoted Freud and leveraged that relationship to establish his own reputation as a theorist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the public relations<\/a> profession, Bernays is known for pioneering the application of psychology to craft campaigns aimed at persuading the public. He referred to his technique of molding opinions as the \u201cengineering of consent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His embrace of propaganda and manipulation of the masses for the overall good of business and society in the 1930s resulted in some critics comparing him to fascists like Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bernays\u2019 visibility and reputation earned him some large clients like Procter & Gamble, the American Tobacco Company, Best Foods, Cartier, CBS, Dodge Motors, General Electric, the United Fruit Company and the 1939 New York World\u2019s Fair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the non-profit side, Bernays represented many charities and managed the NAACP\u2019s first convention in Atlanta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was considered a big success because of the absence of violence and a tribute to African Americans for their contributions to the south.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several names usually come up whenever this question is asked. One is P.T. Barnum, best known for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus and coining the phrase: \u201cThere\u2019s a sucker …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[271,19],"tags":[250],"yoast_head":"\r\nWho is the Father of Modern Public Relations? | PR Father<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Several names usually come up whenever this question is asked. One is P.T. 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