Birth Of Public Relations: The Origin

Birth of Public Relations: The origin

Birth of Public Relations:

Public relations appear with the beginnings of civilization. The primitive technique of this discipline was developed in the field of political science. At first the force was used to convince others, at this time public relations were sitting. It can be said that they are born when the population realizes that intercommunication needs and that so that it works they need minimal knowledge.

We can say that his birth was at the end of the 19th century in the United States. The first time the term was used is not clear since it is said that its first official use occurred in 1882 by Dorman Eaton, lawyer, at a conference. What is clear is the creation of the First Public Relations Department in 1897 by the Westinghouse firm.

The creation of the public relations concept as we know it currently can be divided into five stages. The first from the end of the 19th century to 1914, the second from 1914 to 1918, the third from 1919 to 1929, the fourth from 1929 to 1945, and, finally, from 1945.

Initial stage of public relations (until 1914):

The main figure of this stage is Ivy Ledbetter Lee. He is hired in order to start communication activities for various people and institutions. Ivy was a journalist graduated in Princeton who founded in 1904 the first public relations office in New York. "It was intended to mentalize society of the need for a commitment between social forces in litigation" [Footnoteref: 1].

Everything came because at that time the defense of the workers was non -existent. For these abuses journalists decided to denounce these situations. Those who denounced the situations were named Muckrakers. "Entrepreneurs to all this responded violently, purchase of journalists or blackmail to silence criticisms.". 

The workers’ movements denounced excesses with the creation of information instruments, publish them in different sections and federations. But the employers were not far behind, they also had their own newspapers where they expressed their concerns and thoughts. Due to the stir of the demand for improvement by the workers, entrepreneurs have to establish improvements that they must explain to the community. “That responsibility seeks a deep change from collective behavior, eliminating the recurring surface campaigns of the public images of organizations.”[Footnoteref: 3] Press agents are separated in order to have a more open and sincere relationship. Lee says: “The work we develop in the name of commercial companies and public institutions is to facilitate the press and public of the United States informative, fast and precise matter, especially matter whose value and interest makes it worthy ofbe recognized by them ".

In 1914 John Rockefeller Jr. hired Lee to calm the press and improve the image of the family, all damaged by the repression of the strikers who ended with 28 dead. This campaign is formed by five points.

1. You have to defend using the flank where you are most attacked.
2. To end the rumors you have to say the economy of societies.
3. “Propagate the figures of fees and taxes paid to the State by the Rockefeller firms, tryingthe progress of the country.
4. Take advantage of the effects to present them as virtues. Done to Hospitals Foundations, creates a foundation. With this he gets good opinion from the public towards the name of the company.

"Lee was also responsible for improving the image of the Pennsylvania Rail Road company that was in the spotlight for the derailment of one of the wagons". He decides to carry a policy of clarity informing of the facts and making the public integrate into the matter. The railroad ends up being presented as the vehicle of the future. 

Lee’s main actions consisted of finishing the conception of a press agent as a bad news cover of the patterns. He promulgates free information as theoretical foundation. It also ends the conception of informative activity for the acceptance of corporations or other entities mixed with advertising without discriminating from other concomitant activities. It encourages the conception of public relations as a set of defensive and offensive actions achieving good acceptance and alleviating the bad. As we have said previously it breaks with the conception of a press agent and devised a technique that consists in relating the pattern to philanthropic activities, as it did in helping the Rockefeller with the creation of the Foundation.

Second stage from 1914 to 1918:

The foregoing begins to be studied by a scientific method, all thanks to the entrance of the United States into World War I. It needed to influence public opinion. With the war, professionals from different areas focus on trying to control public opinion. Wilson, the president, thanks to his friend, George Creel, forms the Public Information Committee that allows the technological takeoff of the new profession.

Creel was the former editor of Rocky Mountain News and brought together a team of professionals from various media organizing the most complete and large public relations agency. The creation of this agency showed that public opinion can be influenced, to do this possible, only an adequate human infrastructure is needed, an economic budget according to the marked objectives and sufficient time. The techniques to elaborate and present the messages of an idea of patriotism in large population masses were tested. For this committee many workers at the end of the war period signed with private companies.

Third stage from 1918 to 1929

Public relations agencies are opened after the efficacy demonstrated in World War I. In the Bernayys, Sociologist and Psychologist, is an author about the first study of this discipline. He also gets this to get a more academic role as he enters as a subject at the University of New York, this is a recognition for the profession. With him public relations begin a study for scientific discipline, the study is ended by intuition. Thanks to him “it is thought that they are an activity that must be carried by professionals and that the criteria with which they must act must be rigorous and based on postulates of scientific methodology.

Fourth stage from 1929 to 1945

At the beginning of this stage we find the Happy 20s, an era of economic expansion. To get out of the crisis the New Deal is created. Not only need to gather economic power but also the psychological support of the population, so the media is used. Fireeside chats intend to bring the president’s figure closer to the population. Fundamental aspects to citizens were explained, with Roosevelt there were 8 talks, six in the period of one year. Another technique used Roosevelt was meetings with journalists in the Oval Hall. He made a press conferences on Tuesdays and Fridays where journalists of the new projects were informed, the situation of the country … with this was a close relationship with the journalists who could later benefit him. "In his second term there were 374 meetings and in the final period, 337"

All these actions helped him to obtain the support of the media that in turn favored his renewal as president.

Public relations got the population to support the country’s participation in the war and that the greatest war effort was dedicated, for this the War Information Office was created (directed by Elmer Davis, former New York Times journalist) Times). This was responsible for coordinating information and ensuring the support of the population thanks to the promotion of the purchase of war bonds and the help of the media which supported the war needs.

In Europe, the use of communication techniques also began. Goebbels said: “With sufficient repetition and the psychological understanding of the people involved, it would not be impossible to prove that in fact a circle is a square. After all, what are a square and a circle? They are mere words, and words can mold to disguise ideas "

Later, negative and manipulative actions began to be used that had a very negative effect, they got the population not to accept the new media due to the fear of manipulation ability that they had.

Last stage, from 1945:

From 1945 the United States has the greatest social, political and economic influence. Public relations activities begin to arrive in Spain thanks to multinational companies that transfer their internal structure and operation. This led to some Spanish companies, due to the need to compete, develop public relations strategies, nothing effective compared to Americans.

Public relations in Spain

With the end of World War II, American theoretical, technical and research concepts were imported since Spain was immersed in a dictatorship that prevented freedom of the press. There was no freedom of the press either the function of public relations, which will begin to be present in the country at the end of the 70s. In Europe there was a remarkable delay in discipline taking into account the United States as the main reference and precursor of the same.

In Spain we find that the evolution of public relations is done in two different ways, by the professional field and for its academic study. Professional activity ended up being ahead of the academic.

In 1971 a list of public relations professionals began to be published. The following year, the Trade Union Association of Public Relations Technicians is created thanks to the increase in professionals.

A collaborative environment begins to create where there were multinational companies that were installed in Spain to give their communicative services to other multinationals. In the 80s, the Spanish economy is considerably improved, so much of the current public relations companies are created, to this we must add the companies that emerged due to the different acts related to the year 92 (Olympic Games in Barcelona) that motivated theCreation of companies in charge of the communicative strategies of the participating companies.

Currently companies continue to dedicate much of their communication budget to activities related to the commercial aspect.

Urzáiz was an important promoter of public relations in Spain that public two important works that helped public relations in Spain. In 1971 his first work came the theory and technique of public relations where he talks about the lack of information we have about discipline and everything that remains to learn from it. In 1977 we found his second book Public Relations Planning that deals with the legal and legal of the profession in Spain. Thanks to him, this discipline entered universities between 1971 and 1972.

In Spain there were many deficiencies regarding other countries since it did not take so long to investigate the subject. Most professionals came from other countries, especially from the United States. When experts from different places joined there was a clash of information, the investigations were not homogeneous. The way to find out of each was also different. The different existing models did not have a basic support investigation what was a problem, especially for press or publicity agent models and public information. With the bidirectional model there were more inquiries when the most novel and of which less information was known. In the end for the profiles of the professionals in charge of the new discipline there was an approach to the unidirectional models. Compared to the rhythm of research in the United States Spain was far from the discipline there, taking into account its theoretical and technical development. This is also due to the least Spanish financing.

In the early 80s there is an economic improvement as previously appointed and together with the greatest freedom of citizens, thanks to Franco’s death and the attempt to be a democratic country, public relations begin to be able to develop with freedom. There are university professionals in the discipline which means the true beginning of public relations in Spain. In the middle of the 90s we find the first market opening in the field which means an investment improvement, for companies, in public relations. Thanks to the above, advertising and consulting agencies appear in Spain, being the pioneer Burson Marsteller.

At the end of the 80s, the communication department of the different companies begins to grow since there is a greater demand of it, at first the demand came from the means of policy and public personalities, later also demand the senior executives.

In the 90s the business volume becomes massive, which causes the appearance of small and medium -sized companies, which in turn makes public relations in Spain consolidate.

From this moment on there is an increase in research in the subject that lasts to this day, but the research that has been carried out is still scarce.

At present, the Bachelor of Advertising and Public Relations is fully inserted in the Faculties of Information/Communication Sciences.