Edward Bernay Public Relations Analysis

1176 Words5 Pages

Introduction.
Public relations is the premeditated communication process that shapes mutually beneficial relations between firms and their publics. Public relations practitioners are the people who carry out the communication tasks becoming the liaison between the firm and its publics. Two of the most noteworthy public relations practitioners who played great roles in the creation of the modern day Public relations are Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays.
Ivy Lee.
He is frequently named as the father of modern public relations. Lee believed that the public should be informed and also recognized that good words had to be supported by positive actions on the part of individuals and organizations. Through his work in corporate America, he helped map out …show more content…

Bernays was an intellectual leader in the public relations field. He coined the phrase ‘public relations counsel’, wrote the first book on public relations - Crystallizing Public Opinion, and lectured at the first college-level public relations class at New York University. He emphasized the social science contribution to public relations and was a leading advocate for public relations professionalism through practitioners having the right credentials and being licensed.
Bernays graduated from Cornell University and first started out as an editor but quickly found his career path in public relations. Together with Doris, his wife, Bernays opened a public relations office after World War I (Encyclopedia of Britannica).
During Bernays’ time at American Tobacco Company, he made one of his most significant workplace contribution to public relations. His approach focused on sponsorship and persuasion to change the public’s perception and behavior (Wilcox et al., 2013). In 1929, the president of the American Tobacco Company, George W. Hill wanted women to feel free to smoke cigarettes outdoors which was then considered a taboo. As a consultant, Bernays came up with a genius plan of associating women smoking cigarettes as a sign of emancipation from a male-controlled society and labeled the campaign as ‘Torches for Freedom’ (Mostegel, …show more content…

H. (2013). A golden opportunity? edward bernays and the dilemma of ethics. American Journalism, 30(4), 496-519.
Colf, R. T. (2007). Who's the father of public relations? Public Relations Strategist, 13(4), 24-27.
Encyclopaedia of Britannica. (n.d.). Edward L. Bernays. Encyclopaedia of Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays
Hallahan, K. (1999). Seven models of framing: implications for public relations. Moodle. Retrieved September 7, 2016
Hallahan, K. (2002). Ivy lee and the rockefellers' response to the 1913-1914 colorado coal strike. Journal of Public Relations Research, 14(4), 265-315.
Morris, T. (2014, August 25). Ivy Lee and the origins of the press release. Behind the Spin. http://www.behindthespin.com/features/ivy-lee-and-the-origins-of-the-press-release
Mostegel, I. (2016). The great manipulator. History Today, 66(1), 41.
Olasky, M. N. (1987). Ivy lee: Minimizing competition through public relations. Public Relations Quarterly, 32(3), 9.
Wilcox, D. L., Cameron, G. T., Reber, B. H., & Shin, J. (2013). THINK public relations. Boston, Massachusetts:

Open Document