Ivy Ledbetter Lee's Theory Of Public Relations

Public relations is a profession with several pioneers, and the period of 1900-1916 saw the development of public relations skills by the railroads and the public utilities (Broom and Sha 86). Ivy Ledbetter Lee’s statement of philosophy influenced the evolution of press agentry and publicity into public relations (Broom and Sha 87). He went against the prevailing feeling on Wall Street that the public does not matter (Broom and Sha 87). His declaration made it clear that public was to no longer be ignored, in the traditional manner of business, nor fooled, in the continuing manner of the press agent (Broom and Sha 87). He advocated that the public would be informed (Broom and Sha 87). Furthermore, Lee used a new approach that simplifies the

According to Broom and Sha, “he was among the first to realize the fallacy of publicity not supported by good works and to reason that performance determines the publicity a client gets” (Broom and Sha 87). Lee changed the extent of what he did from publicity to counseling clients (Broom and Sha 87). He said that “if you issue an untruth in a public statement, it is going to be challenged just as soon as it sees the light” (Broom and Sha 87). He went beyond publicity and even went to advise others that the “actual relationship of a company to the people… involves far more than saying-it involves doing” (Broom and Sha

Bernays is considered to be the father of public relations (Broom and Sha 92). He is credited with introducing the term “public relations counsel” in Crystallizing Public Opinion, which is the first book on public relations (Broom and Sha 91). Also, he fill his life with the thought of “engineering public consent” (Broom and Sha 91). With his wife, he created the first public newsletter, and coined the term “public relations counsel” (Broom and Sha 91). John Hill started a public relations firm in Manhattan in 1927 (Broom and Sha 92). He was the guiding force in the formation of the Tobacco Industry Research Committee and later the Tobacco Institute (Broom and Sha 93). In 1933, he formed a partnership with Don Knowlton to create Hill and Knowlton Inc, which would later be bought by the J. Walter Thompson Company’s advertising agency for $28 million (Broom and Sha 92). Lastly, he advised his client companies to not use policies that were against the public interest (Broom and Sha