Johnson 1 Victoria Johnson The History and Ethics of Public Relations Public Relations is a part of our everyday lives.

It effects everyday life and influences both thought and behavior. In Toxic Sludge is good for you they said that the job of public relations professionalism is to manipulate the public opinion on behalf of its clients: In other words, the best public relations is invisible public relations. The techniques used in Public Relations have been around for ages. According to Wilcox and Cameron, (37) In many ancient civilizations, people were persuaded to accept the authority of government and religion through common public relations techniques. For example, during the middle ages the Roman Catholic church used techniques such as propaganda and staged events to convince men and women in society to join the Crusades. Another example of public relations techniques can be traced back to colonial America. According to Wilcox and Cameron in Public Relations, Strategies and Tactics, The Boston Tea Party was one of the best publicity stunts of all time. Sam Adams, who is known as The father of press agentry was well aware of how symbolic protest could influence and persuade public opinion (Wilcox and Cameron 38). There are four classic models of public relations: press agentry/publicity, Public information, two-way asymmetric and two-way symmetric. The first model is known as Press agentry/publicity: this model consists of one-way communication through media to cause hype and exaggeration. Public relation agents using this model do not concern themselves with telling the truth and providing the public factual information. Phineas T. Barnum was famous for his use of Public agentry during the 1800s. Barnum was a master at using exaggeration and advertising to create massive publicity. One publicity stunt in particular that Barnum organized was the viewing of George Washingtons nursemaid, who in reality was just an ordinary black woman.

Johnson 2 Barnam created exaggerated hype about this special viewing using different media coverage and in the end made a large profit. The public paid to see nothing. Those who use the second model, known as public information have different concerns than those of press agentry. The basis of the public information model is no longer about persuading the public with disregard to truth, but rather to provide the public with factual information. Ivy Ledbetter Lee developed the basis of this model after opening his own public relations Firm: Lees emphasis was on the dissemination of truthful, accurate information rather than distortion, hype and exaggerations (Wilcox and Cameron 45). Lees commission as the publicity counselor of the Pennsylvania railroad made him realize that the public reacts positively when provided with factual information. Lee can be remembered for four important contributions to public relations: (1) advancing the concept that business and industry should align themselves with the public interest (2) dealing with top executives and carrying out no program without the active support of management, (3) maintaining open communication with the news media, and (4) emphasizing the necessity of humanizing business and bringing its public relations down to the community level of employees, customers, and neighbors. (Wilcox and Cameron 46). A further development to the public information model is two-way asymmetric: this model is based off of two way communication to persuade and understand an audience. Edward L. Bernays is known as the father of modern public relations. According to Wilcox and Cameron, Bernays main concern was listening to the audience and then using that to create feedback that would be even more persuasive.

Johnson 3 The fourth model, and the model most commonly used in modern society, is known as two-way symmetric. Two-way symmetric is two-way communication that is focused on relationship building. The model is designed to benefit both the audience and organization. Arthur W. Page is recognized for his establishment of public relations with in high levels of management. According to Wilcox and Cameron, there are six principles of public relations that the Arthur W. Page society has created: (1) tell the truth, (2) action speaks louder than words, (3) always listen to the consumer, (4)anticipate public reaction and eliminate practices that cause conflict, (5) public relations is a management and policy-making function that impacts the entire company, and (6) keep a sense of humor, or exercise judgment, and keep a cool head in times of crisis. (Wilcox and Cameron 49). Public Relations is about relationships and avoiding crisis. Although the majority of public relation firms strive to use the two-way symmetric model as the core of their public relations within an organization, there are still several practices that give public relations a bad reputation. As stated in Public Relations Cases, some of these practices are lowballing, (downplaying expectations), spinning, (one-sided facts making something more desirable), hype, (exaggerating and magnifying a product), and overgeneralization (Hayes, Hendrix, and Kumar). Therefore, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has developed a code of ethics. Ethics refers to the standards of conduct which indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues rising from principle of right and wrong (Wilcox and Cameron 66). Wilcox and Cameron lay out several points a public relations professional must take into consideration: the public interest, the employers self-interests, the standards of the public relations profession and their own personal values.

Johnson 4 A great example of a corporate business that used ethics to decide how they would respond to a crisis within their organization is Johnson & Johnson. After a correlation between many deaths and Tylenol pain reliever, Johnson & Johnson acted immediately and with sensitivity to the public. Instead of spinning the situation or recalling their product only within the areas of confirmed death, Johnson and Johnson recalled all Tylenol pain reliever and redesigned the protective seal on all bottles for the protection of the community. Johnson & Johnson considered not just their own interests, but the public interests as well. A positive relationship was established between Johnson & Johnson and its consumers for years to come. They reached a goal that all public relations professionals strive for: building relationships and avoiding crisis.