Public Relations

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. The aim of public relations by a company often is to persuade the public, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to maintain a certain point of view about it, its leadership, products, or of political decisions. Common activities include speaking at conferences, winning industry awards, working with the press, and employee communication.



Arthur W. Page is sometimes considered to be the father of "corporate public relations" for his work with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company from 1927 to 1946. The company's newly attained monopoly had led to public distrust due to its control over the communications network.[45] In the early 1900s, AT&T had assessed that 90% of its press coverage was negative, which was reduced to 60 percent by changing its business practices and disseminating information to the press. Page positioned the company as a public utility and increased the public's appreciation for the company's contributions to society.


Ivy Lee, a former Wall Street reporter, is sometimes called the father of public relations and was influential in establishing it as a professional practice. In 1906, Lee published a Declaration of Principles, which said that public relations work should be done in the open, should be accurate and cover topics of public interest. Ivy Lee is also credited with developing the modern press release and the "two-way-street" philosophy of both listening to and communicating with respective publics.
In practice Lee's work was often identified as spin or propaganda. In 1913 and 1914 the mining union was blaming the Ludlow Massacre, where on-strike miners and their families were killed by state militia, on the Rockefeller family and their coal mining operation, The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. On the Rockefeller family's behalf, Lee published bulletins called "Facts Concerning the Struggle in Colorado for Industrial Freedom," which contained false and misleading information. The press said Lee "twisted the facts" and called him a "paid liar," a "hired slanderer," and a "poisoner of public opinion."
Public relations is the art of engaging the public through the media and influencing opinion. For many companies it is an essential part of their marketing strategy. For others, it can supplement a strong marketing/advertising push to create a comprehensive external communications efforts. Examples of public relations include press releases, social media, answering customer inquiries and most importantly, engaging the media (newspapers, magazines, television etc.).