Edward Bernays Essay

He is portrayed as just another broadcaster throughout the early coverage of European affairs and does not stand out as a star until his broadcasts from London. He did essentially shape the way news programs report and the simple inclusion of much of his early career proves this easily.

Bernays' life was amazing in many ways. He had a role in many of the seminal intellectual and commercial events of this century. "The techniques he developed fast became staples of political campaigns and of image-making in general," Tye notes. "That is why it is essential to understand Edward L. Bernays if we are to understand what Hill and Knowlton did in Iraq--not to mention how Richard Nixon was able to dig his way out of his post-Watergate depths and remake himself into an elder statesman worthy of a lavish state funeral, how Richard Morris repositioned President Bill Clinton as an ideological centrist in order to get him reelected, and how most other modern-day miracles of public relations are conceived and carried out."

My public relations experience is mostly from two intense stints at the public relations consultancy Nam Consult and as the chief publicity and marketing executive for the poetry, music and art extravaganza, The B.O.G.O.F. I joined Nam Consult as an intern in January 2009 and after my internship was asked to stay. At Nam Consult I learnt about the challenges in running a PR business. In retrospect I learnt a deep appreciation for what it takes to be an entrepreneur in Marketing and Communication. The drive and persistence need to keep going in the field are astounding.

The leading pioneer in this new approach to public relations was IVY Ledbetter Lee, a former business for journalist for the New York Times, the New York World, and the New York American. He began as publicist, but shortly expanded that role to be regarded as the first public relations counsel.

In an interview with Richard Weiner, “The Practice of Public Relations,” he argues that that the top management of an organization will often contract help from an outside agency. Weiner, chief executive of Richard Weiner, Inc., a major public relations agency in New York city, contends that an outside agency is more likely to be proficient in media relations, and thus, more capable of attempting to achieve significant publicity in major media. Management is more likely to respect, and act on, the advice of an outside counselor as compared to their staff (270, 271).

Early PR practices were deemed "press agentry" and were thought of a group that fell into a comparison with propaganda. This was because of the use of hype and manipulation of information. For the most part during development of the practice, there was little to no ethical boundaries. In the early 1900's however, there was a major focus on using factual information and labeling it public information, though somewhat manipulation, in order to help gain the public's interest or trust. This factual information however, was based solely around one-way communication, where the information was published simply for the knowledge of others, and not necessarily with the expectation that any action would come of the information. Of course the name of the game in public relations was always to convince someone to change or solidify their opinion on a topic or issue, in the

Heather Brooke once said, “Public relations is at best promotion or manipulation, at worst evasion and outright deception. What it is never about is a free flow of information.” Describing the endeavor desire for power can appear to be genuine flawlessness, however one ought to be watchful what they wish for, in light of the fact that that power may be precisely what causes their ruin. William Shakespeare's account of a man named Macbeth vividly explains the force of manipulating power within relationships.\r\nMacbeth’s destructive choices propelled the action forward because he was strongly influenced by the manipulations of others around him causing self-destruction. William Shakespeare’s patronizing play,

It's a good time to be a public relations firm. After a lengthy "Muckraking Movement", these companies need to establish a good image in the public mind, before the two failure of news propaganda, provide a good experience for Avi Lee, to avoid a lot of detours. Avi Richts, creative thinking. Avi Lee's idea of public relations is: "the public must be quickly informed" - to tell the truth to the public". He often provides free press bulletin for the newspaper, provides the public with the objective news material, to give up the industry has always been a sacred secret. So that the public and the media, the establishment of trust between enterprises. Again, the reporter's experience. Mr Li himself and his colleagues, most of whom have been diverted

Thomas Jefferson (1807) used the phrase “Public Relations” in the place of “State of thought” while writing his seventh address to the US congress. In case of India, we chose to go in a systematic and organized practice of PR, which was initiated by Indian Railways. Over time, the Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railways developed and showcased a campaign in the 20s. The sole objective of the campaign was to attract tourists to India. In case of India, the Publicity Bureau introduced a slew of measures right from developing and showcasing a travelling cinema which held open air shows at fairs, festivals and other places, extensive advertising in newspapers and journals besides practicing in exhibitions abroad to popularize the Indian Railways all with the idea of increasing the tourists in India.

During the twentieth century public relations operated with a ‘thin’ understanding of ethics, which caused complex problems for society. To understand why and how this happened we must first understand what ethics and public relations are and how they work together. Public relations is ‘the management of communication between an organization and its publics’ (Tench & Yeomans 2009, p. 5)); its role is to establish a positive relationship between an organisation (or individual) and society. Public relations has power – with that power comes a responsibility to be ethical, accurate and aware. Ethics is ‘the study of individual and collective moral awareness’ (Grassian 1992, p. 3); ethics allow people to identify what is ‘right and wrong, good and bad’ (Breit 2007, p. 309). Making ethical choices in public relations means to have honesty, loyalty, respect and integrity. Throughout this essay I will discuss why public relations has been perceived as unethical and examples of unethical communication; I will then

Noam Chomsky talks about an abundance of points in the 1992 documentary, Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky And The Media. However, one main point that stuck out was Chomsky’s view on Public Relations in the media. One might wonder what public relations involves, well it involves advertisements for a company or a group. Chomsky views public relations in a naysay style and aims to grasp the true meanings behind each.

With rise of CNN, the first 24 Hour News, in the early 1980s continued practice of promotion journalism. But soon

"Public relations is the management of communication between an organization and its publics." (Grunig & Hunt's, 1984)

Therefore Bernay gives us three tendencies of fundamental importance’s. Tendency number one, “increase public interest in industrial aggregations” (Bernay, 1923, p. 66). The first tendency basically tells PR practitioners that it is important to keep their clients and public happy. They need to find a way to make themselves stay relevant and keeping up with what the public want. Second tendency “the increased readiness of the public, due to spread of literacy and democratic forms of government” (Bernay, 1923, p. 66). News spread out like wildfires, when a controversy happens within the government or entertainment industry, public relations has to keep up with it and put that fire out, or else people will keep on misunderstanding and demanding information. Lastly tendency three, “keen competition for public favor due to modern methods of ‘selling’” (Bernays, 1923. P 66). The public relations field is as competitive like every other career fields out there. To be a good practitioner you need to have networking and being able to handle any sort situations, that is what will keep you high in the competition.

Only recently being recognized as a discipline in itself, modern day professional public relations practices can trace its roots to the early 1900s where the first public relations firm, the Publicity Bureau, was founded in Boston. In 1923, Austrian-American public relations pioneer, Edward Bernays, identified three fundamental concepts of public relations. In 1984, American theorists, Grunig and Hunt, conceptualized the now-famous four models of public relations and the excellence theory that were generally adopted by public relation agencies across the globe. With so many significant milestones and theories of public relations established in the United States, it stands to reason that public relation practices would naturally adopt a western perspective.