Public Relations Defined
James Hay
University of Phoenix
Public Relations
MKT 438
Michelle Thyfault, Facilitator
12/1/06
Public relations, what is it? Almost since the beginning of time itself, public relations appear to have been used frequently while still maintaining a air of remaining anonymous and vague. Several individuals have attempted to describe this function commonly associated with business but not two can agree on the specifics behind this powerful corporate tool.
Back in 1923, a man named Edward Bernays, who ran a business devoted to public relations counseling, described public relations as: "information given to the public, persuasion directed at the public to modify attitudes and actions, and efforts to integrate attitudes and actions of an institution with its publics and of publics with those of that institution." (Edward L. Bernays, 1961) While being straight forward, though brief in his description, Mr. Bernays obviously does not cover every aspect of just what public relations is intended to be.
More recently, in a publication called the Public Relations Journal (1981) Philip Lesly described what he believed public relations entailed. In the article, he describes public relations as:
"a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends ...