The man often acknowledged as the "father of public relations" - a notion he openly promoted. In his landmark 1923 book Crystallizing Public Opinion, Bernays coined the phrase "public relations counsel" and first articulated the concept of two-way public relations. Bernays was a nephew of noted psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Committee for Public Information (CPI)
Committee created by President Woodrow Wilson to rally public opinion in support of U.S. efforts during World War I. Often referred to as the Creel Committee, it was headed by former journalist George Creel and served as a training ground for many early public relations practitioners.
Crystallizing Public Opinion
Book authored by Edward L. Bernays in 1923, in which the term public relations counsel first appeared. In the book, Bernays also became the first to articulate the concept of two-way public relations.
"Declaration of Principles"
Ivy Ledbetter Lee's 1906 articulation of an ethical foundation for the yet-to-be-named profession of public relations. In his declaration Lee committed his publicity agency to a standard of openness, truth, and accuracy - one that was not, unfortunately, always met.
downsizing
Reduction in an organization's workforce. Because of economic globalization and technological advances during the last quarter of the 20th century, organizations were forced to do more with fewer employees to remain competitive.
Federalist Papers
Essays written to New York newspapers by John Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the nom de plume "Publius" in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The essays have been called the "finest public relations effort in history."
First Amendment
The constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Its ratification in 1789 in considered the most significant event in the development of public relations in the United States.
Four-Minute Men
A speakers' bureau utilized by the Committee for Public Information (Creel Committee) during World War I. Its members would make short presentations in support of the U.S. war effort during the four-minute intermissions between reels at movie theaters.
Industrial Revolution
The period in the 19th and early 20th centuries during which the United States and other Western nations moved from an agricultural to a manufacturing economy.
Ivy Lee Ledbetter
Author of the "Declaration of Priniciples" in 1906. Lee became the first practitioner to articulate a vision of open, honest, and ethical communication for the profession - but became known by his critics as "Poison Ivy" for not living up to those standards.
Office of War Information (OWI)
An agency created by President Franklin Roosevelt to disseminate government information during World War II. Headed by former journalist Elmer Davis, it was a training ground for future public relations practitioners. It evolved after the war into the Unites Sates Information Agency.
Progressive Era
Running frm the early 1890s until the start of World War I, a period in which a series of political and social reforms, primarily in the United States, occured in reaction to the growth of business and industry during the Industrial Revolution.
propaganda
A systematic effort to disseminate information, some of which may be inaccurate or incomplete, in an attempt to influence public opinion. A propagandist advocates a particular idea or perspective to the exclusion of all others.
Publicity Bureau
The first public relations agency, founded by George V.S. Michaels and two partners in Boston in 1900.
rhetoric
The use of communication for the purpose of persuasion. In some of its applications, the practice of public relations is a rhetorical activity.
Seedbed Years
A term coined by public relations historian Scott Cutlip that refers to the period during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in which the modern practice of public relations emerged.
vox populi
Latin for "voice of the people." The phrase refers to the importance of public opinion.
