American Journalism

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The State of Public Relations History

Margot Opdycke Lamme , Jacquie L'etang & Burton St. John III

To cite this article: Margot Opdycke Lamme , Jacquie L'etang & Burton St. John III
(2009) The State of Public Relations History, American Journalism, 26:1, 156-159, DOI:
10.1080/08821127.2009.10677705

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2009.10677705

Published online: 03 Jun 2013.

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 The State of Public Relations History
Margot Opdycke Lamme
The University ofAlabama

Jacquie L'Etang
The University of Stirling

Burton St. John III

Old Dominion University

Published scholarship in public relations history by PR aca-

demics has reached a critical mass, a historiographically significant
development, given the context and experience in and about PR that
these scholars bring to their historical interpretations. However,
these aspects have not always been in the foreground of the litera-
ture. Hence, this essay presents some areas of consideration in con-
tinuing to grow public relations history. 1
First, more attention should be given to defining the field itself,
of delineating between the history of the words "public relations"
and the history of their function.' In fact, relying on Hall's technic
and praxis in looking back, rather than on modem terms, could lead
to much needed elaboration (e.g., how to know that it was PR) and
help avoid findings that are either too limiting (e.g., PR as media
relations) or too broad (e.g., PR as "everything'V
In this way, historical research becomes more reflexive, allow-
ing for a consideration of the formulation of research questions and

156· American Journalism-

their relationship to current paradigms. These should be grounded
in the idea that PR occurs in the context of other change. That is,
PR history should be examined through the "interrelationship of
ideas and action."? In doing so, history can expand beyond Aristote-
lian critiques to include broader societal, cultural, and institutional
frameworks.
Indeed, more such contextualization accompanied by appropri-
ate links to the larger body of knowledge in communications and!
or mass communications would continue to enhance the quality of
historical scholarship in PR and help to shift PR history into the
mainstream of academic history. By the same token, more global
interpretations of the field-within the context of different societies,
their cultural identities and indigenous populations, and the effect of
colonialism/imperialism-are needed to expand beyond a dominant
U.S. typology and to build a body ofknowledge more representative
of the field as a whole.
This could, in turn, lead to the emergence of more diverse theo-
ries of public relations history (and the practice) and greater un-
derstanding about the role of PR history in theory building. That
role has been largely limited by Grunig and Hunt's four models,
which were based on one progressive interpretation ofAmerican PR
history in which U.S. PR evolved from bad to best practices over
time.' The effect has been to constrain the growth ofU.S. PR history
and to impose an ill-fitting standard (if it were applicable at all) for
understanding PR history in other countries. Thus, including more
context and theory could more strongly connect the history of the
field to the field itself.
PR historians also could explore the field's distinct roles in the
service of vital political interests, of more limited private interests
of particular clients, of societal interests, and of specific interests
arising at key points in history, such as progressivism or McCa-
rthyism. For example, although differences exist between PR and
propaganda concerning accountability, feedback, and the systems in
which they operate, they also share some theoretical and tactical un-
derpinnings, such as the use of symbols, persuasion, and rhetorical
devices. Indeed, there is great need for historians to examine how
PR's association with such tools has often put the practice in tension
with democratic ideals. Thus, studies could address how PR reached
discrete audiences within the mass, how PR and propaganda op-
erated in symbiosis within and across societies, particularly those
that appeared to have had a more voluntary and non-coercive public
sphere, and how PR, informed by the propaganda sensibilities en-

- Winter 2009 • 157

 demic in emerging and developed cultures, attempted to construct
and relay truths to citizenries." Additional research could focus on
how emerging technologies have informed PR strategy in reaching
out to several distinct audiences at once. Combined with its histori-
cal reliance on mediated communication and the institutions desig-
nated to provide accurate renditions of truth, more attention also
could be directed to PR's historical relationship to truth, authentic-
ity, and ethics. The relations between power elites and media and be-
tween activists and media could usefully go back into history before
America was colonized.
Another area in need offurther investigation is the role of"Oth-
ers" within PRo With 70-80 percent of the PR practice consisting of
women, there is comparatively little historical exploration ofwomen
in the field-or women who might have influenced the field. There is
an even greater need to include more people/events within their own
cultural and social contexts (versus simply dropping these "Others"
into an existing frame shaped largely by an American white male,
twentieth-century, business orientation). PR history could continue
to encompass other groups, as well, such as nonprofits, NGOs, com-
munity action, religion, and special interests.
Investigations into the professionalization of the field could be
expanded upon to consider not only those who self-identified as be-
ing in publicitylPR, but also those whose roles entailed the same
functions even though they might have defined themselves and their
work quite differently. By the same token, scholars could focus on
evidence of intention, on whether or not an initiative was planned
to engage and/or persuade sectors of the public with a clear concep-
tion of the desired effects, and, if so, how those involved knew to
do what they did. Both approaches would benefit from continued
historical inquiry into PR professional associations.
These approaches also could help advance PR history beyond
the tactical, episodic, and de-contextualized case study design. For
example, PR historians could enhance traditional archival work with
class analysis, ethnography, cliometrics, and oral history (although,
as in archival work, scholars should be mindful of a PR person-as-
interviewee's possible framing ofreputation and image). This would
help scholars break away from the colligation or patterning that re-
inforces certain areas of emphasis, such as biography, campaigns,
or corporate perspectives. It would also enrich the literature, help
to correct a current distortion concerning the importance of some
people, institutions, and events, and defuse the tendency for the pat-
tern itself to become the focus, rather than the evidence at hand.

158 • American Journalism -

Endnotes

1 For an examination of the state of U.S. public relations history, see Karen

S. Miller, "U.S. Public Relations History: Knowledge and Limitations,"

Communication Yearbook, 23 (2000): 381-420.
2 Jacquie L'Etang, "Writing PR History: Issues, Methods and Politics,"

Journal ofCammunication Management, 12, no. 4 (2008).

3 On technic and praxis, see Edward T. Hall, The Hidden Dimension (Gar-
den City, NY: Anchor Books, 1969).
4 Alan R. Raucher, Public Relations and Business, 1900-1929 (Baltimore:
The John Hopkins Press, 1968), ix.
S James E. Grunig, and Todd Hunt, Managing Public Relations (New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984).
6 Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation 0/ Men sAttitudes (New York:
Knopf, 1965).

- Winter 2009 • 159