The First Amendment; Public Relations

WGBH radio in collaboration with the Institute for democratic communication at Boston University now presents the First Amendment and a free people. An examination of civil liberties and the media in the 1970s and now here is the director of the Institute for democratic communication. Dr. Bernard Reuben growth. On tonight's program we're going to take a look at the relationships between the world of professional public relations and the concerns of everybody in the First Amendment and I'm absolutely delighted to have two of the outstanding practitioners in the United States of the of the Arts and Science of public relations with me tonight. The first is Philip Leslie the president of the Philip Leslie corporation of Chicago who is a public relations counsel representing major organizations and corporations in the United States he's authored. Some of you may know Leslie's public relations handbook that people factor and managing the human climate. The second guest is Frank Bart. The second vice president of advertising and

public relations of the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company which is headquartered right here in Boston. Frank got his AB degree from Harvard in government and economics and from Boston University he was the first holder of the public relations Master of Science degree. He's the author of articles like public of professional standards in public relations in the public relations Journal and a chapter on a major industry in the handbook on public relations edited by Howard Stephenson. Gentlemen let me just ask you an open question to start with which is of great concern to everybody who is concerned with this series. Just what is the responsibility. That professional public relations people hand to the food Amendment and I think I'll start listening. Well I believe the entire basis of the First Amendment the whole justification for it is to assure and open a channel in all directions for information that is important for the public to know. In a free society

and that all directions I think is the key point as far as professional public relations is concerned. The organizations in our society all have as they become particularly complex. Need do have an input into the flow of communications as it involves them and their interests and their relations to society. And so I would say the responsibility of professional public relations in regard to the First Amendment is to take its role in connection with the organizations it works with and on behalf of to see that that part of the spectrum of the input of information the public depends on is properly and responsibly handled good. Frankly borne well in the first place I feel that the First Amendment is essential to the practice of public relations. It literally spawned public relations. I consider public relations on behalf of an organization to be an extension of individual freedom

of speech an opportunity to present views. What has happened is that as our society has become more complex it is not a simple matter for a complex organization be it a hospital a university a common cause or a corporation to present its views in a persuasive way to the public. So basically professional public relations is an extension of the First Amendment to an institution in our society. So therefore our very existence depends upon an unabridged First Amendment. So you're emphasizing responsibility there as well as the privilege and you say this comes from our heritage now you're we're all going to be attending the seventh public relations World Congress which is right now going on in Boston. This is August the 12th. It's a combined Public Relations Society of America and the

international public relations Association and the theme of it appears to be man's relationship to man and to his environment. How much responsibility do we have to the protection of the public relations of those groups and individuals who are not our sponsors who have not asked us anything but whose need is great will. Well I think first of all any people and you know any society any free society particularly. Must be responsible to the total welfare of the society if they are to have any justification for existence. Now fortunately I mean many people in public relations would feel this is a difficulty they have but I think actually it's a blessing almost everything that we professionals in public relations do must meet the standards of others before it reaches the public. For one thing the most by far the most effective type of communication material that we

disseminate is that that reaches the public through third party channels and media. The radio television newspapers magazines and so forth where an editor or a broadcaster or some other person has passed judgment on the validity and the interest in the authenticity and so forth of the information they can so called controlled information that that does not go through the judgment of a third party is far less effective on the public and that is paid advertising and printed literature that is given to a person whether he asked for it or not and so forth. The reason of much of that is used is so that it does not have to be screened through someone else's passing judgment. And psychologically the public recognizing that this is thrust up. Rather than his being something that they choose to expose themselves to because they've selected that medium as something that contains interesting and or important information to the public tends to to be far less receptive and sometimes even

counter reactive to what it gets thrust upon so that the the success of professional public relations activity in the communications area and of course there's much more to public relations and just executing communications as we know. The success of it to a large extent depends on continued responsibility. You can't fool around with and trick editors and broadcasters and so on very long and be around to practice it and continue to do it. It's a self cleansing function to a large extent. Do you feel that we have been sufficiently responsive to public relations that those in public relations to social need social problems and social unrest using the word social meaning society. Oh yeah. Well let me say that I think the advanced people in the field certainly have been ahead of most other people in private organizations. I think it's it's a little fatuous to call public relations people the conscience of their organizations or some some of our contemporaries like to do it. It's far from that. But one of our functions is

to try to sense what the trend of attitudes in our society is where they're going where they're going to lead and what kind of thing they're going to confront our clients or our employers with and to alert our managements and put them on the track of confluence with public attitudes rather than conflict with them. And so to the degree that many organizations have anticipated trends and tried to respond to them before being hit over the head by the problems much of that is due to the efforts of professional public relations people. Frank you work for one of the largest concerns in the United States indeed in the world. You probably in your 10 years of working in public relations and communications have noticed several shifts in the practice of this work for giant corporations I wonder if you'd come in a little bit on what you observed. Well very I think one of the things that has happened is that throughout the corporation there's a lot more awareness of public relations

and I mean this includes top management middle management and people at other functions. In the John Hancock we do report directly to the chairman of the board. We do attend the meetings of the executive committee. We attend the personnel budget control committee meetings these are all policymaking committees within the structure of John Hancock. So we do have an opportunity to comment on both policies and actions and also to anticipate these trends that Phil was referring to. We do a great deal of opinion research I consider this to the absolutely essential part of professional public relations and we have other ways of keeping tuned in to social trends which we include as part of our public relations planning within what we call our work plan. Good. I was interested in something that just before we started this program was in the tape start to reel off we got into the question and then I'd like to bring up again for the audience and that is the relationship between the premise and public relations. There is kind of a. The hostility here is that the press views with a lot of the work of

public relations. I'm not talking in gross tombs not every newspaper man or that sort of thing or every PR man. Why is this bill. Well there are a number of reasons that I think all come together. The media the press and the broadcast media are almost the only completely autocratic element of our society today. They are not responsible to or cannot be overruled by or or put into their place by any other element of our society. That's hardly true of any other segment of society today. That's part of much of the argument we hear about the issues involving the First Amendment that anything that comes up that is looked at in any way as possibly changing the absolute license if you will as well as the freedom of the media is an impingement in their eyes on the First Amendment now public relations people because they

are helping the organizations that retain them or employ them too. Get out the information about them to get as favorable a light on it as the facts and good judgment permits and so on become a factor in the dissemination of information and any factor that in effect the dissemination of information besides the media themselves is Rick is looked at as an impingement on this absolute freedom of the media believe they have. That's that I think is the gist underlying some conscious but very prominent factor. Another I think is more human than that and that is that the media people feel that what they see of public relations is the effort to get attention through the media that therefore public relations people depend on the media and use the media and being used as something that everyone tends to react against. And besides the field has progressed substantially a

great many people in our field are better paid. We most of us for the most part have good working hours. There are things of that sort that tend to create resentment. I think all of these things and other factors all go together. Bernie I would add to that that there still are many people who call themselves public relations practitioners who are not professional. And they are sending out news releases that are not really news. They are not tailoring communications to each of the different media. Certainly a newspaper requires one kind of a story. Television and other radio and so I think that a lot of the reason that that is the attempted misuse by the people who are not professional and really just not providing the kind of support that the news media need and want so that has to be an important consideration I know that both of you because I know both of you your work and and I know your influence upon the profession is being a very constructive one so I'm not concerned

about the company here attending. But to many people say that when public relations people present as you said the best light that the facts warrant that people like those that Frank were talking was talking about the unprofessional type. They don't present any information that is not in the favor of their client. There is a true public relations person is interested in the facts. And sometimes he will advise his boss on a heavy dose of unpleasant news that has to be forthcoming. Would either of you care to comment on that. Well there's no question about that the this gets back again to the whole subject of credibility with the media and with the public. I think the Watergate experience will go down and down in history as an outstanding example of what happens when you try to present everything in a favorable light. Even the most damning obvious facts to the contrary. The when I

say a presenting of the facts in the best light that the information in the best like the facts will warrant that means of in my opinion all of the facts and in balance and and with a very healthy respect for the skepticism and the proper skepticism on the part of the media and the public and we're getting it constantly higher educational level higher constantly higher level of skepticism on the part of the public that is all very necessary. There are many great many ramifications to this. As Frank mentioned certainly one of the greatest problems is a very substantial proportion of what is passed off as public relations information or material publicity material one form or another that is of low caliber and lacks the credibility is obviously self-serving and so forth which tends to too. Put a bad light on the whole field so that it

takes a sophisticated media person to know when he's dealing with a true highly Fala fide and reputable professional and when he's not. We've had a number of instances where top media people have told us or our clients that they're only certain number of people from whom they want to sup material. On its face value as they receive it. Fortunately we were one of those organizations but that otherwise their rule is that they must look at it as requiring verification checking and many many other things even when it's well written which is. And as we all know the caliber of writing in this country is going down all the time so that fewer and fewer things are even well written coming from public relations people or from anybody else. Do you think the public relations profession needs something like the national news Council which keeps an eye on the media in terms of a case by case statement. Well Bernie actually that's one of the functions of the Public Relations Society of America at least as it applies to its members. It is to be sure of voluntary organization. But we

do have a code of ethics and there have been cases which have been prosecuted through the procedures established in this society where there have been violations of that kill. So this is an attempt through the code of ethics and through a program that we call accreditation which is what I would consider to be just a minimal professional standards in terms of the practices field so clearly a further extension of the code of ethics and including more people who are in this field in this society motivating them to accept professional standards for example here in the New England chapter. We've had a series of professional development workshops this series this last year dealt with media relations and we dealt from the point of view of the practitioner then we had a news panel and his paper panel a television panel a radio panel and we had a constructive dialogue between the practitioners and the media people trying to resolve it face to face the kinds of problems that we're trying to assuming that is so and I don't quarrel

because that is so. The American Association of Newspaper Editors or journalists American Association of education in journalism only exist and they do the same thing toward their members they do keep some track over professionalism. But the argument over the national news comes in and goes to is whether some small independent group not associated should look from a field or afar at what is going on in addition to I think and I think that's an important point and I think that every field including the media because they need something to be responsible to and awareness that there will be consequences for or abuse that could apply here. I think a key point is that it's the visible and the tangible activities and public relations that can be evaluated or criticized or castigated. But that is. Maybe the tip of the iceberg Museo pushing more and more of the most important things the public relations people do in advising and guiding their clients is never

going to be visible outside of the room in which the discussion takes place. The most important things that are done very often for clients is to prevent them from doing the wrong things or prevent them from doing things in the wrong way so it has a wrong effect. Many of the most important things that I have done are my organization has done and in working with clients has been to show them or to help them see the implications in the course of attitudes and the make up of publics and so forth so that they would not undertake certain engine it would have been his right and you gentlemen are truly professional counselors in the ascent the essence of your job that you are not to be judged by what you disseminate but what you would want by both. But to the extent that we disseminate information we should be just as responsible as anyone else who deals with information but it's very important to recognize that that is the end of the spectrum of what is done usually. The total function involves analysis of the entire universe in which the organization exists. All of its publics the

communities the field its And all of the elements that affect that company analysis of it. Development of plans and strategies that are aimed at helping an organization and the publics it deals with a comedy to each other. The development of programs which then lead into communications activities usually but maybe not always or maybe a complete completely professional and high level public relations program the very soul of this emanates information. But it is at that point that the communication is disseminated that's the end of the process and that and that part of the spectrum then we determine what happens to the publics as a result of their communications how do they respond what what occurs and you get a feedback from that which then becomes part of the evaluation the organization makes of its situation and its reshuffling and redirecting of where it's going and what kind of a of a confluence with the public that needs to make. And that's where the real social responsibility of public relations comes in because it helps the organization. Modify

itself within the framework of what it is and how to tell it intends to be not transforming itself or becoming something different but accommodating itself to the realities and the trends of the public such dependent upon and communications as the one visible area of that and all the rest of it has at least as important. And it's not going to be visible outside of the conference room or the or anything obvious in which it occurs. Many very good points and I'd like to sort of ask you Frank to pick up on that Frank how do public relations becomes more public affair some organizations call their work public affairs. Let's not go into the argument whether they should. But as it becomes more public affairs how are corporate executives reacting across the board in the United States are they reacting as I suspect better in the larger corporations and traditionally in the smaller outfits. You know there is is there more of an ingredient of necessity as you are either transnational or a giant American corporation. Frank what's your

experience show. Well Bernie certainly all major corporations have learned the hard way that they have a very real need for a professional public relations. I think it has not been a function that has been managed very well across the boards and I think some companies do a pretty good job and some. Not that good. Phil and I were talking about this a little earlier the question of public affairs versus public relations and really we agree that it doesn't much matter what you call the function. It's really what the function does how effective it is how useful it is perceived to be by the management of a given corporation and I think that you people at the professional schools like this school of public communications Boston University have a challenge to train not only professionals in terms of the skills and the techniques of the field but also to train people who have the potential to become affective managers of large public relations operations and all kinds of institutions and you know hospitals and universities and museums and

aquaria and all kinds of institutions have public relations people. So it's not just corporations but I think that is the biggest challenge to you educators to help the public relations people that you're turning out to have the skill and the potential to be good managers as well as good practice. We're told that the next generation. Corporate chiefs will indeed come from the public affairs public relations ranks as the last generation in some part came from the controllers groups and I guess there's some good reason for that. Yes well I've taken taken a position recently in another connection that it may go the route of a troika type of management that the complexities and the needs are so great and so different so diversified that you need the chief policy officer you need the chief executive officer and you need the chief human climate officer whatever term you want to have the person who's going to deal with all of these publics and the trends and attitudes from from

government to minorities to to women to college seniors who may or may not want to work for the organization and so forth to expect any chief executive officer. He even today let alone the future to be equally able even to manage let alone to be an expert himself. You know all three types of personality let along areas of capability is almost beyond the realm of the possible. It may be that the man who has the greatest say will be the one who who has the human climate orientation and the chief executive officer may execute the functions of the corporation the chief policy officer will determine what the long range direction of the organization will be and how they're going to finance it and things of that sort. But there's no question in my mind that in almost all organizations from the government bodies that are being castigated and IC's and examined in the newspapers and the broadcast media today

to the health centers which used to be almost above reproach to the universities to the large corporation of a middle sized corporation. All of them live in jeopardy of survival if they don't have this factor very high in the corporate structure now whether it's the number one man or one of the top three men on a troika basis or whatever form it takes remains to be seen but it's going to be there. You have to as Hemingway might've said Meet the moment of truth love there and one of the officials of the organization whether it's a government agency a lot of that has to deal with the truth. I mean that's the hardest wood in the language of the truth because the truth is that if you start your policy making room there's got to be this public relations public affairs person. And I think we're just beginning to accept that maybe we should run a reel of the head of General Motors before a Senate committee at the wrong time to remind

people of how recently this was open to debate. Well yes there are a great many complications to this. We know there's no question the fact that today the climate in this country is for everything to be performed openly. It's almost impossible in my opinion to effectively conduct a good many operations if everything is going to be in a glass bowl. It's not possible to negotiate if everything that you are going to say is going to be immediately instantly open to public scrutiny. You don't negotiate. You only put forward those things that you know will be acceptable. And we have no question of implications of any other sort that's not negotiation. It's impossible to come up with a wide range of alternatives if you know that what you're doing is is and thinking out loud

if you will brainstorming used to be the term where by throwing out a lot of alternatives you hope to settle on the best ones by exposure and trial and error because if you do that if everything you throw out is going to be subject to scrutiny and publication and broadcast for a ridiculous Innes or whatever else it may be no one is going to is going to throw those out. He's going to come in only with a with the suggestions that he feels are. Are beyond reproach and so one of the one of the tenets you see is that we must have confidentiality and openness at the same time we've got to have open covenants openly arrived at in the same time we've got to have sense in corporate management. These are difficult things we're observing our bicentennial I think a key point is that the entire discussion of the Declaration of Independence was conducted behind closed doors in absolute secrecy or we would not have the government of United States today. That's an absolute fact. For me I would simply add that going back to the First Amendment again James Madison and writing in The Federalist Papers made what

I think is a very descriptive phrase that describes public relations today and that is that our society as a polity of pressure groups and without freedom of speech without freedom of the media you can't really have these diverse differing points of view different ideas being aired and basically what we are as you know 200 years later an extension of that notion we are helping to continue that tradition of a polity of pressure groups in a free society. Well polity and policy go together it seems that the science of public relations essentially on a policy science and policy. However the manifestation might be tangible to the constituent that you're dealing with. Is that a fair assumption. Yes I would say it is. But of course it goes far beyond that in many respects.

The. The organ we have a we have a climate going back to the First Amendment. And I would do nothing to weaken the effect or the intention of the First Amendment but I think we have to recognize what burdens it puts upon us and what limitations it creates for our society. The the the fact that no responsibility of the consequences is imposed upon or faced by the media has transformed our society in the last few years. When in the pursuit of what makes good audience material the media stress the harmful and the sensational and do very little to present the other side and the constructive and the alternatives we end up with a defeatist frame of mind in this country and that's where we are today. Well I'm certainly glad to have had you you are not defeatist and frankly Bart certainly is not

defeatist and very little Lesley frankly but with me and this is kind of a small celebration of the fact through examination of an issue that the seventh public relations World Congress is no and being hosted in Boston Massachusetts and people from all over the world are taking a look I think essentially public relations that came from a society that provided the First Amendment This is Bernard Rubin saying thank you. There will be few VHF radio fostered in cooperation with the Institute for democratic communication at Boston University has presented the First Amendment and a free people. An examination of civil liberties and the media in the 1970s. This program was recorded in the studios of WGBH radio Boston.