The First Amendment; Edward Bernays

The First Amendment and the Free People Weekly examination of civil liberties in the media in the 1970s produced by WGBH radio Boston in cooperation with the Institute for democratic communication at Boston University. The host of the program is the institute's director Dr. Bernard Reuben. What is the state of the profession of public relations today. What does one of its most eminent critics say about it. I don't think that anyone can introduce Edward Elbern H to the field of public relations or vice versa. He is widely heralded as the father of public relations as a profession. Indeed as a major interest in in social science for many many years social science and public relations have not been twins and Edward L. Bernays recently in a public relations Quarterly article called education for PR a call to action criticize the field saying that there is not enough attention to what should be treated as applied social

science. The action he said and I'm quoting now must be based on Applied Social Science applying to the problem at hand what social scientists have learned about group and individual behavior. This cannot be done effectively by hunch and insight. It must be done through applying the findings of psychology social psychology cultural anthropology cultural anthropology history and so on. Edward Elgar NE's is also widely known as perhaps one of the most far flung theorists far flung in the sense that there is hardly anything involving public relations that he has not debated or argued over. His books include crystallizing public opinion which was published in 1923 and since then a succession of books propaganda nine thousand twenty eight. An outline of a career in one thousand twenty seven public relations nine hundred fifty four. The engineering of consent speak up for democracy. His autobiography which is a sterling book

biography of an idea Memoirs of a Public Relations Council 965 overseas informations programs 971 his books have been translated into numerous languages. Edward L. Bernays. Please go on with this thought of yours that the profession of public relations has not paid sufficient attention to social science. I think it is even more than the profession not paying attention to social science. It is the educational field which is preparing young men and women supposedly for public relations not paying enough attention to the field. Apparently once has happened is that the departments or colleges of Communication and Journalism have simply taken over public relations and have treated it

as skills in writing instead of treating it as a field in which a societal technician advises on adjustment and leadership. You know this. This is true I daresay that we at Boston University have tried to apply social science as much as any organized school but I do agree with your premise that there is a dichotomy here between the wordsmiths and between the social theorists. Why is there such a stress on on words or on advertising as well. I think there is the stress on words because as the people who are in power in the colleges of journalism and of communication think of words as the basis of their teaching they

don't think of action. What they do is to report action rather than developing action so that. In their teaching they think of this field as being a field in which messengers of information being taught how to disseminate information instead of teaching the young men and women the basics of human behavior so that they can advise their clients or their employers on how to behave. These are be the public. You know the words you're saying that the study should be of the relationships that exist between individuals and groups in our society before you move on before you move onto words because unless you know what these relationships are how to intensify favorable attitudes how to convert

those on the fence or how to negate false views impressions or prejudice. You know words are only going to be words unless you know what the basis is. Action is that legitimatizes the words you just become a word monger which means nothing. And your client or your employer may be carrying out actions that have no relationship to the words. You know their words or they may not be carrying out any action. Let's take a few examples. You may have an affirmative action program without any affirmative action satisfied that you have the words and that you have the schema and that everybody is satisfied that you are bubbling with activity. Or you may have pollution and your employer may not recognize that pollution is an anti-social act and you put out words about the goodness of the product when there is no social

responsibility on the part of the employer towards the public upon whom is dependent for his livelihood and his profit. Let me ask you a question on. Pregnant thought Renee as it's usually been assumed that public relations is an organized working relationship between commercial corporations industrial organizations and very very err you died people in the field of public relations. Would you feel that that should be challenged. Is it not a public relations obligation the public relations obligation to be concerned with social relationships regardless of the financial underpinning or lack of them. Absolutely. In other words if I were to define the public relations man or woman I would say that he or she is a societal technician

who advises his or her client or employer. All those actions that impinge on the public in order that these actions may be consistent with the social goals of the employer and may also be consistent with social responsibility and what is expected of the principal. From six expected of the principal by the public what the PUBLIC RELATIONS ADVISOR does is to analyze the present situation. The principal is in Visa V of the public's upon whom he is dependent. The public relations man no woman finds out what the adjustments or Mount adjustments are and he then advises the principals on the course of action

that will eliminate maladjustment. If they are valid maladjustment or he may explain to the public the reason for the mileage just mint. If it isn't an anti social action. And he he or she then AIDS the principal interpreter doing the revised action of the principal to the publics upon whom the principle is depended. Now that means that the public relations man or woman must be well grounded in the social sciences because without that knowledge he deals with hunches and insights that may be in valid Visa V the realities of the situation. He relies on psychology and social psychology and cultural anthropology. All

of the social sciences so that the advice he gives the principal is predicated on the soundest findings of the social sciences. I agree let me take you now to another area. As we know all communications is vital to the continuation of our freedom as we know it right. Responsible liberty as we exercise it. There are many groups in our society who have no nobility to call in professional public relations people and for whom. There is no contact with professional public relations people. One of the recent stories in the news carried at great length was the stories of how many Indian babies American Indian babies are adopted willy nilly almost as it were because there is no comprehension of the rights of the American Indian. Can I ask you this very directly. What is the obligation of the public relations person

to those who cannot afford nor are they even dimly aware of his profession. Well I feel or have felt for many years that just as the lawyers have developed a legal aid society and in this legal aid society have given free advice to people who couldn't afford it. Just as the doctors today so free in public hospitals in order to gratify their obligation to the public as a profession. So the public relations profession ought to give of its services through some organisation like the Legal Aid Society you might call it the public relations Aid Society and through such a society

to function in all those cases where. Potential clients who need advice on their public actions that impinge on the public to give that to them free as a matter of fact just looking back at over 50 years of practice. I think we have carried out as much advice as Doctor good doctor does or a good lawyer does. And I think that there are some public relations men and women who feel that same obligation to give society a certain amount of their time and effort in grateful acknowledgment to what society has done in recognizing them as a profession and painting them. The fees that it does point well taken.

But let me just. I ask you my my own impression is that the profession has not responded to the racial crisis. The profession has not responded to the pleas from ship loads of boat people off the coast of Hong Kong or Malaysia or Taiwan. The profession has not responded to the endless pleas of the elderly in the United States especially the poor elderly nor to the institutionalized children. I think that leaders like yourself have have made a practice of interest interesting themselves professionally but I do not see this as germane if one is talking about the whole profession well. I have a feeling that when young Mr. Pak Jackson becomes the president he's the new incoming president elect of the Public Relations Society of America. Eighty eight hundred members representing practically every state. That he would be very

responsive to an idea to organize letters say a public relations aide Committee which as a formal matter would function for the society in the same way that the Legal Aid Society has close connections with the local bar associations which undoubtedly aid them from time to time in their own efforts or as the ACLU has not as of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. So I know I know Patrick Jackson he's a stalwart man. He was pro he was a guest on this series discussing his projections for the profession. But let me ask you not about him but what will happen when he makes this suggestion for example we have spoken on this series to Frank Wiley we've spoken to Mr. Smith. We've spoken to a number of past presidents of the PRC in each one of them has come up with some salient and good

proposal similar to that one and virtually nothing has happened. What happens in the mechanism of this Public Relations Society of America when you do propose something like that. Well I know many public relations people. And I know that many of them see various interests for which they get no play just as a doctor does. As I said in hospitals or as members of the cystic fibrosis of the Multiple Sclerosis both of which we were direct result of I'm still a director of the Multiple Sclerosis. I think that what will happen is that the public spirited men and women in the field of whom eighty eight hundred members will go through the stimulation of the Godhead symbol at the top of the organization.

Undoubtedly pay more attention to this and if it is formalized into a special committee that committee may well develop cooperation on the part of men and women throughout the country to give of their time and services. If I look back now I've been a member of the room the rheumatism Association. I was on the committee of the American Red Cross. I was a trustee of the Montefiore Hospital. I was a. Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. But all I'm saying Edward is is that yes I agree to all of that. And that's why having you discuss this you are a diamond not in the rough and the smooth you know but there are others but there are many reserve cartons floating around as public relations counsel who don't even accept your concept of

counsel. They see themselves as flax and many press agent presentations. Let me say this about words in this country. Words need to be defined to have meanings most words as to their meanings as brittle as a soap bubble or Belgian lace. I think that a forward step has been taken by Maybe you know about this by the society's public relations from all over the world that met in New Mexico and Sam black and Frank Wiley took a definition that I developed maybe 50 over 50 years ago and with slight changes. Got it got it accepted by that group. All the dictionaries have not accepted that as yet because I suppose no effort

has been made to bring this about. But when words are defined as to their meanings then you may find that you don't get this diversity within a field. My own idea is that the only way to ensure this type of professional conduct of serving the public interest as well as the client is by registration and licensing by the state. That means that the state registers and licenses anybody who calls himself a public relations practitioner. That means that the man or woman who is so license has to take examinations based on what a committee of high minded public relations men and women Board of Examiners of the several States sets up

for and aren't we getting back in appreciation where we started of education in other words to be certified. Wouldn't you have to have two full year I would work in this field now. You're absolutely right what I said was that if. One state did this it would immediately mean that the universities instead of doing what they now are doing treating public relations in terms of their own definition and simply in terms of skills in writing would immediately know that they would have to integrate courses in the social sciences into public relations. B S's or whatever degrees they give because otherwise these men these boys and girls couldn't get their degree. Their registration and licensing by the state so that

as I see it in order to bring about a true meaning of public relations as you see it and order Leben just seize it and Frank Wiley sees it and I think Pat Jackson sees it and I as I see it. The state would have to do. Serve the public and the profession both by protecting the profession interlopers from shysters from anti-social fellers from flax from people who are only presidents by setting up certain standards both as to character and as to training and as to learning and developing a public recognition that the man or woman who calls himself or herself a public relations

Council has actually passed those examinations that have been set up by a board of examiners. Would you think that a foundation might well I'm not thinking in any practical sense no but just in the theoretical sense. Provide the money so that it is not associated with any one group and then 20 or 25 people might work on this for a year and come up with a formal proposal as to where the field is not what the social responsibilities are what the curriculum should include and offer this to every university bring this to a floor battle of the Public Relations Society at the American Society for study of public opinion at the American Political Science Association the American Sociological Association the American Psychological Association and the end of a series of meetings over a three year period arrive at a conclusion is not the only way to do it. Well I think there is a quicker way to do it. There are 50 states in this

country over 40 years ago. We tried this out in New York and I talked to a representative and I simply looked over the law that govern the licensing of attorneys and of doctors and I worked over the law carefully and changed the words words said medical doctor a public relations practitioner change the qualifications and had this assemblyman in New York proposed. He was very eager to do it because he recognized the importance to the public of not being hoodwinked and to the profession of not suffering from people who call themselves Public Relations Council and who are nothing. And unfortunately at that time you were a little boy than Roosevelt was in power. People hated him. Anybody that had to do with business

and anything that looked like government control was defeated. Now I think that a good public relations man in Maryland or in Virginia or in Indiana or in Illinois. Could take that same technique looking up the law that provides for the licensing of attorneys and doctors and simply by going over very carefully sepsis tooting public relations practitioner and then going to some of the best courses in public relations for instance as a man called Raban at American University whom I don't know but I've corresponded with. He recognizes this and to look at the courses he gives. You would think he had ideally met the situation because the young people have courses in cultural anthropology which is very important. I remember we

worked with a company that was interested in Latin America and the young. Manager they had in Costa Rica built houses on the model of the houses in Toledo where we came from with porches on the outside. Well the coast in Costa Rica among the Indians is a culture which is based on the Spanish culture in which the House has a patio inside and none of the Indians would live in these houses. Had he asked a cultural anthropologist or had he known anything about cultural anthropology that would never have happened. Well later to show you how important cultural anthropology is. I was working with a company that was working in that area and the Indians were leaving because. Their Koran would no longer grow in soil that had been deeply she ate it so that I

said let's take the cone to the University of Iowa and have them develop hybrid corn. Well the university if I were did develop that the corn was brought to the Indians and the Indians would not use the corn because they associated the old cone with their own procreative powers. So I said let's take the corn to a cultural anthropologist and asked him how we can solve the problem. And he said to me Well this is very easy. Simply have the shaman the medicine man of the tribe bless the corn and they will use it. We did that and it changed the whole complexion. Well fortunately I had thought of cultural anthropology at the time and that was applied to the situation at hand. Well the same thing is true in the application of psychology in the application of social psychology we

used to make studies of the accommodation and non accommodation of ethnic groups in a community before. The factory that was going to be built there started its employment policy because in some places they hung carryons didn't want to Hungary and Americans didn't want to work next to Rumanian Americans. Well by simply that type of device it was possible to develop accommodation and adjustment. Now the same type of application holds for many many different activities of the most varied kind. And unless you apply present day knowledge to the field from what I can give you no example. This was a free account. The Mental Hygiene people came to me and said we're not getting anywhere. And I made a study and found that the public

thought Mental Hygiene was associated with feminine hygiene was a disease. So they said what should we do and I said Well call it mental health. And they did. Well everybody knew what health was and everybody knew what man who was you know unless you approach problems that way you can't possibly solve them with words you know half of a half of a half a minute. If we do accomplish all that we want over the next several years and public relations becomes an applied social science should we then strike and make it and apply it. The area for the Humanities to write write write not note I take great pleasure in thanking you Edward Elgar news. Truly the father of this profession of public relations as a profession for joining me today for this edition Bernard Reuben. The First Amendment and a free people weekly examination of civil liberties in the media. Even

1970 the program was produced in cooperation with the Institute for democratic communication at Boston University. Why didn't you GBH radio Boston which is solely responsible for its content. This is the station program exchange.