The History of Public Relations
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D
Lecturer in School of Communication
Brawijaya Uiniversity
HAPPY STUDYING
Harap Membaca:
- Grunig, J.E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing PR. NY: Holt,
Rinehart & Winston.
- Kriyantono, R. (2014). Teori public relations perspectif
barat dan local: Aplikasi penelitian & praktik. Jakarta:
Prenada
- Kriyantono, R. (2012). PR writing. Jakarta: Prenada
- Lattimore, D., Baskin, O., Heiman, S., & Toth, E.
(2007), PR: The profession & the practice. NY: McGraw
Hill
- Newsom, D., Scott,A., & Turk, J.V. (1993). This is PR:
The realities of public relations. California:
Wardworth.
- Seitel, F. (2001). The practice of PR. NJ: Prentice Hall
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
Three aspects of PR Growth
 PR as social activities
 PR as professional practice &
profession
 PR as science
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
PR
as
social activities
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
- PR activities emerged at the same time with the
growth human life.
- Ubiquitous nature of public relations (Horsley,
2009, in Kriyantono, 2014)
- The principles of public relations have been
known, studied, and practiced for centuries
(Leahigh, 1993, cited in Kriyantono, 2014)
WHY?
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public
Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D
-Lecturer of Public
Relations, School of
Communication UB
Malang
- The basic principles of PR -building trust
& tell the truth- are the basic principles in
interacting with other to fulfill the needs
(Kriyantono, 2014)
- PR is as old as civilization because its
activities are persuasive effort. Many
persuasive tactics today are applied by
society leaders for thousand years.
(Newsom, Scott & Turk, 1993).
PR
as
Practice & Profession
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School
of Communication UB Malang
From Grunig & Hunt (1984); Lattimore, dkk (2007)
& Seitel (2001), the growth of PR can be
categorized into 7 eras:
* Ancient (Rhetorician) & European Era
* The early American
* Young National of America
* Publicity & Press Agentry
* Public Information
* Persuasive
* Relationship Building
*
* 1800 B.C: farm bulletin in Iraq about techniques of harvesting,
sowing & irrigating.
* L’Etang’s (2004) idea that the growth of public relations as
activity as old as journalistic since Greece and Roman era.
* Rhetoricians (speechmakers): speech-writing, speaking on
clients’ behalf, training for difficult questions.
* Julius Cesar were master of persuasive techniques. He united
public support through publications & staged event when faced
with an upcoming battle.
* Industrial revolution make the need of PR increased: social
structure change, the rise of conflict of interest
* 1600: a college of propaganda was built by catholic church to
inform public about catholicism. At that time, the term
propaganda was not negative connotation
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public
Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School
of Communication UB Malang
Young Nation of America
• Cesar’s model was “ stealed” by US public information committee
during
• PR strategies had been applied primarily in the political sphere
• “History’s finest PR”
The federalist Papers was published
& disseminated for the ratification of US Constitution
• Amos Kendall was the first presidential press secretary &
congressional liaison when Presiden Andrew Jackson appointed
him.
• Newspapers, for the first time, was used to inform a rising middle
class as a result of urbanization, advance eduacation & literacy
rates.
• Publicity drove the settlement of the American western frontier
Source: Lattimore, dkk, 2007 & Seitel, 2001
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
Phineas T. Barnum:
• Master of press-agentry
a consummate show-man (middle
& late 1800s)
• Originated many methods for attracting public attention
• He contributed to our understanding of the power of publicity
• But, to do that, he was lack of honestly & did not let the truth
interfere
• He was called “harmless deceiver” (London Times)
• Press-agentry is used to circuses, entertainment & professional
sports, negative potential is limited; its use in business &
politics is more threatening
Source: Grunig & Hunt, 1984; Kriyantono, 2014; Lattimore, dkk, 2007
Publicity (Press-Agentry) Era
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
Journalistic & Public Information Era
O As a result of industrial era in 19th century in US.
O Business needs PR to solve business matters, conflicts,
counter hostility, court public support ‘1’ the need of
mass media
O PR does ”in house journalist”.
O George Michaelis established the Publicity Bureau in
Boston (1900)
gathered factual information about
his clients & distributed to newspapers (fact finding &
personal contact).
O Theodore Rosevelt was the first president who make
extensive use of press conferences & interviews
rule the country from newspapers’ front pages
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
O Ivy Lee
- Ivy Lee is the real father of modern
-
PR (Grunig & Hunt, 1984;
Lattimore, dkk, 2007; Seitel,
2001):
Public should be informed
Declaration of principle: tell the
truth
Good words must be supported by
positive actions
PR as a management function:
Good policy makes good PR
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
Persuasive (Two Way Assimetric) Era
(World War I)
O Using psychological principles of mass persuasion/scientific
persuasion
O Woodrow Wilson set up Public Information Commitee, led by
George Creel & Lasswell
O Edward Bernays:
- Leading proponent of persuasion in PR
- Practitioner as management councelor
- Emphasized the social science to PR
- The firs book on PR (cristalizing public opinion)
- Taught the firs college PR course at NY Univ (1923)
- Counselor & speaking until his death in 1995 (103 years
old)
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang


•
•
-
Dialogic communication
Arthur Page
Vice president of AT&T
Business in a democratic country depends on public
permission and approval
Doris Fleischman Bernays
Struggling for equality in PR
Rex Harlow
A leading PR educator
First professor
Founder of American Council of PR, to be PRSA (1952)
Founder PR Journal
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of Communication UB
Malang



Concept of public relations was born in 1913 at
Electric Railway Journal when a discussion about
publicity and public opinion.
Public relations profession grew when a
profession organization was born: Public
Relations Society of America in 1940 (Horsley,
2009).
The matureness era had occurred up to 1979 w
2014hen public relations was included as a part
of management fuction (Newsom, et al, 1993).
Source: Kriyantono (2014); Newsom, et al (1993)
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
PR
as
Science
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public
Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
 Sriramesh & Vercic’s (2003): public relations profession
increased in democracy and technology era in 20th
century.
 Over the last 20 years public relations has evolved into a
major area of applied communication based in research
of significant quantity and quality (Botan & Taylor, 2004)
 Public Relations Review (1975) has consisted of research
and findings, not only articles about profession (Sisco, et
al, 2011)
 public relations as multidiscipline social science, applied &
behaviour science (WHY?)
 Barneys’s a new propaganda
 Cutlip & Center’s two basic propositions: management
function & communication between organization and
public
 PR has paradigm & Theories
 Objective, interpretif/co-creational, kritis
(Source: Kriyantono, 2014)
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
 Retorika
METATEORI
PR
 Evolutionary Theory
 Psikoanalisis
 Marxisme
(Source: Kriyantono, 2014; Rogers, 1997)
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
TEORI-TEORI PR

Lack of theory or theoretical lateness

Borrowed theories

Directly applied:
-
Agenda setting
-
Uses & gratification
-
Spriral & Silence
-
Cognitive Dissonance
-
Elaborated Likelihod Model
-
Apologia
-
Atribution
-
Uncertainty Reduction, etc
-
System Theory
-
Impression management
-
Critical PR
(Source: Kriyantono, 2014)
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of Communication UB Malang
Original
Theories of PR
 Grunig’s Situational theory of the Publics
 Grunig & Hunt’s four model
 Grunig, et al Excellence Theory
 Coombs’ Situatioal Crisis Comunication
Theory
 Cameron’s Contingency theory of
Accommodation in PR
 Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory
 Encroachment Theory
 Agenda Building-Information Subsidies
Source: Kriyantono, 2014)
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang
The Teorists









James E. Grunig
Larissa Grunig
David Dozier
Timothy W. Coombs
Glen Cameron
William Benoit
Elizabeth L. Toth
Jaques L’Etang
Robert Heath
Rachmat Kriyantono, Ph.D -Lecturer of Public Relations, School of
Communication UB Malang