Not only that, but Dr. Karen Russell's research moved back the 100 year anniversary of the press release from 2006 to at least 2005. Sorry Business Wire.
It turns out that in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt called for the formation of the Bureau of Corporations to mandate the release of corporate information.
In was in the environment of this development that Ivy Lee, who is often considered the founder of the public relations profession, wrote an impassioned defense of the PR profession in 1905.
It was only later dubbed his “Declaration of Principles” by the journalist Sherman Morse in “An Awakening in Wall Street: How the Trusts, after Years of Silence, now speak though authorized and acknowledged Press Agents”(The American Magazine, vol. 63, September 1906).
So, you see, history does not have to be boring.
It is because of cool things like this that I am looking forward to meeting Karen Russell for the first time in person this year at UAG Connect on September 19-20, 2008, which seeks to bring academics and practitioners together. I have been paired with Dr. Kaye Sweester to talk about social media and relationship building. I will cover the “how to” do it and she will be unveiling some new research about the impact and ethical implications when companies don't heed its importance. You can hear her talk about our panel here on the UAG Connect Blog.
But, first, listen to Karen talk about the interesting developments in the history of public relations. While in the video she uses real overheads (do they still have those?), I have also included her more high tech PowerPoint presentation (why do we still have those?). Thanks Karen for yet another amazing discovery to help us understand our roots.
Viddler.com – karen miller russell: reviewing history of Ivy Lee's declaration of principles at AEJMC – Uploaded by sweetser
