a consideration of the press and other mediums of communication in their relation to the public relations counsel
when the question of preparing and publishing this volume was first considered, the publishers wrote letters to several hundred prominent men asking their opinions, individually, as to the probable public interest in a work dealing with public relations. newspaper editors and publishers, heads of large industries and public service corporations, philanthropists, university presidents and heads of schools of journalism, as well as other prominent men made up the number. their replies are exceedingly interesting in as much as they show, almost uniformly, the increasing emphasis placed upon public relations by leaders in every important phase of american life. these replies show also a growing understanding of the need for specialized service in this field of specialized problems.
particularly interesting were the comments of
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newspaper publishers and editors in response to mr. liveright’s inquiry, for nothing could better indicate the light in which the public relations counsel is held by those very individuals who are supposed popularly to disparage his value in the social and economic scheme of things.
what are the relations of the public relations counsel to the various mediums he can employ to carry his message to the public? there is, of course, first and perhaps most important, the press. there is the moving picture; the lecture platform; there is advertising; there is the direct-by-mail effort; there is the stage—drama and music; there is word of mouth; there is the pulpit, the schoolroom, the legislative chamber—to all of these the public relations counsel has distinct relationship.
the journalist of to-day, while still watching the machinations of the so-called “press agent” with one half-amused eye, appreciates the value of the service the public relations counsel is able to give him.
to the newspaper the public relations counsel serves as a purveyor of news.
as disseminator of news the newspaper holds an important position in american life. this has not always been the case, for the emphasis upon the news side is a development of recent years. originally, the name newspaper was scarcely an
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accurate or appropriate designation for the units of the american press. so-called newspapers were, in fact, vehicles for the expression of opinion of their editors. they contained little or no news, as that word is understood to-day—largely because difficulties of communication made it impossible to obtain any but the most local items of interest. the public was accustomed to look to its press for the opinion of its favorite editor upon subjects of current interest rather than for the recital of mere facts.
to-day, on the other hand, the expression of editorial opinion is only secondarily the function of a newspaper; and thousands of persons read newspapers with whose editorial policy they do not in the slightest agree. such a situation would have been nearly impossible in the days of horace greeley.
the need which the american press is to-day engaged in satisfying is the need for news. “a paper,” says mr. given,32 “may succeed without printing editorials worth reading and without having any aim other than the making of money, but it cannot possibly thrive unless it gets the news and prints it in a pleasing and attractive form.”
writing from a long experience with the profession of journalism, will irwin reaches the
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conclusion that33 “news is the main thing, the vital consideration of the american newspaper; it is both an intellectual craving and a commercial need to the modern world. in popular psychology it has come to be a crying primal want of the mind, like hunger of the body. tramp windjammers, taking on the pilot after a long cruise, ask for the papers before they ask, as formerly, for fresh fruit and vegetables. whenever, in our later western advance, we americans set up a new mining camp, an editor, his type slung on burro-back, comes in with the missionaries, evangel himself of civilization. most dramatically the san francisco disaster illuminated this point. on the morning of april 20, 1906, the city’s population huddled in parks and squares, their houses gone, death of famine or thirst a rumor and a possibility. the editors of the three morning newspapers, expressing the true soldier spirit which inspires this most devoted profession, had moved their staffs to the suburb of oakland, and there, on the presses of the tribune, they had issued a combined call-chronicle-examiner. when, at dawn, the paper was printed, an editor and a reporter loaded the edition into an automobile and drove it through the parks of the disordered city, giving copies away. they were
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fairly mobbed, they had to drive at top speed, casting out the sheets as they went, to make any progress at all. no bread wagon, no supply of blankets, caused half so much stir as did the arrival of the news.
“we need it, we crave it; this nerve of the modern world transmits thought and impulse from the brain of humanity to its muscles; the complex organism of modern society could no more move without it than a man could move without filaments and ganglia. on the commercial and practical side, the man of even small affairs must read news in the newspapers every day to keep informed on the thousand and one activities in the social structure which affect his business. on the intellectual and spiritual side, it is—save for the church alone—our principal outlook on the higher intelligence. the thought of legislature, university, study, and pulpit comes to the common man first—and usually last—in the form of news. the tedious business of teaching reading in public schools has become chiefly a training to consume newspapers. we must go far up in the scale of culture before we find an intellectual equipment more a debtor to the formal education of school and college than to the haphazard education of news.”
the extent to which the editorial aspect of the newspaper has given way to an increased importance
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of the news columns is vividly illustrated in the anecdote about the philadelphia north american, which mr. irwin relates. “the north american,” says mr. irwin, “had declared for local option. a committee of brewers waited on the editor; they represented one of the biggest groups in their business. ‘this is an ultimatum,’ they said. ‘you must change your policy or lose our advertising. we’ll be easy on you. we don’t ask you to alter your editorial policy, but you must stop printing news of local-option victories.’34 so the deepest and shrewdest enemies of the body politic give practical testimony to the ‘power of the press’ in its modern form.”
in the case of the brewers of philadelphia it is my own opinion that if they had been well advised, instead of attempting to interfere with the policy of the north american, they would have made it a point to bring to the attention of the north american every instance of the defeat of local option. the newspaper would undoubtedly have published both sides of the story, as far as both sides consisted of news.
it is because he acts as the purveyor of truthful, accurate and verifiable news to the press that the conscientious and successful counsel on public relations is looked upon with favor by the journalist. and in the code of ethics recently
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adopted in washington by a national editors’ conference, his function is given acknowledgment. just as in the case of the other mediums for the dissemination of information, mediums which range from the lecture platform to the radio, the press, too, looks to the public relations counsel for information about the causes he represents.
since news is the newspaper’s backbone, it is obvious that an understanding of what news actually is must be an integral part of the equipment of the public relations counsel. for the public relations counsel must not only supply news—he must create news. this function as the creator of news is even more important than his others.
it has always been interesting to me that a concise, comprehensive definition of news has never been written. what news is, every newspaper man instinctively knows, particularly as it concerns the needs of his own paper. but it is almost as difficult to define news as it is to describe a circular staircase without making corkscrew gestures with one’s hand, or as to define some of the abstruse concepts of the metaphysician, like space or time or reality.
what is news for one newspaper may have no interest whatever, or very little interest, for another newspaper. there are almost as many definitions of news as there are journalists who take
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the trouble to define it. certain of the characteristics of news, of course, can be readily seized upon; and definitions of news generally consist of particular emphasis upon one or another of these characteristics. mr. given remarks that35 “news was once defined as ‘fresh information of something that has lately taken place.’...” the author of this definition puts the chief emphasis upon the element of timeliness. undoubtedly in most news that element must be present. it would not be true, however, to say that it must always be present, nor would it be true to say that everything which is timely is news. obviously, the well-nigh infinite number of occurrences which take place in daily life throughout the world are timely enough, so far as each of them in its respective environment is concerned; but few of them ever become news.
mr. irwin defines news as “a departure from the established order.” thus, according to mr. irwin, a criminal act is news because it is a departure from the established order, and at the same time, an exceptional display of fidelity, courage or honesty is also news for the same reason.
“with our education in established order, we get the knowledge,” he says,36 “that mankind in
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bulk obeys its ideals of that order only imperfectly. when something brings to our attention an exceptional adhesion to religion, virtue, and truth, that becomes in itself a departure from regularity, and therefore news. the knowledge that most servants do their work conscientiously and many stay long in the same employ is not news. but when a committee of housewives presents a medal to a servant who has worked faithfully in one employ for fifty years, that becomes news, because it calls our attention to a case of exceptional fidelity to the ideals of established order. the fact that mankind will consume an undue amount of news about crime and disorder is only a proof that the average human being is optimistic, that he believes the world to be true, sound and working upward. crimes and scandals interest him most because they most disturb his picture of the established order.
“that, then, is the basis of news. the mysterious news sense which is necessary to all good reporters rests on no other foundation than acquired or instinctive perception of this principle, together with a feeling for what the greatest number of people will regard as a departure from the established order. in jesse lynch william’s newspaper play, ‘the stolen story,’ occurs this passage:
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“(enter very young reporter; comes down to city desk with air of excitement.)
“very young reporter (considerably impressed): ‘big story. three dagoes killed by that boiler explosion!’
“the city editor (reading copy. doesn’t look up): ‘ten lines.’ (continues reading copy.)
“very young reporter (looks surprised and hurt. crosses over to reporter’s table. then turns back to city desk. casual conversational tone): ‘by the way. funny thing. there was a baby carriage within fifty feet of the explosion, but it wasn’t upset.’
“the city editor (looks up with professional interest): ‘that’s worth a dozen dead dagoes. write a half column.’
“(very young reporter looks still more surprised, perplexed. suddenly the idea dawns upon him. he crosses over to table, sits down, writes.)
“both saw news; but the editor went further than the reporter. for cases of italians killed by a boiler explosion are so common as to approach the commonplace; but a freak of explosive chemistry which annihilates a strong man and does not disturb a baby departs from it widely.”
here again it is clear that mr. irwin has
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merely emphasized one of the features generally to be found in what we call news, without, however, offering us a complete or exclusive definition of news.
analyzing further within his general rule that news is a departure from the established order, mr. irwin goes on to point out certain outstanding factors which enhance or create news value. i cite them here because all of them are unquestionably sound. on the other hand, analysis shows that some of them are directly contradictory to his main principle that only the departure from the established order is news. in mr. irwin’s opinion, the four outstanding factors making for the creation or enhancement of news value are the following:37
1. “we prefer to read about the things we like.” the result, he says, has been the rule: “power for the men, affections for the women.”
2. “our interest in news increases in direct ratio to our familiarity with its subject, its setting, and its dramatis personæ.”
3. “our interest in news is in direct ratio to its effect on our personal concerns.”
4. “our interest in news increases in direct
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ratio to the general importance of the persons or activities which it affects.” this is so obvious that it scarcely needs comment.
some notion of the diversity of news arising in a city may be obtained if one studies the points which are watched as news sources, either continuously or closely by metropolitan dailies. mr. given38 lists the places in new york which are watched constantly:
“police headquarters.
police courts.
coroner’s office.
supreme courts, new york county.
new york stock exchange.
city hall, including the mayor’s office, aldermanic chamber, city clerk’s office, and office of the president of manhattan borough.
county clerk’s office.”
those places, says mr. given, which the newspapers watch carefully, but not continually, are:
“city courts (minor civil cases).
court of general sessions (criminal cases).
court of special sessions (minor criminal cases).
district attorney’s office.
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doors of grand jury rooms when the grand jury is in session (for indictments and presentments).
federal courts.
post office.
united states commissioner’s offices, and offices of the united states secret service officers.
united states marshal’s office.
united states district attorney’s office.
ship news, where incoming and outgoing vessels are reported.
barge office, where immigrants land.
surrogate’s office, where wills are filed and testimony concerning wills in litigation is heard.
political headquarters during campaigns.”
finally, “the following are visited by the reporters several times, or only once a day:
“police stations.
municipal courts.
board of health headquarters.
fire department headquarters.
park department headquarters.
building department headquarters.
tombs prison.
county jail.
united states sub-treasury.
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office of collector of the port.
united states appraiser’s office.
public hospitals.
leading hotels.
the morgue.
county sheriff’s office.
city comptroller’s office.
city treasurer’s office.
offices of the tax collector and tax assessors.”
mr. given’s example of the broker, john smith, illustrates aptly the point i am making. “for ten years,” said mr. given,39 “he pursues the even tenor of his way and except for his customers and his friends no one gives him a thought. to the newspapers he is as if he were not. but in the eleventh year he suffers heavy losses and, at last, his resources all gone, summons his lawyer and arranges for the making of an assignment. the lawyer posts off to the county clerk’s office, and a clerk there makes the necessary entries in the office docket. here in step the newspapers. while the clerk is writing smith’s business obituary, a reporter glances over his shoulder, and a few minutes later the newspapers know smith’s troubles and are as well informed concerning his business status as they would be had they kept
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a reporter at his door every day for over ten years. had smith dropped dead instead of merely making an assignment his name would have reached the newspapers by way of the coroner’s office instead of the county clerk’s office, and in fact, while smith did not know it, the newspapers were prepared and ready for him no matter what he did. they even had representatives waiting for him at the morgue. he was safe only when he walked the straight and narrow path and kept quiet.”
an overt act is often necessary before an event can be regarded as news.
commenting on this aspect of the situation, mr. lippmann discusses this very example of the broker, john smith, and his hypothetical bankruptcy. “that overt act,” says mr. lippmann,40 “‘uncovers’ the news about smith. whether the news will be followed up or not is another matter. the point is that before a series of events become news they have usually to make themselves noticeable in some more or less overt act. generally, too, in a crudely overt act. smith’s friends may have known for years that he was taking risks, rumors may even have reached the financial editor if smith’s friends were talkative. but apart from the fact that none of this could be published because it would be libel, there is
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in these rumors nothing definite on which to peg a story. something definite must occur that has unmistakable form. it may be the act of going into bankruptcy, it may be a fire, a collision, an assault, a riot, an arrest, a denunciation, the introduction of a bill, a speech, a vote, a meeting, the expressed opinion of a well-known citizen, an editorial in a newspaper, a sale, a wage-schedule, a price change, the proposal to build a bridge.... there must be a manifestation. the course of events must assume a certain definable shape, and until it is in a phase where some aspect is an accomplished fact, news does not separate itself from the ocean of possible truth.”
from the point of view of the practical journalist, mr. irwin has applied this observation to the making of the news of the day. he says:41 “i state a platitude when i say that government by the people is the essence of democracy. in theory, the people watch and know; when, in the process of social and industrial evolution, they see a new evil becoming important, they found institutions to regulate it or laws to repress it. they cannot watch without light, know without teachers. the newspaper, or some force like it, must daily inform them of things which are
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shocking and unpleasant in order that democracy, in its slow, wobbling motion upward, may perceive and correct. it is good for us to know that john smith, made crazy by drink, came home and killed his wife. startled and shocked, but interested, we may follow the case of john smith, see that justice in his case is not delayed by his pull with tammany. perhaps, when there are enough cases of john smith, we shall look into the first causes and restrain the groggeries that made him momentarily mad or the industrial oppression that made him permanently an undernourished, overnerved defective. it is good to know that john jones, a clerk, forged a check and went to jail. for not only shall we watch justice in his case, but some day we shall watch also the fraudulent race-track gambling that tempted him to theft. if every day we read of those crimes which grow from the misery of new york’s east side and chicago’s levee, some day democracy may get at the ultimate causes for overwork, underfeeding, tenement crowding.
“no other method is so forcible with the public as driving home the instance which points the moral. general description of bad conditions fails, somehow, to impress the average mind. one might have shouted to shreveport day after day that low dives make dangerous negroes, and created no sentiment against saloons. but when
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a negro, drunk on bad gin which he got at such a dive, assaulted and killed margaret lear, a schoolgirl, shreveport voted out the saloon.”
for the great mass of activities there is no machinery of record whatever. how these are to be recorded when they are important is the real problem for the press.
in this field the public relations counsel plays a considerable part. his is the business of calling to the public attention, through the press and through every other available medium, the point of view, the movement or the issue which he represents. mr. lippmann has observed that it is for this reason that what he calls the “press agent” has become an important factor in modern life.
mr. lippmann’s observation on this point deserves comment. he says:42 “this is the underlying reason for the existence of the press agent. the enormous discretion as to what facts and what impressions shall be reported is steadily convincing every organized group of people that whether it wishes to secure publicity or to avoid it, the exercise of discretion cannot be left to the reporter. it is safer to hire a press agent who stands between the group and the newspapers.”
the really important function of the public relations counsel, in relation to the press as well
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as to his client, lies even beyond these considerations. he is not merely the purveyor of news; he is more logically the creator of news.
