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Qualitative content analysis of 74 novels featuring public relations characters distributed in the United States demonstrates that, rather than attempting to replicate reality, the mystery genre reflects debates about such issues as honesty, confidentiality, and the relative value of negative publicity. PR practitioners fit into all of the conventional mystery character roles, but particularly the role of sleuth, where access to information and powerful people allows them to solve the mystery but also sometimes forces them to choose between the client/employer and the public interest. The study confirms Fitch's (2015) contention that popular culture representations of public relations are best understood in their narrative and generic context. • Proximity to power makes public relations characters relevant to the mystery genre. • PR characters must balance client confidentiality with the public interest. • Fictional representations reveal that public relations is a contested field. • Mystery novels reveal a deep distrust of powerful institutions and people. • Fictional representations do not attempt to reflect the field accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This historiographical essay argues for a set of standards that can be applied across time and place to determine whether a historical initiative is part of public relations history. After analyzing the concept of function in relation to public relations, we argue for an alternative focus on both the strategic intent of the practitioner and the role of human agency. We thus propose a way to identify what public relations is and, to borrow from Ivy Lee (1925), what it is not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the 1950s and 1960s, U.S. civil rights protesters targeted businesses with demands for service, jobs, and equality. Employing historical method, this study considers the role of public relations by examining magazine, newspaper, and public relations trade press coverage of business responses to the civil rights movement. The analysis shows that, although all five motivations for the adoption of the formal public relations function—profit, legitimacy, recruitment, agitation, and advocacy—were present, business was slow to respond; that riots and concerns about corporate image drove business to take a public stand; and that professional public relations participation appeared to be minimal even as it was cited in press stories as a reason for the failure of many business initiatives. In addition, the analysis demonstrates the existence of a sixth motivation: fear. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a history of public relations. It focuses on the development of public relations functions prior to the 20th century in diverse fields such as politics, religion and business. A critique is offered of the standard historical narrative, which is said to overemphasize the 20th century and present public relations as progressively evolving in an increasingly ethical direction. Public relations is distinguished from journalism, and its relevance to scholarly research on mass communication and social history is noted.

Abstract: Ivy Lee''s 1905 “Declaration of Principles” has been called the “starting point of modern public relations,” but what did it mean in the context of his time? Analysis of press discussion finds that, while press agentry was connected to the circus and theater, “corporate publicity” was linked to Theodore Roosevelt''s call for the release of financial information in the public interest. The paper confirms that scholars do not have a clear understanding of public relations history and identifies areas for further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A review of 265 newspaper and magazine articles indicates that for decades Elizabeth Custer worked to restore the image of her husband, George Custer, following his controversial demise in 1876. These same activities simultaneously functioned as what scholars have identified as important ingredients for situating a person or event in public memory, particularly by connecting Custer to the "taming" of the West and the Civil War, preserving artifacts, and reminiscing about her husband's heroic qualities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mabel Flanley and Sally Woodward capitalized on expertise in home economics and women's clubs. • Flanley and Woodward's successful public relations agency helped other women enter the field. • Flanley and Woodward contributed to the development of professional standards and codes of ethics. • Flanley and Woodward influenced other corporate PR practitioners to focus on women publics. • Flanley and Woodward's inclusion efforts paralleled diversity initiatives of other groups. After working in corporate public relations during the 1930s, Mabel Flanley and Sally Woodward opened an all-woman agency in New York City in 1944. Their specialty was targeting women publics, and they drew on their experiences with home economics and women's clubs to promote a variety of clients from agribusiness, heavy industry, and government and nonprofit organizations. They carved a path for other women, contributed to the development of professional standards, and influenced other practitioners to target women audiences, and their inclusion initiatives paralleled those of other groups based on diversity of race, ethnicity, and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the database "Early American Newspapers, 1690-1922, Series 1-5," compiled by Readex.