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Nineteenth and twentieth century developments in corporations' legal duties involving "public relations" activities gave rise to professional public relations practice. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, court cases, trade press, and the popular press used the term "public relations" to refer to the status of an organization and certain expected behaviors. As corporations and utilities grew in the late nineteenth century these "public relations" responsibilities were applied to them creating a legal requirement of transparency, disclosure, and good faith actions. Examining court decisions and the popular press this paper shows how this application of the term "public relations" to corporations had a relationship with public relations practice. Implications for public relations historiography and American public relations development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publicity agent in the United States during the early twentieth century served as a transitional profession between the nineteenth-century press agent and the post–World War I public relations practitioner. This article examines the corporate roots of publicity agents, their split from the advertising industry, and their role in grassroots organizations. It shows that publicity agents and publicity men participated in a stand-alone, salaried profession with professional associations and standards. More importantly for public relations history, the rise of the publicity agent shows the initial connection and eventual split between advertising and public relations that was previously ignored in public relations historiography. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the historical evolution of campaign finance laws and suggest the legal implications for public relations practitioners after the US Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC. Design/methodology/approach – The approach of this paper examines appellate case law and federal statutes to provide a legal analysis of the history of campaign finance laws and potential impact on public relations practitioners. Findings – This research provides an overview of the evolution of campaign finance case law and federal statues in the USA and provides analysis of how the 2010 Citizens United case and a recent 2012 case, American Trade Partnership, are altering both the political and corporate landscapes. By allowing far greater contribution rights to corporations than any time since 1907, Citizens United is changing the role corporations may directly play in elections at all levels. Implications for how these changes may affect corporate public relations practitioners both professionally and ethically are discussed. Practical implications – In a post-Citizens United era, corporate PR may now legally be engaged with many forms of highly political communications. Corporate PR may have a more political tone and ethical dilemmas may face practitioners who may be legally asked to perform communications tactics that are at odds with their political values. Originality/value – Despite the academic analysis of Citizens United no study has evaluated the effect Citizens United and campaign finance laws on public relations practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]