CONTENTS
| [PART I—SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS] | ||
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I | The Scope of the Public Relations Counsel | [11] |
| II | The Public Relations Counsel; the Increased and Increasing Importance of the Profession | [34] |
| III | The Function of a Special Pleader | [50] |
| [PART II—THE GROUP AND HERD] | ||
| I | What Constitutes Public Opinion? | [61] |
| II | Is Public Opinion Stubborn or Malleable? | [69] |
| III | The Interaction of Public Opinion with the Forces That Help to Make It | [77] |
| IV | The Power of Interacting Forces That Go to Make up Public Opinion | [87] |
| V | An Understanding of the Fundamentals of Public Motivation Is Necessary to the Work of the Public Relations Counsel | [98] |
| VI | The Group and Herd Are the Basic Mechanisms of Public Change | [111] |
| VII | The Application of These Principles | [118] |
| [PART III—TECHNIQUE AND METHOD] | ||
| I | The Public Can Be Reached Only Through Established Mediums of Communication | [125] |
| II | The Interlapping Group Formations of Society, the Continuous Shifting of Groups, Changing Conditions and the Flexibility of Human Nature Are All Aids to the Counsel on Public Relations | [139] |
| III | An Outline of Methods Practicable in Modifying the Point of View of a Group | [166] |
| [PART IV—ETHICAL RELATIONS] | ||
| I | A Consideration of the Press and Other Mediums of Communication in Their Relation to the Public Relations Counsel | [177] |
| II | His Obligations to the Public as a Special Pleader | [208] |
PART I
Scope and Functions
CRYSTALLIZING PUBLIC OPINION
CHAPTER I
THE SCOPE OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS COUNSEL
A new phrase has come into the language—counsel on public relations. What does it mean?
As a matter of fact, the actual phrase is completely understood by only a few, and those only the people intimately associated with the work itself. But despite this, the activities of the public relations counsel affect the daily life of the entire population in one form or another.
Because of the recent extraordinary growth of the profession of public relations counsel and the lack of available information concerning it, an air of mystery has surrounded its scope and functions. To the average person, this profession is still unexplained, both in its operation and actual accomplishment. Perhaps the most definite picture is that of a man who somehow or other produces that vaguely defined evil, “propaganda,” which spreads an impression that colors the mind of the public concerning actresses, governments, railroads. And yet, as will be pointed out shortly, there is probably no single profession which within the last ten years has extended its field of usefulness more remarkably and touched upon intimate and important aspects of the everyday life of the world more significantly than the profession of public relations counsel.