Search

Much of PR historiography focuses on the “Great Man,” corporate uses of the function. This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring how a non-governmental organization called the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA) worked with the U.S. federal government during World War I to equate sexual health with wartime patriotism to lower venereal disease (VD) rates. Partnering with ASHA on an anti-venereal campaign provided the government with a way to enhance military efficiency (i.e., fewer soldiers out of action with VD meant more men available to fight). In return, ASHA gained a national audience and the backing of the government for its vision of sexual health and social morality. This study shows that The Committee on Public Information (CPI) was not alone in using PR-type techniques as a weapon of mass instruction during the Great War. Similar to the CPI, the social hygiene campaign organizers used a diverse range of communications activities ranging from pamphlets to lectures to films – all for the purpose of instilling a new social health agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Few public relations practitioners rise to the level of head of an organization; therefore, this study on former National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle presents a unique opportunity to examine how an organizational leader with PR work experience managed a business operation. Drawing upon unique historical records, this study demonstrated how Rozelle used his public relations background to help make the NFL America''s number one sport (in terms of revenue and in fan polling). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: No professional sports group ever achieved acceptance as widespread within a single decade''s span as the American Football League (AFL). This study chronicles how the AFL used public relations strategies and tactics to garner public acceptance, which in turn helped convince the older National Football League (NFL) to merge with the upstart league. This study will further the understanding of how trade associations use public relations as an image-building device, as well as address a deficiency in the study of sports public relations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study used Berger's (1999) four characteristics of organizational public relations to examine how Major League Baseball (MLB) responded to the 1951-1952 congressional investigation into the sport's business dealings. This analysis demonstrated the impact an entity's image, which is based in large part on past communications and prior behavior, has on its current situation. in this case, MLB's image as a sport outweighed any effort by legislators to present professional baseball as a monopoly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the public relations activities of the Women’s Field Army (WFA)—a branch of the American Society for the Control of Cancer (now the American Cancer Society). The analysis of the WFA’s work suggests that non-profit organizations engaging in volunteer recruitment and public education should examine the current socio-economic climate, and explore using both media relations and interpersonal communications techniques to disseminate messages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines the newspaper coverage of the conflict between Celebrex, an arthritis painkiller produced by Merck. and its competitor, Vioxx produced by Searle. Use of framing analysis to determine the relationship between the messages of the company and the press content; Amount spent on advertising; Influence of companies on media coverage and presentation.

Examines the public relations career of Steve Hannagan, focusing on his campaign for the Major League Baseball (MLB) centennial celebration in 1939, to determine the context of public relations practice in the United States during the Great Depression. Impact of the Great Depression on American life and public relations; Background of Hannagan and the MLB; Public relations campaign for the MLB centennial celebration.

• World War II public relations campaign designed to inspire citizens to pay personal income taxes. • U.S. government officials used choice instead of coercion to inspire compliance. • Campaign used messages related to sacrifice and patriotism to encourage American citizens to pay their taxes as part of the war effort. This case study will show how U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) and U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) officials used public relations strategies and techniques during World War II to ensure public acceptance of the installation of a personal income tax on most Americans, not just the wealthy. To prevent this change from appearing as coercion, U.S. government officials used sacrifice as an overriding message to help persuade Americans to join the taxpayer ranks. Patriotic Americans, the government told the public, would choose to do their part in the war effort by buying victory with their tax dollars. And, it was not just Uncle Sam saying this but popular entertainment figures ranging from singer Danny Kaye to animated character Donald Duck as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• World War II public relations campaign equated sexual health with patriotism in attempt to lower VD rates. • Anti-VD campaign designed to help improve industrial productivity. • Social reformers used public relations during wartime in a similar fashion to how government agencies used the function. Much of public relations historiography on World War II focuses on the government uses of the function. This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring how a non-governmental organization called the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA) used persuasion communication efforts to enlist the aid of management, labor, and local communities in the United States in the control of venereal disease (VD) rates. The case study advances a more diverse understanding of how activists have utilized public relations and found that the social reformers' use of persuasive communications strategies and activities aligned with the view of public relations as the strategic and intentional participation in the social construction of meaning to achieve a planned outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]