Don’t Call It “Public Relations”William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) was a Congressman from Nebraska, three-time presidential candidate (1896, 1900, and 1908), and later Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson.

Since 1913, the practice of “Public Relations” – so defined – had been barred from the Federal Government.

This was due to fear from Congress that those in places of higher power might be tempted to use privileges and attention of publicity to advance their own agendas and promote themselves.

Ironic in our 21st –century publicity seeking arena of Public Affairs today.

* Publicity Please *

WASHINGTON, D. C.SEAT OF THE FEDRAL GOVERNMENT

“Public Relations Free-for-all.”

… 435 Congressmen and congresswomen, 100 senators, 15 cabinet secretaries, and thousands of federal employees supporting them =

All of them jockeying each day to make the morning newspapers and evening talk shows to be seen & heard. (p 250)

On state & local levels, politicians also jockey for attention in the media.

“We’ve come a long way”Legislators in the 21st Century

Dwight D. Eisenhower34th President of the United StatesJanuary 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961Previously a General in the U.S. Army

Compared to President Eisenhower’s Day, the arena of government “Public Relations,” has become a game of craving attention via publicity whether the story is good, bad, or indifferent.

Eisenhower once famously remarked: “If the Army is good, the story will be good, and the public relations will be good. If the Army is bad, the story will be bad, and the public relations will be bad.” (p 251)

September 11, 2001

TERRORIST ATTACKS: EFFECTED A MORE PROFOUND NEED FOR CANDID, FRANK, & INFORMATIVE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

“The American people are appreciative of the forthrightness of the government. I think the government has an obligation to be forthright.”

– Ari Fleischer, President Bush’s 1st Press Secretary

Because of this event and the war effort that ensued, the government’s public relations (affairs) initiatives took center stage (p 251 ) – among those initiatives were the following…

… President Bush Sets Up Initiatives … The White House created a permanent Office of Global Communications

to coordinate the administration’s foreign policy message & supervise America’s image abroad.

Bush mounted the “bully pulpit” of the American presidency often in the days of the war to win public support. “I will not yield, I will not rest. I will not relent in waging this struggle. We will not tire. We will not falter, and we will not fail.”

- George W. Bush

The position of Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs was created in the State Department, immediately after the 2001 attacks, to work to convince the Muslim world of the true values and ethics of America. (p 251)

Statistics & Summary: In light of the universal mistrust of government agencies & officials, the importance of

honest and open communication can’t be understated. This is the role of public relations in government work. (pgs 250 -251)

2012 - 98% of Congress was using at least one social media platform, with 72% using the big three platforms of Twitter, YouTube, & Face book.

2013 – Upwards of 80% of Americans “disapproved” of Congress and an abysmal 14% “approved.” Most Americans seemed to believe that politicians crave publicity over seeking meaningful policy changes.

It is indisputable that the practice of public relations is broadly represented throughout government – at the presidential level, in each government branch, in all government agencies, on state & local levels, even in lobbying the government to maintain or change legislation. (p 252)

All these functions are part of the multiple levels of public relations communications in and around government