CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
to the study
According to Edward Louis Bernays, Public Relations
is “Practically as old as society”. Patrick Jackson, a publisher of the Public
Relations society of America (PRSA) asserts that Public Relations arose from
the basic need of building and improving human relationship which existed immediately
God created Adam and Eve. The concept of Public Relations has been with man.
The creation of Public Relations between the creator and the creature both
bought harmony and understanding in their relationship.
Public Relations,
however, existed during the days of Moses. Moses was a stutter and needed
someone who would convey message to the Israelites on his behalf. Aaron, his
brother was appointed; therefore, he was a link between the Israelites and
Moses. From the biblical perspective, Aaron was a public relations officer.
Thus, public relations has been practiced, even if only amateurish, since the
beginning of mankind.
In ancient societies, human communication was
limited by space and time. Due to the absence of modern technology, majority of
the people lived simple lives in farms and small settlement. Therefore,
communication flow in the olden days was primarily personal. The potentials and
application of Public Relations increased as societies became more urbanised,
civilized and complex. As population increased, so did the need problems of
Public Relations.
Public Relations as a paid profession began in 1900,
when the first public relations agency, the publicity Bureau, was founded. Ivy
Lee and Edward Bernays, who are both referred to as the father of Public
Relations, helped establish the field as a professional practice in the United
State. Arthur W. page is considered the father of corporate Public Relations.
The field became more established after world war 11, in part due to talent
from war-time publicity efforts moving into the private sector. Trade
associations, industry publications and academic journals were developed. Some
of today’s largest Public Relations agencies were founded in the 1950s and
began competing globally in Europe and Asia in the beginning in the 60s and
70s.
The 1900s were marked by „explosive growth‟ for the
Public Relations field- Internet technologist and social media changes public
relations tactics, agencies consolidated and new specialties were introduced
such as investors’ relations and community relations.
Public Relations practice in Nigeria was introduced
from Britain through the vehicle of colonialism. The introduction of Public
Relations practice in Nigeria was done through the initiatives of the colonial
government and its obedient servants. Being an adjunct of Journalism, Public
Relations became an important element in public communication in the colonial
days. The pioneers were non-natives. Many of the existing newspapers were
already enjoying patronage of the people and those in government. The
government felt the need for another branch of communication which would convey
subtly, its feelings to the people without really going through the rigours of
mental composition of communication acts.
During the Second World War (1940), the government
urged for more channels of communication which became more pronounced,
especially the need to present and analyse information about the war. This
eventually led the government to establish an office of information where
correct information about the war efforts was sent out to people through the
wireless. This was in January 1, 1944. Later in 1944, this information office
was changed to Public Relations office to really make its functions strictly
tailored towards image making and creating favourable impressions about the war
itself.
The Public Relations office began to play a role
which served the Nigerian press and their consumers tremendously. It placed its
information facilities at their disposal and provided them with photographs on
the prosecution of the war. Two Nigerian newspapers, the West Africa Pilot and
Daily Service wrote edition on this development calling for the setting up of a
permanent Public Relations office as early as the early forties. It was this
Public Relations outfit set up by the colonial government that metamorphosed
into the Federal Information Service in 1950.
In 1963, the Nigerian Institution of Public Relation
s (NIPR) was established as a regulatory body for Public Relations practice in
Nigeria.
For any Complete Project Material
Contact Us at:
Call or Whatsapp
+2347034746560
E-mail:
Visit our Official Websites and Blogs for more services:
No comments:
Post a Comment
THANK YOU FOR VISITING POSITIVE WORLD