History and PR

I have not always been a fan of history. To this day it is still one of my least favorite subjects. Keeping it from being the subject that I hate the most is the fact that history can teach me something. This stood out to me when reading the chapter on history of public relations in my textbook for my Intro to Public Relations class.

The practice of Public Relations has been around for a long time. Evidence of public relations being used can be found in 427 to 347 BC, to when colonies were being established, and to being around in today’s society.
One thing that stood out to me was the fact that PR seemed to thrive during hard times in history. A prime example of this was the Revolutionary War and the war that Samuel Adams did. He used slogans and events to influence public opinion.

While starting out in the PR field I can learn what to do and what not to do from history. The people who established the public relations field and who were “pioneers” have some of the best lessons to teach me about PR. It is like my textbook says in the chapter preview, “it is the lessons we learn from history that make its study important to us.”