Ivy Ledbetter Lee: An Influential Figure In Public Relations History

Another influential figure in public relations history is Ivy Ledbetter Lee. Lee was a successful publicist in the early 1900s and was instrumental in establishing the early ethics of public relations practice by shifting to a ‘…‘public be informed’…’ (Bernays 1998, p. 29) policy and is considered ‘…the father of modern public relations…’ (Lattimore et al. 2007, p. 30). Lee’s main contribution came with the release of his Declaration of Principles, in which he ‘…called for honest and open communication with the media.’ (Gower 2008, p. 3), outlining his role as providing publics with news ‘…on behalf of his clients.’ (Bernays 1998, p. 29). Gower (2008, p. 10) notes that by taking this stance ‘…Lee no doubt sought to set his bureau apart…’ at a time when …show more content…
2007, p. 24), with Lee credited with ‘…put(ing) public relations on the right track…’ (Lattimore et al. 2007, p. 30), resulting in the ushering in of the Public Information model of public relations. An example of Lee’s new style of public relations practice was because of two train accidents in 1906. When the Pennsylvania Railroad suffered a train wreck, Lee, despite serious objections by his employers, tried openness, and transparency with the media, inviting them to the scene and proving facilities, expenses, and information all in aid of their interests over the railroads (Lattimore et al. 2007, p. 38; Newsom, Turk & Kruckeberg 2013, p. 33). Lee’s strategy was ‘…radical…’ (Newsom, Turk & Kruckeberg 2013, p. 33) at the time. However, Lee’s actions proved to be successful when New York Central suffered their own train wreck soon after, when the media reacted poorly to New York Central uncooperative behaviour compared to the Pennsylvania Railroad, which ‘…resulted in positive publicity, increased credibility, comparative advantages over the Central, and good, constructive press coverage and relations’ (Lattimore et al. 2007, p.