MODERN-DAY public relations or PR, as we now know and practice it, had its formal beginnings in the United States in the early 1900s, when it was pioneered by the likes of Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays and others.
But taken in its broadest sense —that of gaining public acceptance and support for a person, an organization or a cause through the use of various communications tools—PR is an occupation that is as old as recorded history.
Scribes, the first PR men
IN fact, PR men—or at least part-PR men—helped write world history. I am referring to the scribes of ancient Egypt, whom one can describe as the first PR men (there were also women). They were persons who were sent to a special school when young, where they learned how to read and write hieroglyphics, the only ones in the population who could do so.
They were generalists—which complete PR men should be—whose functions included writing public documents on papyrus and stories of major events on walls of buildings, temples and tombs. They even served as medicine men.
In effect, the scribes served as PR men for the pharoahs, building them up into demigods who needed to be worshipped and followed by their subjects.
The Evangelists
ALSO, early prototypes of PR men were the Evangelists who wrote the Bible Gospels and preached the Word of God and spread Christianity from the Holy Land to other parts of the world.
I am referring to two of the original 12 Apostles: Saint John and Saint Matthew, and latter ones like Saint Mark and Saint Luke, who wrote the Bible Gospels on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Another such evangelist who was competent in PR was Saint Paul, who not only gave eloquent and persuasive sermons, but was also known for his classic apostolic letters, or “epistles,” addressed to the various congregations of the churches they established in their missions. Through these epistles, Saint Paul was able to reach out and convey his messages to a wider audience than he could do physically.
The Pamphleteers
OTHER early PR men were the “pamphleteers” in both the French and American Revolution, who produced and distributed unbound booklets or pamphlets to rally the people against their oppressive rulers at the time.
Most notable among them was Thomas Paine, who in 1775 and 1776 put out a pamphlet, entitled “Common Sense.” The pamphlet became literally a “best seller” for stating the case for independence in clear and convincing language. It was described by historian Gordon Wood as “the most incendiary and popular pamphlet in the American revolutionary era.”
The Propagandists
FINALLY, here in the Philippines, I consider our PR forebears and role models the “Propagandists,” who campaigned for reforms in Spain’s governance of the Philippines in the 1800s. Notable among them were Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Jose Rizal. Their main tool in their PR efforts was La Solidaridad, which contained articles that exposed the abuses of the Spanish colonial government in the hope that the central government in Spain would respond and institute the reforms the Propagandists were calling for.
Among the three, the most astute and PR-savvy for me was del Pilar, even if Rizal was the greater national hero.
Even before he went to Spain to become publisher and editor of La Solidaridad, del Pilar, or Plaridel (his pen name), was already fighting for reforms in his home province in Bulacan.
He was effective, because he wrote and spoke well in Tagalog and, thus, was easily understood by the majority of the native populace. And he made the rounds of the places where ordinary Filipinos congregated—like plazas, corner stores and cockpits—to get his messages across on the need for reforms directly and face to face.
I believe del Pilar was better and more versatile in PR than Rizal, for he knew the right medium to use before the right—and bigger and more responsive—audiences. Rizal, for his part, used two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, to expose the abuses of the government and the friars. But these were written in Spanish, which only a small number of members of the Illustrado class could read and understand.
We, the current PR professionals, may never attain the national-hero status of the three Propagandists. But if we in our respective practice are able to undertake corporate social responsibility projects and undertake advocacy programs for worthwhile causes that benefit the nation and our countrymen, then we can be heroes in our own little way and in our own time. Lesser heroes, perhaps, but heroes nonetheless.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the International Public Relations Association, the premier association for senior professionals around the world. Rene Nieva is the chairman and CEO of Perceptions Inc.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.