Posted on: January 3, 2023
Show Notes
Air Date: 1/3/2023
Public relations is a relatively new concept compared to other professions such as law or medicine. The idea of PR stems from the concept of communication, which dates all the way back to the philosophers of Ancient Greece. Most of us know about Socrates and Plato, and we’ve used Aristotle’s art of rhetoric (Ethos, Logos and Pathos) in our writing.
But many people don’t know that Ancient Greece is in fact the foundation of PR. The idea of using communication to persuade is one of the first practical uses of public relations.
The idea of spreading communication (or persuasion) to the masses comes from the early 15th century and Pope Gregory XII, who coined the term “propaganda” as we know it today. The term was repurposed from a Latin word used to describe a commission of cardinals tasked with spreading Catholicism to non-Catholic countries.
Fast forward to the birth of America, where mass communication was used in full swing to gain independence from the British Empire. Founding Father Samuel Adams spread political messages to oppose the British monarchy, inspiring the famous anti-tax protest now known as the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Three years later, Thomas Paine published “Common Sense,” a pamphlet meant to persuade the masses to support the American Revolution from Great Britain. And, just months later, the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
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