Constructing Relationship Between Public Relations and Journalism: Analysis of Edward L. Bernays

CONSTRUCTING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND JOURNALISM THROUGH HISTORICAL PRESS WRITING: AN ANALYSIS OF EDWARD L. BERNAYS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES (1910-1999) Dr Martina Topic Leeds Beckett University, UK M.Topic@leedsbeckett.a c.uk

RATIONALE Job losses in journalism, democratization of the media & the growth of PR = the influence of PR on media content -> contentious relationship (Macnamara, 2016; Siapera, 2012) PR and media as bedfellows & a symbiotic relationship -> sources of stories & PRs as organizational gatekeepers (Bentele & Nothhaft, 2008; Currah, 2009) Between 150 and 200 studies on the relationship between journalism and PR (Macnamara, 2014; 2016) Journalists holding negative views of PRs spin, pseudo- events, pseudo-evidence, pseudo-groups, pseudo- leaks, pseudo-pictures, and even pseudo-illnesses (Davies, 2009, pp. 172-193). A love-hate relationship (Harcup, 2009)

1926: The New York Times study - 147 of the 256 news stories in the newspaper (57%) had been suggested, created, or supplied by PR practitioners (Bent, 1927). 1930: women s and business pages almost entirely originating from publicists (Bixler, 1930) Historically the role of press agents in influencing the media 1,200 press agents in the US in the early 1900s (Bleyer, 1973) 1934: 42 of 64 local stories in one newspaper were written or pasted up from press agent material: a little more than 60% (Walker, 1999, p. 147). 1973 & 1979: Sigal and Gans found a predominance of PR content in newspapers (the NYT and the WP), 75% (Sigal, 1973; Gans, 1979) 21stcentury: research ctd with similar findings RATIONALE

Macnamara (2016) further research necessary media and journalism texts either ignore PR and its influence or superficially analyse it Research mainly quantitative based on surveys, and bias in self- reporting (Macnamara, 2016) Overly researched topic (Smith, 2008) Macnamara (2016): journalists admit they seek PR sources & do not always recognise all PR sources as PR see PRs as experts RATIONALE

Personal experience: journalist in 3 countries, now academic in journalism and PR department, networking and working with journalists and journalism academics contentious relationship observed with marketing, not PR Research aim: Is it really true that journalists dislike PRs? Argument Networking requirements in the job + nature of work (deadlines, always working and looking for news, the social function of journalism) Masculine behaviour: aggression, directness, work-first attitude, lack of empathy, lack of emotion; one of the boys for women to fit in Feminine behaviour: softness in the approach, relationship- building, empathy, emotion; teamwork Journalism as a masculine profession, PR as a feminine RATIONALE

METHOD Edward Bernays the father of PR + LIFE magazine s the most influential person of the 20thcentury (Fletcher, 2015) An analysis of writing of the New York Times on Edward Bernays (1910- 1999) The period of the analysis: the rise of press agents and the working life of Edward Bernays the greatest newspaper on the planet (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). Often used in research to study social history - editorial excellence The New York Times

Topic (2021) an analysis of the NYT coverage of smoking (1870-1929) exploring what was socially known about smoking in the context of the Torches of Freedom campaign Zoch, Supa and VanTuyll (2014) - the portrayal of Ivy Lee s work through the lens of the New York Times coverage Penning (2008) - the coverage of PR using the New York Times and Time magazine during the 1920s. METHOD

Articles selected via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times Keyword: Edward Bernays The initial search, N= 874 All articles read, including those directly related to Edward Bernays, exclusion of articles on another Edward, another Bernays or articles about other people mentioning Edward Bernays because there was a relationship (e.g., former employees) Coding: Articles on EB personally(including charity work) and articles on EB professionally (including expert articles) After the selection criteria, N=453 (182 private; 271 professional and expert) METHOD

Selective: identifying critical themes emerging from the data (general analysis completed) Axial coding: comparing and contrasting data through different historical periods (pending) Open: critical themes first (personal vs professional) Coding (Morse & Richards, 2002) a systematic approach to the analysis of qualitative data that involves identifying themes or patterns of cultural meaning; coding and classifying data, usually textual, according to themes; and interpreting the resulting thematic structures by seeking commonalities, 16 relationships, overarching patterns, theoretical constructs, or explanatory principles (Lapadat 2010, p. 926). Braun and Clarke (2006) a systematic presentation of data using visualisation and direct quotes Thematic analysis METHOD

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS PERSONAL AND CHARITY WORK

News writing, no opinion or adjectives (e.g., spin or anything with a negative connotation) One article announcing his death, 10thMarch 1995 - calls EB the father of PR & leader in opinion making - impartially explains his career without negativity, emphasizing some consider his work controversial but also calling his campaigns legendary - Refers to him also as PR counsel (matches EB s adverts) PRELIMINARY FINDINGS NYT, 10th March, Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations and Leader in Opinion Making, Dies at 103.

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Professional and expert articles General coverage analysed in the figure on the right + 10 expert and letters to the editor articles published advocating for PR

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS No evidence of hostility towards PR High standards of impartiality When something negative mentioned, in the context of pro vs con and even then, by external authors of articles Counsel (personal choice), PR father Celebrity status