Evolution of Pr

Evolution of Public Relations

by Tom Kwanya

Public Relations as a practice is both young and old. Many people, however, think that PR emerged in the industrial age but this view is erroneous because the origin of PR goes back to antiquity. PR has been practiced since the emergence of the first social groups i.e. Adam and Eve.

There are a number of historical milestones in PR which predate the Industrial Revolution:

1. About 2,200 BC, Ptahhotep, the advisor to one of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, wrote of the need for communicating truthfully, addressing audience interests, and acting in a manner consistent with what is being said.

2. Philosophers in the ancient Greek and Roman empires were paid by politicians and other influential people to write poems and other publications to influence public opinion.

3. Socrates and his student Plato emphasized that it was honesty and truth of the issues communicated were as important as the way in which they were disseminated.

4. Rulers such as Alexander the Great and Augustus Caesar set up their statues in their vast empires to remind their subjects of their presence and influence in their lives. This remains a common technique associated with public relations, still practiced in the form of commemorative stamps, monuments, stadiums, named buildings, and so on.

The Church also played a major role in the development of PR. Indeed, much of the pre-history of public relations is linked with the growth and maintenance of religion, one of the most basic and cohesive aspects of society throughout the ages. Other critical milestones include:

1. Persuasive discourses by apostles like Paul of Tarsus through letters, events, public addresses, etc to influence the audiences to Christianity;

2. The writings of the Prophet Mohammed aimed at guiding and influencing the lives of the people;

3. Christian church reformation through lobbying, advocacy, etc by Luther, John Wycliffe and other reformers.

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