Public Relations and Social Action
PUBLIC relations are something like the antennae of a radio. They involve both the sending and receiving processes: they are at once the eyes and ears and the voice of an enterprise. By their very nature and structure they are among the most important of all our social actions. Our relations with other human beings-the manner in which we get along with each other, how well or poorly we understand each other's motives, purposes, needs, and goalsdetermine in a large measure how successful or unsuccessful we are in life. There are numerous philosophical and psychological reasons for this. Human personality itself is fundamentally a product of society. None of us operates in a vacuum. Man is a piece of protoplasm with a multitude of reactions and responses to both his external environment and the inner workings of his own being. As human beings, we should be acutely aware of the need for a broad deep comprehension of the processes which make for successful human relations. No business institution today can go along, as it used to, concerned only with the task of producing a saleable product at the lowest possible cost and making it available to users in the easiest and most economical way. The social effect of the enterprise must be given careful consideration. Does it contribute to the public interest? Does it deserve to succeed because it is necessary for the welfare of mankind? How sensitive are those in charge to their social as well as moral and financial obligations? These are practical as well as philosophical questions, and they must be answered. They force all of us directly into the realm of public relations, into a study of how public relations operate in society. They operate, we find, in all walks of society, reflecting and interpreting processes. They serve through the press, the radio, the motion picture, government, and other agencies, in building prestige, securing support, and giving to the public an account of stewardship. They publicize and stimulate interest in enterprises. They report activities and achievements and make available to the public in understandable terms the results of research, scientific discovery, and the like. The governing law of conduct in public-relations operations is that they shall be honest, truthful, open, authoritative, and responsible; their test that they shall be current, interesting, informative, entertaining, and