Ivy Ledbetter Lee case study

Ivy Ledbetter Lee has long been acclaimed as an early practitioner, perhaps even as the origin" rel="nofollow">inator, of the explanatory approach to public relations. After graduatin" rel="nofollow">ing from Prin" rel="nofollow">inceton, he began workin" rel="nofollow">ing as a newspaper reporter in" rel="nofollow">in the late 1890s but turned to public relations shortly after the turn of the century and became one of the defin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing figures of the fledglin" rel="nofollow">ing profession. He not only practiced public relations, he aggressively explain" rel="nofollow">ined its purpose and defended its actions. In doin" rel="nofollow">ing so he helped shape the public perceptions of the field and set standards other practitioners felt compelled to meet.Lee's legacy in" rel="nofollow">includes his Declaration of Prin" rel="nofollow">inciples. Ivy Lee's longest lastin" rel="nofollow">ing contribution to the profession may have been the Declaration of Prin" rel="nofollow">inciples he distributed to the media in" rel="nofollow">in 1906 when he and his then-partner George Parker began advisin" rel="nofollow">ing anthracite coal operators on how they could respond to a strike. They issued the declaration in" rel="nofollow">in hopes of counterin" rel="nofollow">ing the risin" rel="nofollow">ing hostility which journalists were expressin" rel="nofollow">ing for ghost-written press releases, ads disguised as news stories, and other efforts to manipulate news coverage. At the time, Lee's views were revolutionary. In fact, Eric Goldman's 1948 history of public relations claims they marked the start of the second stage of public relations' development. Interestin" rel="nofollow">ingly enough, it wasn't the coal strike that gave Lee a chance to prove the value of openness and honest communication with the press and the public. It was the accident on the Pennsylvania Railroad described in" rel="nofollow">in the lin" rel="nofollow">inked discussion of public relations' explanatory phase. In the eyes of fervent supporters, Lee's impact on public relations was almost messianic. Fraser Seitel wrote, "Lee, more than anyone before him, lifted the field from a questionable pursuit (that is, seekin" rel="nofollow">ing positive publicity at any cost) to a professional disciplin" rel="nofollow">ine designed to win" rel="nofollow">in public confidence and trust through communications based on candor and truth." Lee even prefigured the mutual satisfaction phase. At a time when other cuttin" rel="nofollow">ing edge practitioners were tryin" rel="nofollow">ing to explain" rel="nofollow">in their clients' activities in" rel="nofollow">in ways that were palatable to their publics, Lee was realizin" rel="nofollow">ing some thin" rel="nofollow">ings just couldn't be explain" rel="nofollow">ined in" rel="nofollow">in a palatable yet honest way. When Lee went to work for the Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller had a long and well-deserved reputation as a robber baron because he was one. He and several other well-known tycoons had achieved success and wealth by bein" rel="nofollow">ing ruthless, profit-driven busin" rel="nofollow">inessmen whose actions were often harsh, arrogant, and uncarin" rel="nofollow">ing. Some of what they did could be explain" rel="nofollow">ined away, but much of it was beyond any hope of gift-wrappin" rel="nofollow">ing. The public would never approve of such behavior. Faced with this realization, Lee came up with a suggestion that was totally contrary to the robber barons' prevailin" rel="nofollow">ing philosophy of the public be damned. He concluded that changin" rel="nofollow">ing Rockefeller's behavior -- or at least his companies' actions -- might be the best public relations of all. Initially, Rockefeller resisted, but Lee's persistence and persuasiveness wore him down. Instead of limitin" rel="nofollow">ing his role to writin" rel="nofollow">ing press releases and public statements and arrangin" rel="nofollow">ing special appearances for Rockefeller, Lee was soon advisin" rel="nofollow">ing Rockefeller on the public relations advantages of a broad range of busin" rel="nofollow">iness decisions and management policy that in" rel="nofollow">included mechanisms to redress workers' grievances, the selection of new plant sites, settin" rel="nofollow">ing employee wages and workin" rel="nofollow">ing conditions, and negotiatin" rel="nofollow">ing contracts with suppliers and vendors. In many ways this presaged the in" rel="nofollow">interactive adjustment and mutual satisfaction approaches to public relations that weren't fully articulated until 70 years later. But, whatever you call his approach, Lee had clearly -- Some would say miraculously. -- transformed John D. Rockefeller's public image from that of an uncarin" rel="nofollow">ing and reclusive tyrant to a warm, paternalistic employer and an in" rel="nofollow">incredibly generous philanthropist. Was Ivy Lee a hero or a villain" rel="nofollow">in? Lee's publicity work for the American Red Cross durin" rel="nofollow">ing World War I was universally acclaimed. He helped raised $400 million in" rel="nofollow">in contributions, recruited millions of volunteers, and established the Red Cross in" rel="nofollow">in Americans' min" rel="nofollow">inds as the place to turn for disaster relief. But, Lee was also in" rel="nofollow">involved in" rel="nofollow">in some questionable activities. His successful efforts at calmin" rel="nofollow">ing the turmoil that followed the "Ludlow Massacre" at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, for in" rel="nofollow">instance, embittered labor supporters who saw him as bein" rel="nofollow">ing anti-union and committed to strike-breakin" rel="nofollow">ing. More serious criticism arose about his work for I.G. Farben Industrie of Germany in" rel="nofollow">in the early 1930s. Although he in" rel="nofollow">insisted he never advised any members of the German government, only I.G. Farben managers and only about busin" rel="nofollow">iness matters, Lee was called to testify before a 1934 Congressional hearin" rel="nofollow">ing where he was accused of bein" rel="nofollow">ing anti-Semitic and of doin" rel="nofollow">ing propaganda work for the Nazi government. In the midst of this turmoil and before his role could be settled in" rel="nofollow">in the public eye, the 57-year-old Lee died of a brain" rel="nofollow">in tumor and the complete details of his work in" rel="nofollow">in Germany were never publicly revealed, a fact that some public relations historians see as a black cloud hangin" rel="nofollow">ing over his reputation. (SOURCE: http://www.nku.edu/~turney/prclass/readin" rel="nofollow">ings/3eras2x.html) 1. Based on the article, identify one positive and one negative contribution to PR made by Ivy Lee. 2. For each contribution identified, explain" rel="nofollow">in why you believe it is positive or negative. 3. Do you believe Lee's PR tactics would be successful today? Why or why not?