Early US Corporate Public Relations: Understanding the “Publicity Agent” in American Corporate Communications, 1902–1918

Abstract

The publicity agent in the United States during the early twentieth century served as a transitional profession between the nineteenth-century press agent and the post–World War I public relations practitioner. This article examines the corporate roots of publicity agents, their split from the advertising industry, and their role in grassroots organizations. It shows that publicity agents and publicity men participated in a stand-alone, salaried profession with professional associations and standards. More importantly for public relations history, the rise of the publicity agent shows the initial connection and eventual split between advertising and public relations that was previously ignored in public relations historiography.