Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Explain how the OFFICE of WAR Information contributed to positive public relations for WWII

According to Chapter 11 in MEDIA/IMPACT, in the 1930's Franklin Delanor Roosevelt used public relations to sell the NEW DEAL proposal her had to the American People.  He asked his head PR employee, Louis McHenry Howe to help give him an image of self-confidence and happiness, therefore, if the country felt good about him as his demeanor, what he decided we should do would be acceptable by the general public as a whole.

Once FDR had established his credibility with the American public, he forged forward into WWII in the same fashion.  To gain support of this entry into war, FDR mounted the largest public relations drive in our history to that point, by establishing the Office of War Information, which was lead by former newscaster Elmer Davis.  This agency promoted the positive role that we were playing in the war, including many news broadcasts on radio and television and newspaper and magazine mediums, which painted a positive picture of the War and of the President himself.  This in turn helped FDR gain additional support from the public to stay in the war and until it was over.  The Federal Government is the largest single employer of public relations employees to this day.


1 comment:

  1. Do you think the same kind of campaign could be a success today?

    25/25

    ReplyDelete