To most people in the PR industry, Arthur Page is a hero. He is seen as the father of the practice of modern corporate public relations and his philosophy of ethical and effective communication with the public has set standards for corporate practices for decades. Page’s vision, in fact, is so influential that there is a professional society as well as a research center at Penn State University established in his name.
What most of Page’s devoted fans aren’t aware of, however, is that Arthur Page was involved with controversial organizations and practices that are ostensibly counterintuitive to his central principles. According to the Arthur W. Page Society’s web site, Page believed that "all business in a democratic country begins with public permission and exists by public approval."
Shortly after World War II came to a close, the U.S. government felt a need to contain Communism in Eastern Europe as soon as possible. In 1949, the National Committee for a Free Europe was established and included our very own Arthur Page as a board member. It was not discovered until much later, however, that the committee was an instrument of the CIA.
That very same year the Committee established Radio Free Europe, which was founded to inform its Eastern European listeners about the fall of Communism. Because the CIA funded the radio, the government needed a way to disguise the source of financial support to gain trust abroad and avoid scandal at home. The committee thus created the Crusade for Freedom, a massive public relations campaign convinced many Americans to donate millions of dollars to the (already funded) Radio Free Europe.
With the help of experts (from Minnesota!) in public relations, the committee created Freedom Scrolls for Americans to sign, which they delivered to Berlin. They created Truth Dollars for Americans to purchase and donate to the stations to spread democracy. They even created a Freedom Bell that was cast identically to the Liberty Bell and delivered it, along with the scrolls, to Berlin in a special bell-ringing ceremony.
If it is documented that Arthur Page, the hero of modern PR, was involved in this deceptive massive public relations campaign and propaganda generator, what does this mean for the field of PR? I suggest that the history of PR should be reexamined and rewritten to include how it has been and is still used by governments for less than ethical reasons. Even the negative aspects of its history may be used to enlighten the field today.
Allison Troyer
JOUR 3279
Blog Assignment
Crabtree, Nate L. The Story of the World Freedom Bell. Minneapolis: Nate L. Crabtree Company, 1951. 2
Sig Mickelson. America’s Other Voice. (New York, NY: Praeger, 1983)
Stacey Cone. Presuming a Right to Deceive: Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, the CIA and the News Media. Journalism History 24 (Winter 1998/1999). p. 1.
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