For those who appreciate Strunk and White's
The Elements of Style
, Edward Bernays' 'Crystallizing Public Opinion' will have a similar impact: Concise Guidance and lucid - if due to the original publication in 1923 - somewhat dated examples make for encompassing reading. It is fascinating that most of the literature on PR which has appeared since does not surpass the insights Bernays expounded so long ago.
Bernays thinking has two pillars. First, he recognizes that "the public, ...due to the spread of literacy and democratic forms of government (feels) that it is entitled to its voice in the conduct of these large aggregations, political, capitalist, or labor, or whatever they may be" (p.66). Therefore, any organization in society, no matter if it is a political entity, a company or a non-profit organization is looked at as some sort of public service. To succeed they will have to recognize this demand and communicate, accordingly.
Second, Bernays regards the "average citizen (as) the world's most efficient censor. His own mind is the greatest barrier between him and the facts. His own 'logical proof compartments', his own absolutism are the obstacles which prevent him from seeing in terms of experience and thought rather than in terms of group reaction" (p. 133).
This leads him to conclude that PR is of no use unless it has something to say which the public, consciously or unconsciously, expects to hear. PR is thus not primarily about authenticity or believability, as many current observers put it, PR is merely a communications effort which functions as a catalyst of change if it resonates with the public. As such PR may bring order to what is otherwise be conceived as chaos.
Bernays sorts through and distills the pertinent literature of his age. Amongst them
Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War: By W. Trotter
, Walter Lippmann's
Public Opinion
and the unmentioned Gustave Le Bon's
The Crowd
, especially, are as compelling today as they were to Edward Bernays in 1923.
This book is a key to PR, specifically, and, generally, the role of communications in modern society. As public opinion explodes in the age of the internet and currently causes change in the real world such as in Northern Africa and the Middle East, Bernays' book helps us to understand what is happening. Read it as an introduction or read it as a reference to everything you know about PR, either way it will be time well spent.
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Spitzenrezensionen aus anderen Ländern
Paps Jack
Great Starter Book on Persuasion
Rezension aus Indien vom 12. November 2022
Amazon Customer
Better than his more well known book propaganda
Rezension aus Kanada am 21. Juni 2019Amazon Customer
Crystalline Public Opinion
Rezension aus dem Vereinigten Königreich vom 6. Juli 2020
Guillermo
Libro maravilloso para enteder la opinión pública.
Rezension aus Mexiko vom 28. Mai 2017
Splash
Give this to your conspiracy theorist friends
Rezension aus Australien vom 21. Januar 2022
