Ivy Ledbetter Lee and the Roots of PR
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Lee's Influence on the Railroad Industry
Ivy lee was a publicist for the railroads. His first press release is usually cited as the first modern press release. Lee also tried to improve the railroad industry's public image beyond just dealing with specific accidents. In 19 14, he took on a job that would be particularly controversial for a family that was deeply reviled.
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Ivy Lee was one of the founders of the fields of public relations and crisis communications. His approach to public relations was revolutionary for the time, and he helped establish a lot of practices that still exist today.
Research:
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- Congress of the United States. “Investigation of Nazi Propaganda Activities and Investigation of Certain Other Propaganda Activities.” United States Government Printing Office. 1934. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=shUWAAAAIAAJ&pg=GBS.PP7
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- "Ivy Ledbetter Lee." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1944. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310009213/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=7478f6e9. Accessed 22 Mar. 2022.
- "Ivy Ledbetter Lee." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, edited by Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk, Gale, 1999. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1667000116/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=30efc6d4. Accessed 22 Mar. 2022.
- Meade, Jared. “Father of PR, Ivy Lee, Pioneered Tactics We Use Today.” 8/24/2020. (3/23/2022). https://www.prnewsonline.com/ivy-lee-crisis-history/
- New York Times. “Ivy Lee, as Adviser to Nazis, Paid $25,000 by Dye Trust.” 7/12/1934. https://nyti.ms/3LqanZh
- Olasky, Marvin N. “Ivy Lee: Minimizing Competition through Public Relations.” Public Relations Quarterly. Fall 1987.
- Olasky, Marvin N. “The Agenda-Setting of Ivy Lee.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 1985. Via ERIC.
- O'Neill, Kathleen. "U.S. public relations evolves to meet society's needs." Public Relations Journal, vol. 47, no. 11, Nov. 1991, pp. 28+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A11595331/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=14ce8464. Accessed 22 Mar. 2022.
- Russell, Karen Miller and Carl O. Bishop. “Understanding Ivy Lee’s declaration of principles: U.S. newspaper and magazine coverage of publicity and press agentry, 1865–1904.” Public Relations Review 35 (2009) 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.01.004
- SNAC. “Lee, Ivy L. (Ivy Ledbetter), 1877-1934.” (3/23/2022) https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w64j0h2p#biography
- Turney, Michael. “Ivy Lee was decades ahead of his contemporaries.” On-line Readings in Public Relations. 2015. (3/23/2022) https://www.nku.edu/~turney/prclass/readings/3eras2x.html
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