Compare The Difference Between Public Relations And Propaganda

This essay will explore the similarities and differences between Public Relations and propaganda leading to answer if they can be considered or not synonymous concepts.

To begin with, these words can be defined and analyse; The term Public Relations first appear in 1827, Eric F.Golman mentioned that O.P Hoyt used the term to describe the concise information of the public opinion (Goldman 1978). Today there are many different definitions of the topic but the generally accepted was offered by the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education in 1976. They defined it as a management function which helps to build up common lines of correspondences, comprehension, acknowledgement and collaboration between an association and its publics;

Even though, as a term, it was first commonly used to describe the persuasive tactics during the world war I. Now a day, it can be defined as the spreading of information with the purpose to impact the popular opinion and to be in control of other individuals' convictions. It is also the manipulation of a message directed to an audience with the aim to achieve an objective (O'Shaughnessy 1996).

Propaganda, as an art of persuasion, has been used for thousands of years. From the twentieth century, the war endeavours have exhibited how successfully all methods for engaging large scales of people can be used to expand propaganda. Notices, posters, war melodies, radio projects or films helped to build a common public moral.

Bernay (1928) suggested the idea that our minds have been shaped, our taste framed and our thoughts proposed. Every act of our daily life, from politics and laws to social behaviour or even our ethics and morals are dominated. Propaganda is in control of our mental process and social patterns. The messages that shape the public mind´s opinions and habits are constantly changing to respond to the