Today, the word “public relations” has acquired a connotation that, if not entirely negative, is very close to it. The reasons and justifications for this are beyond the scope of this brief introduction, but it is interesting to note that even in its early days, the profession of public relations faced similar challenges. Edward Bernays discusses this and many other aspects of the profession in his seminal work, The Crystallization of Public Opinion. The reader can see that from the perspective of one of the founders of the profession of “public relations consultant,” as he calls it, its practitioners are required not only to possess significant qualifications in a wide range of human knowledge but also to maintain high ethical standards. It can be assumed that, despite the aforementioned public hostility, these standards have contributed to the success of the profession, which has existed for more than a century.
